whatever gets you going...

well i know some movies where this has been used in a very different sense...but here, it was quoted by the great mai in an elevator, and meant whatever inspires you...forget the context, but somehow found it really powerful. and thought provoking.

do the means justify the ends...thats what this statement asks...is flirting justified if it makes you happy, is smoking justified if it helps you think,

well, don't know, its a tough question, and differs from each situation, from each perspective. but sometimes i think, as long as you are not hurting someone permanently, as long as you are thinking of the greater good, i think its fine to take support of something which other wise might not be justified, might not be right.

anyhoo...another thing which was said was that its ok to go around with girls and take emotional support if ur in a foreign country, as you don't have anyone else and are lonely. well, i don't think it every is, but as long as both parties know what it is that they are getting into, have their expectations set, and are tranparent and honest, temperory emotional attachments are fine. as long as they don't permanently scar, but don't think that happens, everything scars you, leaves a mark.

saw a couple of nice movies today, three actually, Loving Leah was sometime back, wrote about it in a pervious post. nice movie, quiet different in the sense it deals with a very real situations, which might actually happen, talks about a girls husband dying and her having to marry her husbands brother because of some tradition, and how they finally fall in love. the movie is very relevant to the indian society, where girls get married at really young age, many times having to sacrifice their dreams, their idea of a life...in this case she gets a chance to get her life back. i know someone who got married at 18...today at 31, she is a very lively female, had a lot of fun, which suprises me. wonder what it must have been to get married so early.

well that was one, the other was breach which is a true story about a CIA mole, couple of things, its kind of a biopic, how a mole gets caught, doesn't have any action, just a plain movie which tells a story. not very entertaining in the sense it doesn't keep you rooted to your seat, but then it does tell a story. its a true story...and at the end, like any other true story, has these 'what happened after' scrolls...and somehow these scrolls make the true story truer...i always wait for them, they kind of add to the authenticity of the movie, weird. also i don't know why, but a true story always becomes a higher rated movie for me then a made up one, well its got less of a creative input, there is not story made up, so why, i guess, just because it actually happened, so its not made up, you get to say 'well these things do happen'.

what else, yea, '10 things i hate about you', its a yuppy love movie....american school flick. but somehow, although it has some of the stupid gags that such movies (pointing to american pie) usually have, its also makes sense. the pretty girls attitude of falling for money and looks, the stuck up girls attitude of wanting to liked for her brains and being a rebel, the fathers concerns and his struggles to let go and hold on, and heath ledger. well watch it when you just want to enjoy a very light movie.

heath ledger, he was almost a nobody, and if he'd have gone the way he did, he would have been a nobody. but he became the joker and now is immortal. am not sure if the depression came because of the performance or the performance came because of the depression, i think the latter.

but here's the question, the great mai, when told that it was maybe the right time to go, right at the top, no one will question you ever, just remember that one last performance which made you memorabel, said, whats the point, ur dead.

agreed, you are dead, but then you are also immortal. its like the picture of the buddhist monk sitting in the fire, burning alive for a cause. will you do it, take up a cause, and take an extreme step, knowing that if you accomplish what you started out for, you won't be there to enjoy it...allt he people who kill themselves to protest something, i am sure, partly, they have the fact of becoming immortal at the back of their minds, but then, immotality is something you can't enjoy yourself, so it their a point to it.

just a question, you'll only come to know when u get into a situation like that, and i hope someday you do. one way or the other, you'd have lived a bit more.

later...

ank

i told someone its gonna be a packed weekend...well it sure was an eventfull one...a party worth calling a party after a long time...3am trips to get stuff...and discovering that the person you went to get it from and the person you went to get it for, both have crashed...talking to good friends late at night, and then working all evening, being the owner and getting appreciated for it, early morning show of kaminey, second time, celeberating ganesh chaturthi by eating like ganesh...and then a first datec (kinda) at twenty-eight (made it rhyme see) and a pleasant one at that, sharing friends with someone after a long time, discovering more then smelly cat..and getting to know about the new age english songs...finally sleeping, and then my first past midnight issue...which i got resolved...so yea, an eventfull weekend, not over yet though.

anyways that was the personal blog part of it, now what i really have been wanting to write about...kaminey.

well first things first, i don't understand the name, itni kaminapanti dikhayee nahi hai movie main, could have been named something better. don't have any suggestions but could have been something else...

except for the name, i loved everything about it. this i think would be the first movie in hindi cinema, which makes you stick to the seat. you cannot loose attention for a minute, or else you are lost, the movie stops making sense.

a lot has already been written, shahids acting, the so natural fexy and s..ss..ss..science, and the amazing cinematography, the movie looked like a home video of an amazing quality, the music, and the background score, the dhan ta nan, which actually gets your pulse racing, the acting by everyone else...the jokes which make you laugh unexpectedly, they just popped up. and the chills. this girl (who was there with a date, who was a south indian and din't understand hindi so much, and kept on asking her to translate, was also kind oversmart, tyring to laugh at stuff, the girl was kind of on one of those 'so what, atleast i get to watch a movie' dates, and interested in the movie, in her popcorn and in her cola...thats it.) sitting next to me today actually spilled her cola and popcorn in shock when charlie hits guddu in one of the scenes. the direction was brilliant, was it in the league of tarantino and guy ritchie...well don't know, but it surely was topnotch by indian standards.

so what else can i say...knowning me you know i have something to say...

so heregoes...

i have written in some movie review on this blog, that only if filmmakers had the patience they would achieve perfection, well this movie did. there was not one thing that i thought was out of place, was not required, or could have been added. it was quite perfect.

why did people not like it...well some didn't understand it, the movie was kind of too confusing for them, and they just lost interest, these were also the people who said the movie didn't have a story. some didn't like the violence, well it was rated 'A' and rightly so, whatever Shahid has to say, a movie with a dialogu like 'pyaar ke beech main koi teesra nahi aana chahiye' and has a 'everyone dies in the end' gang war scene at the end, should be rated Adult. a lot of people didn't like it because it didn't give a message, well not everything does. sometimes there are just movies which entertain, which don't leave you all brooding afterwards. hell i am sucker for such movies, but doesn't mean there can't be pure entertainers like these ones, and well you can take out a message out of anything.

well for me it was perfection, three cheers to Vishal Bharadwaj. the third really good movie this year, after Slumdog and Dev.D...three movies which actually started a debate, and for me anythign that stirs up emotions, did its job really well.

and yea almost forgot...for people looking for a message, the starting song shot at kamathipura...about using protection, well that was a message. and so was the mumbai vs bombay thingy...remember Shahids dialogue, 'tab yea bombai hi tha'.

go watch it, and watch it again...

me off to sleep now, ah wait gotta wait for dawn.

take care.

ank

PS...more conversational style...someone told me she likes it. but then its just they way i write now a days, not something on purpose.

cost of not doing the right thing...

there was some stats somewhere that packaged water is more expensive then cola's...well not sure about that, but was thinking, we actually pay for water now a days. during my MBA it really surprised me that students use to by aquafina bottles and not drink from the coolers.

and then the other day i saw this advert by an america company which certified water, they basically test packaged water and certify, kind of an ISI mark for water.

saw this three vehicle carrying 20lt cans yesteday and something stuck me, how much premium are we made to pay because someone somewhere was not honest, didnot do the right thing, took the easier shorter route...

think about it, was was always clean, you could take out water from the well, and drink out of the tap. then we screwed up the environments, and polluted all water sources, so now we need to put in purifies, and start drinking packaged water. till a time there was Bisleri, everyone trusted it, then came the cheaper brands, wich were cheaper, but didnot purify water either...so now there are certifying agencies.

a bottle of bisleri cost so much no only because of the purifying costs and transportation, but also because bisleri has to change its bottle design, put in safety caps et al because people copy it and come out with duplicates.

so well my point is...we pay so much more for someone else being dishones, and someone does for us taking the shorter route.

am in software, and was a civil engg when i used to enjoy my work...both professions major costs are around quality control and assurance. but if you make it right the first time, and keep on doing so, even if you spend more time doing it, after a time testing won't be required, because assurance about quality will be built in. but no, we won't build it right the first time, because then how can we charge for all the add on's, all the testing, all the bugfixes. Microsoft is a $52 billion company right!!!

just wondering if we don't actually waste so much money wasting what we did wrong in the first place, and put it into new ideas, the world would be a better place and at a very cheap cost.

later.

animal conspiracy...

its like all the animals / birds / reptiles are coming together and attacking the human race...bird flu...now swine flu. good for them i say, someone should.

anyways just something to start with. and below are just random things somewhere connected to the swine flu...

it started in US, and mr shr1 who sits next to me at work, always the funny one, when heard that someone from the ny office was visiting said, "unhe bolo abhi naa aaye..." and i said why and he goes..."swine flu dude!!!". so finally the tables have turned huh? that day there was change in what i thought of us Indians. i thought we were humble by nature, but appraently we not really humble, we were just poor and opressed. sorry for sounding like that...i am proud of being an indian, really love it, but i like being humble, i don't want to reject people just because they are sick, or judge them because they are colored (pointing towards some of my friends judging african junta in blr). well we have been there, so why judeg others when we are somewhat past it??? i am very surprised at how a little bit of money and a little bit of a western life style, a little bit of booze and parties, makes us forget everything. where we start questioning movies like slumdog, saying thats not what india is...well india is all that, and far more. so lets not forget who we are and where we are coming from...lets not let it hold us down...but lets not also loose our humility.

too many 'lets'...a clear indication that i am sermonising again (english for gyaan dena :-) )

watching this nice movie 'loving leah', should be in other part of the blog, and i should be going to work, but what the hell, my boss somehow got the idea that i am on vacation...

so one more thing about swine flu...its just started in india, well 5 deaths till now in blr, but you already see a lot of people wearing masks. my friends don't want to go watch 'kaminey' (which is a must watch by the way) because they don't want to go to public places. well one, its overreacting and second, its reacting in the first place. i remember the time when plague broke out in Surat, i was in Ahd, but for a long long time, even as the news kept on coming, people didn't react. life was normal. but now, 10 years later, people have started reacting. its only in the cities, and guess only in the IT cities (pune, blr, hyd) but people are reacting. as i wrote some time back, guess once you don't have to worry about food, and clothes and housing...that you can start worrying about wearing masks to protect urself from swine flu.

well i don't have to worry about the first, and i am not gonna worry about the swine flu, puts too many restrictions on you. too much to give up not to get swine flu.

anyways...one more thing. so was reading all the advisories on swine flu, and one said that it is swine flu can be prevent far more if the people who have it wear masks, rather then people who are not infected. so now everytime i see a person wearing a mask, i wonder whether s/he alreayd has it?

later.

ank

how real do we want reality shows to be...

the earliest instance of a reality show i can rememeber is the truman show...a movie where Jim Carrey lives his entire life on a make believe movie set town, with everyone around him an actor playing a part which is scripted. the only unknown is truman...but his behaviour is also moulded, his actions directed by a Godman director...nice movie...asks a lot of questions.

but apparently reality shows have been their since 1930's, candid camera was one of the first such show.

why this, well have been thinking about reality shows for a long time, and today there is this story in ToI, rakhi sawant after her swayamvar is now working on another reality show where she and her new hubby take care of their new born...

it was revolting just to read this, imagine the kid. even at that age, it will leave an impression.

anyways to a larger question, are reality shows really real, and if they are, how much reality should you show, and what are the effects of it?

well i don't think reality shows of the kind where random people are put in situation is really real. even if there isin't a script, the made up situations they need to deal with, the way the host's prod them with leading questions, heck, the way the participants are chosen (roadies has most from Chandigarh and Delhi, people you know are more on likely to fight and play politics and be flashy), everything is scripted in such a way that the outcomes are almost known. they know that masala makes viewers watch...and everything is scripted such that it evokes a lot of masala.

the counter argument people give, is that, well, its reality, this actually happens in families, if you put random people together, thats exactly how they will react. well agreed that there is always politics, malicious ways and strategizing, but not in such compressed form. there isn't so much of it in a one month period is there? and also the reactions might be natural, but the situations are made up...

should everything be shown, NO...please, there are somethings i don't want to see, i don't want anyone wants to see. all we are doing is showing behaviour which other wise is revolting and making the audience think that it is fine, part of life. the audience, us, become conditioned to accept such behaviour. we are promoting the evil side of humans, conditioning us to say, its part of life, chalta hai, sab karte hai...

and frankly, unless you have some sort of evil, the shows won't sell. even an innocent show like "Jon & Kate + 8" had a jump in viewership once they couple started drifting apart!!!

i guess, reality shows are fine, but as long as they are moderated. there are shows like the amazing race, Alaskan Experiment, man vs wild, jon & Kate + 8, all reality shows, but moderated versions, which actually show reality and coaxed up reality.

and where are all the funny serials gone...i don't see a single good comedy on the hindi channels, even the english one's have pathetic ones...

i wonder why...

people don't say what needs to be said...why men don't talk...why because of one thing which cannot be said, an entire conversation comes to a stop and two people just sit like zombies...their heads talking continously to each others but their lips not moving at all...

i wonder why...one small disagreement, or maybe one big disagreement washes away all the agreements that their were...why we give so much importance to one small thing...so much that it takes priority to everything else.

wonder why we can't live a more disjointed life, where everything is so connected, that with one negative thing, we convert everything into a negative...

wonder how illogiacally our head thinks or our heart feels that one fight makes us forget all the good times spent.

wish our hearts and heads were more chamberised...i would put all the negatives in one chamber, and stop the blood supply to it...!

well i wish...i wish we could talk more freely....and not let this one small make words get stuck like lumps in our throats...i wish...

abstract post...later.

btw, the couple fighting in the bus below...was exactly this, so much being said, but the lips were not moving at all...!

to the glorified paperweight...

2 years now...and this has been my best gadget ever. a constant companion, useful for everything...the swiss knife of gadgets, now reduced to a paper weight, a super intelligent one at that though

i bought it in NY, was the first to in my group, and big group at that. Bought from the 5th avenue apple store, at 12 in the night on a spur of the moment decision. And most importantly without knowing if would be able to unlock it. So basically i bet $400 on this...but man, never did i expect such returns.

we spent the next three days unlocking it...me and sirji, well sirji did almost everything, but I helped out. Everything done (and here everything is basically a 39 step guide, to jailbreak and unlock and later virginise it as well, making sure you don't brick it!!!), we needed to test it. And to get the sim out needed a pin...and an india sim. Woke up two girls at one in the night..got shouted at but got both the sim and the pin, and voila it worked.
Btw one of the two, the termperamental but loving cancerian named it 'a glorious paperweight' on this blog...

30 odd were bought between 60 of us...i carried three in my cargo pockets.

it became a constant companion...was always there attached to my waist...with the earphones snaking out to my ears...and it was there when i had my accident. i remember opening my eyes, and the first thing i saw was it sliding away, at that moment seemed like it was floating away from me. with all my injuries i was more worried about it...it got more bruised then i did, mine atleast got healed, it still has the deep scars over its back, scars which make it special and different, and tells people that its lived a full life. scars which also gave it a much needed grip...i don't have to hold it tightly anymore...

and then function by function it started dying...the virbrating part first...thanks to sirji and his horribly misdirected kick meant for my butt...and then the dead spots. started with 'p' and 'l' and the 'x'. o was the new p in my dictionary...Prachi was saved as orachi...priyanka as oriyanka!!! it was upgraded and virginised, not once but repeatedly...and it got scarred, and started complaining. the 'send' on the msg UI died...when i wanted to send a hundred msg's a day...

and then it became a cranky old guy...sending messages and making calls on its own, from a touch phone it became a hover phone...no need to touch any more, and then finally, today, its a wind sensitive phone. just put it under the fan, and it will start making calls, changing screens.

today it cannot be unlocked, and it cannot be switched off...an entire strip on the right hand side is dead...

but it still is legendary, my iphone. it still evokes conversations everywhere...it still gets me interested looks...it still makes me look with interest...

the iphone has to be the best gadget ever made...a game changer and a conversation starter. an evolving platform, which has the potentail to provide every function required...and more. it already is...anyone who doesn't agree, who still think there are other comparable phones...nothing comes even close.

this is for my iphone...i might have given up on you...but you will always be there with me, and i will try to keep you alive as long as possible....

long live the iphone!!!

feel like blogging

not a really good title is it...was bloggin in a bus sometime back on my BB, mailed it to myself.

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One of those times where you really wanna blog but don't know how.
Am in a bus going to the airport to pick up dad, first time we will be spending alone time ever.
There's a couple sitting opposite to me, at some distance though..have a very cute baby. Good looking couple, both belong to each other. Well this would explain better, remember phoebe telling chandler, you see all these great looking girls with nothing guys...you could be that. Well this is not one of those couples.
But sth's wrong. They just had a fight or are at a very uncertain place, sth like that. fight meaning argument kinds, uncertain place meaning came to know something they didnot prepare for, were not ready for and so are still digesting the fact. looks like the first though, are not talking to each other, but they steal these glances at each other with the bahana of looking at the baby. Quite cute.
Its like they both wanna talk, have so many things to say, but pehla kaun walla funda hai...the husband has this totally blank expression on his face, as if he trying not to think at all. the lady, pretty lady, keeps on getting these expressions on her face, she is thinking it over, scenes flashing in her head, and her reaction to the scene can be seen on her face. it lights up when she feels love, and she purses her lips when feeling guitly...
The baby is cute..just sitting in her father's lap, and has her chin supported with a finger, well not really but from a distance looks like that. Under the circumstances is a very appropriate pose and quiet funny too...
Ah just started talking, the girl said sth to break the ice. Well its gonna get over soon...
I miss fighting... :-(
Yup they r back... :-)
Later...

fair vs equal...

went through a training the other day, inclusive something, was about how to live in diverse environments...was one of those very lectury kind of trainigns, a lot of gyaan giving.

anyways the trainer was an african american, why i mention this, well because during the training he made many refrences to his color, it seems like that was one of the major factors in his life, one of the things which had shaped his life...anyways was kind of funny. he was the kind who knew exactly who he was, and what people perceived him to be....while giving his introduction, he told us about his family, four sons, eldest 33, even his wifes name. one, i was surprised, mostly people don't introduct their families, mostly just who they are, and at the most 'am married, with three kids'. don't know if its a cultural thing about african american's but they always seems more integrated and emotional about their families.

second, he didn't look like he had a 33 year old kid...he looked very young, well surly not 50+. and he knew it, when he saw someone staring at him, he just non chalantly said 'yes i am that old'.

so anyways, somethings said in the training that i noted down...

fair vs equal - what would you rather be? fair or equal, treat everyon as they deserve, or treat everyone equally. i would treat everyone fairly, but make sure that at higher level i am equal as well.

a quote - 'hard to get an idea from an echo' , not sure about the origins.

a question which has always bothered me, should you charge a premium for first to market or for an innovation, it makes sense when you take medicines as an example.

there was game about predictive thinking...well i didn't have any, simply because i was slow at thinking...but that save me from making a fool of myself. so guessin slow is not bad always.

same as ignorance is bliss...

i loves this - what you ignore becomes more, what you tolearte takes over, what you challenge can be changed...

also we too often sell and not deliver feedback. its so true, while giving a feedback, we try to make sure that the other person actually agrees with us. well feedbacks are mostly critical in nature, how can you expect someone to accept it without question.

a question he asked, a party is being organised, but none of the attendees know each other, what can the host do to make sure everyon mingles, is comfy with each other and fun....

and i jotted down on my notebook without thinking - get booze...:-)

well anyways, thats that. have things to write in the PS...

PS: the moment i started typing this out, the power went off...seemed like a sign, but then its just a post, big deal....

i still raise my hand in such lectures et al when to ask / answer a question. indian education system???, well not really, just don't want to break the flow of the thought of the instructor, don't want to be an interruption.

and apologise for the title...if you thought it was gonna be a deep thoughtful handling lifes basic questions kinda post!!!