Movie Marathon

It’s fun watching movies. And it’s more fun watching three movies at one go. Scouring the insti LAN for movies is fun too. But not so much as watching them.

This weekend, we decided to have a movie marathon. And I was the eventual winner (there was no one left in the end but me).

We started off with Heist(7) - a movie about gold and greed. Cross, double-cross, twists, turns and a powerful cast with the likes of Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo make the movie worth watching. U will love the way Gene makes everyone a ..er..what’s the euphemism for a chutiya?

"What makes the world go 'round?"
"Gold."
"Thought it was love."
"Yes, it is love. Love of gold."

The next two movies were Before Sunset(8.5) and Before Sunrise(8). And this is where my fellow runners decided to call it quits. Now, one thing. I don’t like watching romantic comedies unless
a. it has Julia Roberts in the lead
b. it has a scene where the guy carries the girl away in a flying saucer.

As u see, I have to settle for the former most of the time.

I have always put off watching these two movies thinking they would be romantic comedies but was i to be surprised!! I started off with Before Sunset (a sequel to the other one). The movie captures the conversation between a guy and a girl as they stroll around the city - Paris - for a few hours before the guy leaves in a flight. For more than an hour in the 80 minute- movie, they talk about their experiences, their interests, their lives, environment and anything under the sun.

The two had first met nine years ago in a train in the movie Before Sunrise. Here, they spend a night at Vienna and here too, they talk, talk and talk.

I like movies with a beautiful ending - like a good novel or a game of chess - and the open endings are brilliant in both the movies. Though, the one in Before Sunset is better – as if their lives stop there, a moment in time. The characters are fuller, too, in Before Sunset.

I haven’t seen Ethan Hawke deliver a better performance in any of his other films, and Julie Delby impresses with a mature yet cute performance. I won’t be surprised to find people fall in love with the two characters.

Here are the 3-sentence reviews of some of the movies I watched/ rewatched this month.

The Hidden Fortress(8.3). Another Akira Kurosawa classic, it portrays royalty, loyalty, greed, treason in their finest and ugliest forms – all with a dash of humor. The movie apparently is the inspiration for the star wars. You will love the movie for the characters in it.

Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya(0.5). I laboured myself into watching 10 minutes of the film. It became too taxing and I gave up. This is the third sentence.

Yakeen(5). I’m sure the story of this movie must have been flicked from a Hollywood one, though I cant point out which. A good story loses way due to a crappy direction and acting. Watch it for Arjun Rampal if u have to.

Stealth.(6) A robotic stealth plane develops a mind of its own. Hey, don’t ask me for more. I was too busy trying to cross a score of 1300 in snake (which I couldn’t, finally).

Oh Brother where art thou(8.5). Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, the movie narrates the story of three convicts who escape from the jail in search of a ‘treasure’. As the blind seer says, “You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first... first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril.” The musical score is one of the best I have heard.

Kung-fu Hustle(7.5). A movie watchable just for the characters. The dancing axe-gang leader, the barber with an exhibiting ass, the screaming land-lady, the mute candy-seller, and the rest make it worthwhile. All with a brilliant graphics and exquisite humor.

Schindler’s List(9). Liam Neeson should have beaten Tom Hanks (who got it for Philadelphia) to the Oscars for this one. Loved the scene where Schindler drops the ring given him in the end. Compelling performances by Kingsley and Fiennes too.

Man, a good half an hour wasted (or utilized?) for this post. Gotta run do some work now!!

4 haikus

(1)
A blank stare
An unmoving screen
And I wait

(2)
Rain-drops bring
Vague, still memories
A faint touch

(3)
At night – a
Passionate embrace
My pillow

(4)
Purring lion
Dumb at times but this
Diamond shines

I am God

This is the height of noodliness!! The ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ is the overlord of a new parody religion- ‘Pastafarianism’. (Remember the famous Rastafarian Bob Marley, anyone???). Wikipedia has more.

Some interesting ‘facts’ about the religion –

• Prayers are ended with the word Ramen rather than Amen.
• Like the noodles they worship, Flying Spaghetti Monsterists have flimsy moral standards.
• Promise of a stripper factory and a beer volcano in Heaven.
• Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s.

The open letter to the K.S. Board by the creator and self-proclaimed ‘prophet’ of the religion, Bobby Henderson, is particularly enlightening. It includes a reader’s response –

Bobby,

Today I was blessed to receive a divine revelation from our Almighty Flying Spaghetti Monster. I have the privilege of informing you that it is His will that I become His Bride, in order that the Savior of mankind (who is to be called Macaroni) may be born on this earth. The FSM has revealed to me that your body is to be the vehicle by whichhis holy seed shall be transmitted in earthly form.

To that end, I have reserved a room for us at the Best Western Airport Inn, Boise, Idaho, for the evening of [removed]. I will be the woman wearing the WWFSMD t-shirt and eye patch.

I look forward to meeting you and fulfilling the will of our noodly master.

Julie
Boise, Idaho

The Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible pink unicorn, the invisible green dragon. What else now?? What about some Swimming Red Kanglasha, or perhaps a Simmering Spotted Sangai for our own Manipur??

Cogito ergo dolero

"It seemed that thinking about almost anything led to a dilemma, and where you had a dilemma you had this little pucker between the eyebrows."
- Kate Grenville, "The Idea of Perfection"

When faced with an inevitable predicament, there’s no need to brood over it. You stop thinking about it, you stop worrying about it. Why bother when you know there’s no way out? If u keep thinking, u might even see a false glimmer of hope. It’s more painful that way. And most of the conceivable solutions are bogged with problems themselves. So, it is better to think of ways to pump urself up, rather than cry over split milk.

Another thing, it’s indeed annoying when people try to meddle in your matters and try to show sympathy and stuff, when the truth is they hardly care. Even if they care, what’s the big deal? You will at most get a look of awe, surprise, disbelief, empathy, or perhaps, delight. What difference does it gonna make?

Life goes on, mate.

Chirah

Chirah in a mood for..umm..err... no idea! Anyways, thanks, big B for the photos!

Unable to sleep: 6 AM

ding!

Independence Day

What did i do on Independence Day? Hmmm..let's see if i can answer...

11 at night. It was raining cats and dogs. Beach House. 1+ 1/2 vodka. 1/2 whiskey. 4 packs of cigarettes. 8 guys. Rice, scrambled eggs, chutney. Streaks of lightning illuminating the sea for precious seconds, soliciting a cry of awe everytime we saw it. Claps of thunder to add to the drama.

"It's 12. Hey, happy Independence Day, man. Cheers!!!"

Arbit conversations, ( i love this part!!) with topics ranging from Syd Barett to Dave Mustaine, Metallica to Black Sabbath, Chinese techniques of torture to Japanese mass internet suicides, the blockade in Manipur to an imminent Naga- Meitei clash.

Some snippets:
"' Can i pee from the terrace?'
' From or on?'
' From.' "
"f*** , im high."
"I think i can jump down - it seems so near from here."
"I want something new. I'm tired of listening to the same old music, doing the same old shit. I want something new. U know, if a lot people start doing the same thing, it's not so much fun anymore, even if u did find it so at one time. That's why i haven't read the da Vinci Code. It's fun to be different, man, in any way u want. "
" ' Hey i wanna see the sunrise. It's gonna be awesome.'
A minute later - ' Hey, I'm crashing da. ' "

P.S. There was something missing- music. There should have been some Floyd, man...

What's in a name?

The little B finally got christened after days of extensive search on the web. It had to start with a 'chi' as indicated in his kuthi (kundali). Some 15 probables were selected including Chiara, Chimera, Chin-Hwang, Chi, Chini etc. Not to mention the Chinese Chins, Chings and their numerous derivatives. Interestingly, the winner turned out to be one from outside the probables list. It's a Persian name meaning brave, powerful, sublime, intelligent, and perhaps more. An alternate meaning being turban. Here's my first hi to a newly christened Chirah!! A close contender was Chiragh(meaning a lamp) but bigB decided to do away with it as it could be "blown away by a gust of wind"!!
I was inspired to find a meaning for my own name. It turned out to be very meaningful indeed, with meanings ranging from an elitist homosexual to lesbians, marijuana to plain stupid. Urbandictionray.com did come up with some amusing meanings!! It's always been a pain for me to answer people when they ask the meaning of my name. I can make it sound pretty entertaining now. Though I wonder if i can do away with my oft-repeated old "My father got impressed by a WWII Russian pilot named Bobo Bubuska. Ergo, blah blah blah.." story.

New species found

The insti has always seen a shortage of beautiful members of the fairer kind. We were indeed surprised when we saw a few of them some days back.

Laundiya: Arre yaar, mast ladkiyan hai yaar. Teeno ke teeno. Figure wigure sab sahi hai.
Me: Kahaan hai yaar?
Jat: Kuchh kharidne gayi hai. Main toh ja raha hun andar.
Laundiya; Tu bhi jaa, andar hai.

I come out after buying 2 sachets of Head & Shoulders. Jat is already there.

Me; Sachi mein yaar. Acchhi hai.
Laundiya: Yaha kaisi aa gayi? Shayad galat jagah aa gayi hai.
Me; Ya toh hum galat jagah aa gaye hai ya toh woh log.
We all laugh.

Jat; Ek baahar aa rahi hai. Main toh ja raha hun uske paas.
Laundiya: Mujhe pyar ho gaya- teen baar , paanch minute mein.
Me: Main toh bhaag raha hun. Bye.

Another peculiar species to enter the insti this time around are our own freshies. Poor Chor had to vacate his room ( well, almost) just because he asked a freshie to get some cigarettes for him. Too bad he didn't ask him to buy some booze or condoms!! And the funniest part is, it wasn't the kid who bought the fags who complained, but the father of his roommie who apparently faxed the Dean!! Kya zamaana aa gaya hai. Another freshie cried and complained to the security officer when a senior took off his sweat-drenched shirt in front of him.

So, we are supposed to treat our freshies with utmost respect befitting them. I would be compelled to say one day, " Respected freshie, u happen to have misplaced ur foot on my naked toe. Could u please move it so that i can breathe a little easier? I would be obliged. "

Of paknams and eronbas..

Made paknam under Iteima's keen supervision. It had become a matter guarding my reputation of being an excellent paknam maker. I've indeed got some flattering comments about my skill from close quarters. After today, the decision is final, i can do it and have beaten even girls at it!! I better preserve my recipe lest i should forget it. And of course, in case people want to share my expertise. Ahem, ahem. I'm thinking of making it back home to show my skills to mom and all. Though there are many variants, here's how to make a special "kanglayan" paknam--

Ingredients:
*Ngari - 1 teaspoonful
Maroi napakpi- 6/7 leaves
green Chillis - 7/8 halved lengthwise
Kanglayan one small bowl
*Besan 3/4 teaspoonfuls
*Yaingang la
salt to taste

* key ingredients

Procedure:
Wash and clean the kanglayan thoroughly. Mix (rather, squeeze firmly with the palm and fingers) the ngari, salt, maroi napakpi and green chillis thoroughly, until u form a paste. Add the kanglayan and continue mixing. Add the besan and mix. The amount of besan should depend on the amount of water present in the mixture. Try smelling ur fingers. U should be tempted to eat it right there. If not, continue mixing :) .Wrap the mixture in yaingang la, put inside a pressure cooker and cook. In case u have dried yaingang la, it should be priorly added to the mixture.
Serve with rice and kangshoi.

My eronba's not as gud as my paknam. Maybe i will write about it sometime...

back in the insti

3000 kms away from home and yet i feel as if i'm still at home. It's the same inactivity, same food, almost the same people. Should help me in the transition. The little B is doing wonders to the place already, with Eteima putting a stern end to our bang-bangings of doors and incumbent noise in the room. I had a glimpse of the trying times to come when the little B "did" it when in my arms!! I tell u, it's not a comfortable thing to do, carrying a child in ur arms- u just can't help worrying about the unpredictability of his actions.