Alternate Reality

Oscars 2012 - A round up

2012-02-27T11:56:00.002+05:30

After Dark Knight, Avatar and Inception failed to pick up Best Picture Oscars after my predictions in the past years, I decided not to write a pre-Oscar post this time. Not only that, I din't have any favorite movie to vouch for this year. Probable exception was Tintin for the Best Animated category, but damn those dumb academy members, it wasn't even nominated! Rango eventually won it.

The Oscars happened today and thought of doing a small write-up from what I observed.
The big winner of the day is "The Artist". Kudos to the team. It isn't easy to be so successful being a silent movie without no backing from the big studios (I believe). Jean Dujardin was at his charming best as the Best Actor. Though I would have been equally happy if Clooney or Brad Pitt had won the award.
Meryl Streep was nominated for an umpteenth time and won it for the 3rd time. Heard she was awesome in The Iron Lady, though the movie was a plain bore.

The host Billy Crystal was classy. Robert Downey Jr & Emma stone were funny, Cameron Diaz, J Lo & Penelope Cruz were lovely and beautiful! Other highlights were, Sacha Baron indeed turn up at the Red carpet as 'The Dictator' and Christopher Plummer's acceptance speech was neat "You're only 2 yrs older than me darling. Where have you been all this time?". He also became the oldest ever artist to win an Oscar. That's something. Also Pakistani 'Saving Face' won the Best Docu. It's about a plastic surgeon returning home to treat victims of acid burns.

Here is the final Oscar tally with the wins and the nominations:
Hugo - 5/11
The Artist - 5/10
The Descendants - 1/5
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 1/5
The Help - 1/4
Midnight in Paris - 1/4
Moneyball - 0/6
War Horse - 0/6

Though Hugo and The Artist were tied with 5 wins each, the latter took the cream of the awards winning The Best Picture, Director, Actor, Music score and Costume Design. Whereas Hugo largely won the technical awards - Visual Effects, Sound mixing/editing, Art direction and Cinematography.

The Descendants was expected to win a few more and the one of the biggest snub of the day has to be Moneyball failing to win none out of 6 nominations. Deathly Hallows failed to grab any in the technical categories. War Horse deservedly did not win any.

And finally, it was heartening to see Rahman at the Oscars donning the Keyboard. Since Slumdog Millionaire, there is no Oscars without Rahman :) He has made Oscars something Indians can relate to!

Tintin - When my dream came true

2011-11-13T15:21:00.001+05:30

This is not a proper review of the movie. Just a few words about how the Tintin fan boy in me felt after watching it :)

I heard that famous comic series from Hergé was being adapted into a movie a couple of years back and was all excited since then. With Spielberg and Peter Jackson being involved, the wait just made me more impatient. The day was finally here and I got to watch my childhood hero in live action in the big screen! I was all excited like a little kid.

I loved the movie. It was engaging, funny, interesting and satisfied the fan in me. I was a touch disappointed because the story had been changed from what it was in the books. They had taken multiple events and plots from the three books [The Crab with the Golden claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure] and sort of created a parallel story. That's where a major part of story from 'Red Rackham's Treasure' goes missing along with Calculus. But in the hindsight i guess it was all necessary as recreating a such an old panel based comic book into a story for the present day viewers would need some changes. And whatever they had adapted and stuck to, was really good. The action sequences were amazing. The BG score was intriguing. The motion capture was top class. It was a dream come true to watch all the characters live and kicking. In many instances I forgot that it was motion capture and it was like watching live people in action.
I bet every fan would have missed Professor Calculus. I guess the creators didn't want to introduce too many characters in a single movie. I believe that sequels are planned, and we will get to see more of the remaining characters too.

Thank you Spielberg for making this fan happy :)

P.S. Eagerly waiting for one of my most favorite stories from the Tintin series, Destination/Explorers on the moon to be adapted into a movie very soon

News about the sequels:
Depending on the film's success, two more Tintin movies could be produced. The first of these already has a writer in Anthony Horowitz and should be based on both The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. Peter Jackson also confirmed he will direct it once he has finished The Hobbit. The second would be co-directed by Jackson and Spielberg. However, regarding those rumours Spielberg stated they had not talked about that.

I stare at you

2011-10-27T23:00:00.001+05:30

Am not even sure if I should write a post about this. But Heck! What else is a blog for?! So, here I go. Even though you might go 'huh!?' after reading it.

This is about a thing I had noticed a lot with women in recent times.
If a girl comes to a place dressed up a little more than what is actually expected of her, the kind of stare that she gets from a fellow woman is bizarre. It is indeed worse than a guy-stare.

They kind of roll their eyes and scan them from head to toe like something has really gone wrong with that girl/lady. And the thing even more awkward is that the girl in question seems to be least bothered about it.
May be they are all used to it and only a 3rd person like me finds it odd.

If you are a guy, tell me if you had felt the same anytime in the past.

If you are a girl, pray tell the meaning of that stare.

iGames

2011-10-27T22:56:00.000+05:30

Apple products have always eluded me for a long time, till recently. The most I had used would be a tap-tap-tap when a friend would show me his new iPod or iPhone. And a few weeks back, one of my friends got a new iPod touch (or iTouch) and had used it for a while for configuring and loading media, games and apps.
So, was asking around people for games and apps suggestions. And got quite a few from couple of people. Also found a few good ones browing through the Appstore. I just thought I would post them here, so that it could come in handy for new users or even for me when am atlast going to get an apple device home. (Pls re-read that sentence if you are planning a bday gift for me anytime :D )
I have tried to categorize them. But they are mostly random.

Card games:

UNO Free
Solitaire by Backflip

Angry Birds and variants:

Angry Birds - Awesome and addictive!
AB Rio
Various AB Seasons
Siege Hero

Aim at 'em:

Paper toss
Office gamebox
Can Knockdown - Amazing graphics. The slow-mos kicked arse!
10 pin Shuffle (Bowling) Lite - Learnt a thing or two about Poker after playing this one
Pocket Tanks - One of my favorite PC games. Managed to dug it up in Appstore too ;)

Kids: (None of them needs an intro)

Tic-Tac-Touch
Minesweeper
Dots free
Bubble Shooter

Sports:

Stick cricket
Hit Tennis 2

Slash:

Fruit Ninja lite
iShlash Lite - Neat and pretty good

Stupid tests:
I love these. One big reason is that they rated me as 'above average' and 'smart' *wink*

Stupidness 2
The idiot test 3

Board games:

Checkers
Chess
Sudoku - Play a game of Sudoku daily. Very helpful in keeping those cob-webs away. More so, if you are a S/W Engineer

Puzzle:

Rail Maze - Simple, yet good
Crack the Code
Unblock Me
Cut the rope Lite - ZOMG! Isn't that little creature you are supposed to feed cute! (Refer pic)

Arcade/Adventure:

Turbo grannies
Line birds
Cordy

Word games:

Hangman

Race:

Need for Speed Shift - NFS. 'nuff said!

I have just listed them without any detailed review. That shall be done when I find time or when am really really bored. Also shall update the list when I find something interesting

P.S. The biggest #FAIL of AppStore has to be the absence of a MARIO game! How the heck could anyone not develop a proper version of it!

P.S. If you happen to be an Apple gaming expert, pliss to add suggestions below. Danke!

The Cup of Joy!! Reloaded

2011-05-29T09:26:00.010+05:30

[Edit: This write-up of mine won the Super Blog contest at chennaisuperkings.com. Never knew my words will be worth 5k bucks one day. One more reason to love CSK!]

The finishing note on the last year's blog plug after CSK won IPL 2010 was "Hoping for more success for the Lions in the forthcoming seasons too :-) Fingers Xd". Looks like it's happening and the dream is coming true and how!?

Lot has been said and talked about Gayle's super powers but he went fishing when it mattered the most, the Grand Finale. But, it would be rude to put the blame on him. If there is one reason for RCB to be in the finals, it is him. They were trotting at the lower half of the Points Table before he joined the squad and then he blew everyone away by the Gayle Storm

Back to our very own CSK, wow! Just wow! An amazing and consistent performance throughout the tournament has made sure that we retain the cup for the 2nd year in a row. Mahi continues to prove that he can't do anything wrong. Quoting a tweet from a Twitter user yesterday "Dhoni is getting on a flight and flying to Wembly to win the Champions League" only goes on to show this man's tryst with destiny. It's as if he can turn any team into the most formidable one with his leadership qualities and a little bit of lady luck. All glory to you captain. Sincerely hoping that you never ever leave CSK! As noted by LSK, "Dhoni always receives the trophy and then disappears into the background" Could there be a better sign for a True leader?

When the victory lap was on and when I could see the distant glow of the flood lights at the stadium and hear the faint sound of the crackers from my home, I wished I was in the crowd somewhere cheering for the Team Stupendous.

Once again the yellow fellows proved that we are the 'Good boys' by winning the Fair Play award again this year.

Mr. Malinga has the Purple cap. Mr. Gayle has the Orange cap. But, we CSK have the Trophy. What else could we ask for?

And just as @Sidvee mentioned "I am waiting for the day ManU wins the league and someone says 'We want to be the Chennai Super Kings of the EPL'" Hoping that the day isn't far away :)

Like last time, here are a few numbers highlighting the best teams across the IPL seasons and needless to say CSK is on the top!

No.	Teams	IPL '08	IPL '09	IPL '10	IPL '11	Net worth	Avg
1	CSK	7	5	8	10	35	8.75
2	RCB	2	7	6	9	27.75	6.94
3	MI	4	2	7	8	24.25	6.06
4	DC	1	8	5	4	21.5	5.38
5	RR	8	3	2	5	21.25	5.31
6	KXIP	6	4	1	6	19.75	4.94
7	DD	5	6	4	1	19.75	4.94
8	KKR	3	1	3	7	15.75	3.94
9	KTK	-	-	-	3	3	3.00
10	PWI	-	-	-	2	2	2.00

The points are allocated as below:

10 pts for the Tournament Winners (8 for pre-IPL4)

9 pts for the Runners-up (7 for pre-IPL4)

8 for the loser of 2nd Qualifier or winner of 3rd place play-off (6 for pre-IPL4)

6 for the loser in Eliminator

5-1 for the rest of the teams according to their positions in Points table

The Net Worth will be the summation of points across the IPL seasons

Udaithathu yaar

2011-04-13T08:19:00.007+05:30

"Nee un nagangalai kadithu kondey

ennai oara kannal parkumbothu,

udaivathu un nagam mattum alla,

en idhaiyamum than"

IPL 4 is here!

2011-04-13T08:12:00.005+05:30

The club cricket is back. It’s bigger and hopefully better this time. With Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Sahara Pune Warriors being added to the list of Franchises, the fight for the glory just became tougher with 10 teams in the fray now.

That’s not the only thing that’s different this time. IPL is also trying out a new Eliminator/Qualifier format instead of the usual Semi-finals. It will be interesting to see how it pans out

more...

Part 1

Part 2

Oscars 2011 Predictions

2011-01-25T14:13:00.009+05:30

Its that part of the year again .. blah blah n all that. Cutting the crap and getting to the point right away. Blogging this in a hurry :D

Here is my list for the year!

Best Actor

Colin Firth [The King's Speech]
James Franco [127 Hours]
Mark Wahlberg [The Fighter]
Jesse Eisenberg [The Social Network]

Best Actress

Natalie Portman [Black Swan]
Annette Bening [The Kids Are All Right]

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale [The Fighter]
Andrew Garfield [The Social Network]
Jeremy Renner [The Town]
Geoffrey Rush [The King's Speech]

Best Director

Christopher Nolan [Inception]
David Fincher [The Social Network]
Darren Aronofsky [Black Swan]
David O. Russell [The Fighter]
Tom Hooper [The King's Speech]

Best movie

Inception
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
The King's speech
The Fighter
Black Swan
The Town

Best Original Score

Hans Zimmer [Inception]
A. R. Rahman [127 Hours]
Trent Reznor [The Social Network]

Best Animation Feature

Toy Story 3
How to train your dragon
Despicable Me
Tangled

Best Screenplay

Inception
The Social Network
The King's Speech
Black Swan
The Fighter
127 Hours

Best Original Song

"If I Rise" 127 Hours - A R Rahman

This was the list from last year's Oscars

Let's have a look at the possible winners once the nominations are announced :)

The retention game

2010-10-30T11:23:00.007+05:30

It's been 3 yrs since the IPL started. 2 more teams were supposed to be joining the league and the players are going to be auctioned off again. But the current teams (the final number is not decided yet) are being allowed to retain 4 players from their squad . Read somewhere that Chennai insisted the most on retention. If it's true, it has to be the MSD factor.

So here is a small write-up on the list of players who could possibly be retained by the teams.

CSK

Possibilities: Dhoni, Raina, Bollinger, Morkel, Murali, Hussey

So, who would be worth the $1.8 million retention fee for the 1st player? Few might say Dougie. But he wouldnt be a costly miss even if left out. There are other good (n also better) pacemen in the pool like Parnell, Tait, Steyn, Nannes etc who could be available (their franchise permitting) for selection.
Same goes for Morkel n Hussey too. Though they are good, they are not one of a kind. So they may not be retained. Murali would be an interesting choice. But given his age and not-so-match-winning contribution, he just might not be worth the huge compromise.
The only player I can see being readily taken is Dhoni. CSK has grown in such a way that the team has been built around this guy. So losing him would be like losing the axle/pivot of the team. He should be retained. Also Raina. He is the highest run getter across all IPL seasons and a worthy fit in the Indian-International slot.

Final cut: Dhoni and Raina

MI

Possibilities: Sachin, Pollard, Malinga, Zaheer/Bhajji

Sachin is in by default. For me, there is no MI without Sachin, plain and simple. As for others, it would be a tough choice. There would be a tempation to retain Pollard for obvious reasons. But this guy is a gamble. Malinga is one of the best T20 bowlers I have ever seen. And for me, he is more worthy than Pollard.
Bhajji has not been impressive compared to the success of fellow spinners in CSK (Ashwin and Murali). Zaheer has been a little rusty too after his injury. But he seems to have found his form recently. But I doubt whether the franchise wud b ready to spend such big money on him

Final cut: Sachin, Malinga/Pollard

DD

Possibilities: Viru, Gauti, Nannes, Collingwood

Again Viru is pivotal in the scheme of things for Delhi. So he could be there. Other than him I don't see anyone who have high chances of being retained. Gauti could make the cut, for his recent form in IPL. Nannes is one of the best bowlers in T20 but there are others too. There would be a temptation to retain Collingwood, the English T20 caption and a wonderful all-rounder.

Final cut: Sehwag

RCB

Possibilities: Kumble, Dravid, Kallis, Steyn, KP, Taylor, Cam White

It's one hell of a star-studded line up. Frankly, a very tough call to decide as who can be retained / let go. Reportedly the owners did a lot of ground work to form a succesful team after their poor show in Season1. So, wont be surprised if as much as 4 are retained.
Steyn is arguably one of the best bowlers now (any form of the game). KP has had a form slump. Kallis is ageing. Same with Kumble and Dravid too. It would be interesting to see whether they retain their captain Kumble. Taylor is an asset to any side

Final cut: Steyn, Taylor

DC

Possibilities: Gilly
Yes, you read it right. The one player who could be retained. But remember even this guy is over 38 yrs old

KKR

Possibilities: Ganguly, Gayle, Mathews

KXIP

Possibilities: Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Yuvraj
If they had been allowed to participate, players listed above might have been considered.

RR

Possibilities: Warne, Tait, Smith, Y Pathan
Same goes here too.

All said and done, hope IPL is able to stay ahead of all the problems and issues being faced now. Now, like all Cricket fans, waiting for the dust to settle down and the auction to start (last announced to be held on Jan 8/9).

It happened to me - At a restaurant

2010-10-15T18:23:00.004+05:30

It was a Thursday evening. Was heading back home early that day. U know, one of the greatest pleasures of life is starting home early ahead of a long weekend. This time, it was 4 days for the Navrathri.
It's a tiring journey, a bus and then a couple of trains. So thought of taking a quick break at Sangeetha's on my way.

I was sitting all alone when a guy in Safari (I think he was a supervisor) sat opposite me and smiled. I gave it back.
Then he asked "Neenga enna padikreenga thambi? (What are you studying)
Mind voice - All high-5's!! hey i look young then :P he thinks am a student. lol!!
Me: Illa, naan work panren (No Sir, am working)
He: Oh. apdiya. Neenga patha endha ketta pazhakkamum iladhavar madiri irukeenga. Apdiye irunga thambi"
Me: Oh.. ok sir. Thanks (A very humble smile with some asadu vazhinchifying)
Mind voice: (Ha ha ha.. Enna paarthu oruthar romba nallavanu sollitaru ma!!) And literally I had no idea how to react to that.
Then I composed myself and had a small talk about a few things happening around and then we parted ways.

Am still wondering what prompted him to say so. However it shows how a small act of kindness/gesture can make someone happy!
Am not sure if I deserve it, but thank you sir for the compliment :-)

Been Endhiraned yet?

2010-10-02T00:02:00.010+05:30

Been there, done that :) A movie that was total fun. Everything that you would expect from a Shankar + Rajini combo (Not the usual finger flicking Rajini though). Visual effects were one of the best in Indian cinema considering that while a Matrix cost $200 million, this was made for $30 million. And finale was amazing. Grand and Jaw dropping!!

Rajini was amazing and awesome especially in the 2nd half. He portrays the darker shade better. You cant help but remember his iconic role of Alex Pandian from Moondru mugam.
One small problem was that the screenplay was sagging at a few places. Some unwanted scenes and a couple of misplaced songs slowed down the pace a little. But Shankar n Rajini make u forget all that

Picturisation of the songs were excellent. All of them grandiose.
The dialogues were very smartly written and well executed.
Rahman's BGM n re-recording help the narration.
Ash does a decent job too. Good thing is that she is not just for the songs. She is in the movie through out.

As for the comic relief, Chitti (Robot Rajini) did a better job than Santhanam n Karunas. But again, I wondered why they were both billed. They had such a small role to play. In a couple of days you will forget that they were a part of the movie.
Shankar's imagination and conceptualization of the idea was laudable.
Rajini completely overshadows his co-stars. His Robot avatar scores on both halves of the movie.
And Rajini can dance.. Man!! He is no Prabhu Deva, but was so nice to see him try so much. The Chitti Dance show was fun :) This guy is so flexible!!

The man and his charisma! The movie is a must watch for everyone, more so if you are his fan.

Who knows this could be one of his last movies if not The last. He and his larger than life character would be sorely missed!

Twitter vs Blog

2010-08-07T13:41:00.004+05:30

I and @Kesavan had a small discussion (kind of) on twitter as whose greatest enemy was Twitter? I had posted as how my usage of Twitter had affected my blogging frequency.
The argument was that Twitter can't be a Blog's rival. Both are different arena with different players and spectators.

I agree, but the competition there is between equals (sort of) its like two good T20 matches being played in parallel in a couple of channels and which is better. Whichever provides better entertainment wins.
But what am talking about is that Twitter is a lazy man's blog and once you start using it extensively, your blogging definitely takes a hit. I feel it’s like a T20 vs ODI/Test. When you can put your point across in a few words, people might not want to take the effort of posting it in a blog which takes much more time.

The impact may not be direct, but bloggers usually develop small ideas into an article and post them. But here on Twitter, you tend to post the idea and be done with it. So the idea never gets to be made into a blog post.
That said, few things do make it to the blog, if the user feels that enough can't be said about them in 140 chars (this post for example)

This is what i felt after being on Twitter for more than a year. If you use both or rather all 3 (Buzz included) may be you can comment as how it has been for you.
But I have seen a few people like Nirmal and Zeno who just don’t seem to be affected by anything else. They just keep bloooggggging :-)

Endhiran (The Robot) Teasers/Trailers

2010-08-01T22:31:00.007+05:30

I came across these 3 teasers online and it would be a blasphemy if I don't post them in my blog :-)
I prefer calling them 'teasers' as they are relatively small (around 1 min) for a trailer and I hope that the actual trailers are yet to come

So here they go..

1. This was the 1st trailer that was up I guess. It's more about the Robot Rajini and a few action sequences

2. This seems to be more about the actual Rajini with romance, songs, a little more of Ash too.

3. This one's supposed to be a techno-teaser. It's more visually appealing and a mixture of the above two.

I hope u enjoyed them as much as I did. Can't wait for Sep 3 (allegedly the movie's release date)
Thanks to fightclub for the video source

Dogs - More than a man's best friend

2010-07-18T21:30:00.007+05:30

I have never had a pet and so have never had a chance to be close to any animal. The closest I ever got to a pet is when my bro-in-law got a German Shepherd puppy for my sister. My in-law was an absolute dog-lover and my sister who was pretty much like me till then, got close to Vincy as the dog grew and became very much part of the family.

Then they moved onto a bigger independent house and the most obvious happened. There were more dogs. They bought a Great Dane pup (Britney) and also started taking care of a Boxer (Tara) and a Miniature Pinscher from known friends. They were as awesome and lovely as much as they were naughty. I used to visit them frequently during holidays and my love for dogs kept growing little day by day. I used to be very reluctant to even go near them, but then they used to recognise me very well and started playing around and then we used to take pictures with them too. They were never just pets and more of a part of the family.

All was well until they had to plan for shifting their house. These days, independent houses are a rarity and they decided to move on to an apartment somewhere closer to their offices. But there, its impossible to have so many dogs with you. So, they had to take a hard decision of giving the dogs away (except Vincy as it was their very first dog). Britney like all Great Danes is very reserved and doesn't move well with people so easily. She is so fond of my sister and wasnt so close with anyone else. A family in AP was ready to adopt them and today they took the dogs with them. Really felt so bad. It was like parting ways with a member of the family. If someone like me who wasnt so close to the dogs, could feel so much, I can understand how sad it must be for my sister and bro-in-law. Feeling very sad for them. I sincerely hope that the dogs are in good health and stay happy wherever they go. Am sure they will stay so as they are very smart and intelligent creatures.

Pets are wonderful. Pets like dogs are not just Man's best friend but more of a companion and an integral part of the family. Hopefully I shall adopt a pet soon. But the difficult thing is when they have to leave you, either due to death or due to some circumstances like the one above.

Vincy (German Shepherd)

Tara (Boxer)

Britney (Great Dane)

Raavanan - Dus sar wale

2010-06-20T20:48:00.017+05:30

Been there. Done that. Watched Raavanan today. Was not bad, tho' could have been better. I sort of liked it i guess. Haven't made up my mind yet :-)

This is not intended to be review, but just what I felt after watching the movie.
Having said that, there was definitely some amount out of disappointment at the end! Vikram was splendid i felt. But few things seemed missing.
For one, i felt Mani Ratnam needn't have to so strictly stick to the Ramayan story through out like the nose reference to Surpanaka (Priya mani) and Monkey like behavior of Karthik (reference to Hanuman) At least I was happy seeing a slight deviation towards the end.

Vikram really proved as why he was worth the billing. He was splendid throughout. Even though u feel that the movie might fall apart, you can never stop enjoying watching this guy act. He grunts, he shouts, he howls, he says that 'buck buck buck' ;-) He does everything in this movie to make that character work. I can't wait to watch his performance as Dev in the Hindi version.
There was one thing that I couldn't avoid through out the whole movie. I always kept thinking how Vikram would have done that particular act of Prithvi in the Hindi version or how would have AB done a particular part of Vikram.

Prithivi does a decent enough job as a tough cop. No one seems white/Black in this movie. Everyone seem to have a gray shade to their character. Dev is not all-good and Veera is definitely not as bad as Raavanan (from the Mythology)
Ash surprisingly didn't look that old as she was from our recent memories. She even looked cute in a few scenes.

One more disappointment was that few songs were never fully shown. Veera veera was part of the initial credits. Kaatu sirukki only had an old lady humming it once in the movie (wonder who it was!!!) I wanted to hear Shankar Mahadevan/Anuradha Sriram's version. Only 3 songs Kodu poatta, Kedakkari and Kalvare had some screen presence. Usire Poghudey had a couple of dialogues in between.

The big plus of the movie was the Cinematography and the camera work (V. Manikandan and Santosh Sivan) which were ably supported by the splendid BG score by Rahman.
I have definitely heard a lot of bad reviews for this movie and know that many people felt cheated and disappointed at Mani's work. As I said earlier, it could have been better. But I guess it works for some and doesn't for the rest. Whatever it is, it was definitely worth a watch for Vikram's acting and the way in which a bright and green rural India was shown through out.

And namma makkal inum thirunthavey illa, do u know who got the loudest cheer in the movie? No, not Vikram, not Prithvi, nor Ash. It was Ranjitha!! :-D

Paranormal Activity - Movie review

2010-06-20T20:30:00.013+05:30

Watched Paranormal Activity last night at my home with my cousin. Read these about the movie "Don't see it alone" "Nightmares are guaranteed"

Well, the movie never gave me nightmares, actually not even made me think about it again.
I read that the movie gave the chills to a director who made one of the best horror movies till date, the Poltergiest. Yes, I read that Steven Spielberg was really scared watching it.
May b watching it alone might have had some effect. It had a few scary moments and the climax was little disturbing but overall it was an ok movie.
Towards the end of the movie, u get a little tired of the lead pairs that u actually want the demon/ghost to thrash them so that at least then they would abandon the house or do something really solid to avoid the ghost.

The Ghost psychic who runs away saying that this is the work of a Demon and he is not a demon expert was funny and frustrating. He could have been of a little more help for sure being in the Paranormal business for so long. He says that his presence in the house angers the spirit more and more. They could have very well met somewhere outside and discussed about this. I don't understand why they want to do everything inside the damn house.

Couple of moments were really creepy like when Katie wakes up and keeps staring at Micah for hours together at night.
As Rajeev Masand said, the movie might not work so well with the Indian audiences as we have never been in a similar situation before. A couple of people all alone in big house. House fully made of wood where u can hear a lot of squeaky noises. And for sure if it happened in India, first thing in your mind would be to vacate the house and go n stay with either of the family with more people around. Not sure how much this would work but at least the demon would have had more people to scare this way.
We really don't know the background info about the pair. Katie's family survived the inferno when she was young and shifted to a new home. I guess there must have been more people out there to support them.
Overall it was a decent movie with few scares. And would work more if u were a couple like that leaving alone in an almost deserted home somewhere in the US.
Watch it alone at night and check if it works for you :-)

Hot, Hotter and Hottest

2010-05-21T19:51:00.010+05:30

You guessed it right. Am not talking about any hot and happening model here. Its about the Chennai weather.
Its an irony that am writing this post on a relatively cooler day this summer thanks to Laila. Laila seems to have had a short stint and could last only for a couple of days. But that has definitely brought some respite to the fried Chennai crowd.
Due to the effects of global warming, the summers could get only warmer each year. Can't imagine how life would be some 5 yrs down the lane. May be people would walk around with Air conditioned suits similar to what MJ had.
Everyone of us can do something about this heat.

Plant more trees.
Water your plants daily, don't let them dry out.
Save water as much as you can.
Whenever you see a leaking tap, take steps to repair it immediately even though it may not be your home.
Make sure your home has proper rain water harvesting system (one mighty helpful thing that Jayalalitha did during her tenure) Might be helpful if Laila returns or Bandu visits.
There are more small things than you can do as part of your daily life without spending much time or effort. Awareness is the most important thing.

Ending on a lighter note, saw these Hot Tweets on Twitter today. Few were hilarious (Thanks to Maddy)

Its so hot- they don't make tea here anymore.. Just put the leaves in a cup of water and it boils on its way to you. [Good one :-D]

you eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.

its so hot ..even hot gals look so THANDA :)

its so hot ...that people are migrating enmasse to a cooler place called hell

it's so hot, today I saw a chicken lay a fried egg [lolzz]

its so hot that i jumped on a puddle n realized it was the friend i was walking with [eewwww]

I havent been so hot since the time i missed the cigarette and lit my mustache

I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walkin'

its so hot ..."Right to nudity should be made a fundamental right" [ha ha.. wonder wt the Senas would say ;-)]

I turned on the lawn sprinkler. All I got was steam.

it was so hot last nite dat at the zoo I saw a monkey drinking a banana! [Add some milk, its Banana milk shake :P]

It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog. [he he good one]

It's so hot that you were wish you were a dead body only to be inside the freezer of a mortuary [morbid!!]

its so hot that you congratulate anyone who manages to catch a cold [Yes.. you can]

My Dream Fantasy team - IPL 3

2010-04-29T22:00:00.036+05:30

As with the last IPL, here is a composition of my Dream team of 11. It consists of players who have impressed me in one way or the other this season.
First the list of players, then a little about my selection and those who almost made it and then the final line-up.

Batsmen:
The only Orange cap contenders (Sachin and Kallis) throughout the tournament earn their place right at the top of the order. Sachin is the only player to have scored 600+ in a single IPL so far. Well we can always keep talking abt this guy day in n out.
Surprisingly Kallis wont be opening the innings. It will be Sachin's mate Dada who scored nearly 500 this season @ 47 opening for KKR.
Raina, the best ever IPL batsmen earns the call after scoring 520 @ a SR of 140+
Pollard and Symmo have been the pick of the all-rounders this season with Symmo failing in small patches and Pollard being excellent towards the end of the tournament.
Those who almost made it:
M Vijay (huge transition from tests to T20s), Jayawardene and S Tiwary were in close contention. Rohit Sharma and I Pathan were the next best as all-rounders.
Bowling:
Ojha, the Purple cap holder is an automatic choice. Mishra is a tough omission, but Bhaji had the edge with a little help in batting, not to mention his 17 wickets this season @ an economy of 7
Fast bowling is not complete without 'Slinga' Malings these days. The choice of next pacer was very tough. It was a toss-up between Dougie and Harris. Bollinger makes it coz of his better Econ rate (6.6)
That said Kallis, Raina, Pollard and Symmo should be pretty handy with the ball too.
Those who almost made it:
Fast: Harris should have made it. Others were Zaheer, Vinay kumar (a good young talent) and Steyn (little patchy this season).
Spin: Mishra, Kumble and CSK's find of the season Ashwin. He has it in him but just that he has to play more games.
Wicket-Keeper:
Dhoni is the only guy who came to my mind. He doubles up as my Captain too :) (No.. am not being partial here. Seriously considered Sachin/Ganguly for the role. But Dhoni has that lucky charm to lead the sides)
Those who were a bit close were Sangakkara, Gilly and Uthappa (only for his batting)

Here is the batting line-up with the 2 stalwarts opening

It's quite odd that only Raina and Malinga made it to the current team from last year. Biggest disappointments from last year were Yuvi, Hayden, Gilly and ABD
Lets see how the season is, next year with more teams and more players :-)

The Cup of Joy!!

2010-04-24T10:02:00.013+05:30

It was The Judgment Day at the IPL season 3 yesterday which decided who is gonna have the last laugh (Ok.. enough of the Clichés)

It's no secret anymore. It was Chennai who came out in flying colors :) CSK entered the finals as the under-dogs given Mumbai's consistent performance through out the tournament. They were the side to beat and hence the pressure of winning was obviously on them and this proved decisive when they had to chase a decent enough score on a tricky pitch.

The eve of the match rendered a slight blow to CSK's camp. The news was that Sachin was fit and will be playing in finals and leading his team to win the ever elusive Championship. It was bad news for Kallis too as his Orange cap was under threat (eventually Sachin scored much more than those 2 runs reqd to pluck the cap out of Jack's head)
Raina's innnings was a cherry topping to his already illustrious carreer at the IPL so far and he along with able support from others made sure Chennai reached a score that was defend'able.
When Mumbai came to bat and were struggling for the 1st half scoring at less than 6 r.p.o, they still had hope in the form of the man of the tournament 'Sachin'. But when he was gone and when MI were busy deciding whether to send Pollard ahead of Malinga or after him, you know the game was done and it was too late even for the big hitter.
CSK's fairytale ending was amazing and I was absolutely speechless and spell-bound after the match. Just think that we had to score 44 runs off 3 overs even to make to the semis exactly a week ago at Dharamsala. The BIG turnaround for CSK was Chennai's (or rather Dhoni's) last over win against Punjab. That set the tone and the rest is history!! :-) It has been a long way from there.
Feel sorry for Sachin.. but he lacks that eeny weeny bit of luck required to grab a big trophy. On the other hand, Mahi has been CSK's lucky charm. Winning both the Championship and the Fair Play Award (We had a perfect 10/10 for all the 14 matches) just goes on to show the kind of hard and fair cricket this team has been playing throughout.
And needless to say Chennai has been the most consistent team across all the IPL seasons. Here are a few numbers to drive home the point.

No.	Teams	IPL '08	IPL '09	IPL '10	Net worth
1	CSK	7	5	8	20
2	DD	5	6	4	15
3	RCB	2	7	6	15
4	DC	1	8	5	14
5	MI	4	2	7	13
6	RR	8	3	2	13
7	KXIP	6	4	1	11
8	KKR	3	1	3	7

The points are allocated as below:
8 pts for the Tournament Winners
7 pts for the Runners-up
6 for the winner of 3rd place play-off or the one higher on the Points Table
5 for the other losing Semi-finalist
4, 3, 2 and 1 for the rest of the teams according to their positions in Points table
The Net Worth will be the summation of points across the IPL seasons

Numbers speak for themselves.. Do I need to say anything?
Hoping for more success for the Lions in the forthcoming seasons too :-) Fingers Xd.

PVR | Be there

2010-04-16T19:17:00.021+05:30

Well, at last its here in Chennai after such a long time. It's quite weird as how long it took for them to start screening in one of the metropolitans whereas they have screens in almost all of the prominent cities around the country. Well, am not complaining, better late than never.
We now have a nice alternative to the biggies of Chennai (Sathyam and Inox). So coming back to the question 'Does it live upto its biggest competitors?'. I would say, Yes it does, at last it appears to do so at the first look.
Location: It's a 7 screen multiplex located at a pretty nice spot, the Skywalk mall in Aminjikarai. Its easily accessible from Annanagar, Shenoynagar, MMDA, Valluvar kottam n many other residential/commercial places.
Picture/Sound: The picture quality of the screen was very good. The screen seemed little smaller compared to others. But the auditoriums are somewhat small and you cant have screens any bigger. Sound was pretty good too. The surround effect was predominant. Ppl actually turned back a couple of times hearing music at the background :)
Ambiance/Seating: The trademark red provides a nice ambiance to the movie hall. The seats are well-cushioned and all have nice push-backs. The leg space is just enough (could been a little wider for people have grown a little more than the normal like me ;)
To improve: One worrying thing would the pagal kollai at the parking lot. Usually malls that have movie screens charge a different flat rate for movie goers. But, here they charge on a hourly basis and I had to shell out 30 bucks for a 2-wheeler parking. That's 25% of the movie ticket cost. Too bad. Hope they do something about it.
Also they don't have the Gold class tickets, as TN govt has a cap of Rs. 120 as a max for movie tickets. So we Chennaites may not get a chance to check that out at all.

Overall, it was fine movie watching experience for me at the PVR and I would say that the PVR is here to stay.

P.S. Incase u were wondering what's all the fuss about PVR is?
PVR (Priya Village Roadshow) Cinemas is one of the largest cinema chains in India. The company, which began as a joint venture agreement between Priya Exhibitors Private Limited and Village Roadshow Limited, began its commercial operations in June 1997 with the launch of PVR Anupam in Saket, India's first multiplex.

IPL season 3

2010-03-27T05:14:00.000+05:30

So the season 3 of the mad man's game is here. So is it Back? Bigger? Better?

Bigger- it might be next year with 2 more teams to join the party

Better- is what we could decide over the next 1 month of action

But, its definitely back.. ya back to India after almost 2 yrs. That's definitely a reason to celebrate.. Yay!! :P

So what's new this IPL? Let's have a look what each of the franchises have in store this season

1. Chennai Super Kings

Its my home side :) and I hope we win this time after a couple of fairly good outings in the past 2 seasons. We made it to the semis on both occasions. CSK will be as ever blessed with the presence of one of the best captains of the IPL, Dhoni. Couldn't agree with Director of CSK more when he says, he s a 3-in-1 performer whose contribution can never go without a mention.

Haydos is back and we might get a chance to see him with his Mongoose bat. The one that looks like a Dhobi walla's. Kemp is in the side too and we might have to wait for sometime to c the blazing opening pair of Hussey and Hayden.

Now putting the other teams in perspective in the order of my backing them :)

2. Mumbai Indians

+ Sachin leading from the front and in the midst of an amazing purple patch

+ The Caribbean explosive duo of Bravo and Pollard.

+ They will hope that the Indian Spin and Pace spearheads Bhaji and Zaheer fire along with Malinga's unorthodox bowling

3. Delhi Daredevils

+ The awesome Delhi opening pair of Viru and his Ranji team mate Gauti. Warner could only add to the woes of the opposition.

+ SA's ABD and SL's Dilshan were well worth their money last time. ABD might not be the same on Indian tracks.

+ Nannes and Parnell will form a nice bowling pair

No more favorites.. Listing others in some random order

4. Bangalore Royal Challengers

+ My 3rd fav captain after Dhoni and Sachin. Kumble can trouble any side with balls landing on their seam

+ Kallis couldn't have hit a good form in anyother better time. Being an excellent all-rounder he comes as a nice package

+ The young Indian contingent of Praveen, Pandey and Vinay kumar should make their presence felt.

5. Kolkata Knight Riders

+ Supposed to be the most glamorous team of the IPL. But the glamour usually limits itself to just SRK. Hope Dada leads them to a decent position this time.

+ Gayle's flamboyant batting, Mathew's all-round abilities and Bond's fiery bowling should come good for them to spell success this season

6. King XI Punjab

+ Much will depend on how good Sangakkara handles the additional responsibility of Captaincy with batting and wicket keeping.

+ Jayawardene, UV and Bopara's batting will be things to look out for.

+ The Australian pair of Lee and Marsh would be eagerly awaited.

7. Deccan Chargers

+ Gilly Gilly.. all the way. He s one another Batsman-Wicketkeeper-Captain package after Dhoni and Sangakkara. And a main cog in the wheel for the Deccan.

+ The out of form talented-Rohit and lasttime-purplecap-holder RP Singh need to come good.

+ Big man Symmo has been good with both bat and the ball. Vaas seems to be going back to his good old days with some amazing opening bowling spells. Look out!!

8. Rajasthan Royals

+ Royals = Shane Warne. The equation couldn't get any simpler.

+ Smith's and Dimma's injuries have really hurt them. Should more than be compensated by Shane Watson's return in April.

+ Warne lead a team of underdogs to an emphatic win once. Can he do it again? Wait and watch.

Oscar 2010 Predictions

2010-01-31T14:55:00.000+05:30

Its that part of the year again, where movies from the Hollywood are screened, rated, reviewed, nominated and finally selected for the most prestigious movie awards on the planet Earth. Yes, its time for the Oscar festival.

This year the nominations are being announced on Feb 2
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the awards this year on Sunday, March 7

So here are the nominees.. rather, possible nominees :) and winners

BEST PICTURE

Avatar
The Hurt locker
Up in the Air
Precious
District 9
Inglorious Basterds

It should be between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. With Slumdog winning it last time for the mass appeal, Avatar could very well make the cut this time.

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Lee Daniels (Precious)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Usually this category gets tagged along with the favourite picture. So it could be either James Cameron or Kathryn Bigelow.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)

Jeff Bridges won at the Golden Globes. George Clooney is not a distant second.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Gabby Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)

It should be between Sandra and Meryl. My guess would be Sandra Bullock

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

Other nominees need not even turn up. I can give this one in the writing ;)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mo'Nique (Precious)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)

Must be Mo'Nique. She won the favour at the Golden Globes too.

BEST SCREENPLAY (Adapted + Original)

Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Pete Doctor and Bob Petersen (Up)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

There are seperate categories for Adapated and Original. Here I have clubbed them up. It should be a 3 way tough fight between UITA, Avatar and IB.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Up
Coraline
The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Up, Up and Away!!!!

Keep ur fingers crossed. Lets have a look at my hit rate once the nominees are announced this Tuesday :)

[Updated on Feb 02, 2010]

So, its Feb 2 and the much awaited nominations are finally out. Avatar and The Hurt Locker get the most with 9 noms. Inglourious Basterds - 8. Precious and Up in the Air - 6. Up - 5

And coming back to my predictions, I got 26 of the 27 noms right. Not bad really :)

Only thing I had missed was, I thot Avatar wud be nominated for Best Screenplay. But unfortunately it didn't.

Anyways, lets wait for the big day when the winners r announced

TOscars 2009

2009-12-31T05:55:00.001+05:30

This is a Desi Tamil version of the Academy awards :)

The movies are based on what I have seen and felt. There might be a few more worthy contenders left out. If there are any, kindly post a comment.
Here are the nominees for the various categories. Winners will be announced on the first day of the New Year!!
(Winners listed at the end of post)
The categories are simple: Best movie, Best Actor (Male), Best Actress (Female) and Best Album (Music Director). More categories might be added in the future :)

So, here goes the list *Drum Roll*

Best Movie 2009 Nominees

: Best Movies 2009 (Click to enlarge)

Naan Kadavul by Bala

This movie deserved every bit of its nomination for the director's bold effort in handling a subject that many would not even dared to think about. He was ably supported by an excellent cast including the lead pair Arya and Pooja who made the movie complete.

Yavarum Nalam by Vikram Kumar

A nice horror/thriller in Tamil after a very long time. Many have made an effort in the recent few years but only in vain. It had all the components to provide a nice thrill and kept us on the edge of the seats all the way.

Naadodigal by Samuthirakani

One of those films which went on to prove that block busters don't really mean huge production costs. In a year where films like Kandhaswamy which largely relied on the huge budget/hype and star cast failed to make a mark, few films like this showed that as long as the story is fine, people welcome a movie with both hands.

Eeram by Arivazhagan

Another not-so-big-budget films and a nice thriller like Yaavarum Nalam. It was visually appeasing and the cast was very good. Virtually unknown actor Aadhi (earlier starred in Mirugam) made a mark for himself with his performance. And ofcourse Sindhu Menon came up with one the best performance from a female actor this year.

Unnaipol Oruvan by Chakri Toleti

This one movie I had to think a lot before including it for the nominations. It was not an original screenplay. It was a remake of the Hindi version 'A Wednesday'. But it was not a remake that spoiled the original even though you could not say that this was better than the original. The 2 veterans in the lead made sure they carried the movie on their shoulders.

A special mention has to be made for few more splendid efforts. Pasanga by Pandiraj, Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu by Susindran and Renigunta by Paneerselvam won the favour of the critics and did well at the box office too. Hope there would be more such honest efforts in 2010.

Best Actor 2009 Nominees

: Best Actors 2009

Arya for Naan Kadavul

Kamal Haasan for Unnaipol Oruvan

Sasi Kumar for Nadodigal

Aadhi for Eeram

Best Actress Nominees

Pooja for Naan Kadavul

Sindhu Menon for Eeram

Tamanna for Kandean Kadhalai

Abhinaya for Naadodigal

Padma Priya for Pokkisham

Best Album (Music Director)

Harris Jeyaraj for Aadhavan, Ayan

Devi Sri Prasad for Kandhaswamy, Villu

Yuvan Shankar Raja for Sarvam, Vaamanan

Vijay Antony for Nenaithaley Inikum, Vettaikaran, TN07-AL-4777

*** The winners ***

Best Movie

Naadodigal

Best Actor

Aadhi (Eeram)

Best Actress

Pooja (Naan Kadavul)

Best Musician

Harris Jeyaraj

Bucket actors

2009-12-06T19:06:00.001+05:30

Release of 'Naan avan illai - 2' shows that Kollywood has high tolerance for Bucket Actors. Wondering what an actor got to do with a bucket!? Its just those elite group of so-called-actors who don't know how to emote or do such a poor job at it that a water bucket would have fared better!!

Speaking about such actors, Tamil Film Industry has always been blessed with quite a handful, more so in the recent times. One is the subject in question, Jeevan. I wonder how producers are still ready to invest in projects involving him! But, shockingly he seems to be doing a fair job at the market too!! His only movie with an exception was Kaaka Kaaka where the story was too haunting for this acting to be noticed. His acting was well advertised in movies like University, Machakaaran and Thotta.

Another specimen would be RB Choudary's proud son (sorry, not proud.. that would be Jeeva) Ramesh A.K.A Jithan Ramesh. I have seen ppl preceding their names with movies which made them popular. Once, he is associated with a movie like 'Jithan' which sucked, you can know the calibre of this actor. I really wonder, how could he have been from the same family as Jeeva. A world of difference between the brothers. His famous flops include Madhu, Nee Venunda Chellam, Madurai Veeran, Puli Varudhu other than his horrible debut movie.

Another was Sathyaraj's cousin 'Sathiyan' (Am not sure abt his name). He mansatchiye-illama acted in his first movie as a hero. Even if the director and producer forced him, he should have known better. But, the poor guy has had some reality struck in him. Now he has switched over to the comedian roles and seems to be doing an ok job. Recently you would have seen him as Vadivelu's cousin in Aadhavan.

And there was this guy Manoj. He was Director Bharathi Raja's son. The Director is known for his hard ways of getting the work done from his actors. But, he seems to have failed bitterly with his own son. The lame movie 'Taj Mahal' stands as a nice testimony.

I wouldn't justify the term bucket actors, if I don't talk about this gem of an actor. Yes, its our very own Sam Anderson. I really wondered whether the makers of the movie 'Yaaruku yaro' took him for a ride making him believe that he was into a serious movie meanwhile they made a movie that couldn't be anymore hilarious.

I think I have spoken about quite a few. I guess there a lot more of these kinda actors not just in Kollywood but also in its 'B' and 'H' counterparts. I just hope they realize it sooner than later and pick jobs that are meant for them and stay off the screen.

The day I was blessed

2009-11-06T05:06:00.001+05:30

The magician and his wand

Bless my holy angel! Was i really watching this!? I jus CAN NOT BELIEVE!! I felt like I was blessed 175 times today! Its an innings of a life time and something which u can very proudly say to ur kids n grand children that "I was alive when that happened and I watched it live!!"
And for this first time in my life i shud say n am guilty to accept that today something was more important for me than India winning. I was madly hoping that he wud cross 194 n reach whr any ODI player has never been, the magic 200. However it was dreadful that it could not be a fairy tale ending and had to end that way..
Most of us have read about One man show, single man army n all those stuff where an individual brilliance overshadows anything n everything that happened that day. This was that day and Sachin was the man. The Man of the match award for a man from the losing side stands as a little testimony.
Am damn excited and emotions are running high. Penning them all down is a pretty tough ask. I wud have written a blog for every shot he played today, that wud have been lot easier. It had his class written all over, again n again.

I guess am sounding a little lunatic. So, I wud better take a break here n go back to enjoying one of the finest moments in the history of Indian cricket.

The answer was pretty obvious when he was asked post-match as what keeps motivating him all these years. "I care about playing for India, it's a passion and I have been absoloutely honoured to play for India so long" This is why we love u!

I cant imagine hw things wud b, once this guy retires!! I just cant digest that it might happen some day.. Sachin, Do u really need to retire!? U jus keep playing till eternity. Hope the God gives him a long life and in someway an ability to play till his very very end for the simplest of reason that the law of aging just doesn't apply for this man.

- A Sachin Fanatic

Discoveries or Rediscoveries?

2009-10-25T16:29:00.001+05:30

An interesting rip-off from Dan Brown's latest book 'The Lost Symbol'

Makes an interesting read. Doesn't contain any *spoilers*

“So tell me, Kate,” her brother had asked while she was home on vacation during her sophomore year at Yale.
“What are Elis reading these days in theoretical physics?”
Katherine had stood in her family’s book-filled library and recited her demanding reading list.
“Impressive,” her brother replied. “Einstein, Bohr, and Hawking are modern geniuses. But are you reading anything older?”
Katherine scratched her head. “You mean like . . . Newton?”
He smiled. “Keep going.” At twenty-seven, Peter had already made a name for himself in the academic world, and he and Katherine had grown to savor this kind of playful intellectual sparring.
Older than Newton? Katherine’s head now filled with distant names like Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and Hermes Trismegistus. Nobody reads that stuff anymore.
Her brother ran a finger down the long shelf of cracked leather bindings and old dusty tomes. “The scientific wisdom of the ancients was staggering . . . modern physics is only now beginning to comprehend it all.”
“Peter,” she said, “you already told me that the Egyptians understood levers and pulleys long before Newton, and that the early alchemists did work on a par with modern chemistry, but so what? Today’s physics deals with concepts that would have been unimaginable to the ancients.”
“Like what?”
“Well . . . like entanglement theory, for one!” Subatomic research had now proven categorically that all matter was interconnected . . . entangled in a single unified mesh . . . a kind of universal oneness. “You’re telling me the ancients sat around discussing entanglement theory?”
“Absolutely!” Peter said, pushing his long, dark bangs out of his eyes. “Entanglement was at the core of primeval beliefs. Its names are as old as history itself . . . Dharmakaya, Tao, Brahman. In fact, man’s oldest spiritual quest was to perceive his own entanglement, to sense his own interconnection with all things. He has always wanted to become ‘one’ with the universe . . . to achieve the state of ‘at-one-ment.’ ” Her brother raised his eyebrows. “To this day, Jews and Christians still strive for ‘atonement’ . . . although most of us have forgotten it is actually ‘at-one-ment’ we’re seeking.”
Katherine sighed, having forgotten how hard it was to argue with a man so well versed in history. “Okay, but you’re talking in generalities. I’m talking specific physics.”
“Then be specific.” His keen eyes challenged her now.
“Okay, how about something as simple as polarity—the positive/negative balance of the subatomic realm.
Obviously, the ancients didn’t underst—” “Hold on!” Her brother pulled down a large dusty text, which he dropped loudly on the library table. “Modern polarity is nothing but the ‘dual world’ described by Krishna here in the Bhagavad Gita over two thousand years ago. A dozen other books in here, including the Kybalion, talk about binary systems and the opposing forces in nature.”
Katherine was skeptical. “Okay, but if we talk about modern discoveries in subatomics—the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, for example—”
“Then we must look here,” Peter said, striding down his long bookshelf and pulling out another text. “The sacred Hindu Vendantic scriptures known as the Upanishads.” He dropped the tome heavily on the first. “Heisenberg and Schrödinger studied this text and credited it with helping them formulate some of their theories.”
The showdown continued for several minutes, and the stack of dusty books on the desk grew taller and taller. Finally Katherine threw up her hands in frustration. “Okay! You made your point, but I want to study cuttingedge theoretical physics. The future of science! I really doubt Krishna or Vyasa had much to say about
superstring theory and multidimensional cosmological models.”
“You’re right. They didn’t.” Her brother paused, a smile crossing his lips. “If you’re talking superstring theory ...” He wandered over to the bookshelf yet again. “Then you’re talking this book here.” He heaved out a colossal leather-bound book and dropped it with a crash onto the desk. “Thirteenth-century translation of the original medieval Aramaic.”
“Superstring theory in the thirteenth century?!” Katherine wasn’t buying it. “Come on!”
Superstring theory was a brand-new cosmological model. Based on the most recent scientific observations, it suggested the multidimensional universe was made up not of three . . . but rather of ten dimensions, which all interacted like vibrating strings, similar to resonating violin strings. Katherine waited as her brother heaved open the book, ran through the ornately printed table of contents, and then flipped to a spot near the beginning of the book. “Read this.” He pointed to a faded page of text and diagrams.
Dutifully, Katherine studied the page. The translation was old-fashioned and very hard to read, but to her utter amazement, the text and drawings clearly outlined the exact same universe heralded by modern superstring theory—a ten-dimensional universe of resonating strings. As she continued reading, she suddenly gasped and recoiled. “My God, it even describes how six of the dimensions are entangled and act as one?!” She took a
frightened step backward. “What is this book?!” Her brother grinned. “Something I’m hoping you’ll read one day.” He flipped back to the title page, where an
ornately printed plate bore three words. The Complete Zohar.
Although Katherine had never read the Zohar, she knew it was the fundamental text of early Jewish mysticism, once believed so potent that it was reserved only for the most erudite rabbis.
Katherine eyed the book. “You’re saying the early mystics knew their universe had ten dimensions?”
“Absolutely.” He motioned to the page’s illustration of ten intertwined circles called Sephiroth. “Obviously, the nomenclature is esoteric, but the physics is very advanced.”
Katherine didn’t know how to respond. “But . . . then why don’t more people study this?”
Her brother smiled. “They will.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Katherine, we have been born into wonderful times. A change is coming. Human beings are poised on the threshold of a new age when they will begin turning their eyes back to nature and to the old ways . . . back to the ideas in books like the Zohar and other ancient texts from around the world. Powerful truth has its own gravity and eventually pulls people back to it. There will come a day when modern science begins in earnest to study the wisdom of the ancients . . . that will be the day that mankind begins to find answers to the big questions that still elude him.”
That night, Katherine eagerly began reading her brother’s ancient texts and quickly came to understand that he was right. The ancients possessed profound scientific wisdom. Today’s science was not so much making “discoveries” as it was making “rediscoveries.”

Mankind, it seemed, had once grasped the true nature of the universe . . . but had let go . . . and forgotten.

Really sad to know that the greatest treasures of this universe were once known to the ancient men. But later, people fell for lesser pleasures and took no pain to hail the findings of all those wise men. Here, I am hoping that at least we will be able to rediscover all of them and make sure its not lost for ever!!

The above content belongs to the author and the publishers. It has been reproduced only on academic interest :)

That said, there were a lot of pictorial references in the book. I had to google and then refer to each one of them, So I thought I wud put them together in a single place so that it will be helpful when reading. I shall be adding more in the days to come.

Here they go..

Apotheosis of George Washington

George Washington

Melencolia I

Pig-Pen or Masonic Cipher

ICC Awards 2009

2009-10-25T15:42:00.001+05:30

Its that part of the year when the Cricket players are honored. And they have something to brag about officially!! This year the awards had a very good Indian presence. Hope it gets better with years :)

I CC World Player of the Year - Mitchell Johnson [Australia]

Test Player of the Year – Gautham Gambir [India]

ODI Player of the Year – MS Dhoni [India]

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Tillakaratne Dilshan [Sri Lanka]

Emerging Player of the Year - Peter Siddle [Australia]

Spirit of Cricket - New Zealand

Umpire of the Year – Aleem Dar [Pakistan]

World Te st Team of the Year – Led by Dhoni [India]

Gautam Gambhir (India), Andrew Strauss (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Michael Clarke (Australia), MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

Wo rld ODI team – Led by Dhoni [India]

Virender Sehwag (Ind), Chris Gayle (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Martin Guptill (NZ), MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Umar Gul (Pak), 12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

Women's Player of th e Year - Clare Taylor [England]

Associate Player of th e Y ear - Will Porterfield [Ireland]

Thanks Cricinfo, from where the content was heavily borrowed :)

The clash of the champions

2009-10-03T23:35:00.000+05:30

Would have anyone thought that something like this cud happen at the beginning of the Champions Trophy!!?

NZ, Eng and Pak comfortably thru to the next round.

Particularly Eng who just came out a 6 match losing streak against Aus

SL being thrown out of the tournament despite their good form

India and Aus fighting for a spot in the semis

SA (regarded as one of the title contenders) finishing at the bottom of the table at the end of round 1

At the end of round 1, India, the no. 1 team in the official rankings at the start of the tourney has been pushed out

Phew!!

Points Table (At the end of league matches)

Group - Group B
Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	NRR	Points
New Zealand	3	2	1	0	0	0.782	4
England	3	2	1	0	0	-0.487	4
Sri Lanka	3	1	2	0	0	-0.085	2
South Africa	3	1	2	0	0	-0.171	2

Group - Group A
Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	NRR	Points
Pakistan	3	2	1	0	0	+0.999	4
Australia	3	2	0	0	1	+0.510	5
India	3	1	1	0	1	+0.290	3
West Indies	3	0	3	0	0	-1.537	0

Current official ICC Rankings for ODI teams

Rank	Team	Points

1	Australia	126
2	India	124
3	South Africa	121
4	Pakistan	112
5	New Zealand	109
6	England	107
7	Sri Lanka	106
8	West Indies	76
9	Bangladesh	55
10	Zimbabwe	26

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, somewhere in South Africa, Pontings speaks sense. Thats a news really!! :)

Ponting paid tribute to Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in ODIs and Tests. "The number of innings of his I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player," he said. "Look at his stats and records and it's quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair."

He sits at third behind Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the list of all-time ODI run-getters. Ponting is the only Australian with over 10,000 runs. In Tests, Ponting is also third to Tendulkar's 12773 runs with 11345. Like Tendulkar, Ponting has stepped down from playing Twenty20 internationals for his country.

Good on ya mate!! :)

Build-up

2009-09-28T04:00:00.000+05:30

Its been long since I had written about something. Either nothing interesting had happened or I was lazy or I think too much that I end up writing nothing at all. There have been a few things I wanted to write about in the recent past, just that I couldn't get it going. Here is a teaser of what might be coming up in the future in my blog ;) I guess this is the only way to make me write. I hope I shall post something to keep the promise up :)

One of the post is titled 'A tale of two fingers'. You can be assured that it wont be anything like the classic novel by Charles Dickens. I felt that the title would suit my post. What is it abt? U gotto wait. I definitely don't guarantee that it ll b worth it :P

Next one is 'Favorite movie franchises of all time'. I am kind of sucker to movie franchises. If I like at least a couple of movies in a series, I more or less end up watching the entire series whether it sucks or rocks. I have watched the entire 'Planet of the Apes' and 'The Police Academy' collections to quote a few.

And another thing abt Ads (titled Ad-dicted). How the business of advertising is at its creative best these days. Got to give them credit when its due..

Till then, keep reading. Catch ya later. Adios!!

Up in flames

2009-07-18T20:04:00.000+05:30

It was just another day at office and I was on the worst part of my day 'Traveling in my office bus back home'. Its a real torture traveling in Indian roads in the evenings, where the traffic is at peak and the climate being no less mean ..phew!! hot n sultry.

This day, it was a particularly long travel. The travel seemed to be smooth until Ottery. There was an intermittent rain here n there. Our bus has to take a big diversion these days, thanks to the never-ending Perambur fly-over construction. We have to go through the Vyasarpadi Jeeva junction and get back into Perambur. The under-bridge (if u can call it so, the one that goes below a railway track) usually messes up traffic. It's always a lot crowded there. But today the buses were really inching their way towards the Vyasarpadi area. There were huge crowds everywhere, lot of traffic diversions and people in khaki were in action too. We had no clue as whats happening, and we thought it was just another traffic jam of some kind. It took around 20-30 mins to cover a half a km stretch. Only when the bus neared the slum area we could sense the smell of smoke. A little further down the road, I was really shocked to see what I was really seeing. What had been a huge slum area with so many huts and small houses, was now literally a piece of land covered in black ash and thick smoke. It was a horrible sight for anyone to see their belongings going up in smoke. It must have been very difficult to those people. Almost all of them have been rendered homeless. To make it worse, it started raining again and people had nowhere to go. There were a lot of babies crying their hearts out, kids clinging onto their moms and women desperately searching for their husbands and most of the people around with the local police trying to help each other.

I was just sitting in the bus not knowing what to do, and with an even worse feeling that afterall I can't do anything. At times I feel that God might have been a little rude. If everything happens for good, what good can this incident lead to? Only time can answer. I consoled myself saying that everything happens for a reason. And back home, I googled about the incident next day and found that nearly 40 huts had been gutted and around Rs 2 lakhs worth property has been destroyed. But, luckily there has been no casualities.
Seems like the fire broke out around 1.30 pm in Kalyanapuram near Vyasarpadi police station and soon engulfed about 40 hutments in the area. Seven fire engines from nearby stations were deployed immediately and the damage has been reduced to the least. But the people who saw it had a different story to tell. They complained that the fire engines took 45 minutes to arrive. By that time, everything was reduced to ashes. And as always, the police denied the charges. God only knows what happened.

As the old cliché goes, prevention is better than cure. The Government shoud start taking serious steps to avoid similar incidents. Am not sure whether the

[caption id="attachment_386" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Firemen trying to douse the fire"][/caption]

entire slum was a legal one, with proper precautions taken. I have heard of people renting the concrete houses provided for them by the Government and preferring to stay back in the slums. A task force has to be created to make sure that all people stay in their rightful homes.
There was a similar incident in Vysarpadi around 6 years back. People never learn from their mistakes :(
This time it was just a damage to properties which can be recovered, but what if its gonna be loss of lives next time! Food for some thought!

Foto Tag

2009-05-30T14:36:00.000+05:30

No one has tagged me so far! So am gonna surutify a tag from one f my fello bloggers. This time its Srini :-)

This one was interesting. The Flickr photo tag!

Here goes the rules .. ofcourse surutified from his post 8-)

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into FlickrSearch.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
Ram Mohan

2. What is your favorite food? Right now?
Idly

3. What high school did you go to?
Montford Matric

4. What is your favorite color?
Black

5. Who is/was your celebrity crush?
Simran ;)

6. Favorite drink?
coffee

7. Dream vacation?
Australia

8. Favorite dessert?
Basundhi :P

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A media personality 8)

10. What do you love most in life?
Family

11. One Word to describe you.
Nallavan :D

12. Your flickr name.
Sankris Ram

Btw, I found a definition for Basundhi - Sweet fig in cardamom milk 8)

Photo Credits:

1. Ram Mohan Roy, 2. Idly_sambar_vada, 3. Rochester Cathedral HDR x5, 4. Solitude : Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self., 5. Simran, 6. Cookie splash! v6, 7. 'So what are you doing this Australia Day ?' Eyre Peninsula South Australia, 8. Sweet figs in cardamom milk!, 9. ABC coverage, 10. The Finger Family, 11. Nee Nallavanukku Nallavan, 12. Winter Ram

Time to fantasize

2009-05-25T02:03:00.000+05:30

The IPL II comes to an exciting end today. It being a Sunday of underdogs in South Africa, with two retired war horses in Gilly and Jumbo leading their pack to the finals. No one would have expected them to pull this off given they were the wooden spoon holders last time around finishing 8^th and 7^th respectively.

One of the best things about this season’s IPL has been the Fantasy cricket, I have been playing throughout. It was really exciting to take a manager/captain’s role and pick the best 11 for your fantasy team.

So as a finishing touch, here is my hand-picked fantasy team with the best in this season so far.

[caption id="attachment_316" align="aligncenter" width="382" caption="Ram's 11 - My Fantasy team"][/caption]

Icon player [1]

It was a tough choice. Other contenders were Sachin and Dravid, but Yuvi has been good in parts with both bat and the ball, if not consistent. He has scored 346 runs and picked 6 wickets including double whammy of hat-tricks. His bowling and powerful hitting made him edge over Sachin. Dravid has been sort of in and out of the team, so he had an unsettled look. Sorry Viru, VVS and Saurav, better luck next time. But one small change, the icon player doesn't get to be my captain.

Foreign players [4]

Orange capped Haydos and his good old team mate Gilly were automatic choices. Mr. Priest, the walker gets to be my captain for his ability to lead from the front. Bowling slot was sweeped by Malinga given his consistent performance thru out the series. I couldn’t make a quick decision reg the 4^th slot. Should it be a bowler or a batsman? If a batsman then, ABD or Dilshan or Duminy. Else Nannes / Abdulla / Murali. I would love to have Abdulla in my team. This guy was amazing picking 14 wickets in 9 matches. He was unlucky to have Lee back in the side and he automatically fell out of favour. But inorder to maintain a balance, I have to go with a batsmen. And it’s the first centurion of this season ABD.

Indian under-22 [2]

Blore’s Kohli, Chennai’s Tyagi, Deccan’s Rohit n Suman, Delhi’s Sangwan, Punjab’s Sohal n Chawla, Kolkata’s Ishant, Mumbai’s Abishek, Rajasthan’s Kamran Khan n Jadeja have been really impressive and outstanding. I was really happy to see these kids perform well in the big stage, after all, IPL is all about identifying new talents like these. Now coming back to my pick, Rohit Sharma goes straight through. He has even been named the ‘Citi under-23 success of the tournament’. He rightfully deserves it. 2^nd slot was a tough fight between Ishant, Sangwan and Chawla. Sangwan gets picked for his wicket taking ability (He is 8^th in the top 10 wicket takers of this tourney) He bowls good left-arm medium-pace like his idol Wasim Akram.

Indian over-22 [4]

Purple cap holder RP Singh, the underdog and revelation of this season Ashish Nehra (I never expected him to be this successful) and namma Chennai’s very own super king Raina pick themselves up. The only remaining slot had the Pathan brothers from Baroda in a tussle. But, Yusuf lost it to his younger brother Irfan for his exceptional all-round abilities picking 17 wickets at an avg of 22.94 and scoring 196 runs @ a strike rate of 124.05.

All said and done, if there were no restrictions like Icon/Under-22/4 Foreigners etc., then the one below would have been my dream team.. Looks sexy na :)

[caption id="attachment_321" align="aligncenter" width="260" caption="My dream team"][/caption]

Let the games begin

2009-04-24T03:37:00.001+05:30

I've lost track of days.. I don realise time flying by around me.. Days go on faster than nights.. I know wt u r thinking rite nw. No no! am not in love, but the Cricket carnival is back with a louder BANG!!

As sad as I am that it isn't played in India this time, am as happy tht it gets to be played at all. SA - the land of Goldmines, natural beauty, wildlife n all the action - gets to set the stage this time around. Hoping to have a cracker of a season. My favorites, namma Chennai Super Kings look better this time around with Haydos available for the whole tourney, the Million dollar baby Andrew, the captain himself on a roll after successfully touring with the Indian team around the world.

The 2008 finalists Super Kings n Raj Royals might start as favourites but I will hold the cards close to my chest. Look out for the Daredevils, MI and a rejuvenated Chargers and Knight Riders. I can't place the Royal Challengers anywhr. But somehw I feel Raj Royals n Punjab r gonna b a let down.
We r already a few days into it.. n there ve been few positives n negatives picked so far

The carnival, big party and the opening ceremony

English in IPL this time.. we ll get to see wt the kevins and Andrews get to do.

No more Indians-led-pack. Last time it was all abt Indian war horses, young n old, leading the teams (with the exception of Warny). But this time common sense seems to prevail, with proper captains leading the pack (tho am nt sure if McCullum is better than Dada)

All the Bollywood glam dolls being part of the franchises. Last time it was only Preity, this time we ve Shilpa, Juhi n Katrina joining her.

N of course all those Cheer leaders. They really keep the game going :)

ARUN LAL - no offense meant. but its getting really tired to hear him day in n day out during each break.

One suggestion: Pack Arunlal off to Africa (so that we get to c him very less) n bring Mandira back on studios. I really miss the deadly combo of Charu n Mandira. Not that Mandira is anywhr near 'hot n happening', she looks overdone n old. But anyday she is better than few mokkai mannars. Not to mention the first day when I was really pissed off watching 2 Lal's (Arun n Lal chand rajput) discussing the 1st day's game.. I was like wt the hell!! the perfect way not to start the big games. Btw, all these with due respect to his contribution to cricket. It wud ve been better if he had only stopped thr.

Big things come with controversies. All those things abt multi-captaincy, Pak players being withdrawn, few aussie players pulling out. Many turned out to be dampeners.

The strategic time breaks, introduced to reduce the time taken for an innings, as the big-heads feel that more time is wasted to discuss strategies during a match. Tho i feel, this has not helped much, only benefit being to the organizers who ve found more time to sneak in their ads.

CSK has started on a losing note. They ve lost 2 of thr 3 games!! :( Tho they had fought well, its really sore to be on the losing side. Hoping for brighter days ahead. So Goooo on CSK.. We r always behind u :)

And don miss my fellow IPL blogger Mr. Fake IPL Player, he deftly seems to pack a punch ;)

News and Views

2009-04-04T18:22:00.000+05:30

City auto drivers to get lessons in spoken English

This is to showcase Chennai as as tourist-friendly city.

Do they fail to realise what is making autos non-user friendly. First we gotto give them lessons on proper usage of the meter and how to be fair in charging the customers. Even I have been a victim more than once, I was charged Rs.120 for a travel to Teacher's colony in Kolathur (thts less than 7 kms from Perambur). The biggest kodumai is that, they are not even ashamed to demand such illegal (yes, its illegal) prices.
But another news seem to suggest that 43,000 cases have been booked against autos in last 3 months! Really!?!?? o_O

Smoking by mother is the biggest baby killer

Maternal smoking has replaced sleeping on stomach as the biggest factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

This may not be that applicable to Indian moms.. but there shud be an awareness about passive smoking. Smoking alone doesn't kill, even being in the company of a smoker, kills. So all moms out there, stay away from ur 'smoking' hubbies.
I just wanna abolish the cigarattes from this world once n for all. Jus like that .. with the press of a 'Shift+Del' :(

Jaya may get into high-flyers club

AIADMK supremo JJ is reportedly planning to take to the skies on chartered aircraft for campaigns.

Ya.. recession has hit the nation hard. But i suppose it has not for this Re 1 salaried ex-CM of TN. Omg! Me and my big mouth!

Eating choc helps improving maths skills

Now some interesting news. People were found to be doing calculations more quickly and more accurately after they had been given a chocolate drink.

It would have been better had I known this during my school/college days. But, I needn't worry, as a wiproite we never run out of tests and assessments.
But that said, i wonder that if all these were true.. I should 've already been a mini Ramanujam :D

Genetic superkid, 3, moves furniture

This is a superboy who can move furniture at the age of 3.

No he isn't been bitten by a genetically modified spider. This Michigan kid likely has a condition called myostatin-realted muscle hypertrophy, which means his body has very little fat and enlarged muscle fibres.
So, do we have a real-super hero after all these years!? :)

Made in India, to be sold in South Africa

IPL in SA could take the game to a new level. When SA was playing Aus in the T20 game recently, there were a lot of Indian flags flying around and messages welcoming IPL home. Its quite evident that SA is getting ready to welcome this unique Indian innovation to their shore.

Ya.. who would say NO to the Big Money Making Machine. The only few disappointed would be those fans who would have loved to watch these matches live in their home towns. But, its always better that its being played somewhere than not being played at all.

Courtesy: TOI for the news

Aham Brahmasmi [Naan Kadavul]

2009-02-09T02:41:00.000+05:30

Well.. atlast Bala's most awaited work is out! n I should thank my cousin for getting a ticket @ Satyam on the opening weekend.

So, now answering the most obvious question. "How was the movie?"

I would say it was a little off-beat, different and quite sensitive one. I felt that it needs user discretion, as a few scenes though not very explicit, were quite disturbing. By the way, I liked it. I always like people who dare to think different. With Kollywood rollin out so many crappy movies in recent times, this one for sure stands tall.

It had Bala's trademark style written all over it and all the way through. His usual mix of timely comedy and drama were present. I was really surprised that this movie could have had so many lighter moments.

The dark realities of our lives, which we have never bothered to know until now, have been pictured realistically by Bala. The life among 'Agori' Sadhus, the troubled life of blind beggars controlled by the mafia and the lives of mentally-challenged people have been narrated in a way that is new to Tamil Cinema.

I have to make a special mention of few outstanding performances. You might be a little shocked to know that Arya's performance was a little over shadowed by the leading lady. Pooja has done herself some good by accepting this role. Surely this movie will be a turning point for both the lead pair. One of those bold beggar kids with his timely comedy gave us a good laugh more than once. The cast was almost perfect.

Maestro's songs were not really that memorable but in general his background score was neat and was really helpful in letting the story flow smoothly. I happen to hear that all those specially-abled people in this movie were actually so and were trained to act in this movie. The only irritating character was Arya's dad. He could never emote!

Technically rich visuals, splendid re-recording apart from top-notch performances by the artistes make 'Naan Kadavul'.

All said and done, I bet this movie wont be a darling of the audience, but if you wanna watch something thats worth ur money, then this might be the best bet.

P.S. U know who did I end up meeting in the theater!? Gautham Vasudev Menon and Vishal had been to the same show. The highlight was that, Gautham's car was an Audi :-o

Last year @ Hollywood - Ram's Reco

2009-01-14T19:14:00.000+05:30

Not to be missed

Vantage Point - More | Trailer

8 Strangers. 8 Points of View. 1 Truth.

The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspective

Iron Man - More | Trailer

Fully Charged.

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil

Kung Fu Panda - More | Trailer

Prepare for awesomeness.

Po the Panda is the laziest of all the animals in the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life

WALL•E - More | Trailer

An Adventure Beyond the Ordinar-E.

In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind

The Dark Knight - More | Trailer

Why So Serious?

Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.

Slumdog Millionaire - More | Trailer

Who Wants to be A Millionaire?

The story of the life of an impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik, who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?", wins, and is then suspected of cheating

CJ7 - More | Trailer

It's out of this world.

A poor Chinese laborer learns important lessons after his son gets a strange new toy.

Made a good watch

Cloverfield

Seven Pounds

Quantum of Solace

Bolt

Horton Hears a Who!

Pathology

Doomsday

The Incredible Hulk

Henry Poole Is Here

Wanted

Hellboy II - The Golden Army

The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian

Ghost Town

Eagle Eye

Passengers

Alien Raiders

Yes man

Body of lies

Changeling

Were just 'ok'

Forbidden Kingdom

Tale of Despereaux

The Eye

The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Ruins

21

The Happening

Hancock

Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Tropic Thunder

Pineapple Express

Fly Me To The Moon

U would do well to avoid these

Drillbit Taylor

Superhero Movie

Meet Dave

The Mummy - Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

Open Season 2

Might be good, but am yet to watch

Rambo

In Bruges

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal

The Strangers

Dragon Hunters

Traitor

Righteous Kill

Death Race

Mirrors

Burn After Reading

Movies from that long rainy weekend [Take-2]

2008-12-26T16:56:00.000+05:30

As I had said in my previous post, this is about the movies from other languages. I happened to watch a Tamil, a Hindi and a couple of Spanish movies that particular weekend.

So, here we go...

Vaaranam Aayiram [2008]

As I had already said above, it was very slow and not very engaging. (The Quality of the video mite ve contributed to the dullness tho :) ). But I ve mixed feelings for this movie. It was between OK and good. Menon had wonderfully brought out the relation between a father n a son. Surya was awesome.. His sincere acting was essential in carrying the movie till the very end. One can know he wanted to give something special to this movie from his efforts towards his 6 packs. Great job!! Sameera was pretty in parts and Simran (one of my personal all time favourite) was aptly cast. But sad that she doesnt play the lead anymore. She has grown old :( Songs were obviously excellent. The way they were choreographed only did justice to Harris's efforts. My personal favs were 'Anjala' and 'Anal meley' songs. I particularly liked Surya's chest thumpings in that song :)

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Dostana [2008]

I usually watch Hindi movies based on Rajeev Masand's recommendations (IBN's). He had quoted this as a laugh riot. It seemed to be at the beginning, but then it was like an average bollywood movie with all the ready made masala. Even the genuine funny moments in the movie were to do with John and Abishek being gay. It wasn't very funny later. It was OK. May b u can sit n watch with frnds on a rainy day when u cant go out anywhr.

Btw, here is a trivia: Aishwarya Rai was originally offered the role of Neha, but she refused because she felt that her real-life marriage to Abhishek Bachchan would ruin the whole idea of the movie.

Could Ash ve been as hot at Piggy chops!? We cud only guess! ;)

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Orfanato, El [Spanish] [2007]

Wanted to watch this movie for long. n this long weeknd provided a perfect opportunity to do so. And when I did, I was happy that I had watched it. Its not ur typical horror movie with cheap thrills (tho' it had a few). I had to see the ending again as I felt that there was a loose thread hanging somewhr. But then I realised that it was tightly tied up.. A mom's affection to her son (even tho he was adopted) and things she would do were neatly portrayed. This is a movie not to be missed.

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Laberinto del fauno, El [Spanish] [2007]

More popularly known as 'Pan's Labyrinth'. It is a top 250 movie in IMDB. It was a little disappointing, but not bad at the same time. I watched this movie because of its high rating and it being a part of my favourite genre 'Fantasy /Mystery'. It was good in parts esply for those who love fantasies and fairytales. It had a bit of drama as well, a little bit of action even based on an autocratic leader trying to suppress rebellion guerillas in his jurisdiction. U can watch it once.

On a finishing note, a special mention of two short movies that were based on 2 of the widely acclaimed animation movies

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five [2008]

I really loved Kungfu Panda and its characters, that this small film was a must-watch. It was ass-kicking was the original movie was. This short film is about how the 'Furious Five' came into being. Kungfu Panda finds himself being confronted by a bunch of enthusiastic kids who are newbies in learning kungfu panda. He faces a tough task of teaching them, thats there much more to the art of 'Kung fu' than breaking jaw bones. I was thinking that this might be coming with the original DVD as an additional feature but sadly it didnt. So may be you can grap one from the good old peer to peer.

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Shrek the Halls [2008]
Now am really tired writing all these reviews :P so I ll keep this one short. It was a good complement to the main movie. Shrek is as unfriendly as ever and the donkey does his best in guaranteeing just that. It was fun to watch as Shrek prepares for a nice family Christmas with his ladylove and kids. But, he could only hope that all goes well :-)

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Merry Christmas n a Happy New year to all readers! Ve fun !!

Movies from that long rainy weekend [Take-1]

2008-12-26T14:03:00.000+05:30

I ve been writing this post for very long. May be writing movie reviews are not my cuppa tea.

This is just a roundup of movies I had watched few weeks back .. yup during that rain lashed weeknd when Chennai almost came to a halt..

Okies.. back to business then. Its in 2 parts. One for the English movies and the 2nd, abt other language ones.

The Others [2001]

I watched this in between Vaaranam Aayiram as it gave me a few yawns. This was good. Gave a few good scares. And was pretty entertaining till the end. It was a reco from one of my friends, who said it was pretty engaging. The kids were cute and I was very sad for them at the end. The way the twist in the story unfolded was excellent. It makes a good evening watch with ur family. Nicole's acting was commendable.

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

Rope [1948]

It was too good. This was my first Alfred Hitchcock's movie. I had wanted to watch one (particularly Psycho) for very long. I finally ended up watching this as this movie was very short. It was less than 90mins n it was supposed to be in 'real time'. It was a very good watch. John Dall's (as Brandon) acting was fabulous. I read in a forum where one of the buff was wondering y had he nt won the oscar that yr, even I was made to think so. James Stewart's performance was commendable as well. It was nt like a movie. It was very short n was more like a drama or a play. I think its even 'movie with the least no of takes' (some 4 or so, not sure). This is a movie not to be missed. Even in any case u think it wud b waste of time, u wont be wasting much.

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

2001, a space odyssey [1968]

I accept. I never understood this movie. To me this was the most complicated movie I ever saw. It was one of those movies were music played a vital role, more than the protagonists and their dialogues. You need to have the patience to sit through the whole film and let it unfold to completely get the story. Believe me, I ran thru most part of the movie and that could ve helped in adding to the complexity. I got a bit of what actually the film is about only when I had read a few discussions abt the film and a few more explanations and then i was like ''Oh.. ya.." So get this movie, when u ve too much time at hand and when u are ready to interpret and analyse what u actually see on the screen.
P.S Also thr s an official site where this movie is explained. Am yet to find some time for it. Hope I ll b doing it soon.

Pitch Black [2000]

It was a good action film. I wasnt expecting too much from this film as I had seen its sequel [ The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) ]. It was much of an average entertainer. But I was pleasantly surprised as this movie made a good watch. Here a group of space travellers get stuck in a seemingly lifeless sun-scorched planet. What they soon realise is that thrs more to their problems than being abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Vin Diesel was doing what he does best 'Action'. He acts out his character with amazing ease, that u start feeling he is the man for the job. His noctornal blue eyes are really cool and menacing.

My Rating: * * * * * * * * * *

The Ugly face of terror

2008-11-28T14:34:00.000+05:30

Once again, our dear country has to wake up to a day of te(HO)rror. First thing that comes up in my mind.. What exactly (WTF, to be precise) do these ppl want?
What are they trying to tell the world by killing all these innocent people. I wud call this pure sadism at its best. People who have missed living their life and cherish its varied colours are out there to ensure that others don't do it too. They just ve to paint it in different colours, giving a more stupid reason each time.

As threatening as it may seem, all these attacks, must not hinder the spirit in us. The more divided we are, the greater we fall. Coz, these are the times when people must realise that there is much more to life than just family or work or friends. There is humanity, which is why we are after all called human. So what do we call these AHs who derive pleasure from sufferings of others? Blood sucking parasites !? Even parasite would be ashamed as they do it coz they don't have an option.

And its really sick to learn that the master minds behind these are actually one of the most intelligent lot. An engineer or a doctor by profession who feels that life has not treated him fairly enough. So all these acts are going to balance it out!!? Must really be out of their minds. God help them.

But they just fail to realise that they are not getting anywhere with all these. The more you stress n trouble people, greater they unite and stand tall against this absolute madness. In a way this might be helpful, as it makes people forget their cultural/regional/religional differences and stand as one... a true Indian and a sane human being in every sense.

Toonz all de way!

2008-10-07T05:41:00.000+05:30

Toons n animations av never ceased to impress me, may it be the good old Popeye or the Tom n Jerry duo

So I thot I ll pay my tribute to these ever lasting characters, by listing down a few of them who will always find a place close to my heart!

Tom n Jerry

Tom and Jerry is a series of theatrical short subjects created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a housecat (Tom) and a brown mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957, when the animation unit was closed down. The original series is notable for having won the Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) seven times, tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most-awarded theatrical animated series. (Thanks Wiki)

They sort of changed the toon genre. When animators made the toons talk, this cute little pair brought smiles upon us with their action. Its slapstick comedy, and pretty good at that, but surely is within limits. I never missed out any of their episodes when this wretched CAS was not in place. Even now whenever I could lay my eyes on them, I just don't bother to look away. In simple words, always have been n will be my all time favorite.

Tintin

Tintin and Snowy (original French language names: Tintin et Milou), a journalist and his canine companion, are a pair of adventurers who travel around the world in The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, better known as Hergé. The series is one of the most popular comic book series in Europe and the world, especially in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

Tintin was kind of a role model to me. I always wanted to be someone like him. His curiosity for adventure and tendency to go way out to help others always landed him in a messy soup. Yet he intelligently manages to creep out free of trouble with his amazing common sense n presence of mind. It all started when my sister used to bring the illustrated version (Hergé) from the school library. I even used to photocopy the books so that I can have them forever. Then came the animated series. But it used to be a shortened version trying to cover an entire book in about half n hour. But it was a wonderful experience to c my frnd Tintin n the cute snowy alive n kicking ;). My favourite adventures are ‘Destination moon’ and its sequel ‘Explorers on the moon’.. Good sci-fi adventures. Soon we ll get to see him in big screens. Steven Spielberg has already acquired the rights for the movie. Its set to release sometime in 2009.. Awaitin eagerly :D

Mickey

Mickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks^[1] and voiced by Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928 upon the release of Steamboat Willie.^[2] The anthropomorphic mouse has evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.

Can u find me one person who doesn’t like this tiny weeny mouse :) ?!? It’s the oldest and the most adorable masterpiece of Walt Disney. All his adventures have been enjoyable. He is usually accompanied by his close knit of friends Goofy, Minnie mouse, Donald and Daisy duck. His part in Fantasia is sweet as the magician’s assistant where so many things go wrong, yet he escapes them all with his sheer innocence. Hats off Walt Disney for giving us such a wonderful friend.

Pingu

Pingu is a Swiss animated television series created by Otmar Gutman, about a family of penguins who live at the South Pole. The main character is their son and title character, Pingu.

The programme is set in Antarctica, where the penguin families and businesses live and work in igloos.

One reason for Pingu's international success is its lack of dialogue per se. All dialogue is in a honking "penguin language" (called Penguinese), and was initially performed without script by Carlo Bonomi.

This was one of the most addictive series I have ever seen. It had only a few episodes (of course I av them all in my private collection). Penguins are always cute particularly if they are as naughty and witty like this little Pingu. He s very playful and his usual partners in crime are ‘Pinga’ (his little sister) and Robby the seal (Pingu’s best friend). Pingu maybe playful but often helps his mom with pancakes and his father in delivering his posts. I never used to miss them as a kid. Whenever u feel bored or got nothing to do, jus watch this n allow Pingu to take u on a wonderful trip to a world of snow. U av my word that it ll b one unforgettable journey. I honestly hope that some day the series will b continued n that we get to see more of this naughty brat.

Noddy

Noddy is a character created by British children's author Enid Blyton, originally published between 1949 and 1963. The television show based on the character is the longest running show in British television since 1955, and continues to appear to this day. Noddy is a little wooden toy who lives in his own little House-for-One in Toyland.

Noddy is that sweet little boy next door, always providing u a wonderful company. He s really sweet, kind n helpful. He gets his name from his unusual head which starts nodding (with the jingle of the bell on his blue hat) when someone bumps into him and he needs help to stop it. He s so funny and a few toys like the Goblins (sly and Gobo) take advantage and lands him in trouble (usually with the pot-bellied local policeman ‘Mr. Plod’). But he usually has his good friend God fatherly like ‘Big Ears’ who advises him often on the way the things to be done.

Noddy loves driving his friends around Toyland in his little red and yellow taxi. The other toys can hear him coming by the distinctive "Parp, Parp" sound of his taxi's horn.

I used to regularly watch his adventures during my college days (ya.. u read it correct. nt school but college :P) When I used to return home early during the semester exams and other holidays, he used to be my lunch time partner :). I always used to have a good laugh and it was so relaxing. Av not watched any of his episodes for a long time now. Hope to catch up with it soooooon….

There are many more memorable ones. May b I’l come back some day n continue..

so long..

Why not a common ground? - The reservation debate

2008-09-21T15:57:00.000+05:30

One must understand that reservation is like giving crutches to the disabled when he can be treated by physiotherapy....
Reservation will not take this nation anywhere..

1. The reservation must be for economically backward people and not caste wise

2. If u need to help them, don't reserve seats, instead provide them monetary benefits, or improve their standard of life.

3. Reservation will only make them more complacent.

4. Provide them the means and not the solution

Give them a common ground as others. Think about this.

P.S. This is not intended to hurt anyone. The aim is to take a neutralized and informed stand on this issue.

The Green Mile [1999] - A wonderful portrayal

2008-09-21T14:02:00.000+05:30

Movie: The Green Mile [1999]

IMDB index: tt0120689

IMDB rating: 8.3

My rating: 8

Director: Frank Darabont

Release Date: 10 December 1999 (USA)

Genre: Crime | Drama | Fantasy

Plot: The story about the lives of guards on death row leading up to the execution of black man accused of child murder & rape, who has the power of faith healing

Cast (Major): Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan

Review:

Had been long waiting to see this movie. At last when it happened, it was really worth the wait. One of the few beautiful movies i have seen. Hanks comes up with yet another splendid performance and adds crisp to the good cast. Particularly Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey, WOW what to say!! He, his size, his innocence surely cant go unnoticed. Every scene creates a sort of expectation on whats going to happen next. n satisfies them pretty nicely too. It makes a good watch. It may not b a feel good movie.. but definitely makes u think a lot about humanity and human values. I am waiting to read the book from which it has been adapted

P.S. This review of mine was approved n posted at IMDB :)

Lost in the dark

2008-09-20T18:16:00.001+05:30

The roads are lonely dark n deep

I can hear low noises as creatures creep

I see a glimmering light at the end

Hoping its not a foe bt just a friend.

Adios Amigo

2008-09-20T10:01:00.000+05:30

Here I am to share my thotz...

I thot its time to pen down er... 'key' down my views, thougts, ideas n wtever that comes across that little thing in my head

B kind enuf to let me know wt u think of them!

More abt me

Thanks for ur time

so long...