Gran Torino (no spolier)

Clint Eastwood is giving up acting after this movie - that alone is reason to watch Gran Torino! Saw it last evening - solid, good movie. I watched 'In the Valley of Elah' on HBO and Gran Torino over a weekend - both seemed to have a similar underlying lesson/moral/takeaway.

At the age of 76, Clint Eastwood wrote and directed TWO movies in 2008! Given that my movie following (obsessing) only started after I came to the US..in the last 10 years..I have not really seen Clint Eastwood's earlier works, but I have been extremely impressed with his works of late. His recent movies are dark, painfully tragic, and have dry humor and great acting. I don't know how much more creativity we will be fortunate to see from this man. I didn't realize he even composed the music for some of his films (he sings the credits song in Gran Torino). People say this all the time, but this is the 1st time I have felt like his loss (whenever it happens) will truly be a creative loss for our generation. But until then, I will try to soak up every bit of creativity that this man throws out on the screen..

He has 2 Oscars for direction, but none for acting - I found that hard to believe. Sadly, he may end his acting career without an Oscar, given Sean Pean and Mickey Rourke's acting performances this year.

I read somewhere that Mr. Eastwood has matched his movies to the country's moods - when defiance of the law of the land and the establishment was in vogue, he gave us the gun-slinging Westerns and movies like Dirty Harry where he takes the law in his own hands; when the country now seeks more regulation and order, he responds with movies where he submits to the laws and rules of the land. Good parallel, but might be giving him too much credit to say he intended it! :-)

His snarling in the movie is a bit over-the-top, but the movie has powerful lines, subtle humor, few lessons for life, and excellent acting by Mr. Eastwood and his teenage friends who live next door. Good watch!

back on

Have considered blogging again about a dozen times since I last blogged, but every time I type out a grandiose re-entry piece that I am never happy with...and hence, never start blogging again. This time, I am back on...just like that...with this non-glamorous opening piece. Now I can start saying things without having to say an opening statement that is worthy of everything else I have said and want to say. Albatross off my neck, load off my back...and all that..

Deprivation does weird things to people

Growing up in India, I was your average cricket fan, playing cricket every evening as a kid, watching the odd match, the odd cricket debate just for conversation's sake..I was normal. When I came to this country 6 yrs back, for the 1st 2-3 yrs, I couldn't get to watch cricket, leave alone play any. This sudden deprivation messed me up big time; it has rendered me a diseased cricket fanatic now! I follow cricket like a man possessed now.

My sources:
Home of cricket on the net
Home of Indian cricket on the net
The best Indian newspaper coverage of cricket on-the-net
A standard on the net where I can also take a peep at soccer news
A cricket columnist's blog
..yes, *everyday*!
I have serious issues: I honestly believe that I should be on the national selection panel!

I was asked why I don't write that much about cricket here, since I clearly think about it a lot. Its because I am afraid I won't be able to stop writing! I could write about the state of test cricket; disgust at 900 runs in a ODI; stronger disgust at 20-20's; new talents in Indian cricket; India's Truman (reference to the movie, Truman Show), Sachin Tendulkar; getting Americans to understand cricket; come up with a theory on why cricket is a craze in certain countries; my irritation when someone says, 'I don't know how you stay up all night and watch cricket'; I could go on and on..

And I do go on and on..with my daily emails to a select few (you know who you are - to think that you actually top my word-count, some of you..God bless YOU! :))

Rest assured, all's well, I haven't sold my soul and shifted my loyalty to any american sport, the madness hasn't abated in anyway. Regular readers of my blog (ahem!) know I play cricket for a team here in NY. The season is just getting started now. This summer, with me being as fit as I have ever been, I am waiting to send the ball scorching through the covers and also to come in running and 'let it rip'!

I am not a desi!

I don't like the term "desi" - its got several negative connotations associated with it, for me to be comfortable calling myself a "desi". Its a self-inflicted demeaning word used for all members of South Asian origin here in the US, both 1st and 2nd generations. Call me Indian, south Asian if you will, even "brown", but not "desi". Btw, a more stylized version is pronounced "daisy" - aaghh!

P.S: If that makes no sense to you, just dismiss it as one of my quirks (to those-who-know-me: who would've thought I had this many quirks about me?!)

Any 24 fans?

Am not hardcore, but will watch it - *hilarious* Jack Bauer link!
My favorites:
In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What the *$#& have you done with your life?
AND
Tony was once shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and was back on the job in just a few hours. Jack Bauer still can't believe that pussy went to the hospital first.

"Retire early and pursue your passions" - what bs!

When I told a 19-yr old not to fall for network-marketing and that it reduces him to a salesman, he goes, “it equips you to take charge and become a leader” - this is everything thats wrong about network marketing for me. To each his/her own, but it makes my blood boil whenever I hear about this concept.

Maybe its because I was abused as a kid :). I have been hit by these scums thrice in my life when I was a gullible 20-yr old. When someone said they wanted to help me, I thought they were sincere; little did I know they wanted me to sell shampoo so they could be richer. For those not in the know, this is how network marketing (aka pyramid marketing) works. You subscribe to buy stuff from a company. You sell the products to others. You make your commission for all sales. Further, you subscribe other members to do the same stuff (this is the “pyramid” about pyramid marketing and to me, the most disgusting part of it) and for all sales that everyone you introduce make, you get a cut of the commission. So that way, the guy who started it all, makes money everytime someone sells something this company makes – it could be soaps, shampoo, cleaning solution, credit cards, the next Viagra, you name it..

The 1^st time it happened was probably when it hit me the most – I was working behind the bar at an Indian party (yes, yours truly has been a bartender once in his life), when this Indian guy approached me and said he runs an “ecommerce company” and he was looking for smart, enterprising young men like me to join him to make this “dream come true”. I thought I was getting a job even before finishing my degree! The next day he drove to my place in a BMW to tell me how Corporate America doesn't reward hard work and I was better off selling soaps for him, to make my money soon, retire before I was 30, and pursue my other passions. The next time, my then neighbor said he wanted to take me to a “conference”, which would be a great networking opportunity. Everyone there had a well-rehearsed schpeel – how I looked like a bright/smart/enterprising young man and ending with, “remember, there is no such thing called a free lunch”. It was like a cult, the guy on stage would say “hello everybody” and everyone in the hall would say, “hello”! #3 was in Macys – I was checking out shades when this dude stopped to say Macys had great shades and I must be a grad student in the area and he was looking to hire someone to help with his “ecommerce setup” - aaah, by now I had finally smartened to the ways of these bastards!

What do I have against this – for one, it makes scums of these people, they look at everything / everyone as a chance to get them introduced to this “dream opportunity”. You can't simply socialize with these people. Two, there is something terrible about making money out of someone else's work – yeah, it happens all over, but never so blatantly. Three, for someone who chooses to get an education, there is nothing terribly honorable about being a soap salesman! Strong words I know, but my thoughts..

Primary targets – housewives who think they can make money just sitting at home, and struggling students who would do anything to make a buck and supplement their income.

I wish I could shake some sense into that 19-yr old and ask him to focus on his school instead of selling soaps, but I think they have him sold. He just subscribed his dad and best friend too..and I think the reason he wanted to meet me was to get one more subscription out of me..

Fountainhead - a late realization

For me, the joy in reading a good book or watching an excellent movie is ephemeral and transient. A really good book (like Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM), Lila, Death of Vishnu, Fury, Catcher in the Rye) leaves me with a few lines/ideas to think about, but ask me about the story or the names of the characters, and I will have NO idea few weeks after I finish the book. They are the lesser details for me - names, events, sometimes even plot. But chances are, I will remember the names and characters in Fountainhead for a while!

Clearly defined, yet leaving enough space for the reader to extrapolate, imagine, and understand on their own. Re-reading important sections of a book is not something I have done before. ZAMM goes down as the only book I have read twice. But after finishing Fountainhead, there were a few sections I wanted to re-visit - Ellsworth Toohey's talk to Peter Keating when he insults him for his lack of originality; Henry Cameron's parting words to Howard Roark; Howard Roark's conversation about second-handers in the cruise with Gail Wynand; Howard Roark's testimony in court in the end; but the line that made me pause, ponder, and smile, was - "Why should any living creature exist in pain? By what conceivable right can anyone demand that a human being exist for anything but his own joy?"

I don't agree with everything that the author claims - I believe there is some 'virtue' in socialism; capitalism is not the panacea that she claims it is (in hindsight, has not proven to be the cure-all that the author perceived it to be in the 40's). There is some happiness in giving - the gumption that YOU receive in making life better for someone else, purely for your own selfish reasons, YOUR gumption.

Spoiler (dont read further if you haven't read the book yet and plan to): Roark blowing the Cortlandt project up - that was drastic. If it was his (or the author's) means to an end, where he could present his reasoning and thoughts to a larger audience in the court and try to get them to see the light, it might be justified. But could he have made his point without blowing up money spent (albeit, not well spent) - maybe..

But yes, goes right up there, among the best books I have ever read. I ask myself - how much of a Howard Roark can I dare to be? This is a great book to read in your college days, before you start your career, most people read it then. I didn't, am glad I finally caught up to it..

Rang De Basanti

They should make more Indian movies like this! No bullshit, no convoluted happy ending, somewhat idealistic, maybe impractical in parts, but gets the message across. "Swades of this year", said some online reviews. I was deeply affected by Swades too last year. Some would choose to dismiss it as idealistic, but whats wrong in being idealistic? Swades hit the spot for those who dared to 'go with their heart', the rest dismissed it as 'idealistic and impractical'.

Everytime I hear the song, "Yeh jo des hai tera" from Swades, it brings a stinging feeling of guilt (the use of shehnai to produce the desired effect, a stroke of genius by the music director, A.R. Rahman). Rang De Basanti had several good songs, but the rendering of "Luka Chupee" was beautiful - rarely do I concentrate on the lyrics in a song (the tune is supreme for me), but this song had it all down.

Won't delve into the plot and such, but every youngster in India should watch this movie..and yes, I feel terrible saying so, sitting in the US!

Will jump off a bridge to break the monotony!

Snooze starts: 6:30am
Wake up: good day - 7:06am (snooze 4 times), lazy day - 7:15am (5 snoozes), Friday - 7:24am (6 snoozes)
Bkfst: cereals, soy milk, fruit
Into work: between 8:30-9am
Lunch: 12:30 - soup & salad
Gym: 6:45pm
Dinner: 6" veggie patty sub - Subway on 10th Street & 5th Ave, Bklyn
Back home: 9pm
Aah my 'free time' - can be spent hanging out, watching tv, reading, surfing, sometimes working, ironing (yes, of course :)), chatting
12 - EOD (End-of-Day)

And like this it goes, EOD to EOD...and then EOW! One wkend to the next..pressure to do something - coz you know they are gonna ask you on Monday in the elevator and at the water cooler! Am not the most convincing liar abt 'this friend's birthday party, which went crazy'. This, that, and the other...and then Sunday evening arrives! Just as I wonder why am I doing this..a paycheck arrives! And then life makes sense...for a day..

Thank God Americans take more vacations than any other country in the world (a 'fact' I just made up, go with the flow..) - that's the respite from everything we do, our vindication, a chance to break the monotony, do crazy cool stuff..like bungee jumping from a bridge (see, I wanted to impress upon you that I tried bungee jumping in Whistler, Canada recently. And I just didn't want to throw it out there, its all in the journey..walk you through my daily humdrum and then finally, arrive at the bungee jumping! No, I dont have any serious mental issues yet where I want to jump off a bridge *without* a rope around me :))

Look fwd to my next vacation..

You finally *see* it?

Does this happen to you too - you hear about something the 1st time and then you see its all around you and wonder how you missed not noticing it for so long? I have a theory - there is no shortage of information today, its all over, its overwhelming! What there is a shortage for, is attention. We have become selective on what we suck in and think about, our information filters have become highly refined. That's the only reason we don't *see* it. And when someone talks to you about it or somehow you learn of it the 1st time, you look around and realize it was always there, but you couldn't care about it before..
Deep..yeah...

You stay classy!

Thats my message to you all for the new yr! Had a great vacation to British Columbia, Canada (Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria) and Vegas towards the end of last year. Will be more regular with my blog in the new yr! :)

"You stay classy, San Diego" is Ron Burgundy's line from the movie, Anchorman. Everyone has their favorites, but who would your funniest man alive, be? There are all the late night show hosts, Dave Chappell, Seinfeld, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Bill Murray, etc.; for me, its Robin Williams. His creativity, the stuff he comes up with on the fly, most of all, the speed at which the guy thinks is amazing! Robin Williams, Live on Broadway and his 2-hr special on James Lipton's Inside the Actors Studio are absolute classics!

But my latest favorite comedian is Will Ferrell! He is the guy who is annoyingly funny. The way he uses sarcasm is awesome, and considering I would top most of my friends' most-sarcastic-bastard list, I absolutely dig his comic style. And to me, his top movie was Anchorman, the Legend of Ron Burgundy. Its got all these quotable, easy, gimme lines. The 1st time you watch the movie, you might find it good (yes, its always weird the 1st time :)), but I assure you..no....I *guarantee* you, the 2nd time will be way funnier than the 1st, and it only gets better from there on (God bless HBO for showing it every other day)

Some of my personal favorites from the movie - sex panther ("60% of the time it works everytime"), jogging ("Veronica and I are trying this new fad called jogging, or maybe, its 'yogging' with a soft-j. Apparently, you just run aimlessly for miles, supposed to be wild"), "Am kind of a big deal you know. I have many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.", "I am in a glass cage of emotions", "the only way to bag a classy lady is to give her 2 tickets to the gun show", "Discovered by the Germans, they named it San Diego, which in German means whale's vagina", etc, etc.- IMDB lists the whole bunch here - search for the quote about Octagon on that page..another funny one.

The problem is many women haven't and don't see the movie, the dudes recognize an Anchorman reference, but it'd be cool if the ladies got the 'joke' when we scream, "smelly pirate hooker from whore island"! Classy indeed.. :)