That's how I used to answer my attendance when I was in school. During the course of my schooling it did vary between Yes Ma'am and Yes Sir, depending on the particular teacher. It would be weird if I called everybody Sir or Ma'am. The bottom line is, that's how I used to answer my roll call.
I realise it's been a while since I posted anything up here. I have had the time. Lots of it actually. I even vaguely remember a few topics I wanted to post about. Can't seem to recall exactly what they were right now. But somehow, it never happened.
Anyway, I am here now. Not to post anything, just to mark my attendance.
I'm not dead ... yet.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
So much to do ...
Over the past week or ten days, I've been watching a whole lot of movies. Don't exactly know why but just felt like watching movies.
Apocalypse Now
Twelve Monkeys
Blade Runner
Snatch
Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels
Seven Samurai
Kill Bill 1
Kill Bill 2
Bank Job
Pulp Fiction
Sin City
X-Men 3
Dog Day Afternoon
Lethal Weapon 1
I didn't watch it in that specific order and I know I'm forgetting something, but what the hell. Of course, I have seen most of the movies in that list at least more than once, but like I said - what the hell.
Planning to watch more today. I was thinking of Anjaathey for today and maybe Scar Face or I think I'll go for the Godfather marathon.
So many movies, so little time.
Apocalypse Now
Twelve Monkeys
Blade Runner
Snatch
Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels
Seven Samurai
Kill Bill 1
Kill Bill 2
Bank Job
Pulp Fiction
Sin City
X-Men 3
Dog Day Afternoon
Lethal Weapon 1
I didn't watch it in that specific order and I know I'm forgetting something, but what the hell. Of course, I have seen most of the movies in that list at least more than once, but like I said - what the hell.
Planning to watch more today. I was thinking of Anjaathey for today and maybe Scar Face or I think I'll go for the Godfather marathon.
So many movies, so little time.
Friday, March 28, 2008
WwwooooWWW
What do you get if you put Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Laurence Fishburne all in one movie at the same time ?
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1979, I personally think this movie kicks ass everything else save for Godfather Part One.
Watched this movie the first time about twelve years back. Obviously I was too young to fully appreciate it.
Watched it for the second time today.
Wow, indeed.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1979, I personally think this movie kicks ass everything else save for Godfather Part One.
Watched this movie the first time about twelve years back. Obviously I was too young to fully appreciate it.
Watched it for the second time today.
Wow, indeed.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
It's different
I'm not talking about that ad where Javed Jaffrey tries his hand at humour and ends up making a mockery of Tomato Ketchup. Actually I only want to single out the mockery part and put it into perspective.
One of the things I have become good at is watching bad movies. You see, watching good movies is easy. It's almost natural. But watching bad one's is an art. One that needs to be mastered and can only be achieved through vigorous practise and phenomenal mental conditioning.
For those of you who don't know, I can speak Telugu with reasonable level of fluency. I also speak Tamil, given that I have spent the best part of my life in Singara Chennai. Due to some arbit rule devised by some old men at Central Board for Secondary Education, I can also speak Hindi. It's very utilitarian, but I can get by.
The fact that I can speak these three languages basically implies that I am capable of watching movies in these three languages. And in the true spirit of every jobless soul out there, I do watch movies in these three languages.
Between these three languages, I can confidently state that I have a six sigma coverage of all the bad movies that are ever released. And I use six sigma in the statistical sense. For those of you who are more informed, in the normal distribution curve, three deviations on either side of the median covers approximately 99% of the area under the curve. For those of you who mistakenly think I am a nerd, all I am saying is - I watch a lot of really shitty movies.
Given that I watch this outrageous number of sad movies, it is only natural that my mind has been preconditioned and can handle pretty much anything that celluloid can throw it's way. Over the years movies have gotten worse, there are now more number of heroes and heroines who are intrinsically capable of delivering bad movies. Practise only helps them graduate from bad to worse - Try watching Kaalai by Silambarasan. Not to mention the whole bunch of actors who are, for some inexplicable reason, led to believe that they make good directors.
In spite of all this, I can put with the bad movies, I can put up with the whole new generation of bad actors, I can put with everything except for one thing.
"It's different"
The one constant selection of words that I hear from pretty much any actor before the release of every movie.
"This is not the usual romance or action movie. It has a bit of everything. There is comedy, there are some good action sequences, there is some romance, of course with sentiments and the songs are a super hit"
"It's different"
I have such a gut wrenching feeling right now, if I start puking now I don't think I can get myself to stop. If anyone associated with the film industry uses these words to describe anything made on film, they should be beaten up, broken down and burnt alive.
It's like "different" is a new age euphemism for "sucks". I vote for "different" to be officially declared as a new genre of movies.
Nowadays I find it easier to sit in a theatre with the preconception that a movie will suck and be surprised as opposed to expecting to see a decent movie and be disappointed. This way, I can prove that you live longer because you face fewer disappointments in life and you have reason to believe that your line of thought is correct.
I am no movie critic. I am no professional. But, what I am is a movie goer. And if I think a movie sucks and so do my fellow movie goers then it doesn't really matter what the critics and the professionals think now does it ?
Having said all that. I still watch movies that are "different". When the occasional movie that is NOT "different" does come along, it makes the experience all the more pleasurable.
Now, who's with me ???
One of the things I have become good at is watching bad movies. You see, watching good movies is easy. It's almost natural. But watching bad one's is an art. One that needs to be mastered and can only be achieved through vigorous practise and phenomenal mental conditioning.
For those of you who don't know, I can speak Telugu with reasonable level of fluency. I also speak Tamil, given that I have spent the best part of my life in Singara Chennai. Due to some arbit rule devised by some old men at Central Board for Secondary Education, I can also speak Hindi. It's very utilitarian, but I can get by.
The fact that I can speak these three languages basically implies that I am capable of watching movies in these three languages. And in the true spirit of every jobless soul out there, I do watch movies in these three languages.
Between these three languages, I can confidently state that I have a six sigma coverage of all the bad movies that are ever released. And I use six sigma in the statistical sense. For those of you who are more informed, in the normal distribution curve, three deviations on either side of the median covers approximately 99% of the area under the curve. For those of you who mistakenly think I am a nerd, all I am saying is - I watch a lot of really shitty movies.
Given that I watch this outrageous number of sad movies, it is only natural that my mind has been preconditioned and can handle pretty much anything that celluloid can throw it's way. Over the years movies have gotten worse, there are now more number of heroes and heroines who are intrinsically capable of delivering bad movies. Practise only helps them graduate from bad to worse - Try watching Kaalai by Silambarasan. Not to mention the whole bunch of actors who are, for some inexplicable reason, led to believe that they make good directors.
In spite of all this, I can put with the bad movies, I can put up with the whole new generation of bad actors, I can put with everything except for one thing.
"It's different"
The one constant selection of words that I hear from pretty much any actor before the release of every movie.
"This is not the usual romance or action movie. It has a bit of everything. There is comedy, there are some good action sequences, there is some romance, of course with sentiments and the songs are a super hit"
"It's different"
I have such a gut wrenching feeling right now, if I start puking now I don't think I can get myself to stop. If anyone associated with the film industry uses these words to describe anything made on film, they should be beaten up, broken down and burnt alive.
It's like "different" is a new age euphemism for "sucks". I vote for "different" to be officially declared as a new genre of movies.
Nowadays I find it easier to sit in a theatre with the preconception that a movie will suck and be surprised as opposed to expecting to see a decent movie and be disappointed. This way, I can prove that you live longer because you face fewer disappointments in life and you have reason to believe that your line of thought is correct.
I am no movie critic. I am no professional. But, what I am is a movie goer. And if I think a movie sucks and so do my fellow movie goers then it doesn't really matter what the critics and the professionals think now does it ?
Having said all that. I still watch movies that are "different". When the occasional movie that is NOT "different" does come along, it makes the experience all the more pleasurable.
Now, who's with me ???
Saturday, March 22, 2008
What's up with one sided conversation ?
You ever find yourself being asked a question by someone and find the question to be answered by the same someone.
I have. Exactly what is anybody supposed to do in that case ? I don't know what to do, so I manage a goofy smile and try not to feel like I'm completely invisible. Trouble is, once you are used to this sort of thing, you are never sure if the answer to a question is expected to come from you or if the question is purely rhetorical in nature.
Let me explain. I used to work in Hyderabad and subsequently shifted back to Chennai. The first few days I was back in Chennai, we had relatives visiting. I open the door for them and they say, "You are in Chennai?".
As tempted as I was to say, "No. The midday sun has got you hallucinating", I didn't. I only managed that goofy smile I mentioned earlier. That's not the end of it. While I was still contemplating what I was supposed to tell them, they tell me this, "Your mom told us you had come back. Good that you are back".
That's when I realised there was no need to say anything. All I had to do was pretend like I gave a damn and people are happy. This is an empirically proven fact, might I add.
Sometimes one sided conversations are fun. It's like white noise. It's very peaceful. When you know that your involvement in a conversation is purely academic, gives you the time and the opportunity to just watch other people make a fool out of themselves.
It's like watching a movie. If only I had an extra large popcorn in hand.
I have. Exactly what is anybody supposed to do in that case ? I don't know what to do, so I manage a goofy smile and try not to feel like I'm completely invisible. Trouble is, once you are used to this sort of thing, you are never sure if the answer to a question is expected to come from you or if the question is purely rhetorical in nature.
Let me explain. I used to work in Hyderabad and subsequently shifted back to Chennai. The first few days I was back in Chennai, we had relatives visiting. I open the door for them and they say, "You are in Chennai?".
As tempted as I was to say, "No. The midday sun has got you hallucinating", I didn't. I only managed that goofy smile I mentioned earlier. That's not the end of it. While I was still contemplating what I was supposed to tell them, they tell me this, "Your mom told us you had come back. Good that you are back".
That's when I realised there was no need to say anything. All I had to do was pretend like I gave a damn and people are happy. This is an empirically proven fact, might I add.
Sometimes one sided conversations are fun. It's like white noise. It's very peaceful. When you know that your involvement in a conversation is purely academic, gives you the time and the opportunity to just watch other people make a fool out of themselves.
It's like watching a movie. If only I had an extra large popcorn in hand.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Does history repeat itself ?
There is this quote by some guy who's name I can't recall just now.
"History does not repeat itself. The historians repeat one another."
Just realised the truth in that statement. I find myself in a situation I have been in before. One would tend to think, given my past experience, I will be able to handle the situation better than the first time. Which is true. But that's not the point. The point is, I let myself be put in the situation again.
Worst part is, I saw it coming. Unfortunately I was not willing to let go. Most unfortunate. Too little too late. It has cost me time. It is going to take more than just time to correct this. I'm going to have to change few other things as well. No easy task. Should be interesting to see how things turn out.
Lessons are always there to be learnt. Question is, am I willing to learn ?
"History does not repeat itself. The historians repeat one another."
Just realised the truth in that statement. I find myself in a situation I have been in before. One would tend to think, given my past experience, I will be able to handle the situation better than the first time. Which is true. But that's not the point. The point is, I let myself be put in the situation again.
Worst part is, I saw it coming. Unfortunately I was not willing to let go. Most unfortunate. Too little too late. It has cost me time. It is going to take more than just time to correct this. I'm going to have to change few other things as well. No easy task. Should be interesting to see how things turn out.
Lessons are always there to be learnt. Question is, am I willing to learn ?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)