Wordless Wednesdays -- My Snap was posted on TOI

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Ragged -- A funny day!

My ofc moved to a new location last month. I like moves because of the change aspect. We get new cubes (Yeah!), the day before the schedueld move is spent in packing (no work - Double yeah!), and then after we actually move, we waste a lot of time clearing our clutter i.e unpacking (yaba daba doo). Well, all that happened last month - yes, during the movie mania month. Anyway, the new place is nice. However, thanks to the move, I now take the public transport aka the Red Bus (Not Red Bull) -- the Red Volvo from ofc to home.

These red volvos have been around since 2006 itseems, but I always had my Honda Activa and so I had no use for the red volvo until quite recently. Anyway, I am now quite a regular on the red volvo, which is a fully air-conditioned, low-floor, sooper cool bus.

Image Courtesy: www.bangalorebest.com

I am so regular that I got ragged by the driver and the conductor last week. The reason - I refuse to sit on the seats and spend the 15 mts that it takes for the volvo bus to reach my stop, standing. In some weird way, they actually felt insulted that I refused to sit. The driver asked me if I was worried that the bus may have an accident. Red-faced, I started "It takes hardly any time to reach my stop.." and stopped. The conductor interrupted "Your stop is 5 stops away." Grrr... I started again "The bus goes so fast..." - I could not complete the sentence. The driver took offense by assuming that I meant he was speeding and informed me that he was not going fast at all and gave me a baashan. I got more and more red-faced, trying to explain the same point in different ways and was totally and completely ragged! I gave up finally and I was never so glad to see that it was my stop. I jumped out and heard their uproarious laughter from inside the bus. Whaaat a day!!

Five Children and It

After a really looong time, I read a book. And, I am sooo glad that this post is not a movie review :) This young adult novel was a total joy to read. It reminded me of my Enid Blyton days. Enid Blyton could draw me into her world and I would always hate to go back to mine. Edith is equally good. I really wanted to know what happens with the children next. Do they meet Psammead again? When? I think thats wht good writing is all about. You keep the audience interested long after the book has been read. Thats a good tip for my blog posts and for later!

Anyway, I had never heard of this book or the author and that is suprising considering I am quite a bookworm. However, I recall that I steered clear of classics. So, probably I missed this as well. Anyway, I would have never read this book, if it weren't for my frend's blog. Thanks Nish!

This book is part of a trilogy and as is my practice, I must read the rest of the books. Yeaaahh!! I think I will finally read some books :D

Wordless Wednesdays -- Ofc Decorations

The Hangover - Part 2 - Season of the Sequels

We celebrated the last weekend in May by catching yet another sequel. Yes - we caught Part II of the Hangover movie. I did not have too many expectations from this movie. Sequels usually carry a lot of hype and then fall flat. However, this movie was funny in bits, was true to the premise followed in the earlier movie, and was watchable. As usual, the humour was bordering on crude but Part I was not any different. Also, this movie had an extra share of male nudity which was quite over-the-top.

Most of the characters reprised their roles, with the exception of Heather, the person that Stu married last time. Mike Tyson has a brief cameo. This movie is regarding the bachelor party for Stu, who is getting married in Thailand and actually decides not to have a bachelor party. Of course, the others agree after kicking up a fuss. There are a host of new characters but none of them have any scope to perform as the story is not 'bout them. Doug, the suntanned bridegroom of Part I, misses out on this adventure, but the bride's younger brother, Teddy, takes his place. It is a crazy ride. Good to watch in an adult-only environment and preferably with folks on the same frequency. Some people may find some of the scenes quite uncomfortable. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Image Courtsey: http://hangover2-trailer.com

Paranormal Activity 2 -- Addiction thrives on

Sometime last year, I saw Paranormal Activity. It probably happened during the time when I decided "No more movies" and so instead of not seeing the movie, I decided not to write 'bout it. Yeah - I kinda do such things. Back to the movie, most folks do not consider Paranormal Activity to be a scary movie. However, I was totally creeped out after watching the movie (both parts), and so I disagree. The key point about both these movies is that we watch the story unfold via video cameras that are placed all over the house. The idea is not really new but works for a lot of reasons.

The second part is not a sequel but actually runs parallely. This part was quite confusing as we watched the main characters from the earlier movie appear in this movie and we realized that the second part is kinda where it all begins but it is not a prequel. Anyway, there are more characters in this movie. A husband and wife live with their teenage daughter, a young baby, and a dog. Things start happening, the house looks broken in but nothing valuable is taken. This creeps the new mom and they install cameras all over the house. So, what exactly is in the house? That forms the rest of the story and this movie was as scary as the previous one. And, to really enjoy the movie you must watch it late in the evening!

Image Courtesy: http://cinema.theiapolis.com/

Issues: It takes a while to get to the scary part and this can be a bore. There are some unexplained bits.. we may have a Part III in the works. The ending is totally unexpected and you are like "Whaaaaa??? Come on!" Good to watch at home.

Lincoln Lawyer and Limitless -- Addicted to Movies

After all that Gyaan 'bout reading more books and watching fewer movies, May was movie month. This time, I blame it all on the Arien. I saw Lincoln Lawyer twice, once with the Arien and once with the Taurean. Limitless had the cute Bradley Cooper and so irrespective of the reviews, there was no way I was going to say No to that movie. So, another movie weekend began and ended before we knew it and my addiction continued to thrive. *No Spoilers*

Lincoln Lawyer

This movie is based on the Michael Connelly book with the same name. I love Micheal Connelly's books and am actually surprised that he did not make his first movie with one of Harry Bosch's stories. But, no complaints.

Anyway, this movie worked for me. The movie had the right amount of style, good actors, interesting story-line --- purrfect! The Arien took a while to warm up to the movie because so many characters were added at the beginning but he liked the twists. The Taurean also liked the movie.

A big positive is that the actors chosen were perfect for the part and were ob. chosen with care. Though the movie did not promise a meaty role for most of the actors, they all did a great job. Mathew McConaughey was quite good and though he looks old, he pulls it off. Marisa Tomei is cute but looking her age. Ryan Phillippe, William Macy, Josh Lucas, Frances Fisher were perfect for the part.

Image Courtesy: www.rottentomatoes.com

Limitless

An interesting premise, a good-looking actor in the lead and a script that fails to keep up its promise. Bradley Cooper is Eddie Morra, a "highly" intelligent writer, suffering from writer's block, who after having spent his book advance and losing his girl-friend, meets his ex's bro. The bro introduces him to NZT, an untested drug that is capable of harnessing the entire brain's power. As you may already know, we only use a fraction (around 2% of the brain power).

Anyway, Eddie takes the pill, against his "sooper intelligence" and comes up with a first draft of his novel, and feels more alive than ever. Because the drug wears off in a day, he contacts his ex's bro only to find him dead and the apartment thrashed. He finds the stash that the bro had hidden (How?? - Do not bother - he is "sooper intelligent") and then begins a new life - taking a pill a day. He learns multiple languages, changes his career and becomes a Wall Street genius (Why?? - No idea). He also sleeps with and murders women. Anyway, if you ignore some of these "what-the-hell?" issues, you can actually enjoy the movie. Bradley Cooper is enthusiatic, charming, and perfect for this role. Robert Di Niro is the surprise addition in this movie that is relying wholly on Bradley Cooper's charm. Good to watch on a lazy saturday when you want to relax.

Image Courtesy: www.popcultureshock.com

Source Code Review - Finally

The reviews of Source Code were a lot better than the ones for Limitless and so we decided to catch this movie on the same day we tried out mexican cuisine @ Taco Bell, Koramangala. Both were good decisions.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Colter Stevens, an army pilot whose mission is to locate the person who places a bomb on a train. The sci-fi twist is that Colter is actually inside a program known as the Source Code which enables him to take on the body of one of the passengers in the train for the last 8 minutes of the passenger's life. The first time Colter wakes up as a teacher, he is new to the entire process and is quite confused with his dual identity. As the process is repeated over and over, he is quicker at grasping things and figures out the identity of the bomber. When he offers to stop the bomber, he is informed that he cannot alter the past but he must find the bomber to prevent him from planning another attack in the future. As he works with Vera Farmiga and the creator of the Source Code program, he tries to remember life as Colter and wonders if his father is aware 'bout his whereabouts and wants to contact him.

An interesting movie, with a very bollywoodish ending. As Colter figures things out, we are doing the same and that makes this movie interesting. And while the 8-minute window gets repititive, we are provided a different angle for each window and that keeps boredom at bay. One of the passengers in the train is Russel Peters. Though he has only a short duraction to crack jokes (~3 mts), the addition does not seem like an intrusion.

Wordless Wednesdays -- Cross Helmet

Saapadu -- Foodie Weekend Continues..

After experimenting with Mexican food, you would think that we would be satisfied for the rest of the month. But, No. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start at the beginning. It all started when the Arien forgot to lock his helmet to his bike on Friday. When he came back - the helmet was missing. Sometimes, the Arien's trust in other humans is too shocking to be true. Well, end result, we had to go helmet-hunting in JC Road over the weekend. We invited the Taurean. With the Senior Arien away at Pondicherry, the Taurean was feeling a lil lost. We walked into the first shop and both the Arien and the Taurean fell for the Cross helmet and purchased one each. Ya... and I am known as the shopaholic... Hmpf!! Anyway...

After the purchase both of them acted as if they had climbed mount Everest and said in one voice "Lets Eat." The timing was kinda between a snack and dinner and I was not sure when the choice was taken out of my hands. We walked to MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) - a place that I was visiting for the first time since I moved to Bangalore 11 years ago. They mentioned that dinner would be served at 7:45 and tickets would be given at 7:30. It was around 7:15 and so we decided to wait. The waiting Room was quite old-fashioned and had a board mentioning where we were and was kinda funny. I did not even have my camera for the historic moment was all I was thinking when I remembered that I had my cell phone and viola - a grainy pic of the Waiting room.

And then the meal started.... Firstly, the Arien is a huge foodie and wanted a Yelai Saapadu but we were given steel plates. The Arien was a lil disappointed but cheered up when he saw the items arrive one after the other. First up was fresh orange juice, which tasted heavenly, arriving in a silver tumbler. I heard that that was the tradition at MTR. Coffee was usually served in silver tumblers. Wow!! This was followed by the thick coconut chutney, payasam, alu palya, kosambri, vadam, and then Masala Dosa. You could have two dosais but if you had more, you would regret that decision sorely. This was followed by Bisibele bath, Vaangi baath, and steamed rice with sambhar and rasam. And then... (yes, there is more) we had curd rice followed by ice-cream. I stopped after the Vangi bath but both the Arien and the Taurean went on and on and on. Naturally, I had to tease them for that. I think we had had enough for the month now. If you have not visited MTR yet, ... Do so NOW.

Wordless Wednesdays -- Coziest Seat @ Ofc

Mexicano Foodo -- Foodie Weekend

Our regular weekend plan usually consists of a movie followed by lunch. Lunch is the usual traditional south or north indian fare. While the Arien is a big fan of traditional Indian food, I am fond of experimenting with different cuisines as long as the items are vegetarian. For the first time, the Arien suggested we visit Taco Bell in Koramangala. Naturally, I almost fell of the chair.

Because our weekend is not complete without a movie, we saw Source Code, before we visited Taco Bell. Thankfully, Source Code was still running in the theatres. The Arien put on his best "Back-frm-the-USA" air and ordered a chicken burrito while explaining what a burrito was. This was the first time I was trying out Mexican food, and so I ordered the veg burrito instead of trying out the other dishes.

The burrito is like a roomali roll made from wheatflour with paneer and alu stuffing for the veg burrito and shredded chicken for the chicken burrito. The roll also consists of rice which was quite interesting. We had opted for a combo and ended up with Nachos and unlimited coke/Mountain Dew/Miranda/Pepsi refills.

Price-wise, I was surprised. It was not as expensive as KFC or McD. Taste-wise, I liked the burrito, but not the Nachos. I think it had to do with the oil it was fried in or maybe the masala. Not really sure. The soft drinks were ice-cold and I was unable to drink it until after we finished the meal. The Arien added that this was how it was in the US as well. I could see his "B-F-T-USA" cap re-appearing :P

April Jes Whizzed Past

After resolving to write one post per week this year, I am amazed to see the title of this post. But, seriously, it was a case of too many things going on at the same time. First, came the news of the Arien's impending visit to the US. While I initially toyed with the idea of accompanying him, I dropped it because his itinerary was hectic and I had a release coming up. Then, came the shopping frenzy for the Arien because we found out tht it was around 5 degrees in Chicago.

After a major send-off from his family which kinda became a lil too much for his two week trip, he was gone. I opted to take up additional work to keep myself occupied. Also, my cousin and family were visiting me the week after and so I was all set. Soon, I was very busy: chatting with the Arien in the morn and in the evening, working on the day-2-day office work, completing the additional work that I took up, catching up with 2 old friends and colleagues over dinner at Tangerine, travelling to Mysore with the extended family, MIL's short visit - the general crabbiness that follows, Easter weekend and the hoo-haa that follows, etc. etc.

As a month, April rocked. I mean, I have not had it this busy for a while both professionally and personally, but I was really tired and cranky by the time the Easter week came to an end. I think I was totally zoned out. I felt like I was in a Giant wheel that kept spinning, spinning, and spinning and while I love Giant wheels, I was kinda wanting to step on good ole stable earth for a while. The Arien summed it up by saying "All U really wanted was everyone out of your house - rite?" I agreed :P

Image Courtesy: http://geardiary.com/