Intellectual Kshatriyan

05th of JAN

2012-01-05T17:50:00.000+03:00

Good day to everyone. Woke up late today. Last weekend of laziness. Gym schedule from Saturday...need to shape up. Feel fat and flabby.

Hats of to the guys who really stick to their schedule what ever happens. Maybe its all the running around I do, I can never keep up with time. Its too fast. How much ever I try to schedule and make time tables, I always seem to mess it all up. From the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, it feels so tied up with things to do back to back. And mostly go to sleep with more things undone.

A New year has begun

2012-01-03T14:28:00.000+03:00

Another year has gone by. 2011 has been a very eventful one, full of Up's and Down's. If I take a count, its been mixed for me but I have arrived in 2012 with a grumpy mood and look. Just hoping it gets better as it goes.

I have been moved to a cabin in the office. Sounds good and looks good. But suddenly feel isolated from the rest of the office. No contact with the other staff. Have a new boss. Third one in this company. Wonder who will take leave first.

I think I am getting old. Increased urge to be with the family. Now I have begun feeling I miss Nandu growing up. And when I see children around me gloomy, watching TV and playing video games all the time...I feel a bit relaxed.

Scheduled to go to India in February but as the days get closer it looks more and more risky leaving the office in leave right now. Lets see how it progresses.

Taking leave now promises to myslef to regularly keep writing !

Feel tired and bored

2011-12-05T15:19:00.001+03:00

Got a bit busy with the Sangeerthanam programme. I must admit this was one hell of a programme to have been a part of. Well managed. Well attended. Three hours of pure devotional classics in seven languages. The crowd was awesome.

But I must write of the artists. They were so down to earth. TSRji being such a big shot music director was so simple and pleasing always. His son, a beginner also sang well and was such a well mannered boy. Ravi Shankar was more like a friend to all. And because he had been with the same group before, he was practically at home. It felt good to be part of the organizing committee.

Now that story is over we need move on. One look at my calender is making me dizzy. I think this overload of meetings and things to be done is making me lazy. There is just no free time for anything any more. And is it worth it? At times, you feel as though you are racing against a speeding train !

Started on the The Secret of the Nagas. What is wrong with these writers? The first book they bring out is fresh and interesting then the sequels look like they have been made for a movie.While reading 'R2020' I could almost visualize Salman Khan as the anti - hero...for some reason !

The sudden change in the bandwidth of the cable channels has also spoilt my rhythm. The morning coffee with the news papers, Asianet and NDTV running side by side has been replaced by Manorama News for Malayalam. Its simply horrible. The news presentation looks like a serial to me. As it is the Mullaperiyar issue has so much drama in it, its keepiing our tempers high for no reason. once the rain is over and the Sabarimala looting is over, no one is going to be bothered about it.

Why this Kolaveri is making me mad !

2011-11-23T12:31:00.001+03:00

Met an exciting writer yesterday. Very confident and she knew what she was talking about. While on the subject of writing, she happened to mention how the number of bloggers who started off was going down.

Interesting observation , I must say. Many of the good bloggers who I started of with about two years back have almost stopped blogging. The new bloggers also don't seem to have the class and the investigative initiative taken up by the bloggers who came with the initial tide. Anyway, I can't blame anyone because have many a times had a great 'PAUSE' in my writing. I think the basic problem is having the time to write. And the most important problem being the advent of the social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook. Its so much cooler and faster. you don't need to be bothered of spellings and grammar.You get immediate response to anything you post. A hundred people even 'Like" your statements announcing death ! And the best thing is you are exposed to a wide variety of information at the same time. Its more like an information overload. And you get to debate, argue, fight over your statements too.

Yesterday it was 'Mullaperiyar' and today it is 'Kolaveri Di" trending on Facebook. All of India and Amitabh Bachan seem to thinks its a good song. For some reason I just can't stand it. Now I await that damn music on caller ring tones...sheez what all we need to go through !! Its like the Jazzy Gift sensation when he came. It was the same alternate voice praising we are hearing today. And where is he now? Will not forget the first time I heard 'Lajjavati". It was a t a concert in Kuwait where my friend Rajesh was performing. The crowd was pushing him to sing the song as his into after Chitra started her show. It was electrifying. But somehow this 'Kolaveri' is not giving me the same effect. maybe because its the ghetto style treatment to English that has put me off !

Secrets

2011-11-20T09:18:00.001+03:00

Do you keep secrets that no one other than you and your conscience alone knows? Are there so many of them that you don't actually remember how many are top secrets, how many others could possibly know and how many could get leaked? Could you actually live a life where no one gets to know your deepest secrets? Do you have secrets you wish to keep as secrets and relish?

Weekend

2011-11-17T11:19:00.001+03:00

The courts are on a roll. Jail terms for calling thejudges ‘shumbhan’. 100 crore defamation suits, life term for examination paperleaks and lets Manu Sharma go on parole to attend a wedding !!

At times everything seems to be standing on its head in the country !

Today the shrine at Sabarimala opened its doors to thousands of devotees. Swami Saranam. I only pray to him that HE keeps everyone safe despite the callous way in which we are handling things at Pampa and Sanidhanam.

The whole of India erupted yesterday morning at the news of Ash delivery. But what I noticed was how the media was silenced and told to keep off the Bachan family. Suddenly there is a 10 point bulletin on how to cover the news even. Pathetic. Where are all these egos when ti comes to covering news and other issues that hurt the sentiments of others? They literally poke the mike into the face of a crying mother and asks her what she feels about her son's death !! The Indian media which at times can be the most sensitive has suddenly become the noble understanding angels. Is this the effect of the defamation case on Times Now?

The Vatican has today forced Benetton to remove an advertisement that shows the Pope kissing an Imam. I agree that showing him kissing another man in the mouth is very distasteful. but then we need to look at every incident in the same wave length and not classify a few as art and others as blasphemy. Barkha has tweeted that the advertisement was not is good taste? I am surprised we have to listen to this crap when the same person goes on and on about freedom of expression when it comes to many other issues like this. At least the pope was not kissing a nude female or something of compared to the nudist painting of the late M.F. Hussain depicting Hindu Goddesses in the name of modern art.

So another weekend has arrived. I hate Friday's. They are so busy. People are just waiting for Fridays to dumps schedules on you. Its like, you work six days a week and on the seventh you spend time doing your favorite sport...charity and community service !

My trip home

2011-11-16T10:30:00.001+03:00

Took a short trip back home last week. Just four daysto be with the family. Had lot of good food and some very close time withNandu. Felt real sad to see her on the verge of crying at the airport. She justshe held on till I walked into the airport to start crying. She cried the wholeday it seems. It’s a wrong notion when people say as children grow older theylose the attachment with their parents. Maybe because I am so far off she seemsto be more attached each time I visit.

Otherwise I was home most of the time. Did a bit of shopping for pants with enlarged waist line. We shopped at this chain called Kalyan Silks. I took the Live In brand khakis and two formal wears for office. Something told me I need wash it before I started using them as so many people would be doing trail runs with these very pants. I wonder why they don't keep a pair aside for these trial runs ! Anyway when I reached Kuwait, I send all the pants to the dry cleaners. And guess what? It shrunk !! So I am back at my same old problem..larger waist line and tighter pants !

Was reading of a football match being planned in Cochin between FC Barcelona and AC Milan. Who are they kidding? Do they even know what a match like that can do to a lousy planned city like Cochin. The roads are cracking up everywhere I went. Pit holes around the cities. The traffic clock is so bad that people have started chatting with each other at the roadblocks making new friends ! And they want to hold a class A football match with international teams here. I am still not sure how they manage cricket matches in these cities.

No one ssems to care in Kerala about anything anymore. Thye seem have lost hope. If there is hole in the middle of the road, they won't even bother to place a detour board. They simply drive around it. The other day at home we were talking of the rise in petrol prices and I was going hyper when pat came the rebuttal. 'You can't even get a chocolate for 1.62Rs so what are you crying about' !

I guess we are going hyper for nothing. Or is something wrong with me? I just checked the Indian rupee rate this afternoon. Its 183 to one Dinar. As an expatriate sweating and turning blood to money ( as the old folks say when the shout at us kids ), I should be happy. But I am not happy because I know the way this is going we are going to rub the nose of our country into dirt and bury t deep.

Tomorrow we start our 41 days of fasting. Looks like a long winter ahead :(

How some countries differ in attitude

2011-11-14T13:11:00.001+03:00

I promised myself to keep some notes henceforth so that I won't be lazy in updating my blog. I hope I can carry it off.

Was reading this morning an interesting new article on Korea. The South of course...nothing exciting happens in the North anyways !

Its seems last week, 600000 students took an exam that would decide their fate and future. They were competing to enter the three major universities in South Korea collectively called the SKY.

The children need to write the CSAT entrance exams and have real high grades to qualify.

So, What's different here? Even India can boast of bigger and tougher exams than this. More than double the students attend those at state and national level.

What caught my attention was the preparations the parents and government did for the smooth conduct of these exams. The government ordered all public and private office to reschedule their timings so that the traffic is light on the roads and easy for students to get tot heir exam halls.The Police ordered a ban on honking near the schools and a teams of volunteers and police units worked as special traffic managers during this time. The US military base stopped live ammunition practices and even flight take offs during this time. The stick market market was told to open late and close early for two days. Even anti- government protesters stopped action for a day.

Churches and Buddhist monasteries across the country held prayer meetings and candle light vigils. In spite of all this sadly more than 1000 children have killed themselves in the last ten years due to the pressure of this exam.

The government's effort to support these children along with the public is really commendable. Really wonder when we would see even an iota of these concerns in India where nobody actually cares for these exams or the pressure put on the children by these evaluations. At high school, your life seems to be judged by the grades of your exams and entrance results rather than your capability and who you are.

In a small way the attitude of the South Koreans have made them one of the biggest industrial powers in the world. Indians need to learn a lesson from them.

Its been a very long time..

2011-11-13T15:17:00.001+03:00

Its been quite sometime since I penned down a few words here. I guess the addiction of the social media applications has taken its toll on my time. Seem to be spending more time reading other peoples posts and jokes on Facebook and Twitter. I seem to have lost any little bit of creative writing that was left in me.

Need to get started again.

Chalo Dilli

2011-07-17T12:58:00.002+03:00

I don't think I have ever given full marks to any movie. But I simply loved this one.

Great, simple and intelligent script writing,. Good work on the direction too. I hate Lara Dutta. But she has done some commendable work here. And a standing applause for Vinay Pathak. The movie reminded me of one of my favourite movies..Planes Trains and Automobiles.

The sound track is interesting too.

4.5 / 5

Mr. Emad passes away

2011-07-11T18:19:00.000+03:00

And so he is gone.

After working with him for three years very closely, our GM Mr. Emad expired yesterday at 0300. We had our ups and downs and a fair share of disagreements on the decisions he took. But at the end of the day, he stuck out as a very supportive person. Probably one of the best memories is the trip with him to Dubai and the dining. We talked a lot of his ideas for the office ( sadly, didn't materialize the way he imagined ! ).

This is the third time in my professional life, I have lost a colleague to death. This was was a bit more hard as he had be ailing for sometime. In fact in his last meeting with us two days back, he was feeling so energetic and in fact jokingly told us he wanted to give us all a pay raise before he died !!

But the manner in which his death was simply brushed aside with the office working as normal, no sad faces, coffee doing its rounds, people going about their way very normally shocked me. What kind of work cultural are we living in? Don't we have any kind of respect for the person who sat along with you eight or more hours a day and worked? The funeral was understandable, as religiously once a person is dead he to be buried as soon as possible and his material body gotten rid off. But there were people talking business there...which was ridiculous !

Anyway, you are what you are when alive, after you are dead..you are simply rotting waste. People will forget you faster than the movies they see everyday. But some classics are forever imprinted in your mind. Mr. Emad will remain one in my mind.

Shopping Madness

2011-07-09T13:01:00.000+03:00

There seems to be a shopping madness going on. Was out shopping myself at IKEA and LULU center last night. I had to return empty handed from IKEA as I could not find parking space.LULU had ample parking space by the people were driving like crazy blocking the way for the people exiting as well as those coming from the Friday market. Add to this some @@@@@@@ locals who seem to be honking and scrapping cars on their way to get back home. Seemed as though they were the only people who needed to be back home. Made me seriously think, these unruly nut cases need the like of the guys who got ousted recently in the Spring Revolution to tie them down and make them behave. I don't want to take names because of the smelly beards monitoring the blogs and tweets in this part of world.

Kayam ( Malayalam )

2011-07-09T10:50:00.001+03:00

Third rate movie made by some perverted guy just for some kicks !! I prefer not to rate this one even.

I didn't expect or accept what made Shweta Menon to pick a role like this. If she thinks she is too sexy to flaunt her body all over the screen...I think she got a few measurements wrong !

Arjunan Sakshi ( Malayalam )

2011-07-09T10:45:00.000+03:00

For a change, I watched this movie not for Prithvi but for Ann. I liked her in the first movie. But, in this she seems to be over shadowed by the male actor and turned out to be a sitting duck. No acting and nothing. Thank God there is love angle with Prithvi because she has a serious problem with height.

The script is quite weak and full of glitches. The main story of the killing has been sidetracked completely. The villains whose profile was largely boosted in the beginning of the movie turned out to be a wash out towards the end.

2 / 5

Shaitan

2011-06-27T11:49:00.000+03:00

Don't ask me why, but I like watching Kalki Koechlin on screen. And I watched Shaitan to see her perform. I was expecting a semi horro kind of movie from the name. But was treated to an action thriller with lots of drugs. There are few loose ends though and writing about it will turn out to be spoilers for those who haven't seen it. I was quite disappointed at the ending of the movie...there was no wickedness in it !!

Somewhere down the line, I enjoyed the movie. Looks like budget constraints took a toll on this movie. or it could have been much better with a better cast in fact. Some of the actors look dead bored.

Not sure who this director ( Bejoy nambiar ) is, but seems to have left a mark.

The sound track is quite loud and they made a total mess by remixing Khoya Khoya Chand.

3 / 5

Dum Maro Dum

2011-06-27T11:41:00.000+03:00

I was a bit apprehensive about watching this movie. I thought it would be just another movie trying to add glamour to Goa's famous rave party's. But surpricingly the script is really good and keeps you hooked to the movie till the end.

The masala with Abhi's history could have been avoided. Adity pancholi has done a good role. I even though the two new actors also did their roles pretty well. Bips turned out tot be just a show piece as usual. The sound track was good though I wasn't very impressed with the Deepika number.

Did the script drag too much? Yes, but the excellent twists in between keeps you guessing till the end.

3.5 / 5

Karayilekku Oru Kadal Dooram ( Malayalam )

2011-06-23T09:54:00.000+03:00

The sound track in this movie is really good. Especially the opening ghazal from M. Jayachandran.

The script writer seems to be trying to create some literary magic about which he himself has no clue where to end. The main character seems to be all confused and in relationships with so many people. The medical reason by the doctor is even more funny.

The dialogues at times feels like it was written for some drama. The characters have no depth and fail to get to the point leaving us viewers with a sense of wasted time.

The ending of the movie is such a misfortune as they could have depicted it so much more beautifully.

1.5 / 5

Source Code

2011-06-23T09:46:00.000+03:00

Source Code is not Time Travel. Yes, it is is till the every end. How many stores do they want to make on the same lines with crazy explanations.

The script is not something new., And the way it has been done sound very vague. The script gives up the climax of the story right form the start sadly. The ending seems to have left everyone confused and looks like it was altered just to make everyone happy. It spoils the complete reasoning of the science fiction.

2 / 5

Drive Angry

2011-06-23T09:28:00.000+03:00

Yeah !! I wanted to drive real angry after watching this one !

Surprisingly, I was recommended to this movie by a friend with whom I share a liking for grind house movies. But this one was a bit of a disappointment. Somehow I felt the dialogues where bad and the violence was not in any way class.

I think I preferred The Accountant anytime to Nicholas Cage's character. The only scene I enjoyed was with Nicholas up for a gun fight. The classic combo of a pistol, girl and Jack Daniels !

Other than that, there just is no story worth watching. In the end it turns out to be a C grade action movie.

2.5 / 5

Aatmakatha ( Malayalam )

2011-06-19T17:58:00.000+03:00

I saw a few minutes into this movie and switched it off in India as I knew I was not in the mood to watch this. Saw it over the weekend. A beautiful work from Sreenivasan.

A serious look into the life of visually disabled people. Must actually call it a tribute to them. Sharbani Mukerjee looks very beautiful. I felt the music score didn't do justice to this movie.

A must watch for people who enjoy serious themes told in a simple language.

Payyans ( malayalam )

2011-06-19T17:27:00.000+03:00

I don;t like Jayasuriya. But this movie, I enjoyed. There is not much of a story. There is serious lapses in direction and everything. The music is very ordinary and at times too loud. So, what did I like.

Amazing dialogue delivery. Very fast and funny. Jayasuriya has acted like a college kid and had done a good job. Some of the jokes and fast and very punchy. I expected more from the female leads.

3 / 5

Race ( malayalam )

2011-06-19T16:57:00.000+03:00

Old wine in a new bottle. Coming close on the heels of movies like Cocktail, this one was bound to flop. Though I liked Indrajit's acting, the character was not tough enough.Something was seriously wrong in the storyline. The movie is surely copied out of 'Trapped' but fails to entertain.Gouri Munjal looks interesting..

1 / 5

Back Up Plan

2011-06-19T16:48:00.000+03:00

There used to be a time, you watched a Jlo movies just to have her on screen. But this one is a far from being hopeless. She is ugly and fat. Totally unbelievable.

And to add to that a bad script and some hopeless acting. I have no clue why this movie named so !

0.5 / 5

Nadakamme Ullakam ( Malayalam )

2011-06-15T17:54:00.001+03:00

AYOO !!!!!!!!!!

Sluts on the streets

2011-06-13T11:26:00.000+03:00

Some one recently asked me when we would have own own 'Slut Walk'. Well its here.

Skimply dress women ( wonder what will be new ! ) will walks the streets of Delhi this month to protest sexual violence. Like the 'Pink Chaddi' campaign, this one was launched after a cop in Canada actually blamed the women for dressing like sluts for the rape attempts there. It has caught on worldwide.

Delhi has one rape or molestation attempt case every 18 hours. Not sure if a 'free show' will help solve the problem. if it helps to solve the problem, well and good. God forbid, if it makes a fashion statement !!

Gaddamma ( Malayalam )

2011-06-13T10:28:00.000+03:00

Watched 'Gaddamma' last night. A good movie from Kamal after a very long time.

Looks like they researched well for this movie to bring out the plight of the housemaids in the gulf. It is no wonder they banned the movie in the gulf. Some stark realities cannot be kept hidden. Some characters like Srinivasan's Razak and Suraj's Usman are so real. The story of a housemaid suffering in the gulf is something we hear on a day to day basis. I hope this serves as an eye opener for the families back home who unwillingly send their daughters, wives and mothers for these jobs.

Probably the only warning to be given is that this is no light entertainer.

4 / 5

The Bilderberg Group

2011-06-12T16:59:00.000+03:00

This is the first time I have heard of it. So thought, I would read a little about it.

The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 140 guests, most of whom are people of influence in the fields of politics, banking, business, the military and news media. The names of attendees are made available to the press, but the conferences are closed to the public and the media, and no press releases are issued.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group

The group seems to be some kind of European gathering to keep the western interests intact. The BBC reported that it is said the decision to invade Iraq was taken here. The white folks always like making their own secret clubs with passwords and all. Its taught to them from their childhood.

What interested me was the list of guests this year.

http://bilderberg2011.com/bilderberg-members/leaked-attendee-list-bilderberg-conference-june-9-12-2011-in-suvretta-house-hotel-st-moritz-switzerland/#comments

They got China in there attending. But NO India. That's very surprising considering we are being called an emerging giant, like Kumbhakarnan, in Asia.Or, were there Indian participants still not identified like Sonia Maino or son Raul Gandhi from the Indian first family?

:)

2011-06-12T11:11:00.000+03:00

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) legislator Ramesh Wanjale, who represented Khadakvasla, died on Friday due to a heart attack. Its pretty sad to hear of the death of another person. And for party followers it will be a disastrous blow. But looking at his photos below...I don't have much to comment but it leaves me with a smiley on my face !!

Kudumbasree Travels ( Malayalam )

2011-06-12T10:20:00.001+03:00

I should have stopped watching this movie after a few minutes. Just went through it because of Bhavanana. One of the worst comedy flicks in recent times. Except for a few smart jokes in between the movie tries to create the same confusions of the 80'scomdey movie. And it fails badly at doing it. One of the songs in hummable.

Train ( Malayalam )

2011-06-11T11:50:00.000+03:00

Was in for a rude shock watching this movie from Jayaraj. Jayaraj has always been my favourite director right from the days of Vidyarambham till Gulmohar, despite some comic losses he has made in between.My cousin asked me recently what other movies he has made. Will list a few of my favorites.Loudspeaker, Gulmohar, Daivanamathil, Makalku, Kannaki, Karunam, Shantham, Kaliyattam, Deshadanam, Sopanam, Vidyarambham, Johnny Walker, Kudumbasametham.

I am fan of his guts to try something different always. But this one was pathetic. Absolutely no link in the scripts. Bad direction and the new cameraman is pathetic. The heroine is completely lost and has no clue of what she is doing. Also the main actors are never in the same scene together. Looks like a patch up work. Can't believe even Mamooty actually agreed to do this script.

Feels like Jayaraj is losing his touch making commercial movies. Or did he have any?

Thought for the day

2011-06-11T10:46:00.001+03:00

Was reading this morning of a peculiar report in the death column that spoke of an elderly man's being found decomposed and more than a year in his own house. It's amazing how people can be in this part of the world. The son found the body after casually going to his father's place after more than an year of no contact with the man. They may have had problems but more than a year? And to top it, he has a sister too. I thought women were more considerate in these matters.

In a more shocking news, someone recommended that women prisoner of war should be used as sex slaves for the men. This way the men will not commit adultery it seems. Religiously it is possible, was the argument. And to make the women folk happy, they agreed the age should be more than 15. It's a disgraceful thought coming from a woman, whose own country was captured during war time. Is life all about sex and sexual pleasures alone?

Moving away from her perverted thoughts, does everything have to revolve around sex? Can't there be relationships more pious than simply being physical? Mind you I don't want to get into a debate whether marriages. I am for marriages being the foundation of the society we have at the moment. Someone is yet to show me a better concept. In these days of pre-nups, if a man or a woman feels a genuine attraction towards someone from the opposite gender, it does not have to end up in sex all the time. The SEX part does not validate any relationship. Sex is simply the added benefit in a relationship. It could actually become a burden if the act is for any reason not enjoyed by both the people in the relationship. It can suddenly destroy all the feelings, affection and trust that was built up till that moment. A man can admire a women and vice-versa for so many reasons. Its probably the way society sees or expect everything to end up physically. I am no psychologist to talk about the mental feelings of a man and women and all that big lecture. But I still feel there can great friendship, admiration between two people of opposite gender without actually ending up in bed ! And to people who manage to end up in bed without spoiling their out of marriage relationship...good luck !

Blogging from my cell

2011-06-01T00:45:00.001+03:00

Ever since I got hooked to Facebook,I haven't actually been bogging a lot.Now with the new phone,I guess I could manage more posts.

At Amiri with a friend who isn't feeling well.Being one of the top most hospital in Kuwait, I was amazed at how dirty the washroom was this night.

Another review

2011-03-19T12:55:00.001+03:00

Elsamma Ennu Ankutti - A simple and very nice Lal Jose film. Iwis impressed by the direction. And most importantly the new actresses, Ann Agustine. Indrajit and Bobban Kunjacko have also handles their roles pretty well. The music is very average. Mostly liked the script and its simple outlay with some good dialogues and comedy.

4 / 5

The Mechanic - What a big bore ! A desperate attempt to create another Transporter. Jason Statham is pretty much average in this. Though I haven’t seen the older version of this movie, the storyline is pretty much predictable.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2011-03-16T17:55:00.001+03:00

I know you must be thinking this guy has no other job...than watch movies and post u tube links on Facebook !!

Tanu weds Manu - What the hell is this movie? Whoever came up with the idea of this one? Kanana Ranaut looks like she came out of the set of Plant of the Apes with her make up on ! And she can’t act for monkeys !! Madhavan is also is stereotype chubby chocolate boy. I like Jimmy Shergil, so I can watch him any role. But this one went way above my head. He just had no role in this one. This should have been a Telegu film.

1.5 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movies over the weekend

2011-03-12T10:37:00.001+03:00

Unstoppable - I enjoyed the Denzel Washington movie. Though I feel he has now got into this De Ja Vu mode. Everything about him seems so predictable. Loed the action and thrill till the end of the movie. Hate to wonder what would it result in if this happened in India !!

4 / 5

Takers - A very very average movie. Matt Dillon has done good. But its not enough to carry it off. It looks like some black propaganda movie. The action sequences are good and well made. But the storyline is weak and its fails to carry in most of the scenes.

2.5 / 5

Aakrosh - Finally a non - mallu copy from Priyadarshan. A very thoughtful issue picked up and nicely put by Priyan. Some scenes have been over glorified in typical Bollywood style, But I guess you excuse all that when you are watching a hindi movie. Akshay is turning out to be another Vinod Khanna, but I doubt he can make it there to the top.Bipasha is wasted for no reason. I enjoyed the movie for its fast sequence.

3,5 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Anwar ( Malayalam )

2011-03-10T12:48:00.001+03:00

What’s with Amal and this useless slow motion movies. It felt like a malayalam TV serial. 30 minutes stuff elongated by slow motion to fit 2.5 hours of wastage. And Prithvi with his high head on his shoulder better watch out of the movies he chooses or he could turn out to be thing of the past.

The movie was full of mistakes and misses. Bad script writing. The song was the only saving grace in the whole movie.

1.5 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

127 Hours

2011-03-06T11:17:00.001+03:00

I like biographical movies. 127 Hours is a good movie. Great camera work and some good sound editing too. Not sure if I want to compare this to Danny Boyle’s Slum Dog. Because I wasn’t impressed too much with that either.

Of course in this scenario, there is not much you can do in the story. But there seemed to be something missing in the realistic part of the movie. The movie doesn’t keep you on your toes. It doesn’t sink into you. What would you do in this situation. There just is no life in the movie. It didn’t even feel as much as reading those real life stories in Reader’s Digest ! Nevertheless its a watchable movie for the camera work. Its a stunning place to be.

I can’t believe people expected Rahman to get an award for the soundtrack of this movie !!

3 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Traffic ( Malayalam )

2011-03-06T11:04:00.001+03:00

Another one of those over hyped movies. I guess the reviews were boosted up so much that I had too much expectation on this film.

Its a very simple movie with a weak storyline. the director seemed to be copying some English movies he has seen and trying some editing cuts in that line. Sreenivasan is getting boring. His facial expressions ( if he had any ) can no more be understood.

Rahman has done his small role well. Its sad this guy can’t make it big in malayalam films. Boban Kunchacko is hot on his come back trail. Doing well. There used to be a time I used to hate Anoop Menon. His sight reminded me of the crap TV soap operas in malayalam. But off late he has been making forays into cinema and surprisingly doing well compared to some of the new comers. But he better shed some weight or become a replica of the Mohanlal shape !

Music is average and camera work also. The story is not gripping enough.

2 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Back to life !

2011-03-06T10:50:00.001+03:00

Had a long break from the blog. Was involved in too many things at the same time. I realise you need to concentrate on what you are doing to make it better rather than throw your attention over a span of things at the same time !! I guess my realisation came a bit too late to turn back the clock.

Got a new HDMI cable fixed up to the LCD this weekend. Loving the experience of having to listen the songs from the ‘Music Lovers’ group on the sound system in surround. And the amazing clarity with which it comes. Also the movies on big screen is absolutely brilliant. Even the camera print ones come out really good in HD.

Have been quite busy for some reason or the other. Less of office work and more of social commitments. Fridays now happens to be the busiest day of the week. The moment a holiday comes up, the immediate reaction to start planning minute by minute of engagements to keep you busy for more than 24 hours !

The National Day holidays were the best holiday in a long time. Four days went away so fast the only good memories remaining is of the superb Wafra trip we undertook. Amazing place. Truly, a Swiss experience in the desert !

Started purchasing for the trip to India next month. The prices have gone up considerably compared to last year.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Cut abuse...reduce age for sex !

2011-02-01T16:41:00.000+03:00

The government is all out to cut down on child sex abuse. And they have got us the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Bill, 2010.

Its amazing what you can think of right in the middle of inflation, corruption and terrorism they could think of this. Anyways..since they have taken a step forward, it is welcome. ( As I write the Minister has said this was a wrong bill that has been put forward or something in that lines !! )

Now to some of the great provisions in the bill that is suppose to reduce child abuse.

“ The gradation of age down to 12 years was to decriminalise sexual exploration by two children “. I cannot imagine what they had in mind when they wrote this? What is with the age 12? And at 12 they really want to open doors to sexual exploration by children? So are we saying that they are making it a permissible age to talk of sex and maybe experiment? Would it clash with the Prohibition of Child Marriage act which says marriage below 18 is not allowed? A few years back there was a case that argued to reduce the age limit from 18 to 12.

The Bill also brings the age for consensual sex to 14 years. I wonder at what maturity levels would a child be in to decide if sex he or she is indulging in is safe or not. Are we ready for this stuff? Even in countries like the US which claim to very early sex education in schools, accounts for highest cases of unwed mothers, divorce and STD cases.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2011-02-01T14:18:00.001+03:00

The Blind Side - I sat to watch this movie like any other time pass. More like an obligatory resolve to watch all that comes my way. But I was completely taken aback. The movie is really good. Very nice script and excellent acting from Sandra Bullock. They should have got someone better to do the role of Big Mike though.

4 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Back to movies

2011-01-31T16:56:00.001+03:00

After being stuck with Sopranos for more than a week, decided to shift to movies to catch up.

Mirch - A very simple movie and simple actors. Its fun and a serious look at panchatantra stories. Of course, I watched it for Konkona Sen and she didn’t fail to deliver.

4 / 5

The six wives of Henry Lefay - Don;t know what made me sit and watch this. Maybe it was some simple humour. But otherwise this movie sucks big time.

1 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Happy Republic Day !

2011-01-26T17:36:00.001+03:00

Happy Republic Day ! ( Just following the traditional cat calls... )

Suppose to be the day our constitution came into force. Surprisingly this year it is also the day we are not allowed to raise the national flag in our own administered Kashmir. A grand Republic Day parade of military forces. A bloody mockery of them. So many gave up their life for that part of land that was illegally occupied and to keep peace in the Indian administered portion. And today in that very land we are beating up people who want to raise the national flag. If the raising of the national flag in Lal Chowk of Kashmir will hurt local sentiments, then we don’t need those sentimental people in our country. And of such a small thing can create a law and order problem, then the elected government of that state can go take a hike as they have not been able to work their way into that society and build any kind of confidence in the people. A great Republic Day with both leaders of the opposition in jail. Today we let go for a handful of seperatists. Tomorrow it will be the Nagas and we will stop raising flags in Nagaland, Then it will be Arunachal Pradesh and we stop there also. Then from Assam, Before we know we could have these demands across the country.

Last year for Eid at this same very place the Pakistani flag was hoisted in view of the full media. No one bothered to report it and there was no issue about the whole thing. So is this common practise int hat part of our country? Are we talking of India or Pakistan here? So I wish to say its a pathetic display of a day where we celebrate a constitution that is full of loop holes and can be broken as when some people like.

Anyway, don’t think I just whine on and on like some nitwit all time. I do see the good side of things too. Atleast we told the JFLK one thing. We are tough. On our Republic Day we kept the opposition leaders of both houses in jail and also managed to stop nationalist from hoisting the national flag and separatists from hoisting their flag ( happens to be green in colour with a star and crescent on it ! ). Oh yeah, and our President can to the parage in a rally of 16 BMW’s. Impressive eh?

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Thoughts

2011-01-24T10:36:00.000+03:00

Was reading the newspaper report on Jose Thettayil, the minister, saying the drivers in India needs to learn from the driver in Kuwait. Can someone give him a visa and bring him on 25FEB and leave him on the Gulf Street !

And another spoke of people protesting India’s new visa rule. Interestingly Aroy has also complained as usual. I really don’t what the problem with this lady. She simply hates everything in India. Can’t she migrate or something? Maybe to China or something?

Yeddyurappa seems to be miffed at the Governer giving sanction to prosecute him. Instead of protesting, face the court and prove you innocence. That will be the end of the Congress and JDS in the state forever.

Some people seem to be rejoicing at the fact that Kamal Nath has been told to appear before an American court for his role in the sikh riots. However I condemn the congress leaders in that riot and the for the leaders who still take it as a mere tremor after some tree was cut down, it would seem stupid to applaud this. The congress who were all praise for the American government that rejected the US visa application of Modi seems to be caught with its feet in its mouth in this case. Indian diplomacy needs to learn a lot if they are going to step out of the false Non- Aligned position that was thrust upon us by Nehru. You can only be a world player by having the power to negotiate. The moment you appreciate any government for its action against your citizen, you open a can of worms. Why should an American court call and Indian Minister to dock for an incident that happened and is being investigated in India? Will the Overseas Congress members protest this court order in America?

Will the BJP raise the Indian flag in Pakistani soil? Ooops sorry, de facto Pakistani soil in Indian territory. Bloody confusing ! Indians will be provoked by the raising of Indian flag in Kashmir. Is Omar running an Indian government or a Pakistani one? And when the BJP was in power...were they sleeping over this? Infy Moorthy has asked for an avenue in Delhi to be named after Bose. Will that solve the years of neglect we ave shown towards him and his contributions? Why is such a big state secret? Why are we not able to study what actually happened to him? Did the congress give him up?

The biggest problem for families in Kuwait today is getting admission for their wards in the Indian Schools it seems. There is mad rush and wasta pulling going on to get the kids admitted. That’s a terrible shortage of seats in the schools. Has there been a considerable influx of Indians into Kuwait to bring up this demand? Even the new schools that have opened up are filled to the brim it seems.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

People

2011-01-18T17:56:00.001+03:00

People hate advices. Especially if it irritates them. I hate them too when it comes at the wrong time for no reason.

I was wondering about this person I know who has been desperately looking for a job. I was reminded of him when I saw this ad on Asianet about a maid who is being told to be aware of cheaters in the recruitment business to the gulf. Left me wondering if they need to redo the ad to include educated people with lots of wordly experience too. Because I am faced with the peculiar situation of having advised a person not to buy a visa to come to Kuwait. I specifically told him to try for a visit visa and scout the market for his kind of work first, when I met him in India. Our man, one fine day, arrives in Kuwait having purchased a visa for nearly 1000 KD. And now after more than two months he has become desperate as he is not finding a suitable job. Either he is over qualified or he is too old for the job. He is struggling to meet daily needs. Its a pathetic sight to see an elderly decent man like him come to this situation.

Why don’t people listen when we tell them. And why do people think that just because we work in an office we can get anyone a job there. This is not India for heaven’s sake. Yes, it a very hard try. And some people get lucky the very next day and for some people it takes time. Sadly, that’s the way it is. But when you pack yourself to a new country where you know you will need to struggle a bit to make way...you need to be ready for it. Desperation is not an answer. And you need to have some kind of back up to survive till you make it.

So if anyone has leads for an accountant, let me know. For the moment he is ready to take up any job that will pay his rent and buy him some food.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

A sad week it has turned out to be..life must go on

2011-01-17T18:06:00.001+03:00

Resumed by gym schedule after a break. Was too held up for a month to regularly go. My pants can feel the difference..they simply refuse to stretch any longer at the waist !!

A 30 minute run on the elliptical machine left me panting like a dog. The Surya Namaskar before that was a disasters and my joints refused to move. Hope to get back on the loop in a day or two. Started of the diet plan as of today. Made sandwiches to office.

Started watching the Sopranos..very interesting.

Everyone is discussing about the Sabarimala tragedy. Read some write-up’s on it too. Some people even came up with the point that there is no guarantee of life while you go off to Sabarimala. Point taken. But the world is changing and life on earth is not the same as it was hundred’s of years a ago. We need to move a bit with the times. For example if you argue that infrastructure development in Sabarimala will destroy the forest land and the temple and the pilgrimage will lose its divinity, then I probably would have to wonder if the excreta of lakhs of devotees landing up there with no proper toilets facilties will create a hygene issue or not. People who used to swim in the Pampa now take bath in part of the river using a cup so that they don’t drown themselves in shit ! We definitely have to find a solution to the issue without disturbing the ecology. Some issues are man made and can be solved with some reasonable thinking from the adminstration itself. You don’t necessarily over charge pilgrims or the electricity board need not over charge for the power being provided during this time. Since the government gets so much revenue here, they could give some subsidy like they do for Haj and now for the Vatican trip in Andhra. You could provide some basic sleeping place for people who travel days to reach here for the pilgrimage rather than throw them to the hoteliers and motel owners that spring up paying lakhs to the administration for permission. You could provide some decent hospitals close by. The closest speciality hospital I believe is Kottayam medical college.

Over seven crores was paid by the Devasom board to the Kerala government when it was alloted forest land for development. The land alloted at Nilakel was not even forest land and the money was happily taken away by planters who were doing bsuiness there. The Poonkavanam of Lord Ayappa taken away by the British must be restored back to the temple and the authorities must be given the right to develop or not develop as they see fit. Around 200 crore was sanctioned to clean up the Pampa river a couple of years back. What happened to the project? Remember ‘ Eco Smart’? What happened to them?

I happened to read that there were only a hand full of policemen and officials at Pullimedu when this incident happened. For one, Pullimedu was an illegal entry into forest area. So how did two lakh people get there? If it was illegal entry what were government officials doing there? What is there no emergency response units in Sabarimala at the site of the world’s second largest gathering of pilgrims? If we are to say for argument sake that the non malayalee pilgrims from other state create these issue by over crowding, I would say our government welcomes their money with open hands..then why not respect their religious frenzy of having a Darshan of Dharma Shastavu after 41 days of penance and long journey in peace?

Accidents can happen when you have such massive grouping of people. It is natural. But it is sad to see that many of these happen due to sheer negligence of the society which accepts the positive monetary and spiritual benefits of such gatherings but refuses to accept the fact that their fellow beings need to be treated with respect rather than like cows that have stopped giving milk being taken away to be butchered !

Makara Jyothi is not a trick. And it is no magic either. Probably in the early ages the forest people used to have their festivals and paid their salutaions to Ayappa by lighting the Makara Jyothi. Over the years after these people have stopped the practice, the temply authorities would be lighting the same to satisfy the spiritual thirst of the believer. I don’t think these would be anything wrong in it. As long as it can give happiness to the soul. I will also need to add that I do not think it is worth dying for ! Makara Jyothi has been there before the present generation and even before a devasom board or before even the present concept of a Kerala state came about. So why was it done in the first place or how did the practise come about. You can’t run a conspiracy for centuries.

Some one recently asked Gopalakrishnan chettan why the God’s couldn’t prevent the Tsunami. I happened to hear a very sensible answer. Even the God’s can’t stop the fury of nature. Nature reacts to humans like how we react to nature. Then about our feeling for the dead. We feel simply becaused they happen to be relatives or people living along with you. Everyday you kill thousands of living being when we move around. Do we feel sorry for them? Daily when the waves of the mighty ocean hits the land, it kills many living being...Do we feel their pain? So it’s the relationship that we form with the living things around us that makes is feel for them. Our philosphy says, See God In All Living and Non Living Forms. We all need to try it at least once in our life time. Then the concept of birth and death would seem like waking up and going to office daily. Just another routine in our daily life.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

As time goes on

2011-01-16T13:01:00.001+03:00

My cousin’s daughter got married today.

I still remember those days many years ago when I was in school. I used to visit my cousin Aniyankunju chettan (thats what we call him ) for tution in Maths and Physics during the weekend. Not that it did either of us any good. But then, that was the routine.

Archana was born around that time. By the time she started crawling we got along pretty well. I guess she was my first experience dealing with baby’s !!

And today she got married. Makes me feel so damn old ! And from the speed I see Nandu growing up...I feel I would be some old dodo at home who bothers too much about her. And then before I know...married off or ran away or spinster or whatever......

Life is just too fast !! No space to enjoy it top the fullest. We are so busy that, these days I chart two weeks of programmes in advance and that sucks because I see no relaxation time in that schedule.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

New year first post

2011-01-04T17:55:00.001+03:00

Happy New year everyone

So good so far. Bad news in office with a colleague’s son passing away in an accident.

I got my self a Toshiba LCD. A 32 inch full HD masterpiece. Still to get used to its size and colour. Had a very sober and homely New Year. I must say well spend as I managed to clean up the home.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2010-12-30T15:30:00.001+03:00

My Girlfriends’s Boyfriend - Other than Alyssa Milano there nothing worth in this movie. Just didn’t make much sense to me at all.

1.5 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

New year is on the way

2010-12-30T15:27:00.001+03:00

Another two days left for the new year.

Time for resolutions. As always it will be broken the very first day. And as always I will be left with guilt over it and then forsake it for the rest of the year.

Hope to follow up better this time. I decided to give this 37th year, the benefit of being healthy. Hope to spend more this year on proper diets and regular work out at the gym. Planning to fit myself into my 34 size pants comfortably in another six months. Need to catch up on some serious reading and writing too if possible. Online social networks are becoming too addictive. If this trend goes one we would soon see the extinction of the pencil and have our fingers evolved into key pads for the keyboard !!

Got some new machinery planned for the new year. A new bike for Indu, and new LCD for myself. Nandu wants a compter to play with, it seems !! Kids don’t ask for dolls anymore.

2010 had lots of lessons for me. People forget your good deeds fast and engrave your bad ones on the walls of time. Harsh and often insulting words ensure you get your loaned money back. One you fix your decision, ensure to follow it up all the way. Always keep a back up life saver, don’t count on anyone when you need help.Optimum effort ensures optimum success and equally optimum opposition. Never try to correct a person who thinks he is God or you are God, send him to an asylum. Don’t think so much when you are planning to eat outside, it kills your hunger and makes your companion go crazy. Try not to visit Kerala in April, its too hot. Draw a circle around you to make sure your freedom to think is intact, the circumference of this circle can change according to the interacting person. Just make sure it doesn’t become a dot and destroy who you are. When two people are having a heated exchange, don’t interfere, only what you said will stick out.

All said and done, I know I am going to keep doing everything I did in 2010. So till 2011, I bit adieu to my blog and anyone who bothers to read it.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2010-12-29T13:30:00.001+03:00

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore: It isn’t as good as the first part. There is just too much technicalities. I am sure kids will like it.

2 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Reviews

2010-12-27T11:04:00.000+03:00

Peepli Live - Enjoyed the movie. A well researched movie into the modern day evil mix of corrupt politicians, corrupt media and above all stupid minds. its nice to see that more and more movies with actual themes are coming out in India. I did miss out on a few of the dialogues because of the local accent they were using. A well made movie, not to be missed.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Losing a milestone

2010-12-27T10:48:00.002+03:00

I have heard in Kerala during the older times, people often linked their address along with the closest well known point. So often you hear wierd direction like take the left from the tea shop and cross the paddy field after the 20th coconut tree !!

I think the Mallus give the worst directions in the world. There is absolutely no way a Mallu can direct someone anywhere. For one, Indians in Kuwait still have no clue of road numbers and exit points. Worse they don’t even know the block number in which they live. Its aways next to Sanbook or opposite Mookambika jewellers. And the list goes on.

And mostly people in Kerala even use the milestone to direct people to various locations. I had a milestone too. I always took the help of it to direct delivery guys to my home. Even friends often found their way because of this milestone. And today my mile stone has been uprooted. After years of being in a very broken down state, the famous ‘temple building’ in Salmiya is being taken down. A very old building from my childhood. I think it had been there forever !! More recently it was famous for all the fires that kept happening there and also the illegal activities in an around that place. They even once found a dead body inside the building. Finally its going. I wonder when my building is going down??

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Birthday Boy

2010-12-26T17:50:00.001+03:00

Had a very busy and rough weekend. Was busy all Friday with a mammoth Ayyappa Pooja we organised. I think it would easily be the biggest Hindu festival held in this part of the town. Attended to an estimate 5000 plus crowd. Good work by the boys. So that’s how my birthday went. In any case we give more preference for the malayalam calendar so the actual date is yet to come. I will need to call India to find out when it is. Had calls from home early in the morning itself as I had told them they probabbly won’t get through to me after nine in the morning till 12 late night.

Christmas was spend at Biju’s. Had sumptuous lunch. Or rather I must be accused of gluttony because for the rest of the day I felt like a python that swallowed a water buffalo !! The saving grace was that I sat at home and watched three movies I had kept pending for sometime.

Have another long weekend coming up and hope to spend it like a true couch potato !

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2010-12-21T11:21:00.001+03:00

Dannie Brosco - An older movie from 97 that I missed somehow. I expected lots of fire works from two of my most favourite actors, Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, It was a bit dull and the story wasn’t moving fast enough. maybe it was because it was a true story adaptation of an FBI officer infiltrating the Mafia. Al is superb. I think a little more action in the movie may have made this a hit.

2.5 / 5

Sex and the City 2 - Rubbish movie compared to the first part. This one just didn’t have any story other than show some class in Abu Dhabi. I wonder how they allowed to make this movie there from the way they bad mouth the sheikhs all the way. If this was a Eddie Murphy sattire on the way of life in the Arab nation, I could have digested it. But we don’t expect crap like this in a SITC franchise!! My ONE goes for the way they boot the four ladies out of the country !!

1 / 5

The American - I always keep reminding myself, never to keep too much expectations on any movie. I was looking forward to watch this and was damn disappointed. The camera work, direction and location is brilliant. The the way the movie moves slowly is fine too. But the script wasn’t just powerful enough. George Clooney has also not given a top of the class performance or anything in this. I am not sure why this movie was hyped so much.

2 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Another Day

2010-12-14T17:29:00.001+03:00

Another day today. Pretty dusty outside. Decided to skip the gym in the morning. Couldn’t see anything outside at 0430 in the morning. I wonder how much do we inhale during our lifetime in Kuwait. How ever covered you are within your home or office, there is bound to be some portion of this dust being taken it.

My colleague set to join back next week. Looking forward to it with the work load easing off a bit.

Promise to write in more often after that.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Writing problems

2010-12-13T18:07:00.001+03:00

Have been watching a rerun on the Dirty Harry classics from Clint Eastwood. Such a remarkable character. I wonder hos he holds his face so stiff without any kind of expressions at all?

Have been very busy in the office and otherwise to write or think anything creative. I was reading on a request by Assange’s lawyer to provide him with a notebook as he finds it difficult to write. Will excessive use of the computer destroy our ability to hold a pen and write anything? Maybe if Darwin’s theory is right, we would evolve to having more fingers to use the mouse and keyboard at the same time. I always had a bad hand writing right from childhood. And now its worse. In fact using the keyboard from most of the day has made me search for caps key at times while writing !!! Another thing I have noticed is that I seem to have lost all knowledge of my grammar and punctuation marks.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie Review

2010-12-02T16:20:00.001+03:00

Red - A good action movie from Bruce Willis. In all these years we still can’t get around to calling him a Grandpa though. The script is fast and never once get you bored. John Malkovich is great too and comes out quite witty.

4 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Movie reviews

2010-12-02T14:56:00.001+03:00

I saw too many movies since I last wrote. Will try to remember a few of them.

Katha Thudarum ( Malayalam ) - The movie is just fine. Nothing much to talk about. Jayram with his usual bits and pieces of acting. The story has some social relevance, so you can go through it. Finally Mamta has a role worth watching. And she has done a decent job.

2 / 5

Toy Story 3 - As the newer parts keep coming out, its going from a children’s cartoon to a more serious movie. This one has so much emotions involved, I doubt any kid will like it. But for the adults, its a great movie.Well done with the story line and graphics.

4 / 5

City of Life - This movie is made in the model of Crash. But what stands out is that its made in the UAE by a UAE based film maker. It tell the story of the three distinct set of people who live in the UAE, Emirati, European and Indian. A good attempt and looks like the UAE has lots to offer rather than shopping malls and russians alone.

4 / 5

The Other Guys - Loud and full of crap. Couldn’t find any reason for why they made this movie. Eva mendes 10 minutes appearence may be the only saving grace.

1 / 5

The Scorcerer’s Apprentice - This is a good movie with some exceptional special effects. Nicholas Cage is brilliant. And Alfred Molina is even better.

3.5 / 5

Despicable Me - Gru is superb. Loved him. Its a story of who is more evil. And you end up loving Gru and the kids. Good job.

3.5 / 5

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Back to Blogging

2010-12-02T13:14:00.001+03:00

Ever since my Live Writer was not being installed properly, I had lost out on writing. I guess this new application is cool and helps me to keep writing. For some reason I hated the Blogger interface for posting.

(From my RocketPost blog software)

Testing my new Rocketpost applicatn

2010-12-02T13:11:00.001+03:00

Testing my new RocketPost applicaton

(From my RocketPost blog software)

The Theatre of Dreams

2010-11-29T21:35:00.000+03:00

After thirteen years in the travel industry, I went for my first FAM (Familiarization) trip.

After the first hiccup of the visa, I got a long holiday to prepare myself for the visit. And as always I ran like mad man at the last moment to pack my bags. Took my wife’s advice and made my long list of things to take and made sure I didn’t miss anything. Biju dropped me off at the airport past midnight for my flight.

I never quite understood the concept of a Red Eye flight till I took this. It did give me the red eye, losing sleep. Met up with the gang (Rubina, Rola, Suzan, Haitham and Ali) and we flew to Terminal 3 in Dubai. Huge airport and lots of walking. The gang were nice people, some with long time of experience in Kuwait and a newer person in from the UAE market. Prasad our tour coordinator joined us from Dubai. The Airbus 380 is one huge monster to look at from outside. Inside the flight, it felt like any other flight. By the way, thanks to Emirates and Rubina, we got business class tickets all the way. A new concept in travelling with individual seats designed like cabins. It has lots of leg space. A bit claustrophobic with the thought of putting your legs into a small box below the seat in the front. But with idea of your seat flattening our into a bed, its brilliant. The concept has saved lots of space on the flight. Though I felt the flight was crowded for the business class. The video screen is awesome. The seat roll out to a 79 inch flat bed when you want to sleep. You can also massage yourself to sleep with the inbuilt massage control. The TV has touch screen and a remote access to Emirate’s superb ICE system. You have a mini-bar on every seat and a large table to work for business executives (I used it to place my glass!). The cold canapés they provided on the flight was good. I was having it for the first time.

The onboard Lounge was probably the most amazing part of the aircraft. With a brilliant crew that is ready to pamper the hell out of you, you need to look no further. The lounge has a fully fledged bar with food running around the clock. I don’t want to sound like a fool complaining about the loo. But for a flight so huge as that, I expected more space!! The first class has a suite on the flight. More like personal cabins. Bigger seats and bigger screens. A nice shower to add to the fun. But the joy ends there. I didn’t fly in one, but it didn’t excite me either. The inflight environment change thing is brilliant. A true experience. The colours change as the flight moves through the time barriers. It helps to reduce jet lag to a big extend. There can be nothing more irritating than frequent pauses while you watch a movie. Why do they have to stop the movie for their announcements in different languages?

Arrived in Manchester close to mid day. The sudden wave of cold left us freezing. The Lowry Hotel turned out to be real nice hosts. Melanie was good enough to show us around the place. After checking in, we went for a walk. The ladies embarked on the great Shopping Marathon !! A point to be noted..Never take counter and sales staff for a trip to see places..They tend to get bored and go shopping!! The boys hit the Christmas market. Jolly people with lots of food and wine for sale. I actually got to see a pig being roasted. The sausages where so huge and it looked odd to see the men and women munching into it. The mayor of the city was there in his suit and his chain of authority hanging around his neck. We went around the local shopping centers and the gang split up. We went to see the Manchester eye, It was quite chilling and we moved on to the hard rock café. And what more for a welcome than my favourite band playing my favourite song, Riders on the Storm. Calling home using our roaming numbers are very expensive, so we all got local SIM cards for about a pound. We realized that it was so cheap to place calls in the UK. We got back at the hotel for dinner. The dinner was perfect except for the fact I spilled the orange juice I foolishly spilled after being served by a beautiful lady! I have no clue what was being served but it tasted good. The rooms were really comfortable and I slept the jet lag over like a baby.

One thing that really strikes you is that there are not much Indians, Arabs or Philipinos around Manchester.

The next day morning we went out on our scheduled tour. Shay, our guide turned out to be a very hospitable guy. First stop was the best of them all. Old Trafford, the Manchester United stadium. I am not a big follower of the European football scene. But the stadium and the love the people around had for it really got me engaged. I need to watch more of their games. They got some of the best players in the world on the team. The stadium was awesome. The person showing us around was quite informative. It was a hair rising experience to walk through the memory lane of the accident the Busby babes faced in 1970 and the loss of half the team. Walking through the player’s tunnel listening to the classic announcement for the ManU team was mesmerizing. After the stadium, it was time to buy some souvenirs. I got a T-shirt that cost 28KD, for a colleague. From there we went to the Trafford Center. The women quickly disappeared. The prices were not that very competitive. But the variety and options were definitely much more than expected. The lunch at Tampopo was a comical. I happened to order a bowl of coconut milk with chicken and long noodles in it !! The thing would just not stick to my spoon. Finally managed to roll it over with the chop sticks. Imtiyaz decided to go hungry instead! Then we were taken on a crazy tour of the mall by old Paul. I guess he was as old as Paul the Octopus and needs to retire. Come to think of it, I saw many 80 plus old grandpa’s and grandma’s working in Manchester. Old Paul sowed us some marble and the most interesting part of the Center – The security room. Don’t laugh. He was dead serious about it. We went to the LEGOland discovery Center. I grew up with LEGO bricks as a child so I was looking forward to it. Sadly turned out to be a small workshop for children with below average brain cells. We went back to the city centre for a guided tour on foot. An excellent guide, Andrew, gave us a quick review of the important buildings. The ladies looked out for shopping malls. Most of the buildings that were used as cloth mills are now turned into residential and office buildings. They have an art museum we missed to see. They have a library of rare collector’s books, which again we missed to see. The library in fact holds a copy of one of the oldest scrolls in the world, and one of the rarest misprinted Wicked Bible. I am sure many people would have loved to see a commandment that says…THOU SHALL COMMIT ADULTERY!! He showed us an Abraham Lincoln statue right in the middle of Manchester. A reject work actually. We also saw the place where some of the great incidents of music history took place, the Midland Hotel. The Royal Exchange, The Manchester Cathedral and the Town Hall had shades of roman architecture for the old buildings and Gothic for the newer ones. They even have Chinese thrown in to spice it up. They have a China town and Gay town for the kicks!

Then we went for one of the most disastrous dinner of the day at The Room restaurant. The service was quite bad and delayed. I decided to try steak and ended up eating raw meat. Not that I was not warned! Shay and Anh from Visit Manchester joined us and had a nice informal talk on the town. The ladies took more direction for shopping. And we took addresses of the night clubs! Hit bed right after as we were too tired. Of course Prasad, Me and Imtiyaz sat for some meditation before sleep!!

The next day it was off to the Quays. Carlos joined us from Visit Manchester. Our first stop was an indoor skiing ring, Chill Factor. For those who have seen the one in Dubai, this is one tenth the size. But the next best was the Sky diving stimulator Airkix. It’s a vertical tunnel where a steam of air is blasted from below that will lift your entire weight. It looked liked fun but no one was ready risk a sprained back! Then we headed to the Imperial War museum. I loved the architecture of the building. There were no symmetrical parts in the whole building. It was all shapeless rooms and un- even floors. But museum watching was not in the immediate agenda so we had to leave fast. The museum had some interesting photo exhibitions. Especially of the Gulf War. Unlike other museums, this one showcased more of the tragedy behind the wars. It had a museum of LS Lowry’s works and photographs from Philip Townsend. Also it had a huge collection of Opera and Ballet costumes. Everyone decided to skip it for the shopping mall just across. The mall was an outlet mall with exclusive showrooms. I got myself three T- shirts. We decided to skip the English restaurant and had Asian food cooked by Bangladeshis instead!

Next stop was an hour and a half away. So everyone dozed off in the bus till we reached our castle. Yes, The Peckforton Caste is where we stayed for the night. The Peckforton is a 19^th century castle built by Tollemache family. The new owners, the Naylors actually got wed in this castle. Its renovated in such a way that it has preserved its old look but is well supplemented by the latest electronic supplements. We had a great long dinner before we hit the bed. I had mussels for dinner and had a lousy sleep. I guess the heating was too much and it made us hot. We made so much noise in the dinner room that the other guests had a good idea of the Kuwait travel trade gossips. The ladies walked around complaining of ghosts! Jessica was a perfect host, very friendly and made us feel almost at home. In the morning we did some falconry with the home birds. It was freezing cold and I couldn’t hold my camera steady. Those birds were awesome. Wish I had more time to finish the castle wall climbing and archery in the forests. I actually went out in the night before also for photos. But it was too cold and many of then came out of focus. Or where they ghosts who did that?? And it felt like heaven to have free Wi-Fi finally. And also this was the only place we saw really good looking English women!!

We drove to Chester next. It’s a small town but with some pretty decent shopping malls and a good town ambience. We really wished we were staying here instead of Manchester. It would have been fun. It had a very homely touch to it. We took a long drive back to Manchester. Managed to catch up on some sleep. We stayed at the Abode hotel for that night. The afternoon lunch was at Radisson Edwardian which turned out be pretty filling for the stomach and the eyes (wink!). And then it was shopping all over again. I got some dress for Nandu, a leather bag for myself and a few souvenirs. After that we went for dinner. The Michael Collins at the Abode is a world class restaurant. But unfortunately we couldn’t eat anything other than the free drinks and salad. It was hopeless. I liked the soup though. After dinner we went out for food again. We found a Pashtun guy selling kebabs. After filling our stomach, we walked to the other side of town looking for a night club to party. We found a long line of gay clubs!! It was hilarious. We went back to our suites for the night.

The final day morning. And it was last minute shopping again. We were the first customers at Apple’s Black Friday sale. Finally we managed to load our tons of luggage to the bus and headed for the airport. Had an experience of the new body scanner. Cool stuff. Not sure why people complain about it. I saw five movies on the flight both ways. For a change, I didn’t fall asleep. I guess for an entertainment buff like me the inflight system kept me busy all the time. Our colleague Suzan felt sick on the flight back. She was better when she arrived in Dubai. And they continued shopping.

When we arrived back in Kuwait, it was back to the mad world of unorganized delays and attitudes.

It was a wonderful trip and thanks to everyone who contributed for making it educative, enjoyable and teaching me about shopping phobia!!!

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Mummy and Me ( Malayalam )

2010-10-28T17:11:00.000+03:00

I hated Archana Kavi in her first movie and this underlines it ! Whoever told her she can act? Totally disfigured looks and lousy active. Overall the move is bad. Lots of crappy English music for nothing. Will playing English music make the movie attractive to youngsters? Would have enjoyed three hours of Mettalica then ! Mukesh and Urvasi have put on weight and lots of over acting being done. Kunchacko Bobban has also not shown any magic in his second coming.

1 / 5

Death

2010-10-25T17:23:00.000+03:00

Second guy in two weeks suicides in Kuwait. In both cases, leaving behind a wife and two children. A forum (http://www.q8nri.com/home/) I visit was debating this today.

What makes people take steps like this? Is it our lifestyle? Is it pressing matters back home? Is it depression? There are so many things. But when you decide to finish it off leaving behind a family, it sucks.

People fall into so many traps in this country. A few fight it out till the end. Others perish. I have heard of guys who live a flamboyant life in the public on borrowed money. And some who in desperation borrow from loan sharks who literally tear them apart. I am not against people who lend money or something. That is their job. Things are made very clear and in writing before the money is advanced. But later these borrowers cry foul and call these guys 'loan-sharks'.

The other day I got a mail. A letter written by someone on how a little support at times and at the right moment can help these suicide prone people at some point of time to change their minds. Very true and feasible. But will it work all the time? Counseling centers are fine and I am sure they help a lot in consoling and being there. But how much can they help in solving your problems? Every individual has problems of his own. Some ignore it and move on till he hit a brick wall, some succumb to pressure and do crazy stuff, some decide to fight back and the ones who fight back find a solution out of problems. Sometimes they suffer for years. But at the end of the day walk away from the problem with dignity.

Once bitten, twice shy. If they make the same mistake again......what can I say !

Beautiful music day ...

2010-10-24T17:30:00.000+03:00

Had a lousy feeling logging into Facebook this morning to see my birthday reminder showing Viswettan's name. Sometimes reminders like this make you realise how much you some people in your life.

Listened to a variety mix of Indian classical music today. Work was slow and it was mostly emails. So could relax with the ear phones on.

Amazing number of instruments we have and so many variations that can be played by different people on the same instrument. Got a long way to go in being able to listen to all the instruments in India. I wonder if there has even been a concert with all the instruments together on one stage. Now that would be something not to miss.

Jonah Hex

2010-10-24T11:42:00.000+03:00

And this is supposed to be a comic book character?? So depressing and boring. Even Megan Fox has nothing to do in this.

1 / 5

SALT

2010-10-24T11:39:00.000+03:00

I personally feel Angelina is getting a bit old for this role. But then the movie was great with all its fantastic action sequences. I would have preferred a much better ending though.

The script has been well written and the best part is that it keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout the movie.

4 / 5

Blade Runner

2010-10-24T11:14:00.000+03:00

I watched it just for Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott's direction. But otherwise this came out as a total bore. Maybe back in the 80's it may have been a great movie, with all its sets and special effects.

1.5 / 5

2010-10-21T13:07:00.001+03:00

The other day someone made a passing joke. A visitor comes home and the host asked him if he would like to have tea? The visitor said yes and the host told him to go make two, one for himself !!!

The Supreme Court verdict today setting aside a previous ruling on live-in relationships and the issue to maintenance being paid once the couple broke up reminded me of this joke.First, you want to break the societies norms and move in with anyone you feel comfortable with. Then you want the other person to pay for your life after you have decided to shift flats. That's not a fair proposition in any case. I can't understand why this had to go to the Supreme court in any case.

Were you sure you were going to have a relationship with the person you are going to stay with? If it was only for a time pass, how can you ask the opposite person to support you? Does this work vise -versa too? Can a man ask for the woman to support him? You don;t want any social commitments. You don;t want the legal bonding of marraige. You are not ready to accept the established cosial set up of a marraige. But you claim maintenance on high moral grounds? What rubbish !!!

Like someone tweeted recently. Married life is like milk you can get from your own cow or buy from the shop as needed. First one requires dedication and sacrifice, the second one only rupees !!

The day I ran

2010-10-20T17:05:00.000+03:00

I just ran away from home.

No, I didn't do it for fun. I had been plotting it for a long time in my mind. That dreaded day, the school teacher handed to me my report card. There was only one subject that was spared the red highlighting. I could imagine how this story would end before it began even. It would be a lot bitching and nagging from my mother, the stern silent face treatment from my father.

Not sure why I just couldn't study. Something was seriously wrong with me. I couldn't mug up words and ideas like everyone did. I couldn't understand anything what was being taught. Probably it was because I couldn't figure out how the material taught would matter to me in my later life ! When you are a kid, people take it for granted that all you need to be doing, is follow orders. I could literally sleep with my eyes wide open. Every time I opened my books, it was like a sleeping pill putting me off to sleep.In the beginning, it was difficulty understanding mathematical problems and equations. then it grew into genuine hatred for physics and chemistry. But naturally it spilled over to biology too. Once I got fed up with studies, the rot spread to everything but English. And poor 'English' was spared the red highlighting always.

But this time it was bad. An almost sure indication that I couldn't write the coming final examinations and a warning note to bring my parents to school. Who could I confide in? My mother, who only had time to compare me with others. Right from childhood, it has always been comparison with this one's son or that one's daughter. My Father, who took out his frustrations on us, on my mother. Who in turn passed it on to us !! The rest of the people didn't matter in my world. People who took that extra effort to try to teach me, the people who kept a few words of sarcasm for me always, the people who looked at me with sympathy, they didn't matter. That favourite uncle, my friend was one person I could turn to. But he was burdened with his own set of problems always.

So, I decided to run. Run away from home, from all these problem makers and all issues in life. Next question was - then what? Let's finish it off, once and for all. Have read quite a few books when the characters finish it with a bottle of poison. The hanging sequences in the movies was just too terrible. So off I go, with a couple of crushed naphthalene balls in a bottle mixed with water. I wait for the way to be clear before I walk off from the flat. After covering some distance, I climb to the terrace of a building. As it was November already, the heat was bearable. Before the final act, I decided to take a final drag from the cigarette I stole from my father's pack.

After crushing the cigarette under by slippers, I pulled out the bottle. It was milky white from the naphthalene mixed in heavy doses. As I brought the bottle to my lips, a whiff of air brought the strong pungent smell to my nose. The smell was so strong I could feel myself fainting.

So many images.

It was reliving my life all over again. Yes, there was a difference, a marked difference. Somehow, I was only reliving the happy moments of my life with my parents. The fun filled days of laughter and fun. My crying mother and how my parents so easily forgot and forgave each time I goofed up.

When I was back to my senses, I was walking back home into the arms of my mother and my father kept with his stern looking face. He had a good strong bamboo stick ready to grace my ass !

A few movie reviews

2010-10-20T16:06:00.000+03:00

Uninstalled Scribe fire..lousy add-in to Firefox.

Have decided to go the traditional way till I get my hands on the Windows 7 CD and upgrade.

Let me do my film reviews today before the list gets real big.

Bombay Boys - I kept this movie for along time before I finally watched it yesterday. I had lots of expectations since the cast was so good. But unfortunately was disappointed. It starts well and over time seems to lose the meaning and flow. The director seems to have been obsessed with making something special that he completely lost track.

1.5 / 5

In Ghost House INN - Total piece of crap. Yes, it was better than the second part. But totally useless movie if not for the climax which they managed to keep till the end of the movie. Jagadish is becoming a bore and someone needs to explain to Mukesh and Siddique that there is no fun in watching their pot bellies protruding from awkward looking T shirts and tucked in jeans !!

1.5 / 5

Leon - Pretty slow for a movie on a hit-man !I watched it for Jean Reno. Natalie Portman has also come out well for a 12 year kid. But the story loses completely when they introduce the infatuation angle which actually is a total mismatch considering the characters.

1 / 5

Boss Engira Bhaskaran - If not for Nayantara, this must be one of the worst in the recent day for Tamil films. Horrible story with absolutely nothing in the script. Arya is a total waste actor. Nayanthara looks old and has absolutely no role in the movie except charm and few desperate minds.

1 / 5

Shikar - I won't say its bad. But I expect so much more from a Super Star. And when it comes from my favourite Mohanlal, there should be no complaints. But off late he has been making too many bad movies. Shikar was a good script with ample action and suspense. Somehow, I felt the actors, including Lal, didn't do enough to raise the standards of the movie. The music is very simple. But the support roles from the heroines, Lalu Alex, Mani was all overdone. Some characters have no role in the movie even.

2.5 / 5

Lost without my Live Writer

2010-10-17T17:04:00.000+03:00

My Live Writer software got corrupted. Feel lost without it. It was so much better blogging on it.

Today is Vijayadasami. Went for the vidyarambham pooja in the morning. It was nice to see all those children lined up to start their initiation into the world of words. Except for a few ladies with make up on and hubbies with their hi-fi cameras it was a nice feeling. People so away from their motherland still in grip with their roots and moving forward hoping their off springs grow up in the same cultural atmosphere as them.

Saw a couple of movies since I last posted. But have been so lazy to post my comments on it. Need to be writing more....

People

2010-10-11T17:21:00.001+03:00

You meet so many of them daily, you begin to wonder if you are some alien. OR maybe I am the different person!

Yesterday, I was a proud guy. Finally I was able to tell someone who was asking for money to f@@k Off !! I usually give if I have. But this was the second time a fraudster was trying to dupe me. The same old story ( wonder if it was the same guy even !), driving from Bahrain, lost all money, have baby to feed and petrol to fill. Recently, I had read on another blog of these guys who end up making hug money at the end of the month. So, I gathered up my wits and told the guy, I was not giving any money as I knew he was a fraud. Heard his curses all the way to the flat !

The kind of people you need to live and adjust with is amazing. Some swindle money, some borrow and never return, some make it a point to irritate you every time you meet them. I also hate people who borrow movies and cassettes and never return them unless I ask a thousand times. Books too…just hate people taking it way from you. I am not sure if I have had the opportunity to do the same to someone else.

Some people are so friendly and close to you that you start getting very uncomfortable as though your privacy is being evaded. And other people put you off by being extremely introvert and letting you nowhere in their domain. Have you felt people touch you and keep their hand on your shoulder every time they want to talk to you? Then there are those who keep staring while talking to the other person. They stare at whatever fancies them, makes you real uncomfortable. There are those that cut you in while you are having a conversation. They simply come up with whatever is running through their heads and start talking.

Finally its up to us, who do we chose to be close to, who do we be aware of and who we turn our backs on. Pray to God to keep me in my senses.

Sunday it is

2010-10-10T17:46:00.001+03:00

Another week has started. last week was tragic and busy with Viswettan’s arrangements and all that.

The climate has finally changed from sunny days to clouds in the sky. I hope the temperatures drop and then we have the winter coming in. Its the best of times in Kuwait.

All seems fine at the CWG. A blazing opening. A wonderful medal haul. Kuwait Times seems to be the only paper reporting of sick athletes and stray dogs on the field. I hope we don’t see tons of reports falling all over the place once the closing ceremony is over.

Kuwait opened a new vintage car museum today. The radio host Lind says that it was showcase the rich culture heritage of this country ! Now seriously. A car showroom? Is this place so culturally bankrupt that they need to reply on automobiles shipped in from other countries to make them proud? Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the Harley club.

Time to head home for my missed gym schedule in the morning.

Viswettan is no more

2010-10-05T15:35:00.001+03:00

I still remember that email he send me many years back. I was a one liner….I am Pillai and would like to be involved in your organizations work….

Its been a long time since. I became a part of his family.

Viswettan was so very active in our work and it is going to be a loss for us. Those days of pressure we put on him and vice versa how he pushed us at times to finish off what we were assigned to cannot be forgotten. His calm and quiet smile and often touchy feelings and emotional outbursts have kept many of us in our place !! I can feel it like yesterday, his excitement at his son’s wedding India and how happy they were all. Can still taste all the good food chechi was kind enough to make.

Pray that God give Sarala chechi, Nandu and Vivek all the strength to move forward in life and may Viswettan’s soul rest in peace.

Another long boring day

2010-10-04T16:50:00.001+03:00

The CWG opened to a huge gathering. Excitement all around. People say it was better than the Beijing Olympics even. Great !! For the moment everyone seems to have forgotten the crap that got us till here. Good for us. Now lets wait till OCT 15th is over to dig up all the dirt that sticks to this roller coaster ride. I hope our athletes make some great wins here.

Really feeling the drawback of not being able to read Malayalam properly. SO many good blog writers in Malayalam. Need to seriously start picking up reading and writing again.

The principal and teacher who were arrested in the case of a student who suicided after he was canned got bail. I can understand being blamed for maybe being too harsh on a kid, but arresting them for the kids suicide is crazy. Canning is not something new that just happened in India. I think all kids go through the canning process starting at home. Making the sticks is actually someone’s livelihood in India. And for some ‘badmash’ kids..a little bit of canning is required to straighten them up.

Robert Edwards gets the Noble. So many years after developing the IVF technology. His co-researcher is also dead. Why are they so late in recognizing such important works? Has the preservers of the God theory played foul?

Need to start writing again

2010-10-03T17:57:00.001+03:00

Its been sometime since I have written anything sensible other than movie reviews. I have been lazy and at times busy in office too. Promise to keep the place updated regularly.

Lots of things happened in the last few weeks. A long awaited Ayodhya verdict. A very successful Guru Dakshina programme. Work has picked up in office. I gained a kilo and a half!!

Saw Endhiran yesterday. Will put up the review later. Went shopping and got myself a few suit piece. Not that I am a fan of office formals. But thought I will give my wardrobe a new look by winter. Then went for some gold shopping with a friend and family. Mighty expensive !

The CWG starts today. For all its bloody mess, I hope it all goes well and its the prestige of the hard working citizens of our nation that is at stake. I will not connect the pride of our nation with these games. But rather the pride of our people. The pride of our nation is too big to be touched by a petty corrupt sporting event.

Need to hit the gym religiously. The flab is giving me bad vibes.

Everyone is out hammer and tongs against Abishek Singhvi for appearing a case in Kerala against the government. The case is a real stupid one regulating lottery tickets sales and all that. What was more idiotic is how the party cadres went against him for representing the lottery mafia. Hell !! He is lawyer, that’s his profession. What’s wrong with you? Why wasn’t this same sentiments not used against, say Ram Jethmalani? Or for the twitter happy Sashi ?

Endhiran ( Tamil )

2010-10-03T10:51:00.001+03:00

Indian cinema went one up in the field of technical brilliance in films. Superb graphics and special effects from Shankar and the team. Shankar feels lost after the interval but then makes up with a brilliant climax.

Aishwarya Rai looks older with each movie and her acting capabilities ( if she ever had some ) is gone gown the gutter. I don;t know why they had to bring her for the movie. There are so many other gorgeous looking women in the Tamil industry itself and they can act !

Rajani, as always the hero. Sadly, we miss his gimmicks with the cigarette and glasses this time. Age has caught up with our man and he doesn't seem comfortable dancing any more.

Feel sorry for A.R.Rahman. Completely out of touch and he has taken bits and pieces of his earlier numbers and done an awful job. He has not done justice to this cinematic phenomenon of India.

4.5 / 5

Robinhood

2010-09-19T16:04:00.001+03:00

A different start up to the Robinhood stories. Good script and a good direction. Would have preferred if the actors spoke up. Their accents with the stiff upper lip almost made what they were saying sound gibberish !

Russell Crowe ain’t getting any better. Cate Blanchett looked beautiful.

Would have liked to know what was the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham in the later stages of the story. Guess I will have to wait for sequel or something.

3.5 / 5

Drona 2010 ( Malayalam )

2010-09-19T14:50:00.001+03:00

Funny movie. Mammotty got a double role for absolutely no reason. The macho role in the first half couldn’t even survive a kick ! Kanika has come out total waste with her over acting and navya Nair almost has no role in the fill file. The only scene worth watching is Manoj K Jayan ( becoming monotonous ! ) in his climax role.

Music is also not great.

1.5 / 5

One of my favourite songs

2010-09-16T17:37:00.001+03:00

Another day

2010-09-16T17:26:00.001+03:00

Another day. Lots of work and lots of ideas running in my head.

I wish I could spend a whole day reading a book. Or maybe watching my downloaded stock of movies. I just wish i could spend one whole day religiously doing on job at a time ! Need to find some space to do that.

Onam celebrations start this week in Kuwait. Got a sadya invite with some music from Vineet Srinivasan. Might go spend some time there. The heat is unbearable and so will be the yellow delights !

A few movies I managed to watch

2010-09-15T17:57:00.001+03:00

Apporava ragam ( Malayalam ) – A huge disappointment from Sibi Malayil. Absolutely no sense in why the movie has been made. Yes a shock factor keeps the movie going forward but otherwise is a waste of time. The actors are useless and the female lead, though cute, has so much of make up on that she resembles some kind of vampire.

1.5 / 5

Vicky Cristina Barcelona – I like Woody Allen movies. I sat to watch this for the superb combo of Scarlet Johannson, Penelop Cruz and Rebecca Hall. Its a crazy movie dealing with weird relationships. At some point of time you begin to wonder what has happened to Woody ! The locations are amazing and Woody has not lost is speedy techniques in taking the story forward.

3 / 5

Wolfman – Less said the better. Absolute crap of a movie. Anthony Hopkins is great as always. The special effects team must be congratulated on the wolf converting sequences.

1.5 / 5

Prestige – I enjoyed this movie. Throughout the movie you are left shocked at the twists and tales in the life of two competing magicians and how they deceive each other on their paths to glory.Huge Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine..Can it get better? Watch this.

4 / 5

Malarvadi Arts Club ( Malayalam ) – Vineeth Srinivasan, better stick to what he does best. Direction is not his cup of tea. He may have got lucky at the box office but this was absolute rubbish movie. The new actors also have not fared any better.You could probably sit to watch this if the cable has nothing running on it.

2 / 5

Seven Samurai - A classic from Akira Kurosawa. I could identify about 3 to 4 Hindi and English western movie plots copied from this movie. What a masterpiece ! Each and every actor is detailed beautifully. And to imagine that during that period they could make a black and white movie with so much natural. Never miss this movie.

5 / 5

Shawshank Redemption – Great work from Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. A second watch for me. I still enjoyed the plot and the ending of this movie.

4 / 5

Pramani ( Malayalam ) – You got to be kidding me !!

0.5 / 5

Stand By Me – This was beautiful experience for me. Such a simply movie made out with so much elagance. All the kids have acted so well. I didn’t know River Pheonix acted in it till I saw the credits. The movie takes you through a whole lot of emotions.

3.5 / 5

The Thing – Wierd sci –fi crap. Totally waste of time.

1 / 5

The Shining – Jack Nicholson is the only saving grace in this movie. Watch it for his brilliant performance. Maybe I am not much of a horror movie guy. I think if the script was better the director could have done a better job. By the way, great location to shoot a thriller like this.

2.5 / 5

Battle of Algiers – An old French movie. But i loved it. great storyline and the script keeps you on the edge of your chair. Hard to believe this is how the revolution on Algeria began. The horrific bombings and the brutal French crushing of the initial revolutionaries. Try watching it with English sub titles as the dialogues are in French and Arabic

4 / 5

Abandoned – Better to stay abandoned !

0.5 / 5

Unthinkable – Not a great Samuel Jackson movie to enjoy. But the script is good and the director has done his job. You sit to the end of the movie to know what happens and this is the success of any thriller. I think it is one of those stereotype American fear factor movies after Sep 11. Carrie Ann Moss is wow !

2.5 / 5

Iron Man 2 – Loads of action and smart talk from Rob Doney Jr. Some nice eye candy from my favorite Scarlett Johansson. A deadly villain in Mickey Rourke. And the story ends there. You just can’t put this up with the first part. Lot of unnecessary talking an the the flamboyant Iran Man sucks big time. End of the day, its just a action packed fun movie. So enjoy it on a good DVD.

3 / 5

Karate Kid – Come On !! What's so bloody great about this movie? Haven’t people seen the original? Jaden Smith is too puny for the role. Maybe a few more years later he would have suited the role. The final tournament fight scene and training scenes have come out good. They could have put in more fight sequences into the film to add more punch. Its a simple movie and I wasn;t impressed like the money its making !!

2 / 5

Why do I still serve you? - An unknown Indian Soldier

2010-09-15T09:26:00.001+03:00

Why do I still serve you?

How you play with us, did you ever see?
At Seven, I had decided what I wanted to be;
I would serve you to the end,
All these boundaries I would defend.

Now you make me look like a fool,
When at seventeen and just out of school;
Went to the place where they made "men out of boys"
Lived a tough life …sacrificed a few joys…

In those days, I would see my "civilian" friends,
Living a life with the fashion trends;
Enjoying their so called "college days"
While I sweated and bled in the sun and haze…
But I never thought twice about what where or why
All I knew was when the time came, I'd be ready to do or die.

At 21 and with my commission in hand,
Under the glory of the parade and the band,
I took the oath to protect you over land, air or sea,
And make the supreme sacrifice when the need came to be.

I stood there with a sense of recognition,
But on that day I never had the premonition,
that when the time came to give me my due,
You'd just say, "What is so great that you do?"

Long back you promised a well-to-do life;
And when I'm away, take care of my wife.
You came and saw the hardships I live through,
And I saw you make a note or two,
And I hoped you would realise the worth of me;
but now I know you'll never be able to see,
Because you only see the glorified life of mine,
Did you see the place where death looms all the time?
Did you meet the man standing guard in the snow?
The name of his newborn he does not know...
Did you meet the man whose father breathed his last?
While the sailor patrolled our seas so vast?

You still know I'll not be the one to raise my voice
I will stand tall and protect you in Punjab Himachal and Thois.

But that's just me you have in the sun and rain,
For now at twenty-four, you make me think again;
About the decision I made, seven years back;
Should I have chosen another life, some other track?

Will I tell my son to follow my lead?
Will I tell my son, you'll get all that you need?
This is the country you will serve
This country will give you all that you deserve?

I heard you tell the world "India is shining"
I told my men, that's a reason for us to be smiling
This is the India you and I will defend!
But tell me how long will you be able to pretend?
You go on promise all that you may,
But it's the souls of your own men you betray.

Did you read how some of our eminent citizens
Write about me and ridicule my very existence?
I ask you to please come and see what I do,
Come and have a look at what I go through
Live my life just for a day
Maybe you'll have something else to say?

I will still risk my life without a sigh
To keep your flag flying high
but today I ask myself a question or two…
Oh India…. Why do I still serve you?

Back from a short break

2010-09-14T17:36:00.001+03:00

Went for 10 days home and came. Gave Amma and Achan a surprise. Amma had a her 60th birthday celebrations. We spend one day at Valikkavu ashram of Mata Amrithanandamayi. Took her darshan after over 10 years. Still the same old Amma….her ashram has grown bigger though ! Lots of foreigners as always. Was a bit taken aback by the un necessary hungamma the goras create for maintaining queue and over cautious approach towards the devotees who have come from far of places and wait for hours to meet Amma. I feel they need to be a bit more polite and more patient when they talk to people.

Got my mother a nice pearl and gold chain which my father put on for her. Got my dad a nice easy chair made of teak wood and bamboo. If the kids don’t break it apart….I can see myself resting on it during my retirement !

The function went very well at home. After a very long time relatives from both the families got together. Food was very average. Our usual caterers ( Akshaya ) was totally engaged and we had to compromise. Nevertheless, made the best of it. Everyone went home happy.

Did a bit of shopping in Ernakulam and spend the rest of the time sleeping and wasting away in Tripunithra. Sudha, Rajesh and the kids joined us on our anniversary day to a trip to Vega Land. The kids had a superb time. We couldn’t finish all of it as we has to lose some time in the morning due to the heavy rains. On the way back had a superb dinner at a restaurant in Cherthala ( was too dazed to remember the name ). I can still taste the ‘karimeen polichathu’ on my tounge. Got Indu a new mobile for our anniversary. The idea of a bigger gift was struck down without an appeal by her ! ( always had over the finance portfolio to your wife..you won’t regret it ! )

Vega Land trip

Met Sudhip in Trivandrum and visited ATE Cochin. Reminded me of the good old days working in Trivandrum. Trivandrum was all decked up for the Ganesh Chathurthi festivals with huge Ganesh idols at almost all junctions. Never thought the people of Kerala would actively support the Shiv Sena efforts in creating a Mumbai style celebration mood in leftist Kerala.

Flew on Oman Air this time to India. Should be my last time also. Small aircraft and lousy service for the kind of money I had to shell out this time. Emirates rocks !!!! People in Kerala have not changed much. They still complain of getting no returns in Kerala, driving around in their luxurious cars enjoying a day without work during the strike !! Prices have sky rocketed like anything. But the sale goes on…

Will put up some movie reviews later…..

Finally its Onam….

2010-08-22T15:02:00.001+03:00

Another Onam has reached. The last one was spend at home with the family and some ordered sadya. This year its going to be boring especially with the Ramadan on. Not been feeling well for the last two days. Got a stomach pain that keeps coming on and off and has disturbed my schedule completely.

Indu and Nandu are at Trivandrum giving amma and achan some company.

Sashi Tharoor is all in the news with the wedding to his sweat equity. He tweeted about his personal privacy and asking the media to respect it. He forgets he is in India and the ‘cattle class’ has a big appetite for celebrity stunts like his. Coming from someone who once lived by the tweeter it seems awkward that he expects his life to be kept private when he himself tweets his schedules and programmers' across the globe.

Happy Onam to everyone who check my blog once in a while…Have thought for the homeless children before you feast !

A post after a long time…

2010-08-15T12:34:00.001+03:00

Its been sometime since I wrote something worthwhile other than film reviews.

Laziness has been one of the factors and the next one being Facebook. That thing is so addictive.

My internet connection has gone bonkers. Its too slow. But everyone in the office seems to be fine with it, so I can’t complain. Will have my system totally formatted today. Hope it fixes the problem.

Ramadan is on. The Muslims are all fasting and in prayer. I can’t understand what is the idea of the newspapers all featuring pictures of food and recipes. Imagine a fasting guy trying to read the paper with all these tempting pictures? The other noticeable thing is road rage. I can understand you are fasting and you are tired and irritated. But that is no excuse to kill yourself !! And maybe a few others in the process..

The theatres are all out of movies for a month. Thank God for downloads. Its been a whole month of Ramayan reading at different venues and homes. Went to a few of them. It was quite peaceful and spiritually motivated. I struggled to get a grasp of the story being read. Would be interesting to know how many are blindly reading it and how many actually understand the inner meaning of what they are reading and are able to apply to their life.

Lord Rama is an interesting character. He, being the avatar of Lord Vishnu could have simply killed Raavan on day one and finished with this story. Interestingly, he took birth in our world, lived along with us and showed us how a human should live. Even the worst critics of the Hindu philosophy will find it tough to explain how a high caste king could easily accept a monkey like Sugreevan as his friend. Also, how he took the help of all the common men and animals to fight against an asura. Raavan being Lord Shiva’s most devoted disciple is an example of how even the most learned men can create havoc when they move to adharma and how the gods themselves will lead in destroying them. There is so much to learn from these people. It looks like it will take a life time !

April Fool ( Malayalam )

2010-08-15T12:21:00.001+03:00

A Malayalam remake of Bheja Fry. A few scenes here and there makes you laugh. Otherwise its pathetic.

1.5 / 5

Puli Janmam ( Malayalam )

2010-08-15T12:06:00.001+03:00

Watched it for the terrific performance from Murali.

The started off quite well and the storyline was well laid out till the unnecessary communal angle came into the picture. Sadly, Priyanandan seems to be more eager to satisfy his communist egos rather than give a true picture of Kannur’s politics.

If not for the National award performance of Murali this would have been just another communist party propaganda material.

3 / 5

Kick Ass

2010-08-11T14:36:00.001+03:00

A nice comedy to watch. I liked the movie. The story is different and fresh.

I guess at some time we all wanted to be a super hero. Nicholas cage was a surprise. But surely the young daughter takes the awards for a great performance.

A light hearted comedy that could have been more effective with a pinch of Tarantino added !!

3.5 / 5

Frida

2010-08-10T15:44:00.001+03:00

Frida Kahlo De Rivera is a Mexican painter and this movie is like biography of her life. Excellent performance from Salma Hayek and Alfred Molini.

The movies traces the story of Frida who struggles with her handicap at the times of the pro communist era in Mexico to become a well known painter.

Well made and well directed. A must watch.

4 .5 / 5

Anitchrist

2010-08-10T15:26:00.001+03:00

I like William Dafoe. He is a great actor. Bit this one was a big shocker.

From the start of the movie I could feel the effort of a great director putting his effort to tell a gripping psycho thriller of a story. The experience of a couple after losing their child is told in a mix and match of cruel sexual scenes and violence.

Its a much watch for movie lovers but I would advice caution on its explicit scenes of violence.

4 / 5

12 Angry Men

2010-08-10T15:16:00.001+03:00

An old classic from 1957. Really enjoyed the movie in full.

The script tells of a jury that has to decide if a young man is guilty or not. The debate throughout the night shifting from view to view. A good attempt. Keeps you at the edge of your seat.

5 / 5

North By Northwest

2010-08-05T16:06:00.001+03:00

An interesting movie from one of the greatest directors of all time Alfred Hitchcock.

I guess we have seen so many movies with the same scenarios now that the suspense of this movie is broken in the first 15 to 20 minutes. I am sure it must been a hit then.

Its a good watch.

3 / 5

UP

2010-08-03T20:40:00.001+03:00

One of the best from Pixar in a long time.

I really enjoyed this one. Excellent storyline and very simple. One of the best after Toy Story and Lion King. But this is no children movie. Its more adult.

Mr. Fredrickson is really great and the voice over just matches him perfectly. Its a perfect watch for the perfection.

5 / 5

Janakan ( Malayalam )

2010-08-03T20:35:00.001+03:00

Pure crap !

Sureshi Gopi’s acting is pathetic. There is some artificiality in acting as always. Mohanlal is even worse with his hopeless over weight and bloated face. Can hardly make out any emotions on his face. Rest of the crew is simply add on’s.

The story is too simple and anyone who is an avid fan of crime thriller can guess how the movie ends before it even begins. Thank God for no songs to enlighten us.

1 / 5

Wild Things

2010-08-02T12:45:00.001+03:00

Try watching this only for Dennis Richards. Otherwise the movie feels like an amateur directional debut. The suspense build up towards the end is a good attempt. But the sequences are not properly written or directed and you lose the edge at times.

2 / 5

Twenty Years ago

2010-08-02T11:50:00.002+03:00

K.M.Mathew of the Malayala Manorama passed away yesterday. How much ever I hate the third rate reporting style of the news paper, this man is certainly an unforgettable icon for Kerala.

Read a report this morning about a new Traffic study that has concluded that Traffic Jams help contain accidents. Hello? So What? Create more jams? What kind of a dumb report can that be. The new government shopping mall in front of my home is ready to open for Ramadan. The building looks grand with all its lights. Will surely miss the good old football playing ground.

Won’t write anything on happenings in India as enough is being already told. More on Facebook these days. Orkut doesn’t even compare. Its a fine experience.

Its August 2nd today. A very memorable day in life. Have to mince words in Kuwait these days to write about it. But I should put down a few words nevertheless.

I can faintly remember my mother walking around the home early in the morning and telling my dad that she heard some loud noise from outside. My dad told her to go back to bed and it must be the jet lag as they just got back from the US the previous day. I didn’t get a visa to go ! Well anyway by the time we actually woke up ( it was the summer holidays..you woke up to play only !! ), the news was out that something was terribly wrong. Calls were coming in for dad asking him not to go for work. But, my father, being the ever so faithful decided to go anyway. An hour later the he calls back. His hospital was located next to the military barracks. He called to ask me to collect whatever food I could lay my hands on. The only adult who had a car in the building at that time was fast asleep after his night duty. Managed to drag him out and we went to the Sultan Center in Salmiya to see the place over crowded. The seriousness of what was happening still didn’t dawn on us till we the sounds on the gulf road…You had convoys of tanks and military vehicles moving towards us.

By the time I was back home the word of the Iraqi invasion had spread and the parents all went into a huddle. We went into a huddle too. We were in the middle of a football tournament organized by a friend and out concern was how to go about it ! We were already chalking out plans for the qualifiers and who would be playing. We were least bothered of the invasion.

For my family the horrifying news came in the evening when dad called to say he was locked up and not allowed to leave from his hospital. It was two tension filled days till he came home. And the stories he told of tough military men coming into the hospital and changing clothes with the laborers as cleaning men left us laughing.

A few days on..the joy and holiday feeling started becoming tense and worrisome. For the parents. The children were one happy lot !! Lots of more time to play. The parents were always in the huddle watching TV or trying to tune into the radio.

We started exploring new ways to have fun. We realized we could drive around now without being held up for being underage. Thanks to my friend Sanjay’s dad, we had his huge car to go blazing around Salmiya. The Iraqi’s were cool to the Indians and hated the Pakistanis, so not one of them came out on the streets. Another pass time was roaming around in Salmiya Center where most of the shop’s were all broken into and looted. We just helped in whatever way we could !! The tournament had to stop as not all the guys could make it to Salmiya.

After two weeks I went with my father to the Razi hospital where he was called back for duty. The car has an Emergency Services sticker so we could get through the road blocks. The first wave of how serous things were hit me as we drove by the Sulaibhikat military training Camp. We had to drive really slow so that we didn’t run over any of the corpse or the small boys walking around with guns. It was terrible and I was terrified. All the Rambo and Commando machoism built by defying the Pakistanis across a school wall simply melted away.We also got a good introduction to good beer and gin. Rumours started floating around about the Iraqis trading goods which they didn’t even know what the use was.

One day a family friend of ours who happened to be a teacher in the school came home and asked me if I was willing to help them in the school. The thought of having a chance to enter the school building was inviting. When I got there I realized that a few people were actually trying to put together an evacuation by road. I got into active work at the school with a few other friends. It was fun. I made some new friends. And a new girl friend too !! it was some of the most unforgettable days of my life. Things started moving fast. We were busy bringing in mail and sorting it alphabetically. We were engaged in taking in registrations for buses to drive the people to Jordan and then a flight from there to India. People accuse some prominent people of making money in the process. But from what I saw it was a well appreciated effort to move thousands of Indians across two countries to their home.

When things were going smoothly we had the Gujral trip. It was total disaster with an Indian Minister holding arms with the Iraqi military man telling the Indian community to work fort the Iraqis. By the Palestinians and Pakistanis were being targeted by the Kuwaitis for helping the Iraqis loot the Kuwait homes. Everyone feared this would enrage the Kuwaiti population against the Indians. The Indian community was totally against what Gujral did in Kuwait. Anyway, when he left Kuwait a whole load of rich Indians loaded with cash and gold left too on the same flight. The rest of the community was left to our own means ! Then there was a ship too that came to take people. I forget the name, I think it was Akbar or something. After all the people left, the school started becoming deserted again. We took the last convoy out of Kuwait in November.

We had a nice bus ride through Iraq to Jordan. A couple of goan guys where on the bus who ensured everyone was kept in good spirits !! We arrived at the Iraq camp in freezing cold of the desert border. But I must admit the facilities were much better than the images that went on TV immediately after the invasion and people started reaching the poorly equipped border. We had food tents and pillows and blankets to sleep. Food we couldn’t complain about either. Later we moved to the Jordan camp which was even better and managed by the UN. Two or three days later we took a flight to Dubai and from there to Mumbai. The trip was fun and thought of getting to India kept the elders happy, forgetting the secure life they were forced to give up in Kuwait. The trip from Mumbai to Kerala by the free train put up by the government was spent sleeping. The men folk drank and played cards all the way home. At every station there were tearful good byes for the friends who who got off not knowing what the future held for them or if they would all meet up again to enjoy the evening listening the Balan Uncle’s jokes.The children got off not wanting to forget all the fun they had in the country they were born in. All the friends, the school,the secret fantasies, the puppy love affairs and a whole lots of things.

The invasion has left a sweet and bitter memory. I can speak for myself only. I lost a good relationship because of the invasion. Made some better ones during the invasion. Had loads of fun and reached India to face a even tougher world that has made me today. When I came back to Kuwait, the only thing that came back was my childhood memories of Kuwait and a whole load of classic pop numbers from the 80’s on cassettes…music CD’s were yet to begin burning a hole in my wallet !!

Dragon Tiger Gate

2010-07-25T13:35:00.001+03:00

I watched this for Donnie Yen. After IP Man, I really fell for his fast action martial arts sequences.

And the movie doesn’t fail. Yes, you need to simply forget and ignore the comic book storyline. This movie is just for action buffs.

Entertaining.

2.5 / 5

Body Heat

2010-07-25T13:12:00.001+03:00

Started watching a few of the classics I had taken off the net. This is from the 80’s. A very hot movie.

The actors simply seems to be sweating all the time. Kathleen Turner is great. The story is good and the suspense towards the end is also well taken. I believe this is a remake of an old movie.

3 / 5