A word of Advice- or an entire song

These were the lyrics to a song I heard yesterday "Sunscreen"- it reads more like a speech really but I loved it... and so- here it is!


Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
Buz Luhrman

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97... wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Something new everyday...

A very long time ago I remember makinga resolution to make note of a new experience everyday. Like all resolutions this one too was doomed; the experiences may have been there, but my attention, alas, was not. But the last week has been so eventful- and I am not just referring to the onset of midterms and the inevitable jitters that follow- but eventful in a fun way (mostly) , that I had to sit up and make note- so here it is starting Friday the 6th of Febuary.

On the sixth we took a drive down the infamous Mulholland drive. That strip near Hoolywood, where the spirits of actresses past are said to roam. It was a dark and foggy night, and we were thouroughly spooked as we hurtled, well past the speed limit, through miles of silent road, with quick, unexpected turns and dim lights.

Saturday was the marathon movie day- 3 movies- Fight Club- which is excellent - simply chilling, and filled with smart dialogues -a sharp sardonic one, that one. Intolerable Cruelty- funny as it is , it seems to go on for just a bit longer than absolutely necessary; and Iruvar- that's probably one of the most underrated movies I know, but it probably helps a good deal if you're familiar with Tamil Nadu politics- the rumours , theories and whispers that echo in the corridors of power. The ending is strangely poignant- somewhat reminiscent of Kane and Abel( Jefferey Archer) - a tale of friendships broken, and chances lost.

Then, we saw "Macbeth" in the theatre- for free (isn't that the best part?) Lady Macbeth was brilliant in the first half - her "Are you a man???" , which so pricked at Macbeth's pride, her plotting, and planning ... a dangerous woman, that. Powerful and dangerous. Although in the second half - well, I had always thought that it was Lady Macbeth who pushed her husband all the way- but it appears that perhaps Macbeth himself, caught up in his lust for power , became a tyrant all by himself. It was almost professional (it was prformed by students here) , and absolutely brilliant!

The next Event was the Armenian Dance Class- I go for Ballroom dance classes every Monday evening, but this Monday it was followed by Armenian dancing, and how I danced! I had blisters on my feet at the end of the day, and hobbled the way back home, but Oh how exhilerating it was...

"I could have Danced all Night
I could have danced all night,
And still have begged for morn....
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I've never done before..." (My Fair Lady)

Tuesday was a day of discoveries- on the net. I may seem frightfully ignorant to you- but not being a big movie buff myself, I had never heard of IMDB- the International Movie data base.And I was like "Whoa!" and promptly wasted two hours on movie trivia.

Another useful (or not) lesson from my roomie SS was Stumble - one of the Firefox plugins- that randomly directs you to interesting sites- including ones with a bunch of Calvin and Hobbes strips- many vetti hours were spent over that. Also with the Book and Minute and Movie a Minute sites- instant relief from boredom!

And yesterday we played raquetball- No none of us had any idea how it was to be done, but we played all the same. The lesson I learnt was that I have no hand eye co-ordination whatsoever. Ah well, can't blame me for trying.

That't that then! toodles and see you later!

Tagged once more- In search of a soulmate

Well, here we go again- I thought I'd written my last tag- but no- here we go again- this time, in search of a soulmate.

The top eight qualities I'd want in my guy, well, that requires some thought ( just ten, hallo what were you thinking???)

Lets see.... Brad Pitt's looks, George Clooney's suaveness, Tom Cruise's charm( and height 'cause I don't want a guy who towers 50 feet above me), Hugh Grant's accent( or Goeff Boycott or Micheal Holding... I'm not picky), Abdul Kalam's brains, Jeeves' (yes the Wooster and Jeeves one) presence of mind, Bill Gates' fortune, Bernard Shaw's wit, a voice like Russel Crowe( when speaking that is)... and who can sing like Ronan Keating, and dance like umm... Hrithik Roshan( but no cat eyes... no... or bulging muscles Arnie Style No No! )... not a big list is it? Aaaah if only there existed such a guy...

Well, more practically( or not)... here goes

1. We need to have something in common... books... music ... common interests, something to talk about.

2. Should know when to take a joke and when to make one, and just as importantly, when not to.

3. Should cook! I cannot overemphasize this because I have no great love for cooking( though I've never poisoned anyone yet)

4. Should know when to leave me alone... and when I want comapany- and be prepared to take me out to dinner... then be silent throughout while I dwell in a world of happy reveries and great food.

5. Should be able to take the fact that I think Tom Cruise is the cutest guy on the planet and not turn green with jealousy.

6. Should never ask - fatally- What are you talking about? (10 points if you get the book from which that comment was plagiarised) Or is it too much to expect a guy to listen and understand what you're talking about.

7. Should not mock me when I sniffle at the end of some cheap Romeo & Juliet type flick.

8. Should never miss an opportunity to give me a gift- Birthdays- mine and his, New Year, Diwali, Valentine's Day, Pongal, Unbirthdays- these are all good days to give gifts and good for me to receive them too.)

Now its my turn to pass this comtagion on:
Shashi Iyer
Deepti
The Monk

Rang De Basanti

Movie reviews aren't really my thing, but Rang De Basanti is one of such an unusual flavour that it simply needs to be commented on. In the first place, its rather nice to see the trend of patriotic movies- that are not just about the whole India- Pakistan thing become hits. Well, Swadesh wasn't but I thought it was wonderful, and I know a lot of people agreed, but it was more like a documentary than a than a Bollywood style, happily-ever-after, melodramatic love story,( the whole- "Let there be light" bit probably appealed only to geeky engineers like me- who were so thrilled to see the stuff they were studying- generators etc. show up in a movie), and hence, as far as the masses went at least- it was a flop.

But Rang De Basanti- has a nice mix of masala, a bunch of seriously hot guys (that draws at least half the population to the theatre), a phirangi girl (that takes care of the other half),which takes care of the packaging, and the content is pretty good too.

The first half is bouyant and light-hearted, though not entirely without a message- that the youth of today has been handed everything in a silver spoon, and cares for little beyond immediate gratification, but the second half- which eerily parallel the lives of the freedom fighters that the students are supposed to be playing( trying very hard not to give the story away here- though there can't be many people who haven't seen it yet)- that message comes across sharp and clear too. "Do Something" There's no point in sitting around and pointing fingers and refusing to take responsibility. Remember Nehru's Speech at our Independence? "Freedom and power bring responsibility....That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today...."The events in the movie may seem a bit far-fetched... or are they?