Guys like the new Bond?

I think so. Most of my guy friends love him. He is rugged, athletic, and mean. I get a feel that same is not the case with women. Is this true or just my perception...

Wii like Casino Royale

Two things that I am rooting for this weekend. Casino Royale and Wii gaming console by Nintendo.
Casino Royale because I like... hmm well make that 'love' Eva Green. Also someone like me can identify with a character like 007... a ladies man, living on the edge, trying to save the world and all this in a day's work... phew!

I support the Wii because I like the concept. the form and the radical new approach to gaming. I think we might be witnessing something special. Imagine playing with Tiger Woods, Roger F, Maria Sharapova, fighting dragons in e-life.

I hope I can get my hands on Wii soon. As for Monsieur 007, I will meet him tonite.

Ciao!

UPDATE
The new bond rocks!!!

007 v6

Haha.. That's the computer professional in me. Anyways... As you may have guessed, this blog is about the new bond. Daniel Craig. So what do I think about him. Ok, here it is ... the guy is sexy as hell. And I think he will do good. I must confess, when I first heard that he was going to play 007, I was like "what the hell? Who the hell is he". But since then a lot water has flowed under the bridge. He has transformed himself. He hired a personal trainer and it shows in his physique.
He is unlike any other. Pierce had class, sophistication. This guy seems mean and brute. And that's a good change. I am personally looking forward to see Casino Royale.

Human Technology

Technologies that really make a difference in our lives..

iPod
Wii
Airbus A380
Google

Other things that I think are worth mentioning.

Mobile phones with camera
Digital Camera
mp3
e-mail

I think the industry churns out a lot of technology, but very few things actually click.

Thursday Humor

A collection of really innocent humor. Hope it brings a smile on your face. It certainly brought one on mine :)


NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the
back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!"
-----

HONESTY
My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago.

-----
OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

-----
KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the bottle. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said to her mother.. Then
she added, "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."
-----
MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

-----
POLICE # 1
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop?" Yes," I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?" "Yes, that's right," I told her. "Well, then," she said as she extended her foot toward me, "would you please tie my shoe?"

-----
POLICE # 2
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. "Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked. "It sure is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, "What'd he do?"

-----
ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered,"The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

-----
DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit." "And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the
next morning."
-----
DEATH
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper
burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaaather, and unto the Sonnn .....and into the hole he gooooes."

-----
SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"

-----
BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been
pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the boy called out." What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!

Life, thou are ?

I don't know you at all. Here I sit and type this blog about you, knowing that I know nothing about you. I bitch about you, I fail to understand, comprehend you. To me you are just some absurd entity that serves no purpose to anyone or anything other than maybe acknowledge the other concept, time.
As I live, and experience the 'time' as it increases, I know fully well that I in no way form any significant part of universe. I am only there today for my conscious self to know. I breathe and age. I move towards the inevitable which I have no control over, just like I had no control over why I became conscious. I am just a unique collection of matter with self awareness. I can in no way control any other being. I can only aim to be in control of my self and any matter that I can touch, interact with. I know fully well that the one person I want to be with, I can't. The one thing that I want to have, I can't. I am amused at this as much as I am disheartened. But that's how I continue to be at this moment.

Before Sunset

It's pretty late but I had to blog this. I recently got hold of a movie that I had seen long back. I really liked the movie than, because I always liked the idea of meeting someone beautiful on a train ala North by Northwest. I had liked it than, but somehow had forgotten about it, so when I stumbled over this movie again, I knew it looked familiar. The movie is Before Sunrise. A Wonderful movie. And then I went on the net to find out more about it, and it was then that I realised that it was actually critically well received, not that I really care. Also I came to know about it's sequel 'Before Sunset'. So I did what I had to do, got a copy of the sequel, and just about finished watching it. I must say, WOW! what great movies both are. Two people just conversing about their daily life. I think the movies are great, and so real. I would highly recommend it.
I guess, I like it because somewhere I too am hoping something that magical could happen to me..

arrgh .. this life

I hate it, I really do. It's fucking frustrating to know that you are just living and not alive... Everyday I get up and do the same thing. I have joined that freaking rat race which has no finish line.... Damn !!!
aarrrrrggghhhhh

Ahh ..shit happens..

And today it happened in Suzuka. The race was Michael's for taking. And then shit happened. I am totally pissed. It shouldn't be like this at this stage in the Drivers Championship race.
But what's to be done. The title is Alonso's.
But Schumi, wow! You are the best driver ever in my book! Thanks for everything, best of luck to you.

Cheers mate!!!
~Your fan forever

Guuuud Morrrrniiiiiiiiiing Mumbai

I really liked this :)

Shaher ki es daud me daud ke karna kya hai?
Jab yehi jeena hai dosto to phir marna kya hai?
Paheli barish me train late hone ki fikr hai
Bhul gaye bhigte hue tahelna kya hai?
Serails ke kirdaaro ka saara haal hai malum
par maa ka haal puchhne ki fursat kise hai?
Ab ret pe nage pao tahelte kyu nahi?
108 hai chanel phir dil bahelte kyu nahi?
Internet ki duniya ke to touch me hai,
lekin pados me kon raheta hai jaante tak nahi.
Mobile, Landline sab ki bharmaar hai,
Lekin jigri dost tak pahuche aise taar kaha hai?
Kab dubte hue suraj ko dekha tha yaad hai?
Kab jaana tha shaam ka woh banana kya hai?
To Dosto Shaher ki es daud me daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yahi jeena hai to phir Marna kya hai?

Just captures wonderfully the desiccated nature of our superficial lives

Yahoo mail beta

Well, it's just as the name suggests, "BETA". It's not usable at all. Even with decent net connectivity, the UI just isn't smooth. The panes just hang, or are out of place or just don't work.
I had shifted to it twice and now I am shifting back to the original layout. Also the left hand ad is always on unlike the original interface, which frankly just eats up into the workable area on the screen.
Interestingly, Google's beta releases never have any issues.

Wii

I am really looking forward to this gaming console.
The news these days is filled with the latest on the gaming console arena. PS3, XBox and now the Wii. I like the whole motion capture thing that Wii has. I think this very savvy controller will take gaming to a new level. I also admire the thinktank at Wii for coming up with a controller like that. While Sony and Microsoft are concentrating on the hardware aspect of the consoles, Wii has shifted focus on making gameplay thats real. I really don't like the stupid controller that comes with PS2 and XBox. They have to change. Controlling a car at 200 mph using a button... nah. Today's console have amazing graphics, but the controllers have remained the same for years.
I am rooting for Wii, because I really like the controllers they have. Also at $250 I think it's a fair deal. Instead of spending $600 on a gaming console like PS3, I would rather invest that money in a gaming desktop.

when it rains, it pours!

First Agassi, and now Michael. Damn!
I am terribly sad. Schumi should have stayed for a year or two. I so badly wanted to catch one of his race live. Sadly, I am never get that oppurtunity now. My tryst with F1 started at Imola on the 27 April, 97. I had never seen a F1 race before that. I just happened to watch a red (later came to know that it was Scarlet) car driven by Schumi chasing a William driven by one Heinz-Harald Frentzen. What facinated me was the way Schumi was chasing down this Williams. He reduced the gap from 18 odd second to about 3 seconds in a matter of few laps. I watched that race till the end. At this point I knew nothing about racing. Two weeks down, I again happen to catch another live race and this time it was Monaco, and ever since I have been hooked. This race was won by Schumi and I think it was raining. So the wet track, the spray, incredible speed inspite of the slippery track and the location ofcourse got me excited. I saw Rubens chasing down Schumi this time and it was fun. It was exhilarating pace despite of the risks involved that converted me I think. And what a season it was to get converted. The season had everything. The neck to neck battle for championship, the contrversies, the gamesmanship between Jacques and Schumi, the accident at Jerez and the grand finale. Ahh! That was some year. Not to see Schumi win that year was heartbreaking.
I had to wait till Suzuka in 2000 to finally see Schumi win. I still remember that day. That was a good day!
As the years have passed, I have not been able to catch all the races live on the tele, but I always make it a point to read up online.
It will be hard to watch F1 without Schumi. I don't know how it will be.
Kimi joining Ferrai is a consolation. Let's see how it goes.

Andre Agassi

No thankyous', no farewells'
just, Well played!!!
:)

Lage Raho Munnabhai

Absolutely Awesome!!!
Better than the first one. Damn Sify broadband for keeping me from posting this blog till today. I saw the movie on friday. It is the best bollywood movie I have ever seen. It is both funny and inspiring. It's movies like these that make up for all the disappointment that bollywood dishes out every week. Lets face it, making a good movie is a tough job. Rang De Basanti was great, but not without the occasional question marks. Not that I am saying that I didn't like RDB, I loved it. But Munnabhai 2 is just flawless. There is nothing that I could question, change. I my books it get 5 out of 5

Now talking about ratings. I noticed that no one gave it a full rating. Rediff was 4 1/2 out of 5. Rediff reflected the majority, where the ratings is just a notch below the total max. I wonder what it is about humans that they never concede to the fact that somethings can never be beaten. Can there be a movie like Munnabhai 2 and yet be better than it. Never. Hence 5 out of 5 from me. Arshad warsi, you the MAN!!!

Agassi

He is playing his final grand slam. It's pretty nostalgic time for me and my generation. I was lucky enough to see the likes of Pete, Agassi, Steffi, Seles, Goran, Henman, Rusedki, Boris, Stefan, Arantxa during what I consider the golden time for tennis. Ahh, those were great times. Watching these players go at each other. Tennis has changed a lot since the 90's. And frankly, it's no fun anymore. I like Maria, but not necessarily for her tennis. But I loved Steffi foremost for her game. I currently support Nadal, but I would I get up at 6 am to watch his match.. Nah, I don't think so. I have done this for Boris, Pete.
Tennis in the 90 was divided distinctly into twos'. You either like Boris or Stefan, Steffi or Seles, Pete or Agassi and you would discuss, argue, and bet on the matches. It's not like that anymore. So when Agassi is done with US Open 2006, it will close the final chapter of the epic that started in early 90's. Will there be a new epic? I hope so.
I always wonder whether the kids of today like watching Nadal, Andy, Roger as much as we did Pete, Boris, Agassi.
Who was my favourite amongst them... Well at each point during the 90's I had one, but now as I look back at those times, it would be unfair to pick any single one. They all made tennis worth watching. But I think I have supported Pete the most followed by Boris. But if I were to pick the best amongst them, then it would have to be Agassi. Reason being his amazing return after losing his way in the late 90's which included a fall in ATP ranking to as low as 141, and then coming back to win 5 grand slams titles and the most memorable being the career grand slam. The career grand slam clinched the 'Best Tennis Player' title in my book.
Now that I am at it, I would also like to share with you folks the most memorable match that I have ever seen. (drumrolls) Goran v/s Rafter in the Wimbledon final. That was 'THE' sporting occassion that I would attend if I ever had a chance to go back in time. That was such a heart-warming tale. His memorable winner's speech summed it up. After losing the final three times, he finally wins it only because he was given a wildcard entry into the tournament.
Game, set, match to Pete, Agassi, Steffi, Seles, Goran, Henman, Rusedki, Boris, Stefan, Arantxa!!!

8 planets

Yes, and now there are 8. I guess if you are a student than it means one less planet to remember. But if you are like me, who has always known the nine than it's not a very nice news. I feel a bit bad for pluto. It feels like some one small has just been dropped from the gang.

For me there will always be 9.

This one's for you my pluto! cheers!

AOL, I don't like you!

Yup, I don't like you at all. I don't trust you. But I was already expecting such kind of data to be present with all search engines. I had already posted my fears on a blog sometime back. But what can users do about it. Nothing really. All governments would like to have such kind of data with them. Search engines want such data to make them more money. So such logs are here to stay.
Take it from me. There is no such thing as privacy on the net. Whatever you do on the net, assume that the whole world is snooping over your back to see what you type.

August Moon!

There is so much to write. The twins who were separated, which i think is nothing short of a miracle. The new law in India that aims to end child labour. My new job. So much changes yet so much remains the same.
There is so much of good that happens in this world and so much bad. I guess, everything follows the rule of equilibrium. The balance is always maintained. so for all the good that I do I am sure someone somewhere balances it out by being really evil.
Not much to write today. Just some words, thoughts that come to my mind.. on the fly as they say!

Be nice!

OK, one more..

"I got up, I saw, and went to sleep", and quoted by my roomie!

One more quote

"That’s one of the remarkable thing about life, it’s never so bad that it can’t get worse", Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

Another quote

"Hope is a good thing - maybe the best thing, and no good thing ever dies", The Shawshank Redemption

Quote

'You are never as good as they say you are, and you are never as bad as they say you are'

Celluloid India

Three movies that showcases the new vibrant India to the world.
This is just my list, What I would pick for someone not indian
who wants to see India in 21 inch screen. These movies
represent the new, confident indian who has embraced the
values of today, yet at the sametime is in touch with
his traditional past, aware of his culture.

1) Dil Chata Hai
2) Saathiya
3) Kal Ho Na Ho

Hello Goodbye

Yeah ..another blog on Zizou. Well don't blame me. I am really excited for the world cup. And now that it is over, it's so difficult to say goodbye. Yeah, I am suffering from withdrawal syndrome. Ok, let me say my goodbyes to this world cup by blogging down my 2 cents.
I would not like to condemn Zizou for what he did. What he did was shocking, but until I know what was exchanged between them, I will not pass any judgment. I think France played better than those Italian drama queens. They seem to have perfected the art of diving, way to go Del Piero! I wonder if you and your colleagues will be nominated for Oscars next year. I am sure gonna pray that you do. And how does it feel to be world champions and be relegated to Series C. Pretty bittersweet huh!

Germany was for me the team of the tournament. Three cheers to the Klinsmann and his boys!
Zizou was the player of the tournament.

PS: That was an excellent headbutt .. one that I would have been proud of!

Five stars of the world cup

1 Zizou
2 Franz Beckenbauer
3 Jürgen Klinsmann
4 Klose
5 Cristiano Ronaldo

Yesterday God was Zizou!

Zizou's France took Brazil apart yesterday. And it was a privilege to witness it live. I never expected France to play so good after the start they had this world cup, and boy they were good. Zizou rocked! and Brazil were left clueless.
Also Portugal are through, anyways England didn't deserve to go any further. Thankfully their dark era is over with the departure of Sven. He could and should have done so much with the talent that he had then play defensive. When one compares the Premiership's pace and attacking nature, I simply fail to understand the defensive game of the English national team esp since all of them play in the Premiership. Gerrad as a defensive midfielder is simply unacceptable!
Germany's match against Argentina was probably the most exciting match of the tournament. The atmosphere was electric at the pub where I was watching and when Klose equalized the German fans just exploded with joy and relief. It's sad that it had to be decided on penalties but I think we deserve to go through.
Italy won too, but who cares.

I am afraid of Google

Do you trust Google or does it scare you. It's beginning to scare me. Today they launched Google Checkout™, and now they will know what I buy too, where I spend my money and how much. They already know what I search for with Google, with whom I correspond and what I correspond thanks to Gmail and Google Talk. They know who are my friends and what kind of interests I have thanks to orkut. They have my blog, so they know what goes on in my life, what I think.
Seriously, does any one person that you know, know all this about you? I doubt. You may think that it's a computer system; no human would make sense of it. But I am telling you. There is more data about you then you think. And with hardware becoming cheaper coupled with algorithms becoming smarter, you will be shocked and terrified with the kind of accurate profile the computers can generate of you. And the thing is the data that google has is more genuine then other sites.
They have this brilliant tactic of providing their services through invites only, which reduces the number of bogus accounts by like a zillion!
So if tomorrow someone at Google decides that they want to know everything about me than they could just run some smart queries and programs (which I am sure they have thanks to the geniuses that they hire) and tada! They have it on their screen!
SaintofSpeed loves Mischa Barton wallpapers, like to read Calvin and Hobbes, is currently sceptical of Google, recently received an email from his girlfriend setting up a date this friday.

So people ... Be afraid, very afraid!!!

Spanish triumph in Germany

Yes. I knew it! It were not the Spanish soccer army triumphing in Germany at the World Cup but the Spanish Alonso winning the German Grandprix

You're beautiful

No song ever captures so beautifully what I feel about one certain girl I saw in Bangalore on Brigade Road in the evening of the night Rajkumar got kidnapped.

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Lyrics courtesy James Blunt : http://www.jamesblunt.com

Soccer hmm sports updates

Australia shocked, Czech steamrolled, Argentina dominated, Italy scrapped
..that about sums up all the action on the 3rd and the 4th day. Mind you,
I am no soccer expert, I don't understand the nitty gritties of this
beautiful game I write what I feel and looking back over the last two
days that’s exactly what I felt. And I am enjoying every bit of it. One
thing that comes across as you watch the matches is that the best games
are not the ones with the big teams. The best match so far was Sweden
against Trinidad & Tobago. The worst one is still England against Paraguay
(sorry Prince William, but your team needs to be a lot for positive to reach
the finals).
Tonight’s the big guns France and Brazil soil their soles in Germany 2006.
Ok enough about the football. I would like to now draw attention to the
3nd event that I would have loved to attend in my entire life... so far.
Yes, it's the Rafa against Federer match. It doesn't get any bigger then
this in tennis. The best in the world against the best on clay. Federer
never lost a grand slam final, Rafa has not lost the last 59 of his matches
on clay. I loved it. It lived up to the expectations. Rafa winning made it even sweeter.
While I am at it, I will also mention Alonso winning the British GP. I guess if the Spanish were playing any world cup match today, they would have won too.

adiós amigos!

PS : Last few post have all been about sports. Interesting isn't it or may be it's a guy thing :P

Germany 2006 :Day 2

Best Match:
Sweden against Trinidad and Tobago. Yup! Probably the best match of the tournament. It was fast, creative and nail biting. And it was a draw.
England against Paraguay was an absolute bore. England won but if that's how they plan to play then they might as well forget reaching the finals. Really disappointed with the English. The worst thing that could happen to the English is when they score first. After that they just sit back and wait till the time runs out.

Germany 2006 :Day 1

Best Match:
Definitely the host Germany against Costa Rica. A goal feast. Germany being the host, came out all guns blazing. They played great. Very enjoyable match. The second was a bore. Germany are definitely favourites to win followed by Brazil.
Just my 2 cents!

Inspired from Calvin and Hobbes

Read this Calvin and Hobbes strip where he makes the list of things that he will never like and then says .. 'IT'S COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAINTIES IN LIFE'
So here I am blogging my certainties in my life.

I will never like curd.
I will never like snakes.

hmm more to come ..

Mumbaikars

They are more than happy to tell you directions. This is unlike any place I have been to. Infact in my hometown, people turn a deaf ear to such queries. When I am asked for directions and unless it is somewhere just around the corner, I guide people to go straight. In mumbai, even if a passerby hears you asking for direction and if he know the place, he will stop and tell how to get there.
Mumbai is a crazy city, it never stops.. for anything. If someone trips her, it just gets up and starts walking... you cannot put her down.. Never!
The people are very resilient there. Hats off to them. It has seen riots, serial blasts, gang wars, natural disasters like the rains last year.. but it goes on. I have heard stories of how locals stayed awake the whole night just to warn people of an uncovered manhole during that cloudburst last year.

I like, I hate

I like blue, I hate maroon
I like cars, I hate bikes
I like Ferrari, I hate Hyundai
I like Fiona Apple, I hate Jlo
I hate chinese, I like Goan
I hate Quotas, I like Politics
I love F1, I can't stand baseball
I love India, I hate Pakistan
I like Tom Hanks, I hate Shahrukh
I hate Mallika Sherawat, I like Monica Bellucci
I can't stand Emran Hashmi, I can listen to Himmesh
I hate Ranjit Fernando, I hate Srilanka cricket team
I like daisies, I hate jasmine

Ok. One more protest. "Down with Quotas"

I would like to condemn the latest decision by the indian government to have quotas for different sections of the indian community.
I am against it. It's a shame that we are going to have reservations at our premier educational institutes, instead of merit which should be the only criteria for admissions. For years AIIMS, IIT's and IIM's have gifted to the world best doctors, leaders, innovators. IITians, IIM graduates have brought both fame and recognition to these institutes, and the country. Now few people in power have decided to interfere in the way these institutes select their students to gain votes. I hope this backfires in their faces.
Meanwhile I would really like to commend, applaud students who have taken up the challenge to fight this. I hope you win.

India Shining !

One of the major political parties of India, Bharatiya Janta Party which was running the
coalition government (NDA) before the current UPA government (led by Congress) used the phrase 'India Shining' as a punch line for their campaign. Ofcousre, they lost. That campaign is not the theme of this post.
India Shining is. Today India is riding the wave of adulation. India is in news all over the world, for reasons good and bad. More people are aware of my country these days in this world. The economic boom, foreign investments, IT, and even manufacturing. These are the new keywords that have been added to the 'India' phenomenon apart from the rural, Gandhi, British, snake charmers, nude
sadhus, and of course Kamasutra :). I really like my country. I have lived only in India. So I really can't comment of the other countries, their standard of living, and culture. Ofcourse media, communication, Internet are helping bridge this gap. But it's not the same as living in a country. We can never experience the idiosyncrasies that exist.
Well back to India Shining, I really like the phrase. It's kinda feel good. For years I have seen this country lack self-confidence. And here was punch line that made India sound confident, sure, prosperous. Self-confidence is very contagious. But then BJP lost, and I realised that all this shining was only in the towns, cities, metros.. not the 70% of rural India. Staying in a city, I never realized how bad the situation in rural India is. Even the most remote place may have a mobile telephone, but they don't have water, electricity, roads. Ofcourse we all knew it. But somehow it all got a bit hazy. Ofcourse, India is a land of entrepreneurs, but it is still run by bureaucrats, politicians who
are stuck in the past. But slowly it is changing. The keyword is slowly. If it takes a normal country 10 years then here it might take 20. But that’s how my country is.
We are a billion plus democracy, which is nothing short of a miracle. In the recent state election 70% of the people voted. That’s astonishing! People lined in queues, waited for hours in the hot sun to 'exercise their fundamental right' Things like this amaze me, and makes me optimistic. I myself vote. I think it's my duty. I personally consider it as my small way for paying a tribute, saying thank you to our martyrs who died in the fight to get our independence.
India is a country that has potential. It will require a great deal of hard work to convert this potential in to reality. Hard work from businessman, entrepreneurs, politicians, political leaders and the most important, the common people. We can't let our guards down. There is still lot of work to be done. We have got the launching pad ready. Infact we have already been launched. It up to Indians to provide the fuel for this very interesting and hopefully glorious journey.

cheers!
Me
PS : Man! I am positive today!

Infosys Technologies

Congrats to N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies for 25 glorious years and making India and Indians proud.

Movie about Twins

Saw ‘The Dreamers’ yesterday. Yup, I got it because of Eva Green, the new bond girl and because of it’s hype about nudity. Well, there is a lot of nudity and it's simple and quite beautifully captured on the camera. Eva Green is a very beautiful lady. The movie is not amazing; it just about keeps you involved till the end. Makes you think about twin children, how their life is and their attachement to each other.
I believe that twins are somehow connected to each other in some special, unexplained way. This movie takes it to the extreme, yet it made me believe that it could be possible. I would recommend that you watch it. Its rated NC-17, which after googling, I came to know that it was created as a walkaround to movies that would
otherwise be given an X rated certificate. But the film rating community realized that, that would probably shoo away audiences. Some famous NC-17 movies are Showgirls, Crash (the one that involved accidents), Last tango in Paris.

Some of my favourite things ...

Cars :
*Ferrari F1 team
*Aston Martin DB9

Songs :
*Come what may Nicole Kidman & Ewan M from Moulin Rouge
*Imagine by John Lenon

Movies :
*Casablanca
*Ben Hur
*Forrest Gump
*You Got Mail and also 'Shop Around the Corner', actually you got mail was remake of this movie.
*Spider-Man
*Rang De Basanti
*Saathiya
*Dil Chahta Hai
*It's a Wonderful Life
*The Shawshank Redemption

Actors/ Actresses :
*Tom Hanks
*Aamir Khan
*James Stewart
*Madhuri Dixit
*Monica Bellucci
*Laetitia Casta

well I will keep on adding to this list as an when I feel like adding more stuff.

RDB

Saw the movie once again. Liked it even more. I guess now that I know how to think while watching the movie it makes even more sense. I enjoyed it even more. Certainly one of the best movies I have seen.

Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti is a ‘good’ movie. You will probably want to watch it again. I want to and I mostly will. Though I will not say it was better than Dil Chahta Hai, or Saathiya.. but it was the next best. Many people would disagree with the end; they will even ridicule it. The ending left me confused and stunned. But then you think about the movie. And then you link. The documentary that ‘golabo’(clever :-)) was filming was not just a coincidence. I was there because the director wants us to relate what Bhagat Singh, Azad, Rajguru, Bismil, Ashafaque did with the 5 students of the DU.
Imagine when BS walked down his path to achieve independence, there must have been people around who must have thought that he was crazy, especially when the whole nation was fighting the independence using Ahimsa (non-violence). Of course today we don’t have the cause of fighting for independence and the cause is in the movie, more relevant in today’s times becomes the cause for these young man. The movie is about inspiring our young generation who seem to give up, looking at the daunting task of changing this nation. It probably tells us that even today we need people like BS fighting to once again free this nation from corruption, oppression.
You may ask, why did the heroes die? I ask why did BS die. Would we have been inspired the same way if he had not died???
Rang De Basanti.. don’t take the movie on face value. Try to link the lives of the heroes and those of Bhagat Singh and others…
Overall the movie, it’s amazing. It manages to capture the issues faced by today's young generation.. Who are alive but not living, confused Acting is superb. Cinematography is brilliant.

Stars and me

One of my roommates is very interested in astronomy. He recently bought a telescope. Not a very high end, but good enough to watch the moon in awe, see the craters, the mountains and be left spellbound by the beauty that is this universe. If you ever get a chance to see the moon, I would seriously recommend watching it. I can watch it for hours and still be mesmerized by it.
My roomie then showed me mars. And trust me, once you have seen the red planet, you can’t miss it in the night sky. It is so very distinct then the other objects present in the sky. It is almost like a star but has a distinct reddish tinge to it. It is one of the brightest objects in the sky. My roomie says that on a clear night we can even catch a glimpse of Saturn and even get a faint look at its rings. Boy, I can’t wait for it. Star gazing; it’s beautiful, really beautiful.
As I was gazing at the zillions of tiny, sparkling, diamonds in the dark sky, it made we realize what a ‘nothing’ I am in this universe. It made me feel so irrelevant.
I really wonder what is out there. I am sure there is life out there. Space, it would be such a waste if we humans were the only intelligent life in it. We don’t deserve it really. We never really appreciate it. I really am amazed at the zeal with which some the astronomers and scientists devote their whole life to understand, unravel the mysteries of space. They must be knowing in their heart that they will never understand it in their lifetime, yet they continue to piece together their interpretation, their ideas in hope that one day their contributions would help solve the biggest mystery in this world. And what a day that will be. It is a long way off. Doesn’t it frustrate them? I am sure some days it must. Anyways I wish them all the best!

Three cheers to these people.

The Pianist

While I was on holidays during Christmas, I got this DVD. I think I got confused between the ‘The Pianist’ and ‘La Pianiste’.
But I was not disappointed. I have seen quite a few movies on the holocaust like Life is beautiful, one movie on Hallmark and the HBO mini series Band of Brothers. This movie was different. It was very violent and gruesome like most holocaust movie, but at the same time it was very much unlike others. It traces a life of a man who plays the piano of the polish radio. We see how the nazi segregate the Jews and how this slowly ends up in ethnic cleansing. But the whole while it centers around the pianist. How he struggles survive. The performance by Adrien Broody is outstanding. And the way the movie is short is amazing. I would recommend it to everybody. Why I say that the movie is different is because it shows a man trying to survive by doing the most basic things, being inconspicuous. He is not trying to be a hero, he just wants to get by and hopes that it will all end someday and he can get to living life with dignity.

Puppies

There are these four puppies who are staying up in our garden. Well initially there were 6, but some kid took two of them away. I hope he is taking good care of them.
Getting back to the four that are with us, its so nice to see them everyday. Its fun to see them play with each other. It kinda relaxes you. God is a smart chap. All animals including us, always look cute when they are born. I guess that way people pay extra attention to them and go out of their way to protect, help them. Because when they are young they are helpless and thus require other around to look after them so that they can survive in this big nasty place called earth.
These puppies get pretty hungry too. My mom prepares their special meal, bread dipped in lots of milk. They gobble it down in a jiffy. Everyone in my family cares for them, even my dad. I have always wanted my own dog, but my dad was dead against it. He thought that I will/may not be able to look after them. He and my mom convinced me that it would require a lot of effort to look after them. I was never really convinced. Today I find it funny that they actually feed them, that too they follow a strict schedule.
Each of the puppy is unique. There is this one chap who almost never is in one place. Always upto something or the other. While the door was opened, he got it in and didn’t want to leave. My mom told that we will have to keep him out or then they will make the house dirty. The thing is that my family will be leaving the house in a couple of days and hence there will be no one to take care of them. But while they are there, the puppies are well taken care of. I even to a few pictures of them. I don’t know what will happen of these puppies when we all leave and head our own ways. Well, I hope all will turn out well.
Hopefully one day I will have my own dog, well make that dogs, because it’s much more fun for all of us, especially for the dogs when they are more than one.