pics from New York and Washington

Views from a vacation (so long agao... oh so long ago!) Pictures posted in no particular order... from the top left...Capitol Hill Inside and Out.... In the Botanical Gardens at Washington... miniature Smithsonian and Christmas Tree... Winged creatures from ancient times, mythological, real and manmade (angels,pterodactyls and spacecraft) ... monuments to mankind and all that we are (the Washington Monument and the Jekyll and Hyde club) and of course a tribute to what kept us going

Lunar Eclipse

Last week’s little excitement was the Lunar Eclipse on the 21st. It was raining all day, and the rain stopped, though the clouds still hung heavy, and I doubted that anything would be visible. Happily, the clouds cleared before 10 PM and when I stepped out at 10:15 the sky was perfectly clear. The moon was about halfway into shadow when I saw it, its innocent white giving way to an ominous orange-red shade. It was the sort of moon, I thought, with a shiver, that brings out werewolves. My imagination overworking, I gave a quick nod to Saturn, hanging below the moon and slipped back inside, and into my cozy bed, where I slept untroubled by loony monsters.

Jodhaa-Akbar

I was pleasantly surprised my the movie JodhaaAkbar last night, as I had gone without high expectations. Though its quality no where near the inspirational Lagaan and Swades that director Ashuthosh Gowarikar has made before, but it is a fantastic spectacle. The sets are opulent eye-candy (so are the two leads), the costumes are gorgeous (did I mention the leads?).

The story itself is more historical fiction than history (as virtually admitted in the narration), but as it is admitted, the protests about its accuracy are quite unnecessary. It never claims to be historically accurate. (So there!).

I was highly impressed by Hrithik Roshan's Akbar. He seems to be channeling the character, not simply acting him out. I cannot imagine anyone else in that role now(love the little mushtache). When he speaks, he sounds aunthentic- not simply reading a dialogue (unlike almost everyone else). Aishwarya (thinkfully) has little to do but look lovely (which he does) and occasionally show eyes brimming over with tears (which she does very well, indeed).

The movie is far from flawless. Its far too long, for one. The voice over naration by Amitabh could have been cut(or replaced with scenes with proper dialogue), along with several other scenes in the couple of hours. The movie as a whole could have used a whole lot of editing to make it at least an hour shorter. I'm afraid, that the length alone may keep it from being a hit.

Rehman's music is disappointing, the songs and the background music alike. Most of the actors are wooden and have obviously just memorised their dialogues and are reciting it off like bad poetry. The initial battle sequence was squirm-worthy. I did like the other fight scenes though, especially the last one.

So, worth a watch for sure(an in the theatre- DVD wouldn't do the sets justice), but I wouldn't do it more than once.

A picture is worth a thousand words that I could do without!

For the last several weeks, my weekend trips to my aunt's house have included one important function- taking pictures. By that I don't mean the making memories kind, or landscape or portrait photography, amateur or professional. This is a category all of its own- its Marriage Market photography. It started with a Maami who was dismayed by the meagre number of pictures my Mom offered her of me. "Other girls send portfolios" , she protested. "Other girls must be models, not geeky software engineers", I snorted. I was overruled by my alarmed mother though, and so every weekend I come bearing a couple of my Salwar Kameezes and pose around the solarium, while my aunt directs me and takes the snaps, and my cousin critiques. Sometimes, if its not enough, I try out their dresses and do my hair several different ways: pull it back, leave it loose, a little in front. And once its all done I send them on their way to my Mom in India.

She promptly and diligently goes through them and comes back with several more suggestions for the next week. "Try a different duppatta... comb your hair after every shot, don't leave it loose... don't tie it too tight.... wear heel... don't wear heels...no shoes...no bare feet, wear sandals with open toes... not that dress, its too tight... not that one either, its too floppy.... stand up straight... don't stand too straight, be natural... sit... no sitting shots... wear powder... no make up... jewellery... close ups of you face, full length shots...

Ok... who cares precisely to look at so many pictures?!! Unfortunately, alas, there are enough people who do. And even worse(for me) there are girls who happily (it seems- my smiles are simply fake, and not all the cajoling in the world can help with that) sit through an entire photoshoot, for all the world like they were at America's Top Model or something. Today it is to be garden shots(never mind that it s perfectly dreary winter's day), in carefully arranged 'natural' poses.

So if you ever come across pictures of me with a forced smile, strangely stiff, and teetering on high heels, smelling the non-existent roses, all in different clothes, for all the world like a heroine from a Tamil movie, changing costumes through a song sequence, you know that story behind it.

There was something in the air...

Over the weekend before New Years, along with Ash and... Ash (heh, bad joke I know) I went to see Mamma Mia. Caought a train from the Princeton Junction first thing Saturday morning to New York where the streets were shockingly empty (at 9:30 on a Saturday... but New York ok!- less than bumper to bumper traffic, and half a dozen people squeezing into the same square foot of pavement is unbelievable), and we raced to the Ticketmaster booth (by the Bank of America on Times Square - don't ask which one- like our tour guide told us, the previous day, you can't use banks or Starbucks or pharmacies as landmarks- there's one round every corner- but remember the BOA)

There was already a queue there, snaking around, but thank god it was moving fast, also that god there was a starbucks near by to eat while we waited.

Got pretty good seats by the way, Balcony first row thank you very much.

As for the show itself .... there are no words! It was absolutely incredible! The music! The dances! The comedy!

I was amazed at how much they accomplished with what seemed to me to be minimal props(compared to the Lion King at least... which is the only other Broadway show I've seen- also gorgeous by the way... I mean Disney, Elton John, Alan Menken... I mean- The Lion King! enough said)

I loved the way they wove the plot around the music, and what music! If I hadn't been on Broadway(and hence on my best behaviour), I'd probably have been jumping and dancing around like I was back in college!

I loved every character, each so masterfully detailed with just a few lines of dialogue. I'm not going to give away plot details here, because YOU SHOULD GO AND SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!, but, just to let you know, Judy McLane and Gina Ferrall are incredibly funny. Carolee Carmello has an amazing voice, just made for some of those dramatic songs.

A month later, I'm still on a high everytime I think of the show, and I'm already up for my next one- Anyone game for Phatom of the Opera?

On Atonement

I really, really liked the book. And now I'm going to tell you why. In detail. So if you don't want to be spoilt, don't read any further.



First of all, I don't think this book is really about plot. Oh, the plot's there, but it's almost incidental, a cloud swirling around that one pivotal moment. And I don't think that the pivotal moment was the moment of Briony's lie, it was before that- the scene with Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain, Briony watching from above. There's this meta moment in the book, where Briony describes what the book itself is doing- taking a moment in three different points of view, each person's (mis) interpretation and the consequences that follow.



I love that fact that she cannot atone, not really, not completely. That even legally, her hands are tied. And there is no forgiveness from Cecilia or Robbie. Why should they forgive after all. Who would, who could? Will her apologies bring back the years that they lost? People assume that an apology given is an apology accepted. Those who throw the aplogy back in the face are bitter, ungracious. But what use is an apology? What difference does it make to the person who has been wronged? Whether by malice or ignorance, does it change anything?



There is Robbie desperately seeking a reason why, rationalizing it with an incident Briony neither remembers nor cares about anymore. And there is Briony. However reprehensible her actions, you cannot hate her. She was thirteen (though thirteen year old these days would probably not make the mistake- makes you almost thankful for the knowledge available), she had a vivid imagination, she so desperately wanted to be right . To do her justice though, when she did come to realize the truth, she faced up to the fact that she was wrong. What ever she was, she was not lacking in courage.



And there's Lola. She is hate-able, but God, I feel desperately sorry for her. She knew, she knew all along, and yet she went along with it. Did she already have plans for the future, blackmail maybe? Did she feel vindicated in the end, at her marrage, relieved at being made an honest woman of? Did she suffer from some version of the Stockholm syndrome, the only way her mind could cope with the tragedy? She was certainly self-centered enough that after the wedding, she cared little about the man who had shouldered the blame, but that no shadow fell on her own name, even if the criminal got away with it(or maybe I mean especially). One thing the book, the wedding scene in particular, does do, is strike a blow at all those caveman style romance novels. I do think you know the ones I mean.



It wasn't the subject matter, though that was sometimes harsh to read, but one particular word that made me think that the book deserved the R rating (well, the movie actually- I don't thin the book is rated). It was just a little jarring, to see that word in such a book. Possibly, it ws necessary, it gave that push to both Briony and Cecilia. Sometimes I am a little old fashioned.

I did love Briony's growth as an author, from fairy tales, to the recognition that no action can be judged independent of its consequences, as she becomes a more honest writer.

What I did when I was travelling

It has been a long time since I last wrote, and many exciting things have happened since then. I’ve been to Disney World and Cape Canaveral, and New York and Washington, and will shortly post pictures of my trips.

Right now, I going into the books I’ve been reading lately. Schindler’s List first, which I read on the flight to Florida. Brilliant and intense, the story it told was just unbelievable. Both that people could sink to such depravity, in the name of doing good, and that people should have such courage to fight such a thing. Then there has been a series of lighter reads; two of Phillip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart series: ‘The Ruby in The Smoke’ and ‘The Shadow in the North’. Not fantasies as I had initially expected. More like Wilkie Collins’ ‘Moonstone’ or even a Sherlock Holmes. Both were very twisty and I love Lockhart being an independent-minded female financial consultant (talk about a boring job- just the sort that needs to be livened up by pirates and smugglers) in Victorian England. There’s so much more I liked about those books, but I can’t say more without giving the plot away. Only, I laughed at the person who actually solves the mystery in the first book. And I love Sally and Fred’s relationship in the second.

Then there are the rest of Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel series, all available online at http://www.blakeneymanor.com/ . After a point they do get repetitive, you’d think Chauvelin would stop being so easily tricked. It starts feeling like those roadrunner cartoons. Still, good for timepass.

Also online, at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page is ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ and its sequel ‘Rupert of Hentzau’ both by Anthony Hope. The first is a fun adventure story, the second is substantially darker.

I’ve also been reading several of the Newberry award winning books, courtesy of my cousin. I’m a little surprised that some of these books are recommended to children, they’re all pretty deep and dark. I’ve read ‘The House of the Scorpions’ by Nancy farmer, and ‘The Goose Girl’ by Shannon Hale (she didn’t win the medal- in was a Newberry Honor for Princess Academy - not for this one). ‘The House of the Scorpions’ was excellent, if somewhat creepy.

‘The Goose Girl’ was good, but the there were several plothole, and the tone of the book went just a little preachy in the end. Much better was Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’ which was also made into a very good movie. It’s a short book, and the plot flies by, and everything ties up neatly in the end. Then there’s Lois Lowry’s ‘The Giver’ which I may have mentioned before- one of the dystopias. She’s also written sequels that I want to read (The Messenger’ and something else). I’m halfway though another book my cousin recommended- ‘The Book Thief’ by Marcus Zuzack’ and after that I think its going to be ‘Atonement’, before I go to see the movie.

Yay for the used book store!!!

I’m about half way through the books I had said I would read previously. It was really thanks to this amazing little used book store in Kutztown that I was able to buy many of these- I doubt if I would have bought them all a Barnes and noble- there are limits to my profligacy!

I started off with the Dark is rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. I actually read “The Dark is Rising” on Friday night (the 5th) at B&N. Then on Saturday morning I set off to Kutztown, down 222N. On the way I was distracted my an Amish shop selling pecan pies- it has been over 9 years since I had one, but still I remember the rich nutty taste. I had looked for it at Redner’s and at Tanner’s; for all that it was one of America’s Favourite Pies though, it was strangely elusive. But in the end, unexpectedly there it was, on the way to Kutztown.

Then there was a Flea Market. I don’t believe I’ve mentioned before my thrilling experiences a garage sales and Flea Markets. There was a garage sale that I went to many weeks ago when my mother was here. We got three comfortable solid wooden chars from there. The only problem was getting a pair of cushions for the large one which was an armchair, because we didn’t wasn’t to use someone else’s used cushions (for reasons I don’t want to go into detail here). Anyway, in the end the cushions were more expensive than all three chars put together. Still, I think of it as “A Good Deal”.

The first Flea Market I went to is about 2 hours from Reading, opposite an ashram. We’d gone to the Ashram actually, but ended up spending more time at the Flea Market, buying the most fascinating things. Cheap jewellery, old books, boxes a jewellery box like a small chest of drawers… The one on Kutztown road was much smaller though. And I got a rocking chair there – for $15!

Anyway –on to the bookstore – it’s this tiny cramped store, in the best tradition of second hand book stores. And I ended up buying about 10 books just because I could. You have to hunt though, among dusty shelves and in boxes and bins and squeeze through narrow spaces, and I felt like I never wanted to leave!

But I did in the end, loaded with last three from the Dark is Rising Sequence, “The Golden Compass” and “The Amber Spyglass” by Phillip Pullman, and sundry other novels.

The Dark is Rising can be read as just a kid’s story- the old-fashioned good vs. evil thing, except better written than most. I hadn’t realized that Over Sea, Under Stone was part of the series, now it’s the only one I haven’t read. You could be bothered by the almost inevitable feeling of the victory of the Light, like a Deux ex Machina, and the string of strange co-incidences that pave the path to victory, but the ending was just a little sad and very satisfactory. I do like the books though, the plot many not be great, but the characters are wonderfully fleshed out, and the whole story feels a little misty- blurred at the edges, softened, like you’re viewing it through not entirely transparent glass. It doesn’t moralize though, and doesn’t pretend to be anything but a story, doesn’t strive to be an epic (and isn’t one by any means). It’s short, even with all the books taken together, and rather sweet.

Phillip Pullman though- I had read only “The Amber Spyglass” before. It’s the last one in the trilogy, and I read the first two only now. I liked the Amber Spyglass for its story, but taken out of context, saw it only as a somewhat over complicated idea- too many characters, too many ideas, all coming together in one book.

Taken as a whole though, you really get the sense of beginning and end, of a coming together of many great purposes, small and large acts to the grand denouement.

I do hope they don’t make a mess of this series like they did with Susan Cooper’s when they make them into movies.

Two Lives- All Done!

I’m finally DONE with Vikram Seth’s ‘Two Lives’. I think it’ll be a while before I can bring myself to pick up a biography again. The story was a bit slow, detailing the author’s Aunt and Uncle’s lives before, during, and after World War II, she a German Jew during the Holocaust, he a dentist working for the British Army. The parts pertaining to the war, and the recovery period after it was very compelling, but the long list of friends and relatives, the hot and cold of relationships was a bit wearying to go through.

Another book I recently read concerning the Holocaust was ‘Briar Rose’ by Jane Yolen. It was my cousin who gave me the book, and it was from her school library. I was rather surprised to hear that it had been in the children’s section. Though it was based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, I thought it dealt with some ideas that are far too disturbing for a child to read. But then again ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is considered children’s literature by many, I read it when I was about eleven myself, and I don’t think this one is that much harder to read.

One point that made an impression on me in both Briar Rose and in ‘Two Lives’ , was that they both dealt with the fact that the trials and tribulations of the victims did not end with the war. Even afterwards they had to cope with massive bureaucracies, and just the unwillingness of people to admit that they had been wronged – because to admit that would mean admitting that they had to make reparation, perhaps giving up some of what they had gained, even if not directly, then indirectly through the oppression of others.

Now, the next book on my agenda is Schindler’s List. It’s another of those books I have always been meaning to read, but never got to reading.

One more book I quickly got through, over the weekend, was ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. It was as good as I remembered, but compared to some of the other books I was reading, felt a bit soap-opera-esque or fairytale-ish, though its not really a happy ending…

That brings me to other books I want to re-read. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame for one, then Wuthering Heights. I only remember the vaguest details of the plots of these books. I read them when I was in sixth standard, in my room, with the door locked so that no one could see what I was actually doing when I was supposed to be studying.

Homesick for LA

It was when I was walking across the overbridge that connects the parking lot to my office building that I felt my breath catch as I was transported 3000 miles to the west. Though, it may sound strange that it was the cool breeze that brought it on, not the blazing summer sun that we have had for the past two months. But I have never been in LA through summer – last year I went back to India in June, and this year of course, I had left by February.

But yesterday the sky was blue, the sun was high, there was a nip in the air, and I could almost believe that the red brick of my office front was actually Powell library.

And then reality brought me crashing down, back to 9 hours of work ahead.

In my crystal Ball

From the books that I have finished, coming to those I want to read (or re-read) over the next few months- the first would be ‘Siddhartha’. I already have it, its been sitting on my bookshelf for a while now, just waiting to be picked up.

Then, I want to read all those books that are shortly going to become movies, starting with Phillippa Gregory’s ‘The Other Boelyn Girl’ and the others in her series about King Henry VIII wives etc. I’ve seen those books in Barnes and Noble many, many times, but been too lethargic to pick them up. Now, however, there is some urgency in me to read the book before seeing the movie.

So many books are being made into movies this fall- I’ll have to read Beowulf (though that was one that I have long wanted to), and re-read The Golden Compass (by Phillip Pullman) and The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper).

I’m actually amazed that the Golden Compass is being made at all – with all its negative references to an evil church (in a parallel universe to be fair) – though apparently it did run into some controversy over that here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_dark_materials_the_golden_compass/news/1664784/

But given the popularity of turning books into movies, I’m surprised that one author who hasn’t been made it on the silver screen is Georgette Heyer (except for a version of Arabella and a spoof of The Reluctant Widow)- ‘The Masqueraders’ would be perfect on screen, so would ‘These Old Shades’ (they could even do a trilogy with ‘The Devil’s Cub’ and ‘The Infamous Army’– that seems like the norm these days) , or ‘Friday’s Child’ or ‘The Grand Sophy or…. And I could keep going. Just a matter of time I guess!

Fiascos in Flying

I commented just yesterday on Ash’s blog that I sympathized with her troubles while flying- and was reminded of the entire hullaboo that I have come to associate with flying over the last couple of years.

I remember my first flight quite well actually. I was eight and we were flying from Madras to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. Here, I should make the point that Singapore Airlines was and continues to be the airlines with the best service. The flight was, the food was good(I didn’t understand until years later why airline food was so reviled), they gave us goody bags for kids(to keep them occupied) with this plastic toy with holes into which you could loop colorful thread (I still have it!). I think that early experience is why, though I know that optimism is the certain path to disappointment, I still look forward to a flight.

There were other memorable flights – there was the flight on a tiny plane with about a dozen passengers, which had engine trouble(and excellent sandwiches) and landed in Chandigarh when in was to go to Shimla (or something like that). I think I should have been more concerned than I was, sitting on that flight, but there were magnificent views as we flew along the foothills of the Himalayas, and that distracted me somewhat (what a good thing I was not in the cockpit!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. It's most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the nother! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty… )

There was the flight from Bombay to New York through London- that was about 9 years ago. I still remember being awed by the number of shops at Heathrow. I watched Jerry Maguire three times over that trip- and never tired of it. Is it just me or is the quality of movies they show on board also deteriorating? (or is it that the movies themselves are deteriorating?) It used to be prospective Oscar winners, fresh as they were running in theatres- no more – now we get six month old flops that you couldn’t pay me to see… maybe they’re encouraging people to sleep on flights? That was also one of the first flights of the Boeing 767 (I think that’s the right number anyway). Huge plane – much more legroom that you get these days (no I haven’t grown any taller – trust me on that!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.

No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before 12. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. Its most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the other! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty…

And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/ Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.


And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.

Maybe I’m just uninterested in the real lives of real people, but I’m just finding ‘Two Lives’ by Vikram Seth really hard to finish- 200 pages down (over the last month) and 250 (or more) to go. It’s a really good book though, a little slow, but nicely written (dub – like I said real people – not heroes endowed with magical or supernatural powers), but parts of it are very nicely written. His fondness for his subjects clearly comes through, and his unwillingness of pry too far into their lives (this far and no further) which leaves you with something to ponder when all is done. (I like that in a book – if it ends all roundly and satisfactorily, with no spaces in between, how boring! The best stories are the ones that have you day-dreaming, about all those unmentioned thoughts, those unspoken words, that make you author, a co-creator of the universe.)

But in the middle of reading the above book, I got swept away by a real page turner. It was my sister who sent me ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khalid Hosseini, and since then, it has been passed around the family. That was an absolutely heart-wrenching book. The characters are painfully real- their flaws so believable, as is their need to rise above them. It was so hard to read, and so hard to put away. Then of course I had to go on and read the next book by the author – ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’. Not as good as the first, (you’d think I’d like it better, being about the plight of women and all), still is was an excellent book. Bittersweet satisfying ending and all.

I had read Stardust last Winter actually, during a sort of read many, many Neil Gaiman’s and Terry Pratchett’s as possible thing I was going through. It started with Good Omens. Have I told you what an incredibly funny book that is? Well, it is an incredibly funny book. Nice (and accurate? (you’ll have to read it to get that inside joke)), light, without being stupid, happy ending (or is it?). Talks on a sequel, talks of a movie… nothing seems to be happening…

Still back to Stardust- it was a very good book, which was why I was so surprised that it became such a good movie (so young and yet so cynical !) Of course they messed with the story a bit, as I complained through those scenes to my long-suffering cousin, still even that didn’t make a hash of it. I’d like to see ‘Neverwhere’ come out as a movie too. I never really got ‘American Gods’ though , or ‘Anansi Boys’.

And I must make a mention here of Enchantment(seems like an appropriate place to mention this book), not quite sure when I read it, though definitely in the past one year, it’s a modern Sleeping Beauty by Orson Scott Card ( ‘Ender’s Game’) . Was V.V. Good! Remember being surprised, didn’t expect to like it (my mistake, all his stuff is generally at least readable), but I did anyway.

Now on to Stephanie Mayer’s New Moon , Twilight , Eclipse trilogy about Vampires, Werewolves and the humans in between. Actually just one human, who (wouldn’t you know it)has one of each in love with her... aaah what angst. Its actually kind of addictive – like Ice cream, that you know isn’t going to do anything for you, but you can’t resist anyway. Lots of general teen angst, sappiness, tall dark (and blonde – whatever you taste, it will be catered to) handsome, brooding heroes.

And… that’s all folks! ( Looney Tunes song plays)

On the Deathly Hallows

Let me start by giving a brief (maybe 100 words, maybe 200)... critique of HP & Deathly Hallows. Long gone are the days when people had to beg me to write about anything but HP... this commentry is quite reluctantly written. Certainly I am guilty of waiting breathlessly, for the last book to arrive at my doorstep, delivered frm Amazon.com by USPS - I didn't lose my head enough to think it was worth losing a night's sleep over, to go and pick it up at midnight from the nearest Barnes and Noble. I have my priorities straight. Nothing gets between me and my beauty rest!

I had however, avidly trolled the web for spoilers in the days that preceded the release, and while I didn't read any complete versions, I did read one epilogue that I scornfully dismissed as deliriously hopeful fan fiction.

And then came the book and alas, the revelation that the epilogue that I had read was in fact, the 'Real Thing'.

The shock! The disillusionment!All the other shortcomings of the book could have been forgiven, if not for that cavity-inducing, saccharine epilogue(it was supposed to be 'poetic'!?).

I could have overlooked the fact that the arch-villain had been turned from a tiger into a pussy-cat with his teeth pulled and claws clipped. The hero equipped with some sort of deux-ex-machina-esque power that ensured that he never could fail.

The book was far longer than it sould have been; there as so much that could have been trimmed and prunes, and one gets the feeling that there sould have been so much there, that wasn't- like whole explanations had been chopped off, and unnecessary bits of chatter added.

Some parts of the book read like copies of books we have already read before - the Sword in the pool - King Arthur anyone? And Harry going to his death accompanied by the spirits of those who loved him- Narnia, 'Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' - though there is another myth on which both are based.

Those were two best scenes in the book though. I loved the scene where Ron came back(being a Ron fan)- though I was really annoyed with the way he left, and the one in which Harry gives himself up was amazingly moving.


Oddly enough I am satisfied with the explanation for Snape's defection. Not so much that I believe in the power of his love for Lily, but the way Dumbledore manipulated him to make him protect Harry.

And I love the way Dumbledore has been humanized, less Godlike, although I don't think it means Harry is a better wizard really.Not just the weight of age, or lack thereof, but somehow you don't see that strength in Harry, of being tempered by overcoming his greatest weaknesses and fears.Harry never really seems to have doubted himself or the ultimate success of his cause. He has never known the depth of betrayal, guilt, maybe hopelessness that Dumbledore did, I think, and still risen above all that. It reminded me of what Dumbledore said in book 1 about Neville, and how it took a greater courage to stand up to ones friends that to ones enemies.

So much for my 200 words, this has taken longer than I expected, and if I don't stop know, I probably won't until every bit of the book has been dissected.

PS. While I pity the poor child saddled with the name, I thought Albus Severus was actually quite sweet. It seems that Harry had in the end become the bigger man and forgiven Snape for his attitude, and recognized his contributions, and the fact that a man may e mean without being evil incarnate.

Harry Potter movie 5 Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter month at last! It seems like I'm googling for nothing but Harry Potter speculations these days. Thankfully, the movie came by and took the edge off my anticipation. Considering that it was my least favorite of the books, I'm stunned to find myself saying that its probably my favorite movie. Umbridge and Luna were amazing, the trio, not half bad, Bellatrix and Lucius were madly and suavely respectively, evil. And Sirius' deat was very well done.

A little disappointed with all the stuf that seems to have been just glossed over. Not just Quidditch - after all we're going into a war here - children's games can well be sacrificed - but the prophecy! After all, at least as far as I am concerned, there was no point to the 5th book, but to provied a sort of cushioning for the grand deneoument which was Hary finding out about the prophecy - here it was all cushion and a half a minute -and that's a generous estimate - where we find out why exactly Voldemort went after Harry in the first place - and not very clearly either. I mean, if anyone watches the movie without reading the book, they'll probably go "Huh, where did he jump to that conclusion from?" Anyway, if you have read the book, it brings out all the important parts to life very nicely.

Now, though I have to go and tensely crawl the Net for scraps on the final book.

7/7/07

Today's supposed to be a lucky day- for gamblers, weddings, and who knows what else- the world as a whole if you consider the Live Earth concerts. I'm hoping it'll prove lucky as far as my continued blogging is concerned as well. I've made my own pledge - to replace my lights with energy efficient ones, switch off all appliances when I'm not using them. (Good for my electric bill too) Ironically, I was probably more energy efficient upto a couple of weeks ago when I was going to and from work by bus everyday- before I got my car. Still, I'm below the national average as far as Carbon emissions go- working on going lower though - next step buy local produce? Easier said than done - as much as I love farmer's markets (I blogged sometime ago on one of my favorite ones ) - now that I'm working, its not easy to go to ones on weekdays- also lack of Indian spices and other veggies :P. Actually did go a small local produce place recently. Bought a cabbage the size of a small planet there. Probably not going to be consumed another two weeks.

The Working Girl

At long last I've left my life of liesure ( please don't tell me grad life is anything but) and started working (alas!). Moved to Philadelphia where I was preceded by an ominous snowstorm- I refused to take the hint and came anyway. Found the place deep in six inches of snow , freezing the skin of my nose!

Already missing LA - warm sun and light breeze, snow is exciting the first couple of times you look at it, it gets old real fast! I'm beginning to regret all my initial ethusiasm at a white winter. To quote some famous and wise guy ( or maybe just a wiseguy) The Worst thing that could happen is that your greatest desires may be fulfilled. That unfortunately is all too true. Still I'm told that all this is only for another manth (at the most), then Spring will be in the Air, flowers, green grass... warm sun.... Fortunately the groundhog did not see its own shadow this year, so we're spared the additional six weeks of winter.

Down to San Diego and hallo to Shamu

We celebrated the Memorial Day long weekend by going to San Diego on Saturday. Started the day by making Pasta ( food being the most important of all things) for lunch- from a Betty Crocker cookbook too- and it came out so well! As good as anything you'd get in a restaurant!

Then we took the bus down to Bundy- then the freeway bus to Union Station. The station which is in Downtown LA is really pretty. And right next to it is a little market in a tiny street with quaint old buildings - unfortunately there was no time to stop and shop - ah well, perhaps another day. But we wanted to take the Greyhound bus to San Diego, but turned out that was waaaay down the road, and no direct bus there. So we took a bus that went to 7th street, which is about 5 blocks from the Greyhound station. We passed the interesting part of downtown- little shops ans lots of tourists... then as we walked down 7th street things rapidly started getting shady- lots of homeless people - people shouting, leering... we just walked as fast as we could and never took our eyes off the road. That was probably the scariest experience I've had so far!

We were too late to catch the bus that we wanted to take- it left in 10 minutes and they had stopped selling tickets for it. So, not wanting to walk back the way we came we took a taxi back to Union station, and were we glad to get back to a halfway respetable area!

We gobbled up lunch while we waited for the Amtrak train to arrive- we'd made Pasta and brought it with us in the morning, and yummy Pasta it was too! Then we were on our way

The train took a wonderfully scenic route, and at long last we exprerience some of the summery weather that California is so renowned for. People sunning themselves on the beaches, playing beach volleyball, surfing, swimming, water-skiing, paragliding... all the world was a playground around us.

sigh... I'm never going to finish this blog, but I'm going to publish it anyway... suffice to say it was a great day and one I still rememer

Past, Present and Future

Right now I'm feeling terribly pleased with myself. I've been blogging for just over a year now and have averaged about a blog a week. Alas, output these last couple of months has gone down. Hopefully, now, with exams out of the way(project thankfully just don't create the same kind of stress- except Adaptive filters- but that's another story), I can start blogging regularly agian.

To update you on my latest movements- Appa and I went to Hollywood on Saturday- Appa was here on a business trip and stopped over with goodies as he made his way back to the Other Side of the World. And we went to Hollywood. No, Spielberg did not stop me on the street and ask me to act in his next movie and no I did not get asked out by Tom Cruise, but yes I did have an interesting encounter with a masked supervillain outside the Chinese Theatre.

There were superheroes as well, not that even one offered to save me- not Batman , not Spiderman nor Superman *sigh* it just isn't the same anymore for damsels in distress. Anyway I have a nice pic to show- with me with a plastic knife at my throat, artistically throwing my head back....

Ate at a MacDonalds. Was outraged to find that theyve removed Veggie burgers off the menu altogether! I mean Hallo? This is the 21st century! Vegetarianism, health foodism etc is in! What kind of idiot takes Veggie Burgers off the menu at a time like this( and me starving too!).

Though I haven't had time to blog recently, I have found time over the past 3 weeks or so to play the Da Vinci Quest every morning- 10 am Pacific Standard time. Pleased to say that I completed the first stage of the quest, now hoping to be one of the 100000 finalists that get an honest-to -goodness cryptex with which they do the second part.... and one winner gets all- trips to Paris, London, New York... a TV ,a Digicam.... well... that's like aimning for the moon, I'll be fairly content just going to the movie come Friday night.

San Fransisco Part I

At long last I actually have something to write about- as opposed to ramblings from my disorganized mind, and day to day happenings that even I wouldn't remember if I hadn't written them down.

So I went to San Fransisco- the city with the Golden Gate Bridge (although its orange, rather than gold- there's a story behind that- will get to it later.)

Left early Satuday morning- by early I mean seriously - 2 o'clock in the morning types- being panicky and needing to get to the airport 3 hours or so in advance( legacy of my grandparents).
Caught flight from LAX- was first person through security that morinng(!)

Flight was short- not much to see out of the window, though I'd specifically asked for the window seat- all was cloudy.

Until we almost landed. We broke through the clouds and voila- there stretched before us the San Fransisco Bay - and a bridge across it- not the Golden Gate- though I named it so in my head immediately- so beautiful was the view - with rays of light gently breaking through the clouds to illuminate it, all in gold.

The airport is almost on the sea, and as the plane landed there was the most disconcerting feeling of appearing to land on the water itself. The airport itself has not much to brag about- small compared to LAX and (in my humble opinion) , could use some better maintainance. Took shuttle from airport to hotel on Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf is this tiny peninsula on the northern tip of the city. Its a pretty place, with tiny shops and hills and and the sea, has a lovely view of Alcatraz(the Rock) and Ghirardelli Square (the chocolate Ghirardelli?)

It was raining in SF. Apparently its always raining in SF. Was glad I took my jacket- that's my new jacket btw- inaugurated on Tamil New Year's day, bought from Rodeo Drive( Rodeo Drive where the prices are never mentioned- if you ask for the price- you can't afford it- this was bought on sale- naturally).

Anyway- it wasn't the nasty kind of rain- more like a gently drizzle that just cooled the place down without freezing you to the bone.The shuttle drive took us through the Embarcadero - that's one of the Places to See- its this long road that runs along the coast- and for the second time I mistook yet another bridge for the Golden Gate- actually it was the Bay Bridge which connects SF to the city of Oakland- but its huge and imposing looking (actually, I later found out that the Bay bridge was built only about a year before the Golden Gate- that has a story behind it too- everything seems to - in SF)

Dumped bags at hotel and walked down to Ghiradelli Square (the chocolate place) had a muffin and hot chocolate for breakfast. Now fortified, began long climb upto Lombard street. Though only a few blocks away, the climb was exhausting because of the steep hills that seem to go almost at 90 degrees! Finally made it to the top- and as I stood there, panting... finally! my first view of the REAL Golden Gate Bridge. It's top was obscured by low hanging clouds, but it was that distinctive orange. And over it hung anothier bridge - a rainbow. Stood for a while looking at the beautiful sight- felt almost as though the city was greeting me, blessing me - with all that beauty. Finally the rainbow dissipated and I turned away, and went in search of the crooked street.

The Crooked Street (Crookedest Street in the World) is the most picturesque part of Lombard Street. Actually as I looked down upon it, I thought it was some kind of garden or maze of bushes, it took a couple of minutes before I realised that it was a road and there was actuallu traffic moving through it! ( should have a driving test there- ultimate test of driving skills!)

At last after catching my breath went back to Ghirardelli, sat up in the little tower will the bells- the carillons, and enjoyed a lovely view of Alcatraz. Went down to the street after a while. We walked down the road and eyed the street side vendors selling jewellery and pictures and postcards with interest. Went down to and isolated pier where we were chased away by annoyed seagulls on whose territoty we were encroaching. Went to the Maritime museum and stood right on top near the captain's chair and the rudder (looks a lot like the decks you see on Star Trek- looks like deck design's aren't expected to change in the Space Age)

We went for lunch after that - at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) wasn't in the mood for anything sweet- all that Ghirardelly chocolate had effectively killed that! So had a cheese sandwich.

Then we went for a Ferry Ride- through the Bay- below the Golden Gate and around Alcatraz.

That's where all the fascinating tales came up- about the guy who called himself the Emperor of America and decreed that a bridge be built joining the cities of SF and Oakland- it was- many years later - the Bay Bridge. About the Chinese immigrants who were caught and imprisoned in Angel Island- and Alcatraz( which I kept referring to as Azkaban- accidentally- I need to get Harry Potter out of my system!). As it turns out the Golden gate bridge was so named because it spans the Golden gate strait- which was named after the Golden Horn in Byzantium(?)!!!
The gate itself is painted orange ('International Orange'???) to go with the color of the sea and the hills flanking it.

But most exciting(well, that may be a bit exaggerated), but it was definitely entertaining- the sealions that have taken over the docks of Pier 39. Lazy lumps, they just lie there looking fat and content. Some of them rouse themselves enough to fight - like WWF wrestlers really- pushing each other around, keeping people entertained for hours! Then there are ones the flop on to the dock and clamber over the sleeping ones- which only grunt and roll over- at the most! - to find their chosen sleeping spot.

We wandered through the place- saw hard rock Cafe- didn't go inside (alas!). There was a funny show by a couple of jugglers. The last act was particularly good- where she juggled flaming torches while balanced on a pole, held on the shoulders of two men.

We went to Union Square afer that- well, tried to- parking being the biggest problem- we passed through Chiatown- I've wanted to see a China Town ever since I came to the US- and that is one desire of mine satisfied- sadly, there were no Dragons or Chinese people in their little hats, or Pagodas... it was all rather normal though the crowds were homely, reminded me of being in T Nagar.

We went to the Civic centre first. The building is more like something you'd expect to see in Europe- all gilded decorations and statues and lawns.

Then we went to Union Square- there's a lovely square there, and its lively even late at night, and we could hear the lonely notes of a trumpeteer from the 7th floor of the building where we were- 6 floors were Macy's but the Seventh floor was the Cheesecake factory. Now who it was who thought that cheese and cake( two more unrelated things you cannot find in my opinion) are a good combination, I do not know- but they're a genius! We started with desert as we were waiting for a place to be seated, but the cake was so filling we ended packing most of dinner( I ate it for Sunday night's dinner)

Went straight home( or rather, to the hotel)after that- and crashed till Sunday morning.

Forays into Modern Art

LACMA (LA County Museum of Art) is celebrating its 40th anniversary , so they're having this big bash. Entry is free, food alas (as we found out the hard way) is not.

One of my roommates is an artist and it was her idea that we go to see the "stuff " they have, and so , come Friday night, we went.

Most of the stuff was unfortunately modern. I have no appreciation or understanding of modern art. Weird shapes, painted squares, stuff that you'd expect from a 5 year old really... so, that's my view on the subject. So we spent a while condemning art critics and other "deciders of What Art is" - it all seems amazingly arbitrary.

There was a room dedicated to Picasso, at which things began to look up a bit- alt least with him, things actually make sense- a little.

A couple of other artists were interesting as well - A chap called Durer who made some incredibly intricate etchings. There was Andy Worhal- whose art Id never seen before - actually (excuse my ignorance), I'd only known the name Andy Worhal very vaguely- had no idea he was a famous artist.

There was a clever photo by a man called Ruscha called "Double Standard", and another clever one was by one by an artist called Magritte "This is not a Pipe" Which is a rather philosophical thing. Try and figure it out.

Live- 'cause you live only once

Delighted to announce that I have not spent in single evening at home since Thursday- that was the day I went to the beach.
On Friday we started off with the intention of going to Barnes and Noble and spending the evening there- unfortunately ( or otherwise) Puru took the wrong turn and we ended up near ISS( that's Indian Sweets and Snacks). Food for the body having a higher priority than for the mind- we ate. And then we drove up and down the Pacific coast highway, scared ourselves silly with stories of ghosts and what not, and gave the weirdest interpretations to the sounds of dogs barking in the distance and isolated houses on he hills. Then we ( regaining sense and sensiblility) went to sit at Barnes and Noble. I got started off on "The Cider House Rules" there.

The theme of the book was interesting enough- a doctor who runs an orphanage and performs abortions and a boy who grows up there. But parts of it made me feel decidedly squeamish- which is why I skimmed through the latter half of it.

The next morning( Saturday) was naturally spent lolling in my bed( Futon really- but details, details...) . In the afternoon however, I roused myself sufficiently to get up, get out of the house and catch a bus and go to Rodeo Drive. Yes, that Rodeo Drive- the one in Beverly Hills. You know what they say about that place - "If you ask for the price of an item there- it means you can't afford it. Home of Versace, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany's, Saks Fifth Avenue- you think of a brand and there it is. And there I was in Jeans and a T-shirt, feeling terribly intimidated by the glitter and glamour ( well... no really...) Bought a Jacket there- 15 Dollars. I think the shop may have been going out of business or something- but hey, at least I can say- "I got this at Rodeo Drive"

Sunday- watched "Good Night and Good Luck"- Good movie too. Borders ( yet another bookshop) at night and sat reading "Battlefield Earth" by Ron L. Hubbard - that's a must read for anyone with the slightest interest in Sci-fi. And even if you're not interested - its a brilliant book.

Yesterda- to Santa Monica with SS for her b'day shopping . I went off to Borders (again) while she tried on clothes and got a bit further with the book- not that it feels like very far given that its a 1000 odd pages long and I'm somewhere in the four hundreds. Tonight may actually be spent at home- or who knows , I may be on my way to settign a record

A breath of fresh air

I'm BACK!

Yes! Finals are done and the spring break is here- and right on cue the sun is out, the skies are clear and there's just a mild breeze in the air. Alas that this freedom is only for a week... on the other hand... I have the Week OFF!

So, my supportive, long-suffering fans, here's a post to reward you for you patience( all this masca is just to get you to read beyond this para and leave a coment- ot two- there's no rationing around here).

What, you may ask, have I learnt in the last quarter. Well, it certainly wasn't Speech Processing or Adaptive Filters. I remember what I mugged in those classes for the three hours during which I was writing the exam, now I can tell you the name of the class's professor (maybe- no guarantees).

So, yesterday was my last Final, and to celebrate I did things that I have Never Done Before( well, that's a bit exaggerated- but its pretty close) . Cleaned the house! (shock and awe all around).

Yup, me and my roomie actually mustered up the enthu to lift a finger and dump things in the waste paper basket. So, place is looking a lot more inhabitable now, and less like the neighbourhood pig-sty.

We coked (repeat of shock and awe) , we ate (no surprise there). I didn't do my laundry though- there's a limit to all good things and all that cleanliness might have just killed me, I mean we're people - and cleanliness being godliness and all that may have just sent me straight up.

So , to get on with it- went to beach. There are tiney little shops there, and I utterly lost my heart to this skirt. It was too expensive ($45.00) , gave me a heart attack, and reluctantly we parted.Oh, and there was a great sunset.

Today's the second day of good living- (meaning no classes) . Planning to savour every moment of my all too brief vacation before the imprisonment begins anew.

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?

A Picture is worth a thousand words!

I just opened up Internet Explorer, and as its default is www.msn.com, it opened that directly to a gorgeous picture of some earthlike planet of some far away star. Naturally I was intrigued.

As it turns out - the planet is infact about 5.5 times larger than earth, but on the cosmic scale still small enough to be considered earthlike. The vast majority of planes so far have been gas giants like Jupiter- no chance of finding our kind of life forms there.

They used a new method called "microlensing" which makes smaller planets easier to find- so I guess we can expect more of these in the future.


They were having people vote for their favourite astronomy pictures on MSN and these were some of mine

This one is of the star Monocerotis, taken by Hubble

This on was taken by the Spacecraft Cassini, and shows Saturn with its moon Dione


This is a view of the "Mountains of creation" in Cassiopeia where young stars are being born.
It was, by the way ,the one I voted for.

At the Farmer's Market

Every Thursday the Farmer's Market comes to Westwood. The end of Weyburn is closed off to the traffic. Small stalls spring up selling the famous California tangerines and Clementines and Naval oranges. And a fruity smell wafts beckoningly through the air. And invariably I find my feet almost involuntarily moving in that direction. And it's a rural atmosphere, people seem to slow the pace of their lives as they hang around, familiarly greeting friends and regulars at the Market, tasting the wares before buying them, getting a glass of juice while they're shopping, or something to eat... bringing their children out for the evening...

There's a man who sits at the beginning of the street and plays his guitar and sings. Warm notes of "Scarborough Fair" drift through the air, and appropriately I was standing by a herb seller who had parsley and sage. Further down where there are exotic cuisines, Korean ,Peruvian and Salvadorean, there is also a Jazz band that entertains the people eating there. And several small bakeries just pop up, selling scones and cookies and yummy pies and cakes and French bread.

I contented myself with a Salvadoren Pupasa and turned resolutely away from the inviting breads. But my resolve was not up to withstanding the temptation of freshly picked sstrawberries... I took a small bunch of them home and ate them with whipped cream... and now I feel replete and content. God's up in his Heaven and all's well with the World

An Anthology

Now, let me update you on the latest book I've read. It's been a while since my last "Book update" , so - there're quite a few of them on my list.

I'll go chronologically - mostly -

First - "Sophies' World" - another of my Intro to Philosophy type books- this was one I'd been searching for , and I found it among the ranks of German authors( howa was I to know that it was a translated book!?!) Any way that was excellent- even if it ended oddly- left me with a feeling of- "this story isn't over yet" .

Then Vikram Seth's "An Equal Music" - I finished it flying from LA to Pennsylvania- brilliant book - the man has a new fan in me- the next book on my list of things to read is "A Suitable Boy"

Then , there was the very readable and rather uplifting "Room With a View " by EM Forster"

And on my aunt's recommendation I read James Hilton's "Random Harvest" . Now most of Hilton's books tend to end sadly - this one had a very sweet ending though- although in terms of todays thrillers it seemed to take forever to get to the actual point of the story., but when it did ... well I heaved a sigh of contentment when I finished it- it was that kind of book you know? That doesn't leave you excited or confused or with your head whirling , trying to get your head around facts and leaps of logic, it just moves slowly and steadily , to a conclusion that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Then I got on the SCi-fi brigade with "Dune". Well, I can see why Dune has such a cult following , although I don't think I'm going to be a part of it- I've seen too much of Prophecies and Strange orders that try to influence the Path of Destinies and Chosen Ones and so on and so forth.

The other one in the style of the whole "Prophecy " thingie was Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. Well, I've read only the first one, but it promises to be a long and involved series , so I think I'm going to have to put off reading the rest for later.

The rest were not so noteworthy - A couple of LM Montgomery's (of Anne of Green Gables fame?) - one was a book called "The Blue Castle" and another was from the Anne series - nice stuff to read before bed- sweet dreams and all that.

There was a Mary Stewart- best known for her Merlin Series - the Crystal Cave and so on (I'm trying to get my hands on the Wicked Day- My library has a record of the book , but not the book itself- and no transactions on the book? They swear its not lost- it never existed - then what's the record doing? - No clue... Huh?) Any the book I read was Airs above the Ground. Nice one.

Oooh and before I forget there are two more notables I want to add to that list- one is Ray Bradbury's "Farenheit 451" -That was good although it might havfe been overhyped a bit- it gives you a good picture of what a dystopia would be like , where books are burnt, and it is illegal to own a book. (I actually loved the way he described people in front of the idiot boxes of the future- that part of dystopis at least, is looking alarmingly likely)

And the other one is Kramer vs Kramer- the one that the movie of the same name is based and on which Akele Hum Akele Tum was based . That was a good read.

So... that was my winter list. Now I'm just going to let them all mull around in my mind for a bit and hope that Paul Atreides doesn't change places with Rand al' Thor in my head.

Up and Down the East Coast Road

So... this post is in honour of the drive to Boston that we made... Now nearly a week ago Boston and Connecticut and a few forgettable state borders that we crossed in between as we made our way to the site of the great tea party.

Boston's a beautiful city... its got crowds that remind me of our great Indian cities, bright lights everywhere ...trees which haven't quite lost their fall richness , a lovely museum that has the largest Van de Graff geneator in the word( we were treated to a rather noisy show of indoor lightning) - anywa I regarded it as a bit of sacrilege that the said generator had been consigned to being a museum relic, instead of being in some hallowed research facility- but ah well, there's not a lot of scope for research left in that area is there?

Speaking of research facilities, Boston is the home of Harvard and MIT, and filled with awe and trepidation, tip-toed our way through the Holy Grail of Engineering Technology- MIT. (I thought the classes there looked like classes everywhere else- evidently they keep the Secret of their Successes out of the way of prying eyes)

On our way back we went through Connecticut, and I learnt to love New England and my home sometime in the future- after Venice , Paris and London of course- all said and done , the rustic countriside is all very well, but I'm a city girl.

New England has bookstores everywhere, (you can see where my love for the place sprang from) and it has very pretty scenery besides- that however, is incidental.

Anyway, that was one of the things I loved about Boston as well, a nice looking bookshop on every street, not the huge B&N or Borders, but cosy little Shop-Around- the- Corner like places. Not surprising I guess, since it is in every way a student town with over 90 Universities in and around the city.

Posts from Pennsylvania

Pretty Pensylvania, with a provocative past, the place of parturition of the American Constitution. ( I thought I'd do all P's but I ran out of synonyms) .Anyway that's where I am now... in Pennsylvania- near Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love" . It gets its title from the initial purpose for which this land was clained- to allow people practising different faiths to escape from the persecution of King George the Something-or-the-other, in England.

Philly is a pretty nice place, well, at least what I saw of it was! (Supposedly downtown is not so nice - but downtown is never so nice, so I'll restrict myself to commenting on what I actually did see.

The famous Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall for one, and the Halls for Congress where the first Senate and the House of Representatives sat, the place where they framed the Constituition. There was some contention as to whether the chap whose silhouette you see on top of City Hall was Benjamin Frankin or William Penn; it turned out to be William Penn- dear old and reliable Wikipedia confirmed it for us- he was the founder of the state and the cis obviously named for him- but Benjamin Franklin- who's an amazingly prolific guy- Scientist- remember the lightning experiment... Diplomat- he was America's ambassador to France, philosopher- this guy did everything, and he lived here as well.( His house is preserved here as a museum, but we didn't go there)

We heard an interesting side note to his story- his son fought on the side of the British, while he fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary war- you'd expect it to be the otehr was round wouldn't you?

We heard other interesting stories that gave depth to those shdowy figures who wrote the basic structure of American Law , the famous Declaration of Independence; they became people, with quirks and eccentricities, 'tis the flaws that maketh the man....

That little sidenote to history being done, for the rest of the time I've been enjoying the Christmas spirit, the lights and the lighted reindeer, the Christmas trees and the ubiquitous christmas Carols, the SALE, SALE, SALE written everywhere, simply seducing you to buy madly as you would not at ny other time of the year!

Incidentally, I find the whole contreversy over whether to wish people "Merry Chrismas", "Happy Holidays" "Happy Hanukkah" or just... whatever, rather amusing, and just pointless, its thoughtful alright, but talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!

Anyway "Merry Christmas", or "Happy Hols" to you and a "Happy New Year"!

Going the Google Way!

It seems that there's nothing Google doesnt offer anymore... you want it... they have it. They started off as a great search engine... and if they had been less ambitious they might have stopped there. But being Google, they had to be better at simply everything... and you know what? They are!

First it was gmail- which opened with much fanfare- the whole gmail id by invite only added to the mystique of it, and of course it made sure that people didn't go around randomly creating id's they didn't use, at first, and the humungous amount of space they were giving us to store mails- made everyone sit up and take note- What's the 250 MB that Hotmail offers to Googles 2+ GB huh?

But, MSN (and yahoo and others) still had Chat going for them. And then Google brought along Gtalk- granted you can't use emoticons the way you can with MSN and Yahoo- you can't have interesting profiles like Yahoo- or send funny "knocks" and "Hallos" but you can send enormous attachments easily, and in less time, on Gtalk- and you can talk- I mean actually listen to another person's voice at the other end, clearly- without the sort of static that still bothers Yahoo's voice messaging for instance - when it comes to substance over form , google's got it any day!

They've pulled out all the stops these days- Picasa for pictures, Blogger for blogging, Earth to look for places and find directions,Maps, News... And now they offer to look not only through the web, but through books and through Journals(Scholar) . And there's Froogle- the shopper's paradise (and I love the name- Froogle- Frugal- cheap joke, but makes me smile everytime)... and it goes on... there's still some stuff in the labs- (Try Google labs) - Google video, Google Transit for checking out public transportation... whoa... these guys are not runnin out of ideas anytime soon!

Of course there are always naysayers, the conspiracy theorists... the ones who say that "Google is Evil "- who knows they may be right- mybe we're just blinding ourselves with the plethora of facilities that Google offers, and overlook these things that get privacy advocates so riled up:

1. Google records everything they can : Your IP address, your cookie ID(Google's cookie expires in 2038- it places a uniqueID number on your hard disk, and notes it everytime you make a search), your browser configuration, search terms, time and date...

2.They retain data indefinitely, and won't say why they need this data.

3. And gmail- did you know that mail you get may never get deleted from Google's system? http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com/... and other such things here...

Well.. actually I really don't care too much... if anyone wants to know how many E-geeting I got... the bad (occasionally good) forwards I keep gettting... news or(lack thereof) from home... I don't even have any interesting love letters that I'd want to hide... I'm assuming that all those spooky points are for people with "interesting" lives. Google seems perfectly good for the vast mass of perfectly dull and normal people like me though.

Far from the madding crowd -Part 2

PS- for Part 1 -go the previous post
here

Day 2 at Yosemite
The day, once more ,started early. We started off by going to Bridalveil Falls ... named so because of their resemblence to a Bride's Veil (obv.)

















Then we stopped by a bridge - called the Swinging Bridge-for some pictures that came out like wallpapers!


Picture perfect

Then we went to the hiking trail- to hike up to the Vernal falls- that was the mission of the day! It was a good 4 mile walk- and breathtaking it both senses of the word. There were beautiful cascades of water, and oddly shaped rocks and trees brilliant in Fall colours, standing gaily amidst subdued green; and there were vertigo inducing views such as this , that momentarily stunned us. There were mysterious forests that strtched forever and lightnig stuck trees that stook starkly agains the green.














The woods are lovely,dark and deep

And at the end there was the waterfall itself - utterly worth the journey that had brought us there( and in the rain too!)







































































We ate out that night - fast food to make up for all the exercise that we'd done ! And we left the next morning- back to LA , refreshed in body and in mind.

Far from the Madding Crowd- Part 1

Day 1 at Yosemite:

We got away from it all for the long Thanksgiving weekend, and went on a trip to Yosemite National Park ,a 5 hour drive norht of LA .

We left early in the morning... for once our excitement had inspired us to up and ready early... well relatively early at any rate, and we were on the road by 7 AM! With only one stop on the way we were at the park by 12:30- just in time for lunch! (And yes it did seem like we were eating all the time... what can I say ... fresh air makes me hungry... but so does everything else, so...)

The drive had been through dry, barren land, with only a few lonely looking trees to relieve the dreary landscape, a reminder that though in the city, there are trees and lawns... California is partly a desert- In that sense it is amazing, within a single state it seems to have every kind of landscape,- grasslands and rocks, mountains borgering the sea, and the rich pine forests that we were heading towards.

We went to one of the famous veiwing points first- Glacier point. Yosemite by the way is a Valley that was carved out of Glaciers during the Ice-Age. From this particular point you have an excellent view of the Geological formations that the Glaciers create- hence( or so I assume ) the name. (We had an argument about what erosion due to glaciers created- morasses, molasses... only the M remained constant in our guesses- the answer is Morraines- so much for 8th std Geography.)

From that point we could see some of the most famous sights in Yosemite- including the Half-Dome and the Vernal and Nevada Falls- On the river Merced.

The night we spent in a cottage on Bass Lake - an artificial lake just outside the Park itself. It was a very cozy place and had a small attich which caused no little excitement- you would have thought we were 5 years old - to see us run up and down the ladder. We were glad to get to bed that night... It had been a long day and the next day would be as long .

Dance for life

Last week there were free dance lessons in the Rotunda of the Powell library... and pukki's that we are (nothing that's free gets left out!), naturally we went for them. We were very casually dressed- just a skirt for the twirly effect, but there were ladies there, grandly dressed, in proper ballroom dresses dating back to the 19th century, and men in Tuxedos; we felt transported to another era!

We just had learnt the basic steps of the Viennese waltz. The seven step slow march, the open waltz, the closed waltz, the turning. And then came the more complicated (and exciting) ArgentinianWaltz which was about half way to a tango.

And then came to Polka and the Military Waltz. Of course we were none of us, experts and we tripped over our own feet and stepped on our partner's toes and had our toes stepped upon. But it was exhilarating all the same... the twirling and the swirling and the swaying and just letting go for a few hours!

And to add to our sense ofdelicious wickedness, they told us about the history of the waltz - how it was a scandal when it was first introduced, with the man and woman standing so close by and possibly being the only time when they could speak unchaperoned! I felt like a girl from a Georgette Heyer!

The waltz was hugely popular for the same reason- it evolved from the landler danced by the peasants in Germany and Austria and got its name from the Italian word volver which means to revolve. It became hugely popular in Vienna( hence the name Viennese Wlatz) where the Strausses both Sr and Jr composed famous waltz tunes including the "Blue Danube". The waltz was a favourite of Queen Victoria as well, although even in her day the aristocracy regarded it as being "improper"! Waltz's over the years have become fasteer ad faster( after ladies got rid of the huge hoop dresses), but we did just the early slower ones.

Next time we may go for swing or salsa... and I'll write again when that's done.

Priorities...

My sense of priorities needs to be looked at... I've been grumpy these past two weeks because my midterms haven't left me with much time for my favourite activities ... reading and writing(blogging ) ... actually regard them as having a higher priority than studying... which means I possibly need to get my head checked... my day isn't complete without at least one chapter of a book and a cup of tea( proper chai - like we have at home- not this rottenly healthy green tea stuff).

So at the end of my exams I headed straight for the library - we have an awesome one by the way- several actually- but this is my favourite- the Powell library, which is my favourite both for its shelves upon shelves of books, and for its incredibly comfortable couches - there is a favourite place of mine -on the lowest level where there are low sofas beside windows discreetly screened by curtains to let just the right amout of light through- without blinding you with light or allowing the outside distractions disturb you, and at once allowing you to enjoy the natural light without straining your eyes under artificial lamps.... you get the picture....

And at once I borrowed Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" ,very much reflective of what I was feeling just then I think... then Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" which was a great character study- oddly enough- although it was not a thought that struck me at the time when I borrowed them- they are both about the lives of artists- great men and the events that shaped them... While one is a chronicle of events in a life written more as a piece of fiction that only happens to have its basis in the life of a real person... the feelings attributed to the characters... they may have some truth in them but they are essentially what the author thinks went on in the minds of the characters... Whereas the other is more a relating of the facts that are verifyable- simply putting them into perspective so that the reader may decide for themselves what kind of a person the artist is- and the effect he had on those around him. Both agree on one thing however- that great artists are a species apart- they are driven by something that ordinary men do not understand- or perhaps that is what makes them great and us ordinary- that we choose not to be driven by a force beyond our understanding - preferring the safety of conventional life and moderate goals- rather than the fire that burns to recreate the world in our ideal of beauty.

Another long delayed update

I'd almost forgotten I had a blog, in the midst of the chaos that is my life. We had two midterms this week and I'd really rather not think about them! Another's next week... but I'm taking a short break before going nose- to- grindstone again.

People have absolutely no sense of timing though... this week was Halloween and Diwali, and while all the world was partying and celebrating, what was I doing?- I was sitting in the library studing and wishing I was anywhere but here!

Halloween's a big deal over here though. There was all sorts of ... interestingly dressed people around... A few witches a Tigger( from Winnie- the Pooh) , an angel a ghost or too... a Bumble-bee(!)... Disney character's are a favourite I think...

It was almost painful calling up home on Diwali; I could hear the sounds of crackers going off through the phone and my mouth watered as I heard about the stuff they were eating... And here I am with sandwiches and cheese as my staple diet... The good news is I seem to have lost some weight becaue of it... and if I had been home on Diwali I would have definitely added a few tires to my waist... So there's a silver lining to everything( or rather sour grapes)

(corrected the rather glaring typo in the title- selayed... ugh my typing's going from bad to worse)