Another day, another walk but this time the incident was not so pleasant. Ok.. let me start at the beginning.
I was walking home from work when I noticed this rat darting out of a hole in the road. I had this goofy smile on my face regarding the sad state of roads in Bangalore. When I finally looked away, I noticed a boy (an adolescent) running towards me with his hand thrust out yelling "Happy New Year". Now, for some vague reason, I did not want to shake his hand and so I shook my head and mouthed "No". The lad looked mentally unsound. My not shaking his hand irritated him no end. He continued to insist while I ignored him and walked on. He was soon following me, blocking me, and at the same time shaking hands with the other folks on the road. After running ahead and shaking hands with a guy on the scooter, he came running back and said, "Why are you insulting me? Happy New Year. Last chance". I started panicking big-time. I called the Arien on the phone and told him of the incident.
I noticed that the lad was still following me so I slowed to a snail's pace. I wondered why I decided not to shake his hand. Thankfully, because I had slowed down, he was now ahead of me and I could keep him within my eye-sight which was a major relief! While I was talking on the phone, I noticed that the lad tried shaking hands with a young gal and she ran as if a mad dog was chasing her. I felt that I had done the right thing by not shaking his hand. He walked into a bakery and I continued walking. I stuck to the main road, and kept a close watch to see if he was following me. I was so glad to reach home. I finally cut the call with the Arien.
It was a small incident but it scared me no end. He was blocking my path in the middle of the road and no one even noticed. When he saw that I was likely to scream, he fled to shake hands with the guy on the scooter. Walking is no longer risk-free. You could come across loony folks like him and you would swear never to walk again. Ok - thts carrying it too far. Anyway, I never saw the boy again but I still keep a sharp lookout for the likes of him.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
127 Hours
Danny Boyle and A R Rahman team up again after Slumdog Millionaire, for the movie 127 hours which stars James Franco, Spiderman's cute friend-turned-foe, in the lead. The reviews promised that the movie would be gripping and very realistic and that decided it for us.
The movie starts with Aaron (Franco), leaving at dawn for a weekend of mountain climbing. His passion for mountain climbing is very evident right from the beginning. As he starts walking towards the remote trail, he notices two young women trekkers who have lost their way. He shows them the right way after they overcome their initial distrust. He then shows them a hidden water body. They have some harmless fun together and Aaron is attracted towards the girls but he is ready to leave as he still wants to complete his trail. Within 15 minutes, the girls are left far behind, he enthusiastically climbs down when a small boulder moves and his right hand is caught between the boulder and the wall. He is unable to move his hand and yells out the names of the girls but they are too far away. He is totally imprisoned for 127 hours (5 days) at that isolated canyon and the rest of the story is regarding his fight for survival.
What I liked 'bout the movie
The movie starts with Aaron (Franco), leaving at dawn for a weekend of mountain climbing. His passion for mountain climbing is very evident right from the beginning. As he starts walking towards the remote trail, he notices two young women trekkers who have lost their way. He shows them the right way after they overcome their initial distrust. He then shows them a hidden water body. They have some harmless fun together and Aaron is attracted towards the girls but he is ready to leave as he still wants to complete his trail. Within 15 minutes, the girls are left far behind, he enthusiastically climbs down when a small boulder moves and his right hand is caught between the boulder and the wall. He is unable to move his hand and yells out the names of the girls but they are too far away. He is totally imprisoned for 127 hours (5 days) at that isolated canyon and the rest of the story is regarding his fight for survival.What I liked 'bout the movie
- Simple story. The movie starts off in a fast-paced manner. During the course of the movie, the pace slows down, stops and then picks up speed. The movie's pace matches the mood of Franco.
- Realistic. Sometimes too realistic and quite painful. Franco's performance was fantastic - worth a watch.
- "This rock has been waiting for me my entire life.. I have been moving towards it my entire life." - I quite liked this dialogue for its karmic connection.
Verdict: 3 Stars
Thursday, January 20, 2011
My Latest Addiction - Global Bloxx
When I found out that Philip Pullman's third book (The Amber Spyglass) totally failed to hold my attention, I was at a loss. I used to hurry home so I could read in peace before the Arien came home :D And now, I had nothing to come home too. Waaanh :( Plus, the Arien had actually purchased the two books for me after I bladed him to death 'bout the Golden Compass. I couldn't really tell him tht this book was blaah :(
I spent a whole day hunting for a game, that we all used to 
play on the system a looong time ago, known as Tetris. The Taurean was very good at the game and I sucked big-time. I thought this would be a good time as any to hone those skills. No No - I am not on a break, or a sabatical or anything like that. Its part of my new year resolution. More on that in a different post. Anyway, so while I was unable to find it, in sm kind of weird co-incidence, a version of the original Tetris was available on my mobile phone. No, I kid you not. Its known as Global Bloxx. Yupp - totally ridiculous name :D
play on the system a looong time ago, known as Tetris. The Taurean was very good at the game and I sucked big-time. I thought this would be a good time as any to hone those skills. No No - I am not on a break, or a sabatical or anything like that. Its part of my new year resolution. More on that in a different post. Anyway, so while I was unable to find it, in sm kind of weird co-incidence, a version of the original Tetris was available on my mobile phone. No, I kid you not. Its known as Global Bloxx. Yupp - totally ridiculous name :DGlobal Bloxx is my latest addiction and I am lovin it - I say :D This game has me so badly addicted that there are times when I do not respond for ages when the Arien is talking to me. He is hopping mad :P His plan is to beat my score to get even. Hehahahahaha (Evil Laugh). Does he think it is so easy??!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
hey - Do you remember me?
Yesterday, as I was walking home from work, a guy stopped his bike right in my path. I decided not to panic when he took off the helmet and made as if to talk to me. I tried out various answers in my head, when he called out my name. The plan was not to look up but his saying my name, changed the rules. He continued, "Hey - Do you remember me?" and I looked at his face sans the helmet and realized that it was my friend and not a serial-killer on the loose or a Hindi Mallum guy on a bike. The last time I saw him was 10 years ago when we studied together. Now, both of us were a lot plumper but not unrecognizably so :D
It was such a relief that I burst out laughing wen he asked me if I remembered him. After I convinced him, we spoke 'bout our other class-mates. I cud remember most of the names. (Surprisingly!) Our batch was the naughtiest of the lot. We were also quite competitive. Some of the folks had completed their Engineering (like my frend), others were college students, some were students who had completed their +2 (XII Std), and there were also a few housewives. To say ours was a mixed bunch was an understatement. The one thing common to all of us was the fact that we were part of the 11-1 batch and that we were in awe of our teacher. He was the bestest thing to happen to us. More 'bout that in a different post.
After spending the next 20 minutes reminscing 'bout those days, what we were upto of late, etc. it was time to say bye. It was such a welcome break to my otherwise boring day that I spent the rest of the evening, smiling.
It was such a relief that I burst out laughing wen he asked me if I remembered him. After I convinced him, we spoke 'bout our other class-mates. I cud remember most of the names. (Surprisingly!) Our batch was the naughtiest of the lot. We were also quite competitive. Some of the folks had completed their Engineering (like my frend), others were college students, some were students who had completed their +2 (XII Std), and there were also a few housewives. To say ours was a mixed bunch was an understatement. The one thing common to all of us was the fact that we were part of the 11-1 batch and that we were in awe of our teacher. He was the bestest thing to happen to us. More 'bout that in a different post.
After spending the next 20 minutes reminscing 'bout those days, what we were upto of late, etc. it was time to say bye. It was such a welcome break to my otherwise boring day that I spent the rest of the evening, smiling.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Unstoppable
On Monday, when both of us were feeling the effects of Monday blues and feeling totally blaaah, the Arien decided to catch the movie "Unstoppable". For some reason, I was reminded of the action movie, The Expendables and so did not want to watch the movie. But, as usual the Arien insisted and added "Its based on a true story". Well, that did it :D
The movie has Denzel Washington, Chris Pine but the real hero is an unmanned runaway train. The unmanned runaway train is identified using the number 777 and is bright red in colour. Denzel and Chris are the villains whose aim it is to catch this train. Well, not really :) In bollywoodishtyle, the train is the anti-hero, somewhat like the badshah Khan's Baazigar act. Anyway, 777 is loaded with toxic chemicals and is running full steam towards Stanton. Denzel and Chris, who are on a collision track with 777, narrowly escape 777. They then set out to attach themselves to 777 in a bid to stop it.
The movie is interesting in bits. The train occupies a large part of the movie and the media captures events in real-time and information is shared via the newsreader as well. Honestly, there is very little for the heroes to do until almost half the movie. After that, you are cheering them on :D While there is nothing new in this plot, the chemistry between the two actors works very well for this movie. I enjoyed the movie. Coming from a person who hates action movies and loves romcoms - means that the movie had enough human interest to keep me glued. Some scenes do seem OTT (Over the Top) but if you can disregard that, you can enjoy the movie.
Image Courtesy : http://www.beyondhollywood.com/
The movie has Denzel Washington, Chris Pine but the real hero is an unmanned runaway train. The unmanned runaway train is identified using the number 777 and is bright red in colour. Denzel and Chris are the villains whose aim it is to catch this train. Well, not really :) In bollywoodishtyle, the train is the anti-hero, somewhat like the badshah Khan's Baazigar act. Anyway, 777 is loaded with toxic chemicals and is running full steam towards Stanton. Denzel and Chris, who are on a collision track with 777, narrowly escape 777. They then set out to attach themselves to 777 in a bid to stop it.The movie is interesting in bits. The train occupies a large part of the movie and the media captures events in real-time and information is shared via the newsreader as well. Honestly, there is very little for the heroes to do until almost half the movie. After that, you are cheering them on :D While there is nothing new in this plot, the chemistry between the two actors works very well for this movie. I enjoyed the movie. Coming from a person who hates action movies and loves romcoms - means that the movie had enough human interest to keep me glued. Some scenes do seem OTT (Over the Top) but if you can disregard that, you can enjoy the movie.
Image Courtesy : http://www.beyondhollywood.com/
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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