why madonna rocks

heard her new single "hung up" the other day and since it has been ages since i have listened to madonna, i didn't quite know how to react to it. pop songs are no more my listening pleasure but this particular one brought back the memories of a red-lipped madonna wearing lace and garters, looking wild, as she gyrated. it also brought back images of college socials in the middle of the day and enthusiastic DJs called chris and ryan falling back on La Isla Bonita to rev up the crowd.
hung up has some great tempo, and you kind of get hooked on to it real quick, even if you are well past the disco stage/age.
i distinctly remember moving to the beat the whole song through, even though i was in the midst of serious work! that's madonna for you.
she may not be able to match J K Rowlings in writing children's books, but she sure can give beyonce a run for the booty...

vodka shots

i read today that circus elephants in russia are being given gallons of vodka to keep warm. now that's an interesting thought. the report did not mention if it went to their heads... what would it be like encountering a pachyderm with a drunk trunk?

see; see

it's no small wonder what J K Rowlings can do with just one tree. it can morph into a monster, it can look angelic, it can turn into a cave, it can exhibit fangs. what makes imagination run this wild?
i find most people around me have stopped reading completely. they are all watching moving pictures. but watching moving pictures does not help you hone your visualization skills.
people who read more are always the ones who visualize better. and being able to form mental pictures effectively helps you in any field of work.
like many people i know cannot get through a gabriel garcia marquez book. they find it tedious, too many words, and too many images to form in the mind. but imagine if you were to spend an hour daily connecting far flung images together.
one hundred years of solitude is one heavy load of imagery, and imagining ants, soldiers, lilies, and gunshots all in a span of 5 minutes is exhausting.
but you kind of get used to it, and are able to rationalize better the next time you are confronted with one of life's tricky problems. that's the power of visualization. it's what today's corporates refer to as the "global picture".
and getting it is what keeps you at the top of the heap. it's also why "well-read" is still used to sum up an interesting personality... or is it "well-googled" now?

not my own...

Hello kindred spirit brother!
Have you traveled far today?
"Far enough" I know you'd say!
And when again we meet,
"We may have fun or we may have grief;
whatever it is, we'll dare it.
and we may go broke and we may get rich;
whichever it is, we'll share it."
You know, kindred spirit brother,
this is always the best way;
I can never believe in any other.
Cause in the vagabond's house they say,
"Theres time and stories for all to share!"
Theres not enough miles to seperate smiles,
and time is too free, not to dare!
Have you traveled far today?
I was hoping you'd ask!
"Far enough" brother, "for today!"
But theres always tomorrow;
and stories for today!

word of 2005

editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected "podcast" as the Word of the Year for 2005. Podcast is defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player".
ways to use it:
so are you a podcaster? have you podcasted? stop podcastinating...

disco top 25

here's a master list of all-time hot disco songs that i chanced upon for those of you/us who like disco... it's reportedly an eclectic collection for the highly discerning disco fan.
i have heard all of five/seven i think.

The Undisputed Truth: "Ball of Confusion," "Higher Than High"

Eddie Kendricks: "Goin' up in Smoke," "Keep on Truckin'"

Gloria Gaynor: "Never Can Say Goodbye"

Silver Convention: "Fly Robin Fly"

Pierre Bachelet: soundtrack from "Histoire D'O (Story of O)"

ABBA: "SOS," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Voulez-Vous," "Fernando"

Diana Ross: "Love Hangover"

The Trammps: "Disco Inferno," "I Feel Like I've Been Living (on the Dark Side of the Moon)"

Marvin Gaye: "Got to Give It Up"

The Isley Brothers: "Go for Your Guns"

Sylvester: "Stars," "Body Strong," "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real," "Do Ya Wanna Funk"

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder: "Four Seasons of Love (four-part album)"

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, from "Once Upon a Time": "Now I Need You," "Working the Midnight Shift," "Queen for a Day," "Rumour Has It"

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, from "Bad Girls": "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "Walk Away," "Lucky," "Sunset People"

Irene Cara and Giorgio Moroder: "Cue Me Up," "Flashdance (What a Feeling)"

Giorgio Moroder: soundtrack from "Midnight Express"

Yvonne Elliman: "If I Can't Have You"

Bee Gees: "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "You Should be Dancing"

Evelyn "Champagne" King: "Shame"

Saint Tropez: "Violation"

Cerrone: "Je Suis Music," "Supernature"

Vicky Sue Robinson: "Turn the Beat Around"

The Michael Zager Band: "Let's All Chant"

Karen Young: "Hot Shot"

Cheryl Lynn: "Star Love"

Pattie Brooks: "After Dark"

Rick James: "You and I," "Super Freak," "Give It to Me, Baby"

Teena Marie and Rick James: "Behind the Groove," "Lover Girl"

Ashford and Simpson: "Found a Cure," "Don't Cost you Nothing'"

Jackie Moore: "This Time, Baby"

Machine: "There But for the Grace of God"

Gino Soccio: "Love Is," "S-Beat"

Jackson Five: "Can You Feel It?"

Michael Jackson: "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," "Rock With You," "Shake Your Body"

Olivia Newton-John: "Physical"

Grace Jones: "Pull Up to the Bumper," "Demolition Man," "Slave to the Rhythm"

The Gap Band: "You Dropped a Bomb on Me"

Slave: "Slide"

Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross: "Jump to It"

Prince: "Delirious," "1999," "Let's Go Crazy," "U Got the Look"

Lime: "Angel Eyes"

Chaka Khan: "Ain't Nobody"

Stephanie Mills: "Pilot Error"

C-Bank: "One More Shot"

Up Fron: "Infatuation"

Madonna: "Burnin' Up," "Into the Groove," "Lucky Star," "Dress You Up," "Open Your Heart," "Causing a Commotion," "Who's That Girl," "La Isla Bonita," "Vogue," "Deeper and Deeper"

Evelyn Thomas: "High Energy"

Laura Branigan: "Self-Control"

Pamala Stanley: "Coming out of Hiding"

Bronski Beat: "Smalltown Boy"

Bananarama: "Cruel Summer"

Alisha: "All Night Passion," "Into My Secret"

Patti Austin: "Gettin' Away With Murder"

E.G. Daily: "Love in the Shadows" (45 RPM Special Remix), "Mind Over Matter"

Dead or Alive with Pete Best: "You Spin Me Round"

Taste-T-Lips: "Hypnotize"

Inner City: "Good Life"

Adele Bertei and Jellybean Benitez: "Just a Mirage"

Pretty Poison with Jade Starling: "Nightime"

Jody Watley: "Don't You Want Me"

Real Life: "Send Me an Angel"

Isaac Hayes: "Shaft"

Curtis Mayfield: "Move on Up," "Superfly," "Freddie's Dead"

lincoln?

i feel good when i do something good,
i feel bad when i do something bad,
this is my religion.

pick up

watched The 40-year-old virgin, the other day, chart-topper supposedly. the film had its moments with a colourful, actually extremely colourful script, and some fairly graphic viusals. it's about any other loser male, except in this case, he is a virgin AND 40. enough to form the premise of a film that has got rave reviews. so here you have a completely simple, bicep driven, long-nosed, all american guy who is trying to get a piece of the action. interesting to see how the script unfolds. nice pick if you're looking for some mid-week laughs. not for a weeekend though. (but this is purely a female perspective.)

city of god

there are consistently two kinds of answers one gets upon enquiring after people in mumbai --
dead. divorced.

icons of our time

just something i came across.
"...If you were to draw a graph of innovation and Microsoft's wherewithal in terms of people, capacity, recruitment, training and salaries, you would find that the more Microsoft hired the best minds at the highest salaries, and so forth, the less innovation it got. For a user, there are no substantial changes whatsoever between the various versions of Microsoft Windows. For anybody who's used a 1990 version, a '96, '98, 2000 or XP version, it just seems like the color of the icons changes. Does it take 5,000 engineers with postgraduate degrees to change the color of icons...?"

two much

"...the creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: one is the sexy creative kind, second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. this tense duality always plays centrestage. it will never be transcended..."

virus alert

why do men handle viruses so haphazardly? am not referring to the computer ones which are axed with proper fanfare, but the ones that attack the immune system. men get wide-eyed at a body malfunction since they cannot download a software that will solve the problem. they stare forlornly at themselves wondering why there never was a virus alert... why couldn't it be a plain and simple pop-up that stated in its display bar: "virus detected". crocin was never as effective as symantec anti-virus...hell it could not even be counted in the same league! men make for bad patients... ask any self-respecting nurse. they turn curt, self-piteous, and make for ungracious hosts.

beauty is the beast

says my bong colleague: there are more beautiful women per square mile in calcutta, yet, men don't want to go within an inch of them coz they are dominating, irritating, and completely obsessed with not becoming doormats. So Beauty be damned, the men turn their backs on the doe eyes, and just check out the other communities.
Which means that there are loads of bong beauties, all single, many even divorced, unable to find someone who would take the chance and date them in culture rich Cal...
maybe they should all just move to mumbai, where they can carry out relationships without ever making conversation!! no doubt, that might solve the problem?

imagine a world without one-liners

long ago, a man walked into my office telling me he was the best thing that happened to mumbai. i looked at him quizzically and he returned the glare with a brilliant one-liner. later found out he was ash chandler, at that time, one of the few stand up comedians around. my first question to him was why only a handful of people in the city took up humour as a career choice. why would stand up comedy clubs never take off in mumbai? he gave me a limmerick i think in exchange, and whatever it was, it really made me laugh.
today when i see the great indian laughter show on star, i think that maybe the time is near when you can drop by your neighbourhood adda read laughter club and chill over one-liners and a few drinks. isn't that an incredibly easy way to unwind... i mean think about it, the people you veer towards most when it comes to spending an evening out are the ones who can make just a lil fun of themselves...
has the concept of a comedy club finally arrived in mumbai?
on another note, everyone today is interspersing business communication with something geeky, just to fan out the flames. should effective one-liners become part of college curriculums?

Oh, where have i been for so long? dunno...
can't remember a thing of the past month, so makes it difficult to write.
the most exciting thing that happened was that i got rejected for my US visa the second time.
why exciting?
the conversation followed the same flow:
why do you wanna go?
how long will you stay?
how long have you been with your present company?
your visa says you've been to canada? (eyebrows raised)
how long did you stay?
aha
sorry/really sorry.

so now i am wondering if a trip to canada has made me ineligible to enter the united states for good.
oh the price of toronto:(

on the flip side, why do americans name all their hurricanes after women?

heroes

Kitne Guevara the?
Che, Sarkar.

if you're a che guevera fan, check out the motorcycle diaries. it's a slow film but a better bet than the other hero tribute mangal pandey...

the old fold

mumbai has become a great place to retire, it seems... i realised that on my last trip there. riding on the roads is like a space odyssey since you're mostly getting tossed about courtesy some rocking craters, the papers that reach you every morning are fatter than the da vinci code, the news is inundated with so many unnecessary tidbits that you can spend the whole day deciphering it, the over-60 citizens are all wearing Tommy Hilfiger and Reeboks, the film stars are now all on the streets, in some form or the other, and the cacophony is become so commonplace that it is now referred to as piece and serenity... what more could you ask for in your golden years? no wonder everywhere you look, its the 60 plus generation that's making the most of it. the 16 year olds meanwhile are busy trying to gatecrash mocha or coffee day...

pots and pants

i finally discovered the one big difference between a man in a kitchen, and a woman in a kitchen.
man: to make one sabzi, 10 dishes will be used, 4 spoons, many lids, 5 powders, and all will be accomplished in stages. by the end of the 35 minute hot flush episode, there will be a colourful sabzi, matched by a colourful amount of dirty dishes, all strewn around for the bhai to handle the next morning.

woman: to make one sabzi, a small pan will be taken, which will see the sabzi through from tadka to dining table, all in the span of 5 minutes. bhai next morning will have one dish and one serving spoon to contend with...

so which is the better output? am still working out that one.

kiss and yell

so many people i know kiss ass to get ahead. and get ahead they do. if they're the butt of jokes, they don't care, coz in the end they are climbing faster than the neighbouring geek. so here's a personality profile i have drawn up of people most likely to ass kiss on their way to the top:
1. 5%intellect + 95% hot air
2. exaggerated sense of self
3. wannabes of the highest order
4. if you ask them a pointed question, which they are supposed to know, they will reply with a question, and then flee
it's not that i am against ass kissers, it's just that you require a skill set to pull it off, and most of the ass kissers i know, and they are omnipresent, just don't have it!
5. freaky humour
6. inability to enjoy the money they make

boxing day

i don't like boxing movies... blood spilling over the audience as teeth shatter and ribs smash ain't my cup of tea. but i chanced to watch the latest ron howard film cinderella man. it had russel crowe in it, and once again in beautiful mind mode, he gave a breath taking performance. in lots of ways, he reminds me of aamir khan. you don't get to watch him often, his films are few and far between, but when he does do a film, it stays with you for a long time to come.
coming back to cinderella man, its the story of a man who reaches his pinnacle only to fall face down... but he gets up again, and goes on to become the darling of the masses. true story of course! must watch... if you are into all of the above.

phobic

Girls and boys start out at comparable levels of interest and abilities in math, science and technology during lower elementary grades... Research has shown that perceptions begin to slowly change in upper elementary grades when girls tend to view the computer as a tool to complete a task, while boys begin playing games and establishing a "friendship" with their computers.
(Research has shown that girls prefer problem-solving and strategy computer games over shoot-to-kill scenarios.)
Perhaps if girls in elementary school experience technology as fun and enriching they will make the choice in high school to enroll in advanced math and science courses. In this way, opportunities will remain open to them that previously would be closed. Teaching girls the benefits of being tech-savvy requires the collaboration of parents, teachers, and designers.

changin..

what we are never changes,
who we are never stops changing...

art of the matter

Gordon MacKensie, the former “creative paradox” at Hallmark Cards, tells of visiting public schools to talk about art.
When he asks kindergartners, “How many of you are artists?” all the children raise their hands.
Among first graders, a third of the hands no longer go up.
Half of the second graders raise their hands.
By fifth grade, no hands go up.
In six years, school has managed to beat the creativity out of its pupils

film feisty

decided to take some time off from hollywood and catch up on some foreign films...

caught two this weekend, y tu mama tambein, and malena.

the first is an old favourite, had seen it 2 years ago, and loved it. its the story of two guys, a girl, and a long journey. it's a hot film as a lot of foreign films usually are, but it conveys a message far far beyond "skin show". it talks of betrayal, death, destruction, and wrong turns... must watch.

malena too was quite a handful... again, hot scenes dominated, but what stayed were the images of war widows and hasty bargains we all make in the hope that all will be well in the end. more often than not, the price is too high to pay. a brilliant depiction of obsession, and hypocrisy that exists in a war torn society.

ditties

As I was going up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish, he'd go away


As I was sitting in my chair,
I knew the bottom wasn't there,
Nor legs nor back, but I just sat,
Ignoring little things like that.

------"Antigonish", by Hughes Mearns.

sdfjhfjdfhdjfdjshfs

i am feeling rather confuzzled of late... all because of the woots around me. at first i attributed it to cognitive displaysia or gription, or maybe even my current display of "dunandunate"... but this wannabe whinese of mine is courtesy the polkadodge i play each time i go to the water cooler...
have i lost it? no i simply found merriam websters favourite words not in a dictionary.



confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time

woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement

cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway

polkadodge (n): the pseudo dance when two people attempt to pass each other, each moving in the same direction

dunandunate (v): to overuse a word or phrase that has been recently added to one's vocabulary

whinese (n) a language spoken by children or spouses on long road trips

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

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!

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...

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?

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!

mamma mia

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

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?"

soppy this?

Falling leaves...

I was thinking of old friends today
And how many of them have slipped away,
Moved, got married, or stopped calling so much,
Found new friends, got busy, and just lost touch.
It reminded me of falling leaves.
Every autumn the leaves fall from the trees.
Some stay longer than others,
But eventually - Each leaf must fall, I'm told,
Leaving the tree alone to face the cold.

Why is it that in the time of utmost need
The leaves would seek to leave the tree?
And when we need our friends around
We look and they cannot be found?

Of course these friendships come and go
And in the spring new leaves will grow.
But I prefer autumn friends of old
With crackling laughter and colour bold.

It saddens me now I must admit
How somehow, someway,
I did forget Laughing with old friends of mine
During summers when the sun would shine.

And then I thought of you.
That one stubborn leaf that won't let go.
That clings despite the winds that blow.

Fighting ice, and snow, and winter's stings
Hanging on right through till spring.
So I guess that's what you are to me -
The very last leaf to leave the tree.
When I see that last leaf...
I think of you...

lonely v/s alone?

a lot of people i know find being alone daunting/intimidating/depressing/overwhelming... they need to be constantly around people to feel alive. i for one love solitude. i can be alone for hours, do nothing, and yet be completely occupied. that could be to some extent because i am constantly evaluating- people, places, situations, the tree in front of my window. so what makes some people so comfortable with themselves and others so terribly ill at ease when all alone?
some say "only" kids have this tendency to crave solitude. in fact, people beyond a point grate on their nerves. i can ascribe to that train of thought considering i am an only kid, yet, i think that being alone sometimes has tremendous advantages. not always but sometimes!
another thought that comes to mind is that we are fast becoming a world of single kid families, so are we on the brink of a generation that will constantly resent company that is below par?

express trrain

watched polar express over the weekend and couldn't believe i was watching an animation film... everything was soooo real, so subtle, and so unbelievable. i actually was waiting to see santa by the end of it.

people i know

these are divided into people who send forwards and those who don't. the latter form a minority--me included, the former is a burgeoning bunch... right from five ways to not be lonesome on a saturday night to why men prefer cricket matches to cream foundations, the forwards just keep coming, and coming. for some, its a first-thing-in-the-morning, last-thing-in-the-evening kind of regime, for others its timepass. i wonder whether it says something about personalities. this kind of intrusion into other people's private places read mail boxes. or even cellphones for that matter. are some people just more uncaring about making an appearance without calling? which brings me to the other breed-- people who just land up at other pople's houses without first calling. some say it's the done thing. after all, we are Indians and by the very nature of our upbringing, other people's time or space is not sacrosanct. so you have people just dropping by in the middle of your favourite TV serial wanting to spend some quality time with you. is that rude? today, unfortunately, lots of people think it is. but lots of other people just don't get it.

good god

movie of the week: City Of God (2004)
powerful depiction of life in brazil- drugs, violence, gang wars, and the degradation of little kids. for a true story, it's amazing how the director managed to keep the pace.
must see!

lovers, mothers, daughters

think John Mayer's Daughters is the most amazing piece of song writing I have seen in a long time...

I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
But she's just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I've done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I'm starting to see
Maybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Oh, you see that skin?
It's the same she's been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she's left
Cleaning up the mess he made

phew hollywood

Was listening to Rahul Bose the other day making a very interesting observation. According to him, most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood is trash, so why single out just Bollywood for the downward spiral. I am forced to agree with him after spending a weekend watching two movies which are supposedly on the top 5 list in Hollywood as of now. One was Taxi, the other was Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Now all I was looking for were a few laughs but the laugh that came out of me was anything but entertaining. The scripts made me gag, the treatment made me yawn, and the acting, well let's just say, all's not well that doesn't end well. Jeez, the two films were a lesson in what not to do in script writing.

On the other hand, also caught two very interesting films--Dear Frankie and A Song for Bobby Long. The story lines for each were unique so they made for interesting developments.

communalism this?

the funniest thing i heard in the past week:
beware of punjabi men and bong women...
don't ask why!!
now for a person like me this is really scary since the only thing that i stay off is gemini men, women, and babies!!

joplin revisited

joss stone and melissa etheridge have just risen a notch for me. this after seeing the amazing powerhouse performance they gave on stage for the grammies. they put up a janis joplin act, and the energy of etheridge was awesome. stone's range is quite unbelievable, especially if she's only 17-18. someone to look out for i would say! meanwhile another piece of my heart is still ringing in my ears...

joplin revisited

joss stone and melissa etheridge have just risen a notch for me. this after seeing the amazing powerhouse performance they gave on stage for the grammies. they put up a janis joplin act, and the energy of etheridge was awesome. stone's range is quite unbelievable, especially if she's only 17-18. someone to look out for i would say! meanwhile another piece of my heart is still ringing in my ears...

eyes wide shut

watched Ray the other day-- the film on the life of Ray Charles and it got me wondering... I always thought that good acting is all in the eyes. but if that is the way it is, then why is the lead who plays the blind musician being touted as a sure fire bet for Best Male Actor at the coming Oscars.

it only goes to follow, that good acting is not just about what your eyes say, it is also about what your body language says and how your dialogue delivery works.
it is also about how close a depiction of the real life character, in this case, Ray Charles, comes through on screen.

what if the film was not based on a real life person...then what?

could Jamie Foxx have still pulled off the scores of nominations with his eyes closed?

am still mulling over this.

i told you so

how many people like hearing the words i told you so...? nobody i guess. i am currently observing an extrememly smart person do something really dumb. i can see the consequences large and clear, but the person in question can't. i have debated this with others: do you let someone make a grievous error only so that he/she can take a lesson away from it; or barrage him/her with "gyan" only to be told "mind your own business". i for one firmly believe that it is better to do something then regret it and finally learn not to do it again, than not do it at all and never know how wrong you could have been (ouch, that was rather difficult to put together grammatically.)

hear or listen

learnt two important lessons in these past two weeks.
1. when you're stuck with a tough decision on a problem you don't understand, talk to all the smart people you know.

2. no idea is so good that it can't be improved upon.

thumbs up

johnny depp (finding neverland) and jude law (alfie) have given amazing performances in the above mentioned films. simply unmissable to say the least. just shows what a good script can do for you.

triples

the only image i came away with after seeing swades was three guys on a motorbike... this film has half the people i know saying wow, and the other half saying yawn. so what's it gonna be? i for one was impressed by just two spectacular shots -- one of the station urchin selling water, and the other of shah rukh's expression on the canoe. both are part of the promos, so i guess ashutosh thought that too!!

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

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!!

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...

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.

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

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!

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.

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?

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

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?

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...

sounds

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

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?

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
???

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!

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 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!!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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...

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.

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?

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!

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?

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)

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!

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...

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!

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

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!!

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!!

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...