My Shoes!

What is this thing with shoes? Why does every new pair within two days & thats the maximum limit, resemble as though my toddler pulverized it in the mixie or that my carefully chosen footwear has been bulldozed by a heavy truck; leaving it exposed to the whole wide world with its innards spilling out? How is it that the cobbler always seems to hobble away, when he sees me approaching with yet another impossibly useless piece instead of offering me a discount for being a walking-talking advertisement for his services, showcasing so splendidly what could have horribly-gone-wrong.

I thought this time I would eliminate those endless trips to the shoe doctor & bought sandals, er, 'rain shoes' or "all-weather shoes" with velcro. Only thing, one drizzle and the velcro doesn't stick anymore.

Terminator Salvation: Review

Image: Marcus, the Cyborg.

When anyone mentions Terminator, my mind instinctively runs back to 1991, and the movie’s script runs through my head like a well-memorised poem. I love that movie and have watched it so many times that I can provide dialogue and background score should you choose to watch it on mute. Yeah, I’m a lunatic fanatic. Some of you feel the same way about Star Wars, and I understand why, having watched the series over the weekend.

Terminator Salvation has heart, literally, and figuratively, in places you would least expect. It isn’t John Connor (Christian Bale) I felt sorry for because he has a hundred things to save and protect from Skynet - the world, his parents in the past, and thus, himself in the future. Through the movie I oft pondered the need for the character of Kate Connor (Bryce Dallas Howard), John’s violently pregnant wife, who has not much of a role really, other than being the carrier of the child of the leader of the resistance and thus, possible meat for the fifth Terminator movie.

I felt awful for the most evolved cyborg created by Skynet – Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), the only cyborg of his kind, who despite being controlled by the intelligent machines, proves to them that having an indestructible endoskeleton and a chip in the skull does not make him one of them. His ‘human’ qualities and his short-lived love story with one of the members of the resistance (Moon Bloodgood) are possibly one of the only redeeming factors in this film bereft of anything other than perfectly crafted CGI.

It’s now 25 years since the first movie released, and of all the four movies, I failed to connect with anything in The Rise of the Machines. I know nothing will live up to Judgment Day, But Terminator Salvation although pretty forgettable, has left me wanting to watch it again, possibly on DVD. But again, yes, only for Marcus.

Fun moments:
1. When Connor says to his wife, “I’ll be back” and then, 10 minutes later, engages in hand-to-hand combat with the very cyborg who made that iconic statement.

2. Realising that the guy who played Kyle Reese (John Connor’s teenage father) in this movie also played Chekov, the Russian from the current Star Trek movie.

Blink and miss:
An ailing, awful-looking Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Serena Kogan.
Verdict: 3.3 stars (Out of 5).

Testing re-testing and detesting

I like books. Real not digital one. I like flipping pages, not scrolling down. I prefer the musty smell of thumbed leaves to the glare of an LCD monitor. And I’m sure I retain more from reading a print out than from reading an email.
But given the rapidly shrinking equatorial forests and intrusive encroachment in the name of teledensity, I’ve reconciled myself to the unenviable task of putting at least one foot into the digital boat.
So I’m buying the next round of virtual beer for the rest of you accomplices.
There’s no telling where this one’s gonna end up.

(posted on behalf of Chetan, the newest member of this blog, who claims to be technologically challenged.)

Diary of Happiness

March started off unexpectedly well with a dog-show on the very first weekend, followed by an impromptu treasure-hunt organised by the building gang. Lots of sunshine from colleagues athe month a golden hue and we rolled into April. Ah! The month associated with Final Exams in school, has since many years taken a different flavour. Yes, kahani mein twist: Avril, French for April and still more sunshine makes you feel drunk. Vast, never-ending mustard fields dominate your imagination and now its not just walking with a swagger, but being on a high. Who needs dope? Dope is for dopes. (I even thought of converting my rumble-down scooter into a mobile slide for slumkids.)

20th April: B'day of a Persian beauty whose chirpy mannerisms brightened my first few months at TIS , 21st April: the day I joined Alliance after my Xth, while awaiting SSC results. And the crowning glory, April is the month of my baby shower, a trip to Bhimpura ashram with plentiful blessings like the serene boat ride on the Narmada river, where the only tune in your mind is: Oh Macchi re!

It gets even better in May with mango mania holding sway & the heat making me almost faint. We shall survive the summer to be drenched in pre-monsoon showers & yipee, in June, my princess turns 3.

Random Tandem Madness...

Alrite... Since most of us are suffering from writing block, we decided to play the drunk game online. Tandem story...

This is how it goes - One person (in this case, me), starts a story and writes a paragraph. From there on, authors take turns in adding another paragraph in the comments to the existing one/s to build the story. The goal of each new section should be towards building the character and the plot of the existing storyline.

So, here goes:

Ravi woke up with a throbbing head. "Gosh!", he thinks as he looks at the alarm clock that reads 09:30, "I have to be at work today at 10:30!". He tries to recollect how he got back home after a drinking binge with his gang at Sumit's bachelor party. There seems to be a hole in his memory, and he diverts his thoughts to the day ahead. Meeting with Dynacorp at 10:30, lunch with his CEO, briefing with the C-level at 15:30 and then head over to the Hilton for Sumit's wedding. The day could've been busier, with him being the youngest CFO of one of Mumbai's fastest growing broking houses. Snatched from the heart of UP and planted in the break-neck pace of Mumbai, he enjoyed the anonymity of the city, but yearned for more free time. He takes the elevator down to the basement where Munna, his driver, ready by his BMW M3 was waiting. He rolls down his window for a quick smoke and is greeted by the smell of Mumbai he could never get used to. He puts off his cigarette and checks his PDA. November 26, 2008. 3 Appointments. Everything under control.

Getting Started...

Folks, these aren't rules. However we'd really appreciate you following them.

1. Be original - We all know and follow great writers and good sources. We would like to see some of your original material here... Don't matter even if you publish them in your own blog. But refrain from using others' material.

2. Topics - No rules here really. It could range from rants, tech dos, photos, poems, humor...

3. Self-links - Please feel free to mention your primary publishing space in your contributions.

We could have up-to 100 contributors! In case you know of someone who would be interested, please feel free to invite others who you think are original. It would be pretty cool to see what we come up with :)

Cheers!

Yet another blog...

I've two secret ones already that languish in corners, and here i'm happily accepting this communal blog offer. Georgie, i'm not sure what this social experiment is supposed to reveal, but you need to put thoughts down and let us all know :)

I'm not sure i'll have enough juice to sustain 3 blogs now AND churn out text at work. LOL.

gimmi motivation. gimmi topic. anything?