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