3 idiots

...bollywoodish.

Fun and entertaining, but as against the whole 'Five point someone' controversy, I hardly saw the movie made out of the book. A few scenes here and there, but overall the movie is quite different from the book. Chetan Bhagat by the way...ok, why mention it.

Few thoughts:

1. Aamir khan is very good, he sure can pull off any role with ease.

2. Madhavan, in his right senses, should never accept a college student role. Not even after he loses 20 pounds.

3. Second half of the movie was better than the first half.

4. Kareena Kapoor's sister is very good looking. Sure, better than Kareena.

5. I made myself a promise to visit Ladakh once in life.

Up in the air..

...makes one wonder if people do such things in life. George Clooney is a professional hired to fire people. He travels around the country visiting companies that are downsizing people. He travels way too much (about 300 days in a year) and his sole aim is to get 10 million frequent flier miles. The movie revolves around his lifestyle, his relationships and philosophies in life. Barring a few scenes that are slightly humorous, the movie makes the audience wait for something eventful to happen in the movie, which indeed does not.

I should call such movies 'straight-line' ones.

[P.S: Unless you visit the theatre to watch a movie you want to watch and that movie is booked and you dont have another choice, dont choose this movie!]

Avatar...

...makes me wonder how far one's imagination could go! James Cameroon has done a splendid job in writing such a creative story line. Apparently, he had this idea about 10 years ago and worked on this movie for 4 years before it released yesterday. The computer graphics are spell-binding and makes one completely forget that most of the movie is done through animation in the first place. Smallest details in the movie amazed me the most.

The movie starts grandly, becomes a little slow in the second half and later picks up pace/interest towards the end. If you have the opportunity, watch the movie in an IMAX. Or a 3D IMAX would even be better.

Bottom line: Fucking Awesome.

P.S: I hate to be one of those sky-people. But sadly, I am!

Invictus!

If one has not seen Nelson Mandela's photographs before, one could easily beleive Mr.Mandela is a hollywood actor. None could have performed the role of Nelson Mandela better than Morgan Freeman. Sports movies are typically inspirational, this one beats them all. The movie does scream Clint Eastwood's style in every scene.

Invictus - a fine movie!

P.S Did I say I'm a new fan of Matt Damon? And did I say my movie days are back? And did I say I've booked for Avatar IMAX 3D show for tonight? That's right!

Communication - thru characteristic facts!

As I was drinking my Pepsi during lunch, I looked at the tin and read the Calorie/Nutrition contents. It said calories:155 per container. It made me ponder a little about the Nutrition facts. There is not a single packed food item one could see in this country that does not come with the Nutrition facts. The reason must be the FDA regulations. Even Haldiram's Rasgulla tin, though packed in India, comes printed with the Nutrition facts.

It does give a very good insight into what kind of food one is dealing with. It helps one to understand a food or drink better before consuming it. It would be so nice if we get such an insight into people we interact with too.

One would assume it's an awesome idea to stamp people's foreheads with their 'Characteristic Facts'. It would certainly be nice to know one's fat and cholestrol content just by looking at them. Or perhaps their blood pressure rate and heart beat rate to judge their endurance before you say something stupid.

One can also be a little more creative and customize the 'Facts' differently for Men and Women. Men could have itemized information such as 'Potato chips Saturation Limit', 'TV endurance Level' or 'Sex craving limit' and women could have 'Shopping Spree Sensation', 'Footwear fantasy' or 'Weight consiousness limit'. Of course, all these in addition to the basic information. With all such collective information, one can stay away from people who seem complete nutcases. Or perhaps approach some with more ease.

This, if properly followed, I humbly think, would become a great leap in the field of effective human communication!

Nearest Exit

Couple of days ago, I was on my flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia. As the flight attendant announced the mandatory safety instructions, I was wondering what the real purpose of those instructions were, as not a single passenger to my knowledge cared to listen with the seriousness with which the instructions were given.

It occured to me that most passengers in the flight would have heard those safety instructions probably a million times before. Made me thinking why even announce when people seldom care. Such instructions would be helpful only for first time travellers or those with selective amnesia. But in a local flight in the US, I doubt how many of them could there be.

For flights operating in third world countries, I understand the need for such instructions (I remember how I stopped everything I was doing and listened to the instructions the first time I travelled from India). For most other countries, I think its a simple waste of time. One could agree and say that the airlines could possibly use the time to start serving the food a little early or on a red-eye, switch the damn lights off so that people could doze off.

Or we would know only when there is an emergency and when people scurry around to find the nearest exit! That would be fun to watch.

Baseball World series!

I was having a light phone conversation with a desi friend who lives in New York. He was watching Phillies vs Yankees baseball match on tv and as Phillies was on the verge of winning, he said something that a typical yankee fan would say when their team lose. I laughed at his reaction and said "okay!!! what difference is it going to make to us as to who wins these games anyways?"

He patriotically replied "Hey, I'm a yankee!". I laughed again and said "He! don't talk like a local" for which he replied "Yeah! I have lived in New york for about 5 years now!". I asked him "So, that makes you a die-hard fan of yankees, huh?! Its like when my friend asked all the H1s and F1s to control their emotions when they were talking too much about Obama and US elections. He asked them 'do any of you have voting rights here? Then shut up!"

My New york friend laughed at this and said "Baseball fascinates me, I even have a baseball glove in my house". I smiled, he continued "knowledge of baseball helps me have intelligent conversations at work". I agreed.

But this whole drama behind the Phillies victories in the world series is completely incredible. Most local tv channels mention Phillies at least once an hour, there is no single FM radio channel that does not talk about Phillies world series win. Wait a minute, did I say 'world series'? Shouldn't 'world' mean 'all countries'? The first time I heard the term 'world series', with my poor knowledge of baseball then (as much as I knew India doesn't play the game), I thought at least European nations paticipate in such series. Later I found out that only US states participate or even better, only US cities participate. Fantastic.

I'm not against the game, but the whole concept of having about 30 teams or so (all within US and a team from Canada) and then calling it a 'world series' is a little funny. Calling it 'National series' or 'American Championship', etc., would be a little apt. Though I hear that there are other countries that play baseball, they don't participate in such 'world series' making the whole term and American nomenclature debatable.

Nevertheless, I respect the enthusiasm and the fanfare behind the game. Living in the Philadelphia area, there has been so much going on because of recent Phillies sequence of victories. People come dressed in red most of the days to work and the HR gladly welcomes it. They even recommend every employee to sport a red phillies attire on friday and if one is not a fan, they say its a shame! Well well!

Zombieland..

...As I was driving out of the movie theatre parking lot, I felt like pressing the gas pedal and killing some zombies. That's how high one's spirit goes after watching the movie. On a serious note, if there was a movie one can laugh looking at disgusting blood-spewing zombies, this is it!

A definite entertainer!

Couples Retreat...

"I peed", says a kid in the very first scene and the movie begins. One thinks the movie might be fun. In about 15 minutes, one starts to yawn and realizes the first dialogue was the only 'fun' part in it. Except for some occasional humor, the movie is fucking boring.

Also, I haven't seen a movie where A R Rahman's re-recording is so poorly utilized.

Thu!

Getting acclimatized...a little too much!

Uncle sam's land seemingly influences some of their inherent traits to immigrants so effortlessly, even without one's apparent realization. I see this happen mostly to students/IT professionals, because they seem to interact with more Americans in a day than with desis.

I did not have this habit to saying 'You too' for many things when I was back in India. But this country has taught me enough to do so at least a good 10 times a day. This has become a habit, making me say it, even when not completely necessary.

Couple of months ago, as I was boarding a flight, the flight attendant, looked at my boarding pass and said 'You seat is on the left aisle sir'. I said 'Thank you'. She then added "Have a good flight sir'. I instantaneously said 'you too'. She gave a blank and a puzzled look. I moved on without looking back, feeling slightly stupid.

The other day, during my visit to a temple nearby, the priest offered me the 'crown of blessing' (or satari if you will) and mildly said 'Aayushmaanbhava'. Instantaneously I said 'you too!' He gave me the weirdest of looks, as if to ask 'are you ok?'. I shamelessly smiled back, realizing what a douchebag I was. He muttered something that appeared to me like 'hopeless!' and moved on.

The western traits seem to catch on desis after a prolonged stay in this place (in some cases after about a month or so). And where else is this evident if not in desi temples?! A visit to a desi temple in Uncle sam's land has always made me come home with a tinge of self-smiling humour. The various people I see, the way things are organized, the discipline people exhibit and of all, the priests themselves!

Most priests, either because they stay here for a long time or because they interact with 'American-turned-Desis' way too much, get acclimitized to the US culture so well. They tend do demonstrate some characteristics which one wouldn't get to see otherwise.

The other day, at a temple nearby, an old priest (who looked like he hailed from kumbakonam) asked me, "how you doin'?"

I said "Fine, how are you?".

He answered, "I'm good!".

I doubt if he would have cared as to how I did, if we both met in kumbakonam.

Later, when he distributed prasadham, he asked the person next to me "Are you good or you need more?" That seemed indigeniously American to me. After a while, as I was doing my pradhakshanam, I overheard two young priests talking enthusiastically about Yahoo-Microsoft merger and how it affected their stock prices. wow, I thought.

It's interesting to see how people catch up on local culture and get used to the land. Not that there is anything wrong about it, it just seems a little funny when the 'getting used to' part becomes a little too much at times!

27...

...seems BIG.

I have been been constantly growing older every single year for the past 27 years. Becoming 23 or 24 made me feel I was still young. 25 or 26 did not seem too bad either. But 27 somehow makes me feel I move into a totally different league. (From this morning, I keep calculating my age to reconfirm if I have become 27 for real!).

27 does seem BIG!

My experiences with Macbook!

I vividly remember the day I received my Dell Inspiron laptop, back in July'05. Being my first laptop, my excitement was simply uncontrollable, more than that of a child running behind an ice-cream truck. I purchased the laptop against all thoughts by people around me, advising me that a laptop will be of no use to somebody with a PC at work. When have I ever listened to people!

After four years of merciless usage (perhaps I should call it 'rape' for the lack of a better word), I decided to part with the laptop. I decided to give it to my dad, who got addicted to using it in the last 5 months. I wouldn't lose a 12 inch beauty like that without a bigger replacement. I have always had my eye on the MacBook and thanks to iPhone, my love on Apple only got doubled in the recent times.

There I was, last week, cringing and squirming at work, waiting unbearably for the MacBook to be shipped. I even left work early and for the next 5 hours, nothing mattered in this world – it was just me and the MacBook. I wanted to explore the MacBook and I did to my hearts content.

Having used the MacBook for a few days now, I thought I'll share some of my initial thoughts on using the Mac.

1. For a first time Mac user, I thought there'll be absolutely no learning to do. I was terribly wrong. End of first day, I wondered if I should buy the 'MacBook: Idiot's learning guide' book (if there was one).

2. There is a slight ramp-up curve involved, when one starts to use a MacBook. If somebody tells you that Macintosh is intuitive, laugh on their face. Seriously, do it. (I can't imagine the number of calls Apple customer service gets from people asking simple questions like 'how do I install this application? Or how do I disable applications from start-up?')

3. Most tasks which seems like a childs-play in a PC are not in a Mac. (I can't believe how many times I would have googled/asked my friend Amar for even simpler tasks, such as - how to make the Mac recognize my canon camera once I connect it!)

4. Wait a minute, my view has been too lop-sided, talking only about the cons of the macbook. All said and done, MacBook is a very successful product. It indeed has a lot of good features.

5. First comes the hardware. Their design definitely is much better than other PCs I have seen/used. With a light single-solid-aluminum unibody enclosure, the laptop is overall thin and light, yet being strong and durable. I certainly feel good when it sits on my lap.

6. Trackpad: My most favorite feature of the laptop. There is no specific mouse button, the trackpad is one large button. The trackpad seems so large, I can almost sleep and roll on it. And the umpteen cool 'jing-chaks' like pinch-the-trackpad to zoom in/out, rotate-fingers to rotate images, two-fingers-swipe to scroll, three-fingers-swipe to flip photos/pages, four-fingers-swipe to move windows and twenty-fingers-swipe to cast a vote at the White house. No, there is no twenty fingers feature yet!

7. Interface: Some of the cool features like Expose and Spaces, ichat (with video), Dashboard are definitely cool despite one's doubts of ever using them.

8. Other minor yet noticeable features such as magnetic charger connector, doorless CD slot, large separated keys, bright LED screen are certainly nice and does grab one's attention.

Overall, MacBook has definitely been a cooler gadget. But for some initial start-up glitches, I have been a satisfied Macbook owner.

I don't think it can ever match the intuitiveness of a PC, but only Apple could make a laptop like this!

Extract

If you want to watch a movie, which does not have huge up's and down's, yet trying to keep your attention in its own steady pace, maintaining the subtle day-today humour continuously and a fucking hilarious 1-minute climax, Extract is the movie you should watch!

P.S: I so am attracted towards owning a 5-series BMW and be the owner of a factory (in India).

The Passion contnues...

My penchant for photography has increased tremendously in the recent past. Anything I do in the weekends (or at times in the weekdays), I try and associate it with photography. I plan trips only if the place I visit is worth photographing (in my perspective). For the past 4 months, I have been dragging my parents to various destinations (and not to forget all those gazillion places I visited with Kavitha before that) with photographic thoughts more than anything else.

I amaze myself at the amount of time I spend taking pictures. There have been times I have spent two hours or so photographing a simple bridge or a lighthouse. Every single time, I would be surprised at how fast the time flies. I seriously have to give it to people who accompany me in such trips, God must have blessed them with abundant patience! I'm not sure if I would be waiting so patiently if I were them!

For somebody in my stage, every single photograph is a learning experience. Each photo is a challenge. Every photo makes me understand the technology better. More than the photo, what fascinates me is the time I spend planning for the moment, researching, taking the picture, feeling satisfied or taking the picture again with different settings or try everything all over.

A small example is yesterday's lazy afternoon. I was absolutely bored as parents were asleep after a tiring trip to Cleveland Air show the previous day. I was doing vetti browsing and stumbled upon some water-splash shots in the internet. After a few minutes of reading/researching, I was at my bathroom, with my camera sitting on the tripod aiming at the wash basin. With a glass bowl, a red backpack and some water, I came with this shot:

I took over 120 pictures to get about 4 shots I liked. I was quite satisfied, yet exploring my areas of improvement. Here is the setup I used (in case anyone is curious, I used the comb as the point to focus, as I expected the water to splash at the precisely that height and there was no other way to focus the water droplet!):

The other day, I also happened to read at somebody's Flickr photograph that that was his best photo and he would have died to take that picture 6 months ago. He also said he isn't sure where to go next. I was thinking about what he wrote. After a discussion with Amar, the guy who inspired me into photography in the first place, I realized maybe, when one feels they are perfect in what they do (and attained a relative success), they may stop doing it completely.

Currently, I display interest in photography, because I have a zillion things to learn. One day, if I feel I have attained the stage where there is nothing left to learn, I may stop. Or I may redirect the interest to a whole new dimension. Or I may just continue to learn. I dont know. I see some very good photographers redirecting their interest towards writing a book or selling their photographs, making a good business model out of them. Others just continue to take pictures with unexplicable self-content. I guess it all depends on how one wants to realize happiness.

Not sure where my appetite for photography takes me to, but it makes me want to travel more. It makes me want to do things I wouldn't otherwise do. It makes me spend more money. It makes me spend more time. It keeps me busy. It makes me learn. And finally, it makes me happy. Very happy!

[P.S: My photographs: www.flickr.com/photos/arunsundar]

Inglorious Basterds

First 10 minutes of the movie were like reading a good novel, delineating the strength and the smallest intricacies of the scene like nothing else! And the movie kept the pace and the rhythm moving tight till the very climax which was a fitting end to the movie in itself!

Brad pitt was awesome with his southern accent and Christoph Waltz rocked in his own style too!

There are not many movies where every scene makes you expectantly wait for the next. This one does for sure!