A dear friend

is back.

Why so serious?

Fascinating, beautiful, masterpiece, godly, mind-fuckin-blowing, yeppppa, what thaaa.

That says it all. Go watch it. Oh! By the way, I am speaking about 'The Dark Knight'.

Coming to THE most special character of the movie, I had always wondered how would a character like the Joker would be if it were real life. For those Batman fans, or even better, Joker fanatics, Heath Ledger shows you how it would be. A death after delivering such a performance is probably message from above that it was the ultimate and cannot be bettered. Too bad that the next Batman movies won't have Heath Ledger as the joker.

I now see why the movie is #1 on IMDB.

Here's the trailer:


Please watch the movie on a big screen and do not get a dvd home. Do some justice to the movie and visit the theaters.

One of the many quotes from the movie that leaves you saying 'It can't get any better', and this one is from the joker : 'This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object'.

Cloud no. 9

I have been away from my institute for a little beyond 20 days now, and a few days ago it hit me that life will never be the same. I am sure that most of the students who have left the institute would be experiencing such a wave of emotions. The following is the first guest post on my blog, written by MGM, and dedicated to our wingmates, and the only hostel whose name started with the letter J.

--

There are stories written with vibrant characters that say intelligent things and have distinctive characters and have brilliant chemistry between them. I was once a part of such a story. The problem with such stories, especially when you’re a part of them is that they must always come to an end. And so did this one. It inched and crawled to a slow inevitable end that gave us all the time to prepare and then at the end of it, took us by surprise anyway.

You spend your adolescent life with little or no knowledge of what you’re working for truly means. In my case, I discovered, all my expectations were but a tiny fraction of the sum of my experiences. It was an experience that built slowly like a rising tide into a lovely frenzy of time to waste. The time on my hands which was mine to waste turned into one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. An experience that was comprised of little routines and smiles and waves and puffs. An experience that will be cherished forever.

For it was in those little routines of waking up at 1 in the afternoon and foraging for food, of crushing ganja and rolling it in joints for my wingmates, of settling down on the corridor or the breezy roof and laughing at seemingly witty jokes with the tiny sounds of mobile phone music that I truly discovered the meaning of brotherhood.

I have always held on to the fact that there was no way you could stand in your boxer shorts next to a bunch of post-adolescent engineering students much like yourself and brush your teeth and not become close. But “close” doesn’t quite cover it. We knew every little detail about each other daily lives not unlike the way a lifetime of marriage teaches you about your wife or husband for that matter.

We knew the way the other person always forgot to switch off the lights before heading to bed, the way another groaned when we got a little too intimate (playfully so) for his comfort levels (levels that had been shattered long ago), the way some of us focused selflessly on the task at hand smiling occasionally with a witty retort, slaving under a stationary fan using expert fingers to produce joints for the rest of us who were relaxing in the breeze as we spoke and laughed. We knew when we were hit, when we should stop and what about us gave us class and placed us apart.

We were family.

And then the time to go came and went. Slowly one by one, we left the home that we had made over the last couple of years. In the days that led up to our departure, our doors were rarely closed and we were always the gracious hosts to hesitant and almost coy guests and outsiders. They always came and were never disappointed. The last few days passed all too quickly in a friendly soporific and calm lull filled with laughter, friends and music. The most exquisite detail about those days was that no matter how close we came to separation; we were never in any hurry. It was almost as if the sheer comfort of being in each others company didn’t allow us to think unpleasant thoughts.

But soon we left, one by one. And still we hung on to our merriment as thought the others had merely stepped out for a short stroll. I think we were too afraid to think of how it truly would be without each others company. Before I knew it, I was the last one left and thought it was for just one night, I could barely take it. I sang to myself and cried. And in a desperate attempt to leave a little bit of myself behind, left my posters on the wall. As I left, I noticed little details that I’d ignored from familiarity, the view from my room, the pattern of oil spots on my wall, the roof, the leaves, everything. And as I walked from locked door to locked door, I was filled with a sense of loss more profound than I’ve known for a long time; a sense of loss that was heightened by my awareness of its magnitude. I’d lost a big piece of my life and my family; and I knew it.

So, though I would love to recount details of my delicious and nostalgic story to you, dear reader, I can’t. Because as one of my seniors put it when he spoke about a very similar predicament, “Some stories are like colourful butterflies, pinning them down to a page only takes the life out of them.” I can only tell you that I was part of one such story. A story that will stay with all of us, it’s vibrant, independent, distinctive and entertaining characters, for the rest of our lives.

Voyageur by Enigma

Conditions under which I heard this track for the first time:
Driving down lanes at 630 pm at 100 kmph in a zen(puns couldn't get any better) on a beautiful winter evening in Bangalore, when it was pitch dark and the street lights were still not on, on a beautiful high, and not to forget, the headlights of the car being switched off.

Pure madness and pure bliss.

PS: This post is dedicated to one of my best friends Shaggy aka Vyshak.

Taare Zameen Par

For the first time, a movie in a theater managed to keep the full capacity crowd in its seats even after the movie was over and the credits were going on.

Very well crafted movie, and to say the least, the kid has done an exceptional job of the role. The movie highlights on the surface the issues related to kids and how each individual can be different, or rather, is different. More importantly, certain sections of the movie highlight the current scenario in the society where parents push their ambitions on their children's shoulders. This to a large extent is unjust as many a times the kid does not even get a chance to exercise its thought process to choose what it wants to do.

The soundtrack is amazing and supports the movie really well. Everyone will speak about what a perfectionist Amir Khan is, so I will not get into that. But yes! it does reflect in this movie too. I can go on writing about this movie as long as I feel like. But that is not the intention of this post. The idea is to tell you to go watch the movie. It is one movie that you shouldn't miss.


PS : The sketch of the kid done by Amir in the movie is mind blowing, and I wish I could do a self portrait like that.

PPS : It was after a wonderful gap of almost 3 years that I saw a movie alone in a theater. Felt really good, and I feel that I chose a brilliant movie to get back to my old self.

Phillip Adams says

Most of what he says should be known to people who are aware of the climate change scenario and the energy crisis too. But it is always good to re-realize a few things.

From 'Climate Change Action':

Saturday November 24th, 2007

Phillip Adams is the presenter of Late Night Live on Australia's ABC Radio National. He has been a contributor to The Times and The Financial Times in London, and to the New York Times. Honors include two Orders of Australia, and the Australian Humanist of the Year (1987) and the Republican of the Year (2005) awards.

Renaissance

Every now and then you find movies that beg to differ from the pattern. They start a new genre all together, and redefine the ways the movie experiences are meant to be.

This movie is not one among those. It is their grand daddy!

This movie changes the way people perceive when they watch something. The art work is godly and the way the motions have been conceptualized and eventually implemented are mind blowing. Take it from me, you will not pause the movie to do something else during the movie. You just cannot. But you may pause, a large number of times, to appreciate the art, to appreciate the way the sequences have been put together, to appreciate every inch of black and every half inch of white. And you will definitely pause, to stop, and stare at the screen in awe.

I might have made it sound like I was doing a piece as if I was Pablo Francisco. But this movie definitely deserves and calls for all the attention.

And when I say that I say that out of experience. I had not slept the previous night, and it was already 12 midnight when I decided to try this movie, and my eyes were totally weary. For the next one hour forty minutes, I could barely blink.

As an aside, the plot gives you the feel of a regular sci fi, but everything else just steals the show. So the plot eventually does not matter.

A user comment on IMDB -
''First things first, this movie is achingly beautiful. A someone who works on 3D CG films as a lighter/compositor, the visuals blew me away. Every second I was stunned by what was on screen.''

Watch the trailer if you have the time right now -


Unfortunately, I do not see this movie coming to Indian screens any time. So if you want to watch it, get a dvd and make sure that you watch it on a really nice screen and really good speakers. TRUST me, you will find it worth your time.

Ambition

The chat I had with a friend of mine went something like this :

Him (U): mama, something ive been dreaming abt for the whole day

Czar (C): hmmm ..

don buy the hummer though

U: :P

C: just buy the bike

U: will run it on hydrogen
:P

and go around the world

C: ha ha ha

trip

:)

then ll join you in the bike :)

U: enjai

sureaa!

C: sure..

U: :D

C: gnite..

Jigsaw

Ladies and gentlemen (though I have always wondered why 'ladies' comes first! probably because of the saying 'ladies first', but then, why ladies first?), this is to inform you that I completed the 'one thousand pieces' jigsaw puzzle that I was doing for quite some time now.

When I switch off the lights it glows, and I am sure that my first experience of dozing off looking at the moon light reflecting off the sea surface on the completed puzzle is going to be amazing.

In fact it is 335 am. I hope I wake up for lunch.

Cycling - greener and further

I found a few posts on various blogs about Cycling, which I thought should be shared.

This was the first post I read and ended up visiting all the links in it. This one talks about New York getting its first exclusive bicycle lane. And finally this one talks about bicycling in Copenhagen.

Efforts are on by a bunch of enthusiasts in Bangalore who have started a store as well for road bikes and trek bikes. This is one of their posts on their blog which tells that there do exist lanes on some roads for cyclists in Bangalore. If you are from Bangalore, or planning to move to Bangalore in the near future then visit their site and hop on to a bicycle. :)

As we all know, globally , transportation is a major contributor to the GHG emissions, and in India the situation is only worsening by the day. Choosing to travel by a bicycle would not only cut down the emissions, it also helps in keeping oneself fit. Out here in IIT Madras, almost everyone travels by bicycle. I wish similar attitudes are followed outside the university campuses and academic circles.

Of course, there are a lot of things that can be wished for.

Being well aware of the climate change scenario, cycling to work as much as possible is something that I want to do among other things in the future.

Purple Haze

It was the first time I visited the Koramangala Haze. Bliss. Truly a haze.

Leaders of tomorrow!

And that my dear friend, is my latest desktop wallpaper. Click here for more of them and an amazing campaign towards making people aware of global warming.

I hate Snipers

This one is from Frank Miller's Sin City.

Wallace thinks to himself:

''I hate snipers. You should have the guts to look a man in the eye when you kill him''

Kickass!

SCOOP!

Ever wondered how successful is India as a democracy?
Why did the partition issue even arise?
Was Hindi actually supposed to be our National Language?
Tashkent treaty - who was playing around?
Did Shastri die a natural death?
How bitter can the quest for power get?
Should Indira Gandhi be remembered for her guts or her whim?
Bhutto - assassinated?
How have the incidents since independence changed the fortune of this country?

This is not an ad, but a sincere suggestion to all to read the book 'SCOOP!' by Kuldip Nayar. The inside stories from the all time leading journalist of the sub - continent. The author describes his first hand experiences and the inside stories of various events since our independence. A brilliant read that gives a great insight into the Indian politics.

Check this for more insight...

I miss Naruto

There are times when one gets into doing something and before he realizes it he is not able to get out of it. I am, in a very concrete sense, speaking of addiction. All addictions are invariably resource consuming and very few of them actually are beneficial. The addict loses the capacity to decide whether the addiction is beneficial or not and eventually gets into a loop where in he lives under an illusion most of the times that the addiction is beneficial in some big way and tries to justify the addiction. I was addicted to watching Naruto, and I am glad I was.

Anyways, not deviating from my subject, let me get down to expressing my heart felt feelings about one of my favourite anime series. I started watching Naruto in the later period of the 4th semester. It was a big wave and quite a few guys I knew were addicted to it and gave me serious recommendations. I happened to watch the initial episodes out of curioisity and then there was no stopping. Quite a few people I know hate Naruto. There are quite a few reasons I love the series, the characters (of course, behaving like super humans), the well drafted comedy in it and of course, how can I forget the story line.

The main character, Uzumaki Naruto supposedly has a fox with 9 tails locked inside him which gives him immense potential and it is left to him to learn and exploit the power that lies within him. The power kept aside, what inspires me is the 'never give up' attitude that he has. Though almost everything depicted in the series is humanly impossible, still one can appreciate the message that the character tries to communicate to the viewers. In fact, there were quite a few instances when I could feel the goosebumps on my skin while watching Naruto. I mean, it takes a lot for an Anime series to make me feel so intensely for it. Or maybe it is the case with me. Actually, if I look back, I seem to have derived more out of animations, cartoon, and Anime when compared to series and movies involving human beings. Maybe I too fall into the category of weirdos, as people out here are generally labelled rightly.

Characters I admire most in the series, in order are:

1. Gaara
His silence and sheer power do the talking.
God. Period.


2. Naruto
Does all the talking. ''Never give up'' attitude and his Sexy skill (Orioke no jutsu (sexy no jutsu)) steal the show. :)


3. Kakashi
Agility and his perverted book (;)) are what impressed me the most.

4. Itachi
Someone who treats everyone else as non essential.

5. Shikamaru
I just fell in love with his lines: ''Too much trouble'' and ''I give uppp!!!''

6. Orochimaru
Wickedness personified. I worship him.

7. Sasuke
Wannabe, a child prodigy, and a smart boy.

8. Rock Lee
I wish I had the will to work as hard as him. I so wish... But then it is too much trouble you see. ;)

9. Haku
Love your saviour like there is no one else, whether he is right or wrong.

10. Konohamaru
Hokage's grandson, great fun!

I miss the series. It was great fun watching it and it was a source of inspiration amidst all the things around me. I am eager to get back after the vacation and watch a few selected episodes all over again. I seriously recommend the series to all, who are looking for a good time and a great way to learn a few values.

@Paapi and Victor: I throw you guys an open invitation to come over to watch a few episodes again.

Agent 'Goosebumps' Smith

I sit down to plan my studies for the night as I have to give a make up examination tomorrow morning in IC Engines. I know, I know, you must be thinking that wow, what an amazing subject. Unfortunately, out here, it is as dry as it can get. It could have been far more interesting and I must say that I had more enthusiasm for automobiles before this course started as a part of my curriculum. Never mind, I still am a big automobile enthusiast.

Anyways, as I was saying, I sit down to plan my studies and decide that I shall start studying after watching a glimpse of a good movie for a while. Somehow, my mind decides upon 'The Matrix' and oh boy, I am not complaining. Smith managed to give me goosebumps, once more. Brilliant dialogues and even better dialogue delivery. The role of agent smith was just tailor made for Hugo Weaving.

Here is just a small excerpt from the movie. Try re-living it, I am sure you will have a wonderful time.


"Morpheus! Evolution, like the dinosaur... look out of that window."

"I would like to share a revelation I have had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area."

"There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A Virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You, are a plague, and we, are the cure..."

"...Can you hear me Morpheus? I am going to be honest with you. I hate this place. This zoo, this prison, this reality, whatever you wanna call it. I cant stand it any longer. It is the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink and everytime I do, I fear that I have been somehow infected by it. Its repulsive, isn't it? I must get out of here. I must get free. And this mind is the key, my key.''

Smith is GOD. Period.

P.S.: I guess, I will crack the exam tomorrow.