Back home!

So I left on a jet plane on the 23rd and got in Christmas morning around midnight... In flight movies were a sorry lot- a truly terrible piece 'Cheri' whose only saving grace was the presence of Michelle Pfieffer. Then I watched HP6 twice - the first time because there was nothing else- the second time because I was looking for the Snape teaching Dark Arts scene... only to discover that they had indeed cut that from the movie... and that's another 5 hours of my life wasted. The thing is like an addiction.

I liked '500 days of Summer' a lot though. Zooey Daschanel usually annoys me... and she did annoy me a bit in this movie too... with her almost 1950's type feminity. It was primarily her dresses and hairstyle and whole aesthetic through the movie, I think... don't get me wrong- I loved the old-fashioned gingham and the pretty skirts and tops and what not... and frankly they were very 'me'... but hallo? Who dresses like that on a daily basis any more? What happened to jeans and a T anyway? And don't get me started on the annoyingly perfect hair- half the time she looked like a school girl.

Still, I totallysympathized with her character. And at the same time with the poor guy she dumped (eventually). It was a lovely telling of how a relationship grows, stagnates and breaks down. And sometimes there are no really good reasons why things work out with some people and not with others. So, yeah, for a change- not a love story.

Now in Madras is the music season. Attended an amazing concert of Ranjini-Gayathri today- sort of tottered there half asleep thanks to jet-lag, but was wide awake and spell bound through out. They had a lot of really good accompanists, I must say... will probably see a couple of other concerts before this thing is done...

Sigh... not getting through with Bill Bryson... I think, like my cousin says, the problem with this travel-book type of thing is the lack of plot- much as I enjoy his writing, its not really going anywhere... it just sort of meanders like the author's journey. Gone through Norway, Amsterdam and Germany (more or less). Was much amused by Bryson's comment on how the Danes once ruled all of Scandinavia and now have no monuments to show for it- only a little mermaid...

In other news... Schumi's back ! I have to go to Montreal this year at least...