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!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
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!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Kandasamy...
... Dhandasamy. Worst screenplay I have ever seen in the recent times. Pathetic storyline, poor scene selection, unnecessary song sequences and stupid characterisation.Thu!
On a lighter note, I would have been happier if Vijay was the hero of this movie. With his experience, he would have added to the 'screw up' so professionally. And I take an oath not to see another tamil movie in theatres, unless its Mani Ratnam/Shankar's movie or the movie receives rave reviews.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Calling Names...
Today at one of the meetings at work, I heard somebody on the phone say a name called 'Shaayaamaala'. She seemed to be our client contact and soon everybody started calling her 'Shaayaamaala'. About 10 minutes into the meeting, somebody uttered her name once again and I had a sudden realisation that the person's name could actually be 'shyamala'. It never occurred to me that it could be an Indian name. As I was secretly laughing at the discovery, my super-smart project manager called her 'Shaayaalaama'. God help the names!
The way people named themselved and places must have gone through some complicated algorithms somewhere in the past. It can't be this tough for people of one geography to clearly say the name of someone from a different geography.
One of the my collegues (a desi who got his citizenship in this country recently) said that he is going to 'kali-fornia' that upcoming weekend. I asked myself 'really???!!'. I know people can screw-up certain names because of their cultural differences and language problems. But someone who has lived in this country for a long time should be able to say 'California' pretty neatly. I have never understood the logic behind people mispronouncing 'California'. But atleast I guess it's better than those middle aged desis who call it 'kali-porn-ia'!
One can argue that being a proper noun, names of people and places can be called however one likes to. But thats just plain stupid. This basic cultural difference can go a long way, I still get a hearty laughter when I think of this Cindy-Guindy episode and habanadha episode. Language is a great source of humour I think.
Nevertheless, I like blogging more than ever these days. The more meetings I attend at work, more thoughts I get. I'm telling you - people are so funny!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Question against advice...
I have always had this question in my mind. How will one not wasting food at one place help hungry people starving in Africa? It would make sense if we cook less food in the first place leading to decreased consumption or even better, donating/contributing food/money to suffering people. Wasting cooked food makes no difference to African people, other than reflecting a poor attitude.
P.s: I hate wasting food myself - this post is not aimed at supporting 'food wastage', but the plain idiocy of comparing it to povery elsewhere.
P.s: I hate wasting food myself - this post is not aimed at supporting 'food wastage', but the plain idiocy of comparing it to povery elsewhere.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Laugh'aholic!
I was at one of those otherwise dull meetings at work this morning. Today, unusually, the whole environment was sort of active. People were smiling and talks about baseball and what not! There was a lighter conversation and I said something that was slightly funny. The lady next to me churned an explosive laughter that rocked the whole room. I was almost thrown out of my chair.
She continued nevertheless. And more I said anything, she only laughed more. I wasn't sure if she was mocking, but I didn't drill into that thought-process, for obvious selfish reasons. She was definitely LOUD. The other people in the room joined, some cracking more jokes, some laughing uncontrollably and at one point, I even doubted if there was laughing gas being sprayed from the AC vent.
I was almost sure that some people were laughing by just looking at other people laugh. When I come to think about it, it is indeed funny to just look at some people laugh.
I have a friend who starts to sing when she laughs. She'll laugh to her heart's content and then when she is done (when her brain no longer sends the signal to laugh), she'll try to prolong that laughing sound, as if she wouldn't want to stop. It'll seem like she's singing the final verses of a song without knowing the lyrics, yet with high enthusiasm.
One of my friends in college used to look fairly skinny, but when you make her laugh, you'll be surprised at how such a high frequency laughter could come out of such a small body. At times, I wonder if her high-pitched laughter would make one regret cracking a joke in the first place.
Some people burst the first laughter out and then continue it silently, as if they were almost slightly embarrassed of the burst. Some people laugh which might sound as if they sneezed.
In general, I have an unclear feeling that there is a stronger association between fat people and noisy laughter. The other day, I was watching an episode of 'Deal or No deal' (a TV game show) in NBC and a hyper-actively-enthusiastic-cant-control-her-emotions participant (a fat lady) got excited for every single box she opened that the host of the show almost had to close his ears (mockingly of course). I had to lower the TV volume atleast 10 times during the show.
As much as its exciting to get the the joke, at times, one can just look at people who already got the joke and still laugh their heart out.
Laughter, well...I'm telling you...in itself is funny!
She continued nevertheless. And more I said anything, she only laughed more. I wasn't sure if she was mocking, but I didn't drill into that thought-process, for obvious selfish reasons. She was definitely LOUD. The other people in the room joined, some cracking more jokes, some laughing uncontrollably and at one point, I even doubted if there was laughing gas being sprayed from the AC vent.
I was almost sure that some people were laughing by just looking at other people laugh. When I come to think about it, it is indeed funny to just look at some people laugh.
I have a friend who starts to sing when she laughs. She'll laugh to her heart's content and then when she is done (when her brain no longer sends the signal to laugh), she'll try to prolong that laughing sound, as if she wouldn't want to stop. It'll seem like she's singing the final verses of a song without knowing the lyrics, yet with high enthusiasm.
One of my friends in college used to look fairly skinny, but when you make her laugh, you'll be surprised at how such a high frequency laughter could come out of such a small body. At times, I wonder if her high-pitched laughter would make one regret cracking a joke in the first place.
Some people burst the first laughter out and then continue it silently, as if they were almost slightly embarrassed of the burst. Some people laugh which might sound as if they sneezed.
In general, I have an unclear feeling that there is a stronger association between fat people and noisy laughter. The other day, I was watching an episode of 'Deal or No deal' (a TV game show) in NBC and a hyper-actively-enthusiastic-cant-control-her-emotions participant (a fat lady) got excited for every single box she opened that the host of the show almost had to close his ears (mockingly of course). I had to lower the TV volume atleast 10 times during the show.
As much as its exciting to get the the joke, at times, one can just look at people who already got the joke and still laugh their heart out.
Laughter, well...I'm telling you...in itself is funny!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Company - most needed, perhaps!
One's life changes in more than one way, when one lives with company.
A while ago, I used to live this 'give-a-damn-about-anything' life, where nothing seemed like a big deal. Watching 3 movies a week used to be a minimum requirement. Back to back movies and regular midnight shows used to be more than habitual. For the last three years, I could almost count the number of fridays I would not have gone to the movie theatre. One could bet and spot me at a Loews/AMC on any friday somewhere between 8pm and 12am.
Now, for the past 2 months I have seen 2 movies - UP and Hangover. It would be funny if I attempt to say I was busy. I was not.
A while ago, eating out regularly in restaurants has been a norm in my life. Thanks to kavitha, not many restaurants in Phili area has been left out. During normal workdays, I used to have breakfast at dunkin, lunch at subway/Chipotle/Quiznos/Pizzeria and dinner once again at Subway/Chipotle/Quiznos/Pizzeria. I have spent months not visiting my kitchen.
Now, for the past 2 months I have harldy eaten out more than 10 times. It would be funny if I attempt to say I was cooking. I was not.
A while ago, sleeping in the evening hours used to be a mandatory activity like bathing and eating. I used to come home from work and sleep away to glory for about 4 to 5 hours. I wake up in time for my offshore call, yak for about half hour and then watch tv/talk on phone/browse for the next 3 to 4 hours. I used to hit the bed around 3am. Weekends are only worser.
Now, for the past 2 months I would have slept in the evening hours maybe twice and I goto bed not later than 1 am. It would be funny if I attempt to say I have changed my habits. I have not.
A while ago, I used to write blogs without recursively typing the same stuff over and over. I used to write one line movie reviews. I used to write short stories. I used to post comments on fellow bloggers blogposts. I used to tweet more often.
Now, for the past 2 months I write the same type of sentences over and over in a single blog (like this one). I can't control my laughter if I attempt to say I'm trying something different. I am not.
I have my parents with me. I don't miss movies. I dont miss abnormal sleeping habit. I dont miss being active in the web. Yet, I feel good. I'm happier.
One's life changes in more than one way, when one lives with company.
A while ago, I used to live this 'give-a-damn-about-anything' life, where nothing seemed like a big deal. Watching 3 movies a week used to be a minimum requirement. Back to back movies and regular midnight shows used to be more than habitual. For the last three years, I could almost count the number of fridays I would not have gone to the movie theatre. One could bet and spot me at a Loews/AMC on any friday somewhere between 8pm and 12am.
Now, for the past 2 months I have seen 2 movies - UP and Hangover. It would be funny if I attempt to say I was busy. I was not.
A while ago, eating out regularly in restaurants has been a norm in my life. Thanks to kavitha, not many restaurants in Phili area has been left out. During normal workdays, I used to have breakfast at dunkin, lunch at subway/Chipotle/Quiznos/Pizzeria and dinner once again at Subway/Chipotle/Quiznos/Pizzeria. I have spent months not visiting my kitchen.
Now, for the past 2 months I have harldy eaten out more than 10 times. It would be funny if I attempt to say I was cooking. I was not.
A while ago, sleeping in the evening hours used to be a mandatory activity like bathing and eating. I used to come home from work and sleep away to glory for about 4 to 5 hours. I wake up in time for my offshore call, yak for about half hour and then watch tv/talk on phone/browse for the next 3 to 4 hours. I used to hit the bed around 3am. Weekends are only worser.
Now, for the past 2 months I would have slept in the evening hours maybe twice and I goto bed not later than 1 am. It would be funny if I attempt to say I have changed my habits. I have not.
A while ago, I used to write blogs without recursively typing the same stuff over and over. I used to write one line movie reviews. I used to write short stories. I used to post comments on fellow bloggers blogposts. I used to tweet more often.
Now, for the past 2 months I write the same type of sentences over and over in a single blog (like this one). I can't control my laughter if I attempt to say I'm trying something different. I am not.
I have my parents with me. I don't miss movies. I dont miss abnormal sleeping habit. I dont miss being active in the web. Yet, I feel good. I'm happier.
One's life changes in more than one way, when one lives with company.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Algorithm at a urinal!
One trivia I may never fathom completely is the amount of importance women give to the position of their seating in a restaurant or a movie theatre. In resturants, when offered a choice to select the seat, I happily defer it to the women, for I have always known the seating position for some reason seems vital to them. The same happens at a movie theatre too. But if I go out to eat with guys, I'm sure the last thing that will go on in any of our minds is where we sit in the restaurant. We go to eat. We eat.
Thinking about how much of importance guys attach to such situations, one thing that perplexes me is the algorithm behind the urinal selection in a men's room. That's right!
When a guy enters a restroom, among various thoughts running across his mind, there must be one complicated algorithm to select the urinal of his choice. Factors that may act as inputs to his algorith may include (but not restricted only to) distance, cleanliness, access and juxtaposition.
If there are a series of urinals, some people select the one that's right in the middle, yet having unoccupied urinals on either side. Some choose to walk to the farthest end of the restroom to begin the work. Some always select the ones closest to the hand-wash area or the exit. Some never use urinals - they directly go to the flush toilets.
I have a friend who cant pee when someone talks to him or make him laugh. Such people have their own modified algorithm, bringing more factors into consideration before taking the final decision.
One may conclude that there are a lot of such activities and calculations going in a restroom, not to forget this. Most algorithms, I guess can't be generalised, for as they say 'To each his own'.
Only if one closely observes the human behaviour, such unsolved mysteries can be attempted for a proven solution. Only if.
Thinking about how much of importance guys attach to such situations, one thing that perplexes me is the algorithm behind the urinal selection in a men's room. That's right!
When a guy enters a restroom, among various thoughts running across his mind, there must be one complicated algorithm to select the urinal of his choice. Factors that may act as inputs to his algorith may include (but not restricted only to) distance, cleanliness, access and juxtaposition.
If there are a series of urinals, some people select the one that's right in the middle, yet having unoccupied urinals on either side. Some choose to walk to the farthest end of the restroom to begin the work. Some always select the ones closest to the hand-wash area or the exit. Some never use urinals - they directly go to the flush toilets.
I have a friend who cant pee when someone talks to him or make him laugh. Such people have their own modified algorithm, bringing more factors into consideration before taking the final decision.
One may conclude that there are a lot of such activities and calculations going in a restroom, not to forget this. Most algorithms, I guess can't be generalised, for as they say 'To each his own'.
Only if one closely observes the human behaviour, such unsolved mysteries can be attempted for a proven solution. Only if.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
B2...
By virtue of inviting company, one graduates to a coveted position of a respectful son and in the process, obviating even the slightest house hold work done otherwise and basking in the seduction of opulent meal three times a day (at times four), to ultimately end up as one seasoned lazy bum.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Cell phone driving - What's your IQ?!
This afternoon, I was driving back to work from lunch and I was talking on cell phone. No hands-free, no speaker phone. Regular hand held style. State-law here restricts usage of hand-held phones while driving. I saw a cop in distance and immediately switched to speaker phone.
A strange thought occured to Kabali. He has been driving cars for about 6 years now. He loves driving so much and believes strongly if one loves to do an activity, one performs well in that field. Also, because of cell phone driving, he has never committed any mistakes such as having the car shift lanes without control nor run over the curb nor miss a traffic light.
But not all people may be good at such multi-tasking. Some people do screw up. It was mentioned in the web somewhere that more than 30% of accidents in the UK last year were due to cell phone driving.
Kabali's argument is that the IQ level of such people must be quite low. Yes, IQ level!
Here is his recommendation: When a cop pulls over, he should conduct a quick IQ test on the driver. If the IQ level is good enough, the cop could conclude that the person is capable of multi-tasking without any problems and should let the driver go. If the IQ level is low, then he can issue a violation ticket for cell phone driving.
I'm basing the argument on the logic that every single human being is different and that their capability on doing different things vary too. Having said that, I don't understand how the law and order can be so generalised. Atleast in areas where it could be customized for people, it should be.
Kabali honestly thinks so.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How Blogging is like sex?
Beware: PG13.
Blogging can be directly compared to only one aspect of real life - Sex after marriage. I‘m 98.9986978% sure.
When one starts to blog, the inexplicable happiness of expressing and sharing would make one want to write more. Writing good blogposts would make one a delightful person, because of the ‘happiness partaking’ that happens. Like the sex after marriage.
In the early days of blogging, one would want to write a minimum of one blogpost a day or at times even multiple posts a day. Most times, all one would think of is to do nothing but write a blogpost. Like the sex after marriage.
But things don’t seem to remain the same. The priorities change, interests shift and thoughts drift. The frequency of blogpost falls with time. The number reduces from one post a day to one post a week, then to once a month and eventually to 'maybe I should visit my blog and see how it looks'. Like the sex after marriage.
The author is not smart enough to experience the above phenomena yet. But he is smart enough to think!
Blogging can be directly compared to only one aspect of real life - Sex after marriage. I‘m 98.9986978% sure.
When one starts to blog, the inexplicable happiness of expressing and sharing would make one want to write more. Writing good blogposts would make one a delightful person, because of the ‘happiness partaking’ that happens. Like the sex after marriage.
In the early days of blogging, one would want to write a minimum of one blogpost a day or at times even multiple posts a day. Most times, all one would think of is to do nothing but write a blogpost. Like the sex after marriage.
But things don’t seem to remain the same. The priorities change, interests shift and thoughts drift. The frequency of blogpost falls with time. The number reduces from one post a day to one post a week, then to once a month and eventually to 'maybe I should visit my blog and see how it looks'. Like the sex after marriage.
The author is not smart enough to experience the above phenomena yet. But he is smart enough to think!
Update: After the last post, I got a new camera and did a super cool trip this weekend. I'm feeling happy!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
What I didn't want to happen...
Last saturday, for the first time in this country, I felt deprived. There are certain incidents in life that we hear about, but it never bothers us because we'll be certain that it'll never happen to us. But apparently, at times, it does.
As a welcome break from the winter, the recent weeks have been bright and sunny. Past saturday was no exception. I set off to Longwood gardens with Kavitha, had a great time clicking pictures of tulips and lillies in the 1200 acres of garden land. Some of the photos turned out quite well, made me one real glad dude.
I had planned to end the day watching the movie 'Soloist'. There I was at King of Prussia mall movie theatre for the 7.30pm show. Movie was very good. I came out of the theatre at around 9.40pm laughing away and cracking jokes, only to see glass pieces strewn around the sides of my car. A chill ran down my spine.
I rushed to the car and found that my rear window was broken open. My backpack with the camera was not seen. My heart almost stopped. My camera being taken away is the last thing I wished in my life. And there it had happened - I could do nothing. I felt a strange fear. And my friend's laptop bag was missing too (not with laptop, but with books et al).
I immediately called 911. Ten minutes later, a cop arrived, enquired about the theft, asked some basic questions, prepared a police report and gave it to me.
I asked her about the odds of getting my stuff back. She calmly replied that the closest surveilence camera was quite far from the place I parked my car and that it rotates, creating abundant blind spots. Also, such thefts happen in less than 30 seconds, making it impossible to capture clear evidence in the surveilence camera. In my mind, the answer translated to a 'You wont get the camera back'. That, from a cop in the second largest mall in US.
Of all my gadgets, there are two things I love the most - my camera and my phone. I would have given most of what I have to get my camera back. But at times, life appears to hit hard. Very hard. Along with the camera, I also lost my bluetooth headset (a gift), my iphone earphones, work ID card and such day-today stuffs. Hearty good bye to all of them.
I have applied for claim through my renter's insurance and hope I get some money back - keeping my fingers crossed.
And in parallel, I'm researching for my next camera, hopefully a better one! And I promise to myself that I'll never keep bags visible in my car.
All said and done, I just cant forget this day that easily. Life seems bitterly unfair.
Update: Couple of weeks later, I got a new camera and did a super cool trip this weekend. I'm feeling happy!
As a welcome break from the winter, the recent weeks have been bright and sunny. Past saturday was no exception. I set off to Longwood gardens with Kavitha, had a great time clicking pictures of tulips and lillies in the 1200 acres of garden land. Some of the photos turned out quite well, made me one real glad dude.
I had planned to end the day watching the movie 'Soloist'. There I was at King of Prussia mall movie theatre for the 7.30pm show. Movie was very good. I came out of the theatre at around 9.40pm laughing away and cracking jokes, only to see glass pieces strewn around the sides of my car. A chill ran down my spine.
I rushed to the car and found that my rear window was broken open. My backpack with the camera was not seen. My heart almost stopped. My camera being taken away is the last thing I wished in my life. And there it had happened - I could do nothing. I felt a strange fear. And my friend's laptop bag was missing too (not with laptop, but with books et al).
I immediately called 911. Ten minutes later, a cop arrived, enquired about the theft, asked some basic questions, prepared a police report and gave it to me.
I asked her about the odds of getting my stuff back. She calmly replied that the closest surveilence camera was quite far from the place I parked my car and that it rotates, creating abundant blind spots. Also, such thefts happen in less than 30 seconds, making it impossible to capture clear evidence in the surveilence camera. In my mind, the answer translated to a 'You wont get the camera back'. That, from a cop in the second largest mall in US.
Of all my gadgets, there are two things I love the most - my camera and my phone. I would have given most of what I have to get my camera back. But at times, life appears to hit hard. Very hard. Along with the camera, I also lost my bluetooth headset (a gift), my iphone earphones, work ID card and such day-today stuffs. Hearty good bye to all of them.
I have applied for claim through my renter's insurance and hope I get some money back - keeping my fingers crossed.
And in parallel, I'm researching for my next camera, hopefully a better one! And I promise to myself that I'll never keep bags visible in my car.
All said and done, I just cant forget this day that easily. Life seems bitterly unfair.
Update: Couple of weeks later, I got a new camera and did a super cool trip this weekend. I'm feeling happy!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
State of Play
...a movie which keeps one up through-out, even during a back to back movie session (after watching this) and the show timing being 12 am. Ben Affleck was naturally good, Russel Crowe seemed being at his coolest best, and Rachel McAdams as cute as ever! A good movie.
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