Eschew Obfuscation, Procrastination, Lazy.........

PS3 Games / Movies: 2010/ 2011

2011-03-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

List of movies, old and new watched sometime in the past 2 years. Most of these movies I have watched more than once. Guess this is what I do when I have too much of idle time. I’m planning to start writing reviews on the games I play than the movies I watch. You could say that I have become even lazier, as a movie review will eat up a lot of my time considering that I watch about 4 -5 movies during the week and about 6-8 movies during the weekends. So the movie tally is about a 10 – 13 movies in about 7 days.

In comparison, I would play about 2 – 3 games in a month. Hmm, I think reviewing games will be much more time consuming though the quantity is less; I’ll need to cover a lot of aspects for a game review. I think it’s going to be a tough ask on me.

As of now I own 24 PS3 games which will be augmented by another 6 games. The below mentioned games will be in my possession by March 20^th or so:

1. Timeshift

2. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

3. IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

4. Army of Two

5. Madden NFL 09

6. EA Sports MMA

The other games I have played or still playing are as below. These are all PS3 games, so a person who owns or is aware of PS3 game cost will know the kind of investment I have made J

1 Warhawk: Flight simulation: Only Online play. People who enjoy online gaming will enjoy this one. However it’ll take quite some time to learn the maps and the strategy. Though there are only 5 maps that comes with the game. You can pay extra to get another 3 maps.

2. Batman: Arkham Asylum: I have the Game of the year edition (3D version), which is really awesome. I had played the normal version and it’s bland compared to the 3D Game of the Year Edition. Whether you like Batman or not, if you have a PS3 better play this game.

3. Call of Duty: Black Ops

4. GTA 4

5. Red Dead Redemption

6. Smackdown vs Raw 2009

7. Ashes Cricket 2009

8. Killzone 2

9. God of War 3

10. Burnout Paradise

11. Battlefield - Bad Company

12. Uncharted

13. Uncharted 2

14. Infamous

15. Resident Evil 5 - Gold Edition

16. Iron Man

17. Street Fighter 4

18. Assassin's Creed 2

19. Dark Void

20. Mirror's Edge

21. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

22. Fifa 11

23. DarkSiders

24. Dante's Inferno

25. GoldenAxe - Beast Riders

26. Genji - Days of the Blade

27. Stranglehold

28. Metal Gear Solid 4

Games from #25 thru #28 are not mine, they belong to a friend of mine.

Wishlist: These are the games I would like to have in the coming months. Posted solely to people who are planning to buy me gifts J

1. Gran Tourismo 5

2. Kill Zone 3

3. Transformers: War of Cybertron: Kindly take note that this is War of Cybertron and not any other edition / version.

4. DC Universe Online

PS: I don’t have any criteria’s like a Birthday, any occasion or event to accept gifts J . Cash equivalent to the cost of these games are also accepted J

Let me talk about the setup I have at home for this:

TV: 42” LCD TV – LG LSH50 : Connected through HDMI.

· I bought this TV about 1 year back for the sole reason that it has a TruMotion 200Hz which is good for gaming.

· Not that I know or find any difference, given this is the only LCD TV where I am playing PS3 games.

· Given the number of games that have 3D content these days, might have to upgrade in the coming months to 3D LED TV soon.

Speakers: 5.1 Dolby Digital / THX Certified System: Logitech Z5500: Connected via Optical cable.

· Surround Sound at its best. Best utilized for games like Killzone 2 / Black Ops / God of War etc.

Internet: 1MB DSL Connection: Airtel: PS3 is connected wirelessly to the network.

· Pretty decent connection

· Since this is wireless there are issues of latency at times.

Apart from this the PS3 is connected wirelessly to a 2 TB NAS through which I can stream movies, music etc. Just because I have this option doesn’t mean I utilize it J

Blu-ray Discs: Movies I own in Blu-ray discs

1. Dark Knight

2. 300 – If you haven’t watched this movie, kindly do so. Just ensure you watch a Blu-Ray print in a TV that supports HD.

3. Spiderman 3

4. Shooter

5. Avatar

6. Bachna Ae-Haseeno : Hindi movie, got this BR disc for about 600 INR J Now you know why I bought this.

The following Blu-Ray’s will be at my possession by March 20, 2011:

7. Batman Begins

8. Crank

9. Crank 2

Now that I am done with the PS3 Games / Blu-Ray Movies, here’s the list of movies I have watched in the past year or so. Some of them are old and some of them pretty new.

1. A Beautiful Mind [2001]

2. Angels In America

3. Any Given Sunday

4. Atonement - 2007

5. Because I Said So[2007]

6. Blades of Glory

7. Blood Diamond

8. Carlito's Way

9. Casablanca

10. Cashback [2006]

11. Catch A Fire[2006]

12. Citizen Kane

13. Constantine

14. Crash[2004]

15. Cruel Intentions

16. Duplicity[2009]

17. Eagle Eye[2008]

18. Euro Trip

19. Find Me Guilty: Vin Diesel. Based on a True story. About Mafia guys being indicted under RICO and how Vin Diesel's character defends himself. Funny movie.

20. Fired Up 2009: Teen Flick. 2 football players enroll for Cheer Camp to pick up girls. Funny movie and its a good time pass movie

21. Forrest Gump

22. Fracture[2007]

23. Full Metal Jacket

24. Gone With The Wind (1939)

25. Goodfellas

26. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

27. Harold & Kumar-Escape From Guantanamo Bay

28. Heat 1995

29. Hot Fuzz [2007]: If you haven't watched this movie, you have to. I have watched this movie about 5 times are so. It gets funnier every time. One of my all time favorites.

30. Hotel Rwanda: Don Cheadle. This is also based on a real story. Nice movie, a bit gory, yet heart wrenching. Gotto watch this.

31. I Am Sam (2001)

32. It’s a Wonderful Life

33. Latter Days_2003

34. Lucky You[2007]

35. Management 2008 : The only reason I watched this movie was because it had Jennifer Aniston in it. Surprised to see Steve Zahn as well in this. A good movie, wouldn't call it funny, however it was nice to watch it once.

36. Memento

37. Mission Impossible 3

38. Mr Brooks [2007]

39. Munich [2005]

40. Next [2007]

41. October Sky

42. OFFICE SPACE: All time favorites again. How life becomes mundane in a workplace and how your boss will utilize you if you are meek and can't stand up against him. I have never been like this, guess if I know anyone like this. Funny movie, must watch.

43. On The Waterfront 1954

44. Once Upon A Time In Mexico

45. Once Upon A Time In America

46. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

47. Out Of Time [2003]

48. Perfect Stranger [2007]

49. Premonition [2007]

50. Public Enemies 2009

51. Pulp Fiction

52. Rear Window

53. Red Eye [2005]

54. Remember The Titans: All time favorites sports movie. Based on a true story as well. Nice to watch Denzel Washington in this movie.

55. Rescue Dawn [2007]

56. Reservoir dogs

57. Road Trip

58. Run Lola Run

59. Scarface 1983

60. Scent of a Woman (1992)

61. Schindler's List

62. Seven Samurai

63. Sin City: Frank Millers movie. Extremely gory / violent and all the other adjectives to describe bloody movie. Yet it's an awesome movie, guess its because it's in Black and white or probably it's got a Great Star cast. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood, etc. It used to remind me of a Wii game called Madworld.

64. Superbad [2007]

65. Thank You For Smoking: Movie about a Tobacco Lobbyist. I think this is based on a novel or something. I have watched this movie more than once. Nice to watch this.

66. The Bank Job [2008]

67. The Butterfly Effect

68. The Contract 2006

69. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

70. The GodFather: 1, 2 & 3

71. The Good Shepherd [2006]

72. The Good The Bad and the Ugly

73. The Incredibles

74. The Insider

75. The International[2009]

76. The Italian Job

77. The Recruit

78. The Shawshank Redemption

79. The Terminal

80. The Usual Suspects

81. Three [2006]

82. Transformers [2007]

83. Troy (2004)

84. Two For The Monday

85. What Happens In Vegas [2008]

86. Wind Chill [2007]

87. You Kill Me [2007]

88. You've Got Mail

89. Zodiac [2007]

90. North By Northwest

Poem JUN2010

2010-06-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

You are the only thing on my mind,
You put me on a bind.
I would rather be alone,
Cause I can't take this for long.
My heart's a beat away,
TO make you feel this way.
I want you to be here,
all alone with me near.
This feeling ain't gonna stop,
you are always on the top.

I would rather be on my own,
Can't take it being alone.

You are the one for me,
how else could I ever be,
without you in my life,
There is sadness available in rife.

Do you think it's harder to be a Business Development Manager at a small company compared to working for a known brand?

2010-04-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

My response to a LinkedIn question asked about Business Development in a SME as compared to a Name Brand.

Here are my 2 cents having hands on experience working in SME’s and Name brands.
SME’s Advantages:
· Target Accounts: You are spoilt for choice. Normally, you can run free and work on any account you choose as there may not be too many Clients and too many other people working on them. Mostly you won’t be hampered by some other BD guy working on the same account from the same company. In SME’s communication is seamless and you’ll know who is doing what.
· Relationship: It’ll be easier to forge relationships and rapport in a SME as the number of people you need to know are lesser and mostly there will be 1 or 2 POC’s for each division or specialization.
· Multiple Roles: Most people may not find this as an advantage; however for me this is what drives me. Right from Lead Generation, Pre-Sales ( RFI / RFP responses), Collateral Building, Cold Calling, Meeting with prospects to closing the deal, you can actively participate as it’ll be your account and not many people will be there to muddle with it.
· Learning: Since you’ll be donning multiple hats, you’ll learn a lot in a SME. People will not shy away from educating you as they know your success is their success. You’ll learn firsthand from the experts than through an online portal.
· Energy: In most SME’s the energy and enthusiasm levels are higher as compared to bigger organizations. This is because you are the BIG FISH in a small pond.
· Faster TAT: You’ll see faster turnaround in a SME as compared to a Name brand. People will be eager to help you as they know you due to the relationship you would have forged with them, as the number of employees are less. You won’t have to interact with 20 different people to get one document.
· Focused Approach: Most SME’s would have done some things good and would have in house expertise to do everything. Due to which you’ll have to have a focused approach.
· Minimal Communication Gap: In most SME’s there is minimal or nil communication gap as you’ll get to know what’s happening within the organization either officially or through the grapevine pretty quickly.
· Change: Easier for you to bring about change within the organization. You can implement new strategies and process’s that best suit the company.
· Better Perks and Rewards: If you perform you’ll be one of the best resources if not the best therefore the company will try to do everything in its power to keep you happy. This will also provide you with a bargaining chip to get things done for you’re personally and professionally.
SME’s Disadvantages:
· Story: You may not have a story to tell to your prospects as a smaller company may not have done too many different things. Either the company would have done 1 thing in 10 different clients or they would have done 10 different things with a couple of clients. No specific industry expertise may be there.
· Lost Opportunities: Since a SME may not have a diverse portfolio of clients / projects executed, you’ll tend to lose a lot of opportunities. You shouldn’t feel disheartened due to this, you just need to focus on what you do best and sell that to clients. (This is kind of contradicting with the Focused Approach; however this limits the number of opportunities you can go after).
· Lack of Support functions: In SME’s you’ll find there may not be enough support functions that will be able to enable you to do your job better. This in turn will help you learn new things and also at the same time eat away your time to do the job you were hired to do.
· Financial Constraints: At times there might be financial constraints that will hamper your efforts. For eg: You may not be able to travel to meet a client or attend a conference due to budget restrictions.
· Scale: You’ll lose business because your company cannot scale up in terms of recruiting new talent and also retaining the current employees.
Name Brand Advantages: ( Most disadvantages of SME’s can be taken as an advantage here)
· BRAND: Since the company is well known you’ll be able to leverage that to your advantage.
· Easier to sell: Easier to sell the company due to the companies branding efforts most prospects might know about you.
· Options / Value Propositions: You’ll have lots of services that you can sell or propose to prospects as the company would have a wide gamut of experience. Industry specific expertise will be a major advantage when it comes to selling services to prospects.
· Best practices: A name brand will invest in best practices that you can learn and utilize to further your career.
· Learning Tools: In name brands there will be resources like online training portal etc that will help you garner theoretical knowledge.
· Scale / support functions / Lack of financial constraints: These will be the advantages that you can attribute to working with a name brand.
Name Brand Disadvantages:
· Policies: Too many policies that you’ll need to overcome to get things done. There will be set processes for getting things like Telephones, Laptops, Special equipment etc. Lots of approvals to get and process to follow.
· Matrix Organization: Most Brand companies have a Matrix sales structure which will restrict you to follow up or work with any account you choose. You’ll have a limited pool of accounts from which you will need to bring business.
· Communication Gap: Quite difficult for you to get to know about something the company has done in some specific industry that you are not involved. Unless and until there is a process in which information is shared, mostly you will not be abreast of things that happen in one part of the company.
· Small Fish: You’ll be a small fish in a big ocean. Unless and until you are able to stand out or ensure that peers and your bosses are aware of whom you are and what you have done, it’ll be very difficult for you to bring about change within the organization. There are chances you might get lost in the crowd if you are not able distinguish yourself.

28JUN09 Posting done now :D

2009-11-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be posted back on 28JUN09 ; Just shows how lazy I am.

---------------------

As I start writing this, I wonder where I am headed with this post or this piece (would like to call it a piece of art, but then no one else will except me).

Lots of things have happened these past few weeks I am totally disconnected with reality. Want to race through life at the same time don’t want it to be a blurry haze when I do look back. Had the opportunity to interact with several different types and kinds of people for which I am very happy and they made me realize how lucky I am to have such a good life and upbringing. I am extremely blessed to have a loving family, friends who genuinely care about me and my well being with no expectations.

If one would ask who Siva is to you, I wonder what they would say, is he someone you can depend upon or someone who is irresponsible and careless. I do not want to be someone who knows everyone in the world, I just want to be a person who can be termed as a good guy and who never bothered anyone and always tried his best to help his friends when they needed him the most.

The world has become a place where people are chasing after money that they forget that life should be about the Pursuit of Happiness and not about materialistic things. I can call myself the Prima Facie evidence for this; I am more bothered about making money and my future that I have stopped living a life I truly want. Not that I know what I truly want still I am pretty sure where I am at the moment is not where I want to be. A couple of days back in the middle of the night I wanted to learn cooking and become a chef, I brushed it aside thinking that I was hungry and that’s the reason for the sudden yearning to be a cook. The other day I wanted to be a DJ and this time the music being played by the DJ in the Pub was horrendous and he wasn’t that great in mixing the tracks. Not that I know A – Z about DJing and all, it’s just that the music neither relaxed me nor ensured that I had a blast. I do have these urges and most are quelled when I think about my responsibilities and my needs. Someone very close to my heart suggested that I try my hand in Journalism or some form of writing as a profession as my words blew their mind off. I do consider myself a good pen however I have read blogs of quite some amazing folks who with their words could really inspire you or could give you a tour of the ancient ruins with just their words and I can never do. I can only ramble and never make a point. This is my blog and I will be venting my feelings which are off late have only been frustrations rather than anything else. Till I figure out what I really want to do my rambling will continue, sorry guys you have no reprieve from me and my blogs J

I remember writing about Needs and Wants wherein I had quipped to an Interviewer that “I don’t need this job however I do want this job”. I have been thinking about my needs and want quite a lot; one thing I understand is that my wants are more than my needs. I want lots of things that ensure me that I am never happy with whatever I have. Content is not a word that is in my dictionary. I am never content, always unhappy and always wanting more. Not being content and wanting more has it advantages vis-à-vis it motivates you to achieve more, it propels one to accomplish greater heights. Knowing myself, I have realized that though I want more out off life, am not ready to put in the effort, nor am I willing to sacrifice things that I can do without for the time being. Whether it’s a couple of hours of sleep or the sudden urge to have ice cream in the middle of the night, my urges and my laziness always wins in the end. I know the root cause of my problem; my will is not strong enough to accept the pain or the disappointment. This is because of my Pessimistic approach to life. Come to think of it I do not endure the pain thinking that better things will happen to me, because they always do. I am a firm believer that if one door closes another opens up. Guess, am neither a pessimist nor an optimist, am just confused.

Being Lazy or procrastinating is my biggest weakness. I started reading the book “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”, back in 2006. After a couple of pages I closed the book and never had the courage to read it again. The author described in his initial pages about Comfort Zone and I realized that I am the prime audience for this book. No wonder that book was a best – seller as it fits everyone’s life at one point or the other. I am still in a comfort zone, living with my parents at 28 years, Mom to take care of my food, clothes and all I need to do is eat, sleep and work. I am thinking about making my life a little difficult for myself however I am not sure if I’ll have the courage to go through that. Not that my life is a Bed of roses, though I am physically comfortable where I am, mentally am not happy with the way my life is. Being a strong – willed person is not what I am. I was contemplating with my friend over a drink last night and asked him whether I am a push-over or someone who can be easily influenced by others. Do I have individualistic thoughts and do I live my life as per my wishes. Lots of people have given advises on how I should do things or what I should do, end of the day I have taken all my decisions on my own and have never dependant on anyone else to decide for me. Again, am just confused about this as well.

Know Thyself is a phrase that I try to understand. I have rambled on for 2 pages about what I am, I know my weakness’s or my areas of improvement. Have I ever really tried to improve, NO. I know if I need to change things about my life then I’ll have to live with it for the rest of my life and I am afraid that what if those things don’t work out as well. Fear of the unknown. There are lots of questions I ponder upon that end up disturbing my peace of mind. Eventually I’ll have to decide on what I really want and what I am willing to sacrifice for achieving those. As they say failure is the stepping stone for success, now that I have acknowledged my fears, it’s time for me to face my fears and see if anything worthwhile comes out off it.

This started out as a time pass post, as am in Bangalore on a Sunday and my friend is still sleeping off yesterday’s alcohol. Am Dandy as a daisy now and it’s time for me to wake him up and get the party started. Hopefully I do have the patience to blog more. Time will tell.

Wonder what's been keeping me busy ?

2008-05-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering what has kept me busy for the past 8 months.....wonder for a few more days cuz I plan to update this blog with stuff that has happened to me these 8 months.

I just hope that I find time to jot down whatever I remember, just to keep record for my own future references.

A day will come when I can go through all these posts, reminiscent and get nostalgic about.

Having my fingers crossed that I do find time for some personal space and work.

Movie Reviews - Sivi, Katrathu Tamil, MalaiKottai, Cashback, You Kill Me, Lucky You, Breach, Hot Fuzz, Wild Hogs, I think I love my wife

2007-10-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Movie Reviews: The order of this list does not have any meaning. The only reason Sivi is Top of the list is because it's one of my nick names :)

Sivi

New Faces, an interesting story line and some extra-ordinary sound effects. I went in to this movie instead of Marudamalai for the sole reason that this movie had my nick name as it's title.

Only after some time did I realize that this movie is a Thriller. Apart from all the cat calls and the general movie histrionics that can be expected from a crowd that comes to a theatre like Sai Shanthi, this was a decent movie flick (Probably thanks to the only girl in the theater, who was also really good looking, who happened to sit right in front of me :D ). One can watch it once in the theatre just for the histrionics of the movie going crowd.

There were certain scenes which were really scary, though one would expect such a shocking scene, thanks to the background music, you still can’t be well prepared for it though. All round bad acting through out the movie thanks to the new comers. However the story and the way it was told (the screenplay) are really interesting at times. Not a bad watch after all.

November 13th 2007: Just came to know that the Music Director for this movie was a kid who's about 22 or something...Good score...Kudos...

Katrathu Tamil

What can one say about such a movie. The entire movie theatre was agog for the movie to end, right from the 10th or the 20th minute into it. That should sum it up for all. The only reason I agreed to watch this movie was because it starred Jeeva who happens to be the brother of one of my College mate Ramesh. Yes, he’s an actor too, though not a great one today. I’ll wish them both my best for the future. (Okay, I’ve lost touch with him, still I can brag one day that Ramesh, when he’s very popular that he drove me home on more than one occasion :D. Even now I am very sure of the verbiage I’ll use in Tamil when I say this story years into the future J )
I read somewhere that the Debutant Director had brought out the social inequalities prevailing in Tamil Nadu really well. To my knowledge the people I know who have studied Tamil Literature are really doing well because they derive satisfaction in what they do. They love teaching, doing research works on Tamil culture and relish spreading the beauty that is the Tamil language.

Yes it’s given that, not many people respect Tamil Scholars, however they do have their own place in our country and society. The literates revere them. For that matter, not everyone who works in IT or ITES / BPO or Call Center (as one character portrays a Call Center Agent role) earn 2 Lakhs or 40K per month. There are many who still are struggling to make ends meet.

I do not subscribe whole heartedly to the director’s message, not because I am from the IT/ITES industry that the Director is so vehemently against, however for the sole reason that he should have tried to bring it out in a different way. The feeling that I got and that spoke out to me after the movie was the feeling of jealously and hatred. Nothing more and nothing less.

I wonder why the Director chose this subject, when one who’s not even that successful in the film industry can earn in lakhs and crores. Probably 10% of the people working in Films will be able to live a lavish life while the rest 90% will be still making their ends meet. It’s prevalent in all walks of life. Lots of people in my industry do struggle to meet up with the Maslow’s Safety needs even after working their ass off for many years.

Total waste of money this, if you ask me. And I can hear some of my friends asking me after reading this post “Nejamathan solluriya da” (Watch this movie and you’ll understand the context of these words :D )

MalaiKottai

Totally unbelievable movie (the action is not at all believable). Action packed. Some really good and literally un-believable action scenes. The same old Vishal masala movie. I guess Vishal has learned to act a bit better than his earlier movies. How unfortunate the song’s in the movie has no relevance in the context of the story. You can watch it once just for fun and to me only that matters. Having fun for 2 to 3 hours while you are in a theater.

These are the movies I watched over the last couple of months. I want to keep a track of some of the not so famous Movies I watch. Therefore, posting them here. No time to review these at this time. Sorry.

Cashback

You Kill Me

Lucky You

Breach

Hot Fuzz

Wild Hogs

I think I love my wife

Fracture

Diwali Releases : 13th November 2007

Vel

Cast: Suriya, Suriya and Asin

Yep, Suriya in Dual role. Twins who get separated when they were babies. One grows up in the city while the other is bred in a village. Hari is the director of this one. The one who directed Saamy and Kovil. Madan, a movie critic when reviewing Kovil said this about Hari: “ It’s hard to belieive that the person who worshiped Saamy, has built this Kovil. ”

Vel is a masala movie which has some good moments thanks to Vadivelu and Suriya. Asin is under utilized in this one. I felt sad that Asin has also fallen into this category of Heroines. Guess no one can help, as the industry is like that. Her market will be there for 4 to 5 years and probably she needs to make the most of it while her beauty lasts J. Would have liked to seen her in a better role. Don’t think she has done her bit in any movie after Ghajini.

Polladhavan.

Cast: Dhanush.

Disclaimer: This review may be biased as I do not have a liking for Dhanush. Just for fact that his movies are not my cup of tea.

OMG. When I was waiting outside Albert Theater, Egmore, Chennai, India, I happen to notice one of the posters proclaiming Dhanush to be the “Bruce Lee of South India”. I had a laugh riot just reading it. Again a masala movie action packed. Don’t think I remember anything worthwhile in this movie though I watched it only about 4 days back. Music was boring, the action was kind off natural at times. The anti-hero character was good at times. The homosexual villain in Vettayadu Villayadu is the villain here. During the last action sequence me and one of my friends (a misguided soul) had an argument over the title “Bruce Lee of South India”. Don’t think it’s relevant here. However, it’s ok to watch these kind off movies during the opening week in a theater like Albert, where the crowd ain’t shy to dance in the aisles or to whistle throughout the intro song.

After reading the reviews I’ve written, I think I like the Theater experience more than the movies I watch. That sums it up.

Hopefully I’ll get around to posting this atleast today. Think I wrote the first 2 reviews back in October. 11th October to be precise. Am plain old lazy, guess I can’t help it.

Hope is Life...

2007-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Another month goes by and I still exist in this world. Though I bring no value to this world, I ensure I don't take anything away from it as well.

Another one of my creations penned way back in 2002-2003, the Golden era (not literally) when I was at my creative peak, so to speak. I don't consider this worthy of bearing my name, however, here it is: (I do need to post something here, the solemn promise I made to myself lives on for another month)

Hope is Life

Once in your lifetime, You would have thought that
What am I doing with my life?
You might think that your future is blank.
You may think your career is in a crossroads.
You may think that you have made bad choices.
You may even think that life is full of shit.
But know this, Whatever happens, happens for a reason.
You are here for a reason.
There is a purpose for your existence.
Think of this whenever you feel down, whenever you feel that that life sucks.
Everything happens for the Greater good,
Always think of this after every failure.
“HOPE IS LIFE.”

G. Siva Shankar

Another mindless Post..just to pass time....

2007-09-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

It’s the beginning of a new month though it’s going to be another 30 days of Mundane tasks, I thought why not kick this month off with a new post. By the looks of my previous post my readership has possibly increased by 300%. I wonder whether my marketing and advertising blitz has paid its dividends. If only I had done a better job at the Marketing part guess I could have probably boosted my Blogs readership by another 300% or so. Well there’s always the possibility for this post to surpass the earlier one.

The comments for the previous ones ranged from “STFU” to “You could do better” I take all those Comments from a Constructive Criticism perspective. My family members have suggested that I write something that has got some substance in it, so that it could be more useful to me going forward and also to my readers. I wonder how I can do that. Though I consider myself to have a wealth of knowledge on irrelevant things, I am not sure how I can package them to be useful to someone else. The gamut of knowledge I am talking about is nothing compared to people I have seen blog ranging from dissecting a work of art, be it books or be it Plays. I do have knowledge / information however I do not find it useful for my personal use. Having said this, I do know that a person who’s keen to learn will take away something from these blogs. And that is where my success as a blogger lies.

I used consider myself as a person with a wide plethora of words in my vocabulary. Nowadays, I doubt that. Guess, when you don’t utilize your so-called talents you corrode them little by little. Certain attributes (I wanted to use the word Trait, however as per a friend and colleague, Trait signifies some character flaws in people) in people can be utilized only in certain situations. Not every talent / expertise can be useful in all situations, that’s what I have come to learn in the past 15 days. Which means to say that my wide vocabulary is not going to help me in all situations. In certain situations I may be able to utilize it and in certain other situation I may have to rely on my supplementary attributes that I might eventually discover hidden within me.

I have spent a considerable amount of time in the past 4 months with people who are not from my line of work. Meaning I cannot, as per them, understand the nuances or the intricate details that they are facing cause I am not from their background or I am not familiar with their current situation. To put it simply, I lack perspective. Though I respect these guys and also admire them, I do not subscribe to their point wholly. Yes not everyone can look at things from the other person’s shoes. Yet, I do pride myself in my ability to perceive and judge empirically. (This is only for Romee, if at all he happens to find the time to read this. No offence meant here Romee :D )

There is a saying “Do upon to others as you would have them do upon to you” I think this is from the Bible. The simple meaning of this is “Treat others as you would like them to treat you.” Though lots of people proclaim that they are non-judgmental, I guess during the course of time, one becomes judgmental. I recently had the opportunity to interact with certain people due to sheer luck and what I observed was that one of my recent acquaintances was very quick to judge me cause of their past relationships with others. And when I pointed out that this is not the case, all they said was “You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”. I thought only critics comparing a certain genre of movies used this quote. How grossly I was mistaken.

Since my last post was around 3 pages long in a normal A4 Word Document, I wanted to keep this short, cause I don’t have anything specific to write about this time (As if that has stopped me in the past :D ). This was just to kill time so to speak. I am sure that when my Marketing and Advertising campaigns pays out, I can expect comments ranging from “You better Kill yourself” to “Could be Better” again. Guess I am addicted to taking risks and challenging certain people’s patience or their tolerance level (the 3 people who I am talking about are sure to understand this). One thing I could say to these impatient guys is that, reading my blogs you are sure to better your tolerance levels :).

Well, after another endless and pointless discussion or post I am going to end the readers agony and mental duress here. May God bless you all and May you live long enough for me to pester you more in the forthcoming days and years.

A Horrifying Experience.....

2007-08-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'll go through such a horrifying experience in my life. Yesterday morning was one of the most forgetful days in my life. Though it was a horrendous, horrifying, horrible, hair raising and all the words starting with H signifying terrifying experiences. I pray to God that none will be subjected to this kind off experience in their lifetime.

After close to 5 months, only this incident has egged me to write a post here. Think what kind off an experience this should have been. To wake me from my Blogging slumber and share this experience with all my readers. Probably not more than 3 people will read this, still this is a fair warning for the future generations who inadvertently might stumble on my blog :).

One thing that's good from a blogging perspective is that you can learn a lot of things, personal experiences, career guidance, way of life, etc. And this will remain open for the entire world till time infinite or at least till Google is around. As always, let me not digress.

Yesterday was like just another day in the offing, or so it looked till around 11am IST. (Again this is for the benefit for all my International Readers, not that I know of any, but still one can always hope.) This dreadful incident occurred thanks to the Indian Government and their not so perfect 5 year plans. Had they been a little meticulous and a little more future looking, even more so than they were, it would have spared me from going through such an experience (Think I need to look up some synonyms for experience, I have used it way too many times already. 9 till now.).

Had the Infrastructure of this country been more robust, don't think I would have undergone this kind off a horrible incident in my life. Not that I am trying to build any mystery or anything on this event (hmm..actually I am trying my best to shroud this in mystery till the last possible minute :D. I don't even have a shred of humility in me.). Either ways, one of my friends has asked me to look at things from a Positive note, so I think the positive thing here is that this event however horrible, terrifying, horrendous, heinous it may have been still has made me write this post. Which in turn will help a lot of people who'll eventually end up reading this. So there's the Positive outlook for this bit. :)

Anyways, coming back to the original occurrence. At around 11am IST (GMT + 5:30 for highly educated folks and Indian Time for simple minded folks ) on 9th August 2007, Thursday in 13.04 N & 80.17 E (Chennai for simple minded people), I was intently watching one of my favorite movies, The Bourne Supremacy, there was a Power Outage (Current failure for simple minded people again :) ) in my neighborhood. Unfortunately this power outage affected my house as well and since neither me or my parents thought that a Genset (Generator for simple minded folks and UPS for Technically inclined folks.) was a neccessity in our lives, I had to bear the brunt of the smoldering heat of Chennai.

Being a person who has gotten acclimatized to cool temperatures, I was unable to bear the heat and was looking for other alternatives. Now, I had planned a trip to Hyderabad to meet a friend of mine, who has come back from his USA assignment bearing goodies, or so he says :D, which needs to be seen. Unfortunately one of my School friends who is studying for his MBA from an Premier B School known by the acronym ISB happens to be in Hyderabad as well . Now, whether it was my hard luck or lack of luck thereof, I don't get lots of oppurtunities to party with the fairer sex or just to party as such. This long time friend who happened to study in the same school as mine after getting transferred in the 11th Grade (11th standard for the Indians who read this.) and who happened to end up after jumping from the Biology Department to the Computer Science Department to the Sociology Department and finally to the Commerce Department ended up in my section. Fortunate for him and unfortunate for me, just kidding J.

So when I elucidated about my planned trip to Hyderabad to this long time friend, he asked whether I was inclined to meet with him. I, as always, being a nice guy, gave him an affirmation and also enquired about his well being, how he's faring and whether there was anyone interesting he has met (I read somewhere once, that single people going for a MBA will by the time they complete it will be committed). He was kind enough to offer that he’ll introduce me to a person from the fairer sex, whom I was obsessed with (per him and our mutual friends). Being a 26 year old guy with no relationship with the fairer sex that one can boast about I was tempted and intrigued to take up on the offer. However, there was one stipulation that came along with the offer. I need to part with something that I have cherished for the past 2 years. It was a part of me. Something that took me over 2 years to nurture and grow. Something I cared about and have done things that are not in my nature to protect it. MY LOCKS (Hair for simple minded people). He said that he was doing me a favor and all other stuff to make me feel good about it, just to make me feel a little better. Nice try J.

When the Power went out in my house and when I was sweating profusely, I took the decision to visit a Hair Stylist (Note this Hair Stylist and not a Barber :D). Probably I was of unsound mind when I took this decision, the stress of sweating and the heat probably had its toll on my sanity. Unfortunately that day was the first time after a long time that, I did keep up an appointment, regretfully though. Now I guess my dear readers (people who know me very well) would have got an idea (if not the whole picture), what horrific / tragic experience I’ve been rambling about in this post :D.

Things were not working for me. The Powers to be were conspiring against me and what can one mere mortal like me do against the Omni-Potent one so YES, I went and had a haircut. The whole idea was to cut my hair short and get rid of my Macho look (that’s what I call it), while others categorized it as Dhoni Look. People have heckled at me, calling me “Dhoni” and all, on more than one occasion. When I was visiting Pudukottai for a friend’s marriage, I did over hear a couple of people under the influence of alcohol call me Dhoni and also when I went for the India vs. West Indies cricket match in Chennai. At the cricket stadium there was quite a number of “grown-up” folks who did call out to me as Dhoni, thanks to another friend of mine who motivated them to carry on calling me Dhoni ( Thanks K for that, BUGGER ). Much to my amusement and my embarrassment. Not that I don’t like Dhoni or anything, just the mere principle that I would like to be known to the world for my own achievements and not be a shadow figure for a celebrity. There was a lot of fanfare and people derived pleasure by calling out to me.

Now coming back to the horrific incident, as I sat in front of the mirror at the Hair Stylist’s place I was really sad by the fact that I have to get rid of 2 years of my hard work. There were things I had done to grow such long and lustrous tresses, which made me proud and happy. One thing dawned on me as I sat brooding looking at my reflection on the mirror, I love my hair and it’s going to be really hard and very strenuous (mentally) for me to cut it. So I decided to appease my ISBian friend and have a go at it nonetheless. So here I am writing this with a hair length that’s shorter by an inch and a half and still feeling a bit sad for the things I do to meet the fairer sex.

PS: I am not that shallow, I didn’t cut my hair for the above said reason, however for the sole reason I shall elucidate in the later posts, hopefully no later than end of August 2007. :D

2. All this for a "M" (Tamil speaking guys would be able to enumerate more on this)

Nothing for the past month and a half

2007-03-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's been hard to find time to post stuff here. Work is getting a little hectic. So as to not wanting to disappoint my regular readers here's a blog of one of my friends, who should be updating his blog regularly as he's Totally VETTI nowadays. Here's the Link: http://alfa-q.blogspot.com/

I know it won't be of my standards, atleast you can have some fun out of it.

2007-02-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

The Prestige

Starring: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Christian Bale (Batman) and Michael Caine.

Disclaimer: Spoiler may be included in this review. Read on only if, you don’t mind getting a hint to the ending.

When I saw the trailer of this movie, I understood what the plot was. And when I saw who the actors were, I realized this is a movie of Batman Versus Wolverine, because both the lead actors have played those parts and are well known for them as well (at least to me).

Christopher Nolan the guy who directed Batman Begins is at the helm of this movie. Guess, that’s the reason for Bale to be cast in this movie. Not that I don’t like Bale, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play the part of The Dark Knight in Batman Begins.

Everything takes place somewhere around the 1800’s. The movie starts off with Hugh Jackman being drowned and Bale being accused for his death. It made me wonder how in hell does the lead get killed in the first frame. Then I realized that like some movies, the events happen in the past, something we refer to fondly as “Flashback”. Just the end scene of this movie will give you the chills. “Cloning Redefined”. This makes you wonder if Thomas Alva Edison were born a decade later, would we be living in different times.

Hugh Jackman was spectacular so was Bale, apart from certain occasions. Christian Bale’s accent stood out for me during the entire movie. I never got a hint of this in Batman Begins. Not sure whether he’s trying to play the part or is he really from London. Michael Caine comes and plays his part quietly as always. Scarlett Johansson also stars in the movie. Though I was not particularly interested or impressed with her performance. Till the end it makes you wonder who’s the better man. Who’s the Hero and who’s the Villain.

One real good movie that would leave you spell bound. It’s a movie about obsession’s and how and what an obsessed person would do to satisfy himself. The subject was handled really smoothly and it does have an impact on the audience in the end.

The way the story unravels left me amazed and I don’t think, I would mind watching it more than once, if at all this makes to the Theatres here in Chennai. With the number of Multiplexes cropping up all over Chennai, I am very optimistic of this movie being released in a Theater near you soon.

Creative Genius Within Me - Realisation

2007-02-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

I was going through my old works, the poems and all, when I realized that I have lost my Creative side over the years. I used to jot down stuff whenever I feel like it. I penned 5 poems in 2002 in a single day. I was at work and they asked for contributions from the employees for the Companies Internal Magazine. So me and my friends just for the heck of it started writing some things to submit. I was successful in writing 5 poems back to back. They were not great however I would like to think of them as at least good enough for that Magazine.

We refined them a little bit and by the end of the day I was ready with 5 submissions, however I submitted only 2 amongst the 5 and one of them got published in the next issue. I become an instant celebrity in my office, on the day it was distributed in the office. People, who I didn’t know, came up to me and congratulated me for that. I didn’t even know at that time, the Magazine had been distributed and it carried my so-called poem as well. After about 3 or 4 people approached me, I asked around and found out that they have published it, along with my photo. No wonder people recognized me. I was ecstatic. That was my second published work; the first was a poem I wrote during my 11th Standard (11th Grade, for my international readers J), which was published, in my school magazine. Unfortunately I lost that poem since Email, Blogs weren’t that popular in 1996 in India. I don’t have a hard copy of the magazine, so it’s lost to my knowledge.

To be very honest all it takes me in those days was about an hour to jot down a decent poem, which made sense to others and me. However, nowadays even if I rattle my brain for a whole day, I am unable to come up with 4 or 5 lines, which make sense to me, let alone to others. Guess I have lost the Creative Genius in me over the course of time.

Just to reminiscence here is one from the past….

Realisation

When I started my journey in the path of life,

Things appeared to be beautiful and mysterious,
Everything and everyone excited me and made me anxious,
That someday I would come to understand,
How they work and why they fascinated me.

As I continued down this path,
All these things which fascinated, made me anxious,
No longer did.
And these things and people were different as time went on.

Through my journey in life,
Things often appeared to be different.
And I could never understand why it was like this.
As I reached my destination,
I sat down.
Saw my life pass before my eyes,
I came to realize that

Things never change,
It’s just that,
I have changed through the years.
And so has my way of seeing things.

G. Siva Shankar

Movie Reviews for the week of 15th January 2007 – 18th January 2007

2007-01-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Nacho Libre

Starring: Jack Black

Watched this movie because it had Jack Black in it. Though it was not that great, it was an okay movie. Probably when you are bored and don’t know what to do with the time, you could watch this. I don’t think this warrants anything more than these few lines.

Grandma’s Boy.

Though this movie had no big Superstar cast in it. This was also an Okay movie. The only thing that interested me in this movie was that it was about Video Games. It’s about a Videogame Tester who’s 35, when all the other testers are teens or pre-teens. No plot, no storyline, just another comedy flick, which does tickle your rib at times. The leading lady was good looking. And the Games that come in this movie, I haven’t played any of them. I never knew how the time flew in this movie. It was a short movie, however it was average.

Failure to Launch

Starring: Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker

Another Comedy movie or should I say Romantic Comedy movie. This one is another all right movie. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) lives with his parents even though he’s over 30, has good job etc. His parents conspire to get him out of the house, by setting him up with Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who’s claims to be a professional in doing that. The movie starts of well. However by the end of it you can really, at least I could, predict the ending. Guess, that’s what happens when you watch about 4 movies in a day. Another Timepass movie if you ask me. Nothing more, nothing less.

RV

Starring: Robin Williams.

Another Comedy movie. Probably can categorize it as a Family Drama cum Comedy movie. Again I watched this because Robin Williams was there. Not a big deal, just another run of the mill comedy movie. You get to laugh here and there. However I enjoyed most of the movie. It was fun to watch this and I don’t think it would be a waste of time for anyone watching this. And yes, I knew the ending of this movie as well. J Guess I need to do something about this. You want to laugh for a bit, watch this one.

Matador.

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear.

Pierce Brosnan is a Hitman and Greg Kinnear is an entrepreneur of a startup company. They meet at the bar, in an unusual manner, which turns into a friendship and how it goes around. There is no big plot; this just rides on Brosnan’s and Kinnear’s acting skills. The movie is Good. It does have some scenes where you will laugh and at certain point you will feel satisfied watching this movie. I was intrigued by this from the very beginning because 2 of my favorite actors were in it. I liked Kinnear for his earlier movies like As Good as it Gets, You’ve got mail, Stuck on you, etc. Stuck on you probably was one movie I really liked of Kinnear’s.

As for Brosnan, though I was not that fond of his Bond Movies, I liked Tailor of Panama and the Thomas Crown Affair. There was something in those movies, which really made me watch them more than once. However, this movie went on well and I don’t think I will be watching this one more than once. That being said, I guess you could watch this movie once and feel happy about it. I don’t think I regretted watching this movie.

The Howards of Virginia.

Starring: Cary Grant

This is an OLD Movie. It’s in Black & White, that should give you a reasonable idea on how old this is. I watched the movie for only one reason, CARY GRANT. My brother has a liking to Grant and therefore, I watch all the movies of his as well, because I can get my hands on his movies rather easily, without any effort on my part.

This movie was a no-brainer and being an old movie made before Technicolor was introduced. This was not a bad movie, nor was it a good movie. I didn’t like that story line that much. The sole reason being this is a movie about the Colonization of US and why the Americans hated it so much. Since I don’t know the history I can’t understand it.

Once upon a time.

Starring: Cary Grant.

This one movie was really good; this one triggered me to watch all of Cary Grant’s movies. Nice Story line, good acting and a touch of humor. One thing I needed to remember while watching this movie was that this was released when there was a War going on all over the world. Therefore, in that context it was a good movie. This is about a Theater owner whose recent productions haven’t been that successful. And he is about to loose his Theater if he doesn’t come up with $100,000 within a week. As luck would have it he comes across a phenomenon, which could wipe away all his worries. Now how he handles it and whether or not he gets his theater back is the story.

The way the story was told is really amazing and I liked the way that Grant had handled some of his scenes. Especially the last couple of scenes. One good movie I would recommend, no matter what.

The Talk of the Town.

Starring: Cary Grant.

This movie was really good as well. I think what made it really good apart from the actor’s, was how humor was intertwined with a really serious story. It has a good plot and it was nicely told. The story is about a guy called Leopold Dilg (Cary Grant) who gets wrongly convicted for a crime and everyone in the town hates him for that. Dilg escapes from the law and takes refuge in a house, where by coincidence a great Legal mind, Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman) will vacation to write a book. How Dilg and Nora Shelly, the landlord of the house, connive to get Michael Lightcap to involve in the Dilg case.

There were really funny scenes in how Colman and Grant play with each other. Their conversations are really interesting. In the end, alls well that ends well. So everything is hunky-dory. The plot and the direction is one thing that really made me watch this movie, though it’s in Black and White, this was a one hell of a movie.

LayerCake

Starring: Daniel Craig

This may be a spoiler for the movie.

I came to hear about this movie by chance when I was chatting with 2 of my friends about Hollywood movies. Though both are originally from Chennai, one did his MBA in Mumbai and currently working there as well. While the other completed his MS in the US and working there as well, calls it HOME now. Just after 5 years of being there he has started calling it his Home. Anyways, let me not digress. While we were chatting intelligently on English movies we drifted to Guy Ritchie movies and eventually they ended up talking about Layercake. Now intrigued I got to know about the story line and what mainly interested me was Daniel Craig. I liked him in Casino Royale and after how these guys described the movie and his acting skills, I had to see it.
I got lucky as well to get this movie in my hands. I was going through some CD’s and DVD’s that I had borrowed from a friend, just to see which and all I need to return to him, I found this movie in that pile. The funny thing is that I’ve had this movie for close to 2 years and didn’t even know it was such a good movie. (Yes I seldom return borrowed stuff and yes I liked this movie as well J)

Daniel Craig in his pre-Bond role is not that strongly built. Looks like he has beefed up after this movie. The movie is about Drug Dealers in London. Daniel Craig is a middleman who is planning to retire. However, his boss asks him to do a couple of things for him. He gets involved in things that go way beyond his control. Now how he manages and how this ends is the best part of the movie.

Craig plays his part really with ease and you find him as a guy who’s afraid and not so comfortable with violence, unlike what he was in Casino Royale. He’s a smart guy who knows his way around the Drug dealing world and. This is about how he maintains a low profile and how he gets the job done without being caught.

The end of the movie only I realized that he’s never been named, in the sense, his role has no name and I really didn’t catch on that. During the end credit as well, his role is credited as XXXX alone. I watched the movie once again to see if they had used any name for his role and they haven’t. This is one thing that I was taken aback on how I didn’t catch on with my entire movie watching experience. Another 2 hours spent well.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Starring: Jason Statham

I think I would watch any movie that has Jason Statham in it. This is a movie by Guy Ritchie. This has got a lot of humor in it and a lot of accent. I don’t think many can follow what these guys are really saying in the movie, they talk so fast and also with that accent of theirs it’s so damn difficult to understand them.

I watched this not only because Jason Statham acted in it but also because it was Guy Ritchie’s who directed this one. Only now when I am typing this review did I understand why the title of the movie is so apt. Guess, I didn’t realize this earlier. Either ways another good movie to watch. (Looks like I don’t give any movie a bad rating, guess I need to watch some Hindi movies to do that :D ).

Yeah I know it’s a big list and you guys are wondering where I get the time to watch all this. Well, the secret is to be in your bed and get up only to change the DVD. I think I need to get some extra-curricular activities lined up soon. Otherwise, this list may go from 4 per day to 6 per day. There were other movies I watched, however I don’t think they deserved a review. More to come soon….

Happy Feet - Movie Review

2007-01-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Feet...

I watched this only today, well yesterday since it's over 12am now, and had to write a review about it today itself. Though I don't like to watch Computer Generated or Animated motion pictures that much, this was one good movie I liked. It's all about the Penguins. There is this one outcast penguin, who was dropped when he was an egg can't sing. It seems singing is the way the Penguins get hold of their mates and Mambo as the Hero is named, cant sing. However he can tap dance, hence the name Happy Feet. Dancing is abhorred by all the Village Heads, the wise elders of the Penguin Community. Therefore he is shunned by everyone.

How he proves that dancing is not the root of all evil and some good can come out of it as well. The movie is full time pass and I really enjoyed it. It's an animated movie so watch it like that. Don't take too many things out of the movie. Just go there, sit, relax and enjoy it, thats all. Don't think too much about it.

There were 2 scenes which in the end looked like they are going to end the movie just like that. Now had they done that the movie would have ended leaving you wanting more. I had a warm feeling in my heart, which I seldom get. I was really moved in those scenes. Had they ended the movie then and there, probably I would have cried. (Yeah ! Right, me crying...LOL)

One thing I really was unable to do in this movie was recognize all the voice actors. I couldn't even place one of them. Though I did try for sometime, eventually I gave up. Think, I should have done some research before I went to the theater. There were some religious references that I noticed in the movie. Like the Village Head says "Pagan" and there was this Church that the Penguins see, which was the first Human made building.

Anyways this was a total time pass movie and you will enjoy it for sure. The highlight of this was that there were 10 of us in all watching the movie and I forgot about all the others. Probably the reason could have been I was captivated either by the movie or the girl sitting next to me :D, I don't know. Either way's I had fun watching this movie.

Movie Reviews - Blood Diamond and Rocky Balboa

2007-01-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Blood Diamond

Starring: DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and the guy from Gladiator.

Amazing Movie. One movie I would really recommend to all of my friends. Though I am not a great fan of DiCaprio, this movie changes all that. After Departed, DiCaprio has given another solid performance. He’s simply outstanding in this movie.

The movie is about the Diamond Trade. How it affects the African country where the Diamond is mined. It shows how the lives of the people are affected, in a Diamond rich, under developed country, which is in turmoil. Sierra Leone is the place and this was kind off how it happened during the 70’s. The film depicts how people were forced to be slaves to mine the diamonds and how the diamonds got the name Blood Diamond. The Blood of the people are shed to satisfy the Western world’s glitterati.

One of the best movies I have seen in 2006. Departed was also a great movie for DiCaprio. He’s, I think, at his peak in these kind off roles. Apart from Connelly, DiCaprio will captivate you with his Accent and his acting skills.

Though DiCaprio steals the show, Djimon who plays the part of the Solomon, the fisherman who wants to rescue his son from the Rebels. I liked him in Gladiator and in this as well he plays his part. I thought he was a good choice for the part. There are some literally heart wrenching scenes in this movie, and Solomon is in the midst of it. When he plays the angry father or the loving husband or the angry fisherman, he fits in perfectly with the role.

Jennifer Connelly plays the part of the American Journalist. I thought she would be merely an eye candy, which she wasn’t. I didn’t like her in Hulk, but in this movie I was intrigued by her performance. I think that I should probably watch Dark Water just to check out what she’s capable of.

In the end, this is one helluva movie. Fast paced, great acting all around, good storyline etc. As said before this is a AMAZING movie.

Rocky Balboa

Starring: Sylvester Stallone

An old Balboa, trying to relive his Rocky days. I couldn’t help but compare this with Stallone’s personal life. Stallone to my knowledge has not acted as a lead for quite some time now. To my knowledge, Get Carter was the last movie he acted as a lead. He’s 60 years older (Yep, older and not old). I think Sly still maintains a good physique even at this age. My opinion is Stallone shouldn’t have reprised his role as Rocky. I believe he is going to reprise the role of Rambo as well. This movie isn’t that great nor is it bad. It’s total time pass; the movie zips away most of the times.

I think it shows mostly how things have changed over time and how yester year heroes are still liked by one and all. The movie also shows how Rocky’s life has changed and how his son can’t come out of his father’s shadow. My all time favorite Sly movie is Judge Dredd. One thing that made me fall in love with Judge Dredd was “I AM THE LAW” dialogue. Being Judge Joseph Dredd suited Stallone, like how being Terminator suited Arnold. Coming back to Rocky Balboa, the fight scene in the end was good however I could sense the eventual outcome of that. So it took the sting out of the whole movie. However, you can watch this once.

Vallavan and Bond Review

2006-12-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

A post has been long due, however was unable to sit down and pen my thoughts. As always the easiest thing for me to do is to write a couple of reviews, so here goes.

The following list of movies dates back from Diwali to till date:

Vallavan:

Another movie by Simbu which we watched because of the rave reviews got. Meaning not that the movie was good, however that the movie was one of the most vulgar movies ever made in Tamil Cinema. Though I tend to agree with that mostly, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, thanks to Nayanthara. I really disliked the scenes were Simbu tries to imitate Kamal. All in all I would suggest if you can watch this in Sun TV for 2007 tamil New Year, don’t do it. Cause, there’s only so much our brains can take.

Casino Royale:

I feel bad having to follow up my Vallavan review with Casino Royale. This is not a Bond movie though the main character is called James Bond. The reason this cannot be a Bond movies are:

In a Normal Bond Movie:

• You don’t get to see Bond rising out off the ocean topless, it would be the Bond Girls.
• You won’t see Bond chasing the villain on foot, he would use some techno stuff to get there.
• You won’t see Bond Cry, ahah ! Bond cries in this one.
• You would see Q. Yep Q aint there no more.
• Has Bond ever been Blonde ?
• Does Bond have a 6 pack Abs ?

The opening sequence in Black & White sets the tone for the movie. In the earlier Bond movies you would have some crazy stunt sequence, in this one it’s a more gruesome one.

The first action sequence where Bond chases a Villain who I later learned was Sebastien Foucan, the guy who invented Freerunning or Parkour. This sequence tells you a little bit of the Bond you are going to see. While the villain does acrobatics and amazing stunts to evade, Bond on the other hand is very suave and uses the crane, the lift etc to chase.

The movie is very Deep & Intense. Halfway through the movie I thought how similar this one is to Batman Begins.

• Both had a string of previous titles:
o Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin
o Goldfinger, Octopussy, Goldeneye, Die another day, For your Eyes only, the Man with the Golden Gun and the list goes on.
• A new actor was going to portray the Main Character:
o Batman: Christian Bale
o Bond: Daniel Craig
• A new director was going to take the reins.
o Batman Begins: Christopher Nolan
o Casino Royale: Martin Campbell

Having so much history behind the Franchise both the directors did an awesome job, going back to the basics. It’s not easy to do justice with a franchise that has so much history behind it.

The best thing about this movie is Daniel Craig. He’s so INTENSE. I was not so impressed when I heard that he was the CHOSEN ONE. Well, everyone was, people even commented that he arrived wearing a Life Jacket on a speed boat for a press conference or something. I didn’t catch the fact that he was wearing a Life Preserver however I didn’t feel good during the interview. He didn’t seem to fit the bill for me. I haven’t seen him nor have I heard of him prior to this. Guess the Director’s and Producers did knew what they were doing.

I compare Bond movies to any other Superhero movie, because of the Larger than life thing in the movie. The years 2005 and 2006 was very interesting one for me, because of revival of Batman, Superman and the Bond Franchises.

I watched Casino Royale twice in the theater and if you can do catch it in a theater, otherwise wait till it comes out on DVD.

Personality Tests I took

2006-10-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

The 9 questions Test.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The 18 questions Test.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The 27 questions Test:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Movie Test:

The 9 questions Test:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The 27 questions Test:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Varalaaru (Godfather)

2006-10-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Starring: Ajith Kumar, Ajith Kumar, Ajith Kumar and Asin

Why one should see this movie: You go to the Theatre, you don't get tickets for any other movie and still you don't know what to do with your afternoon or evenings.

WHY I SAW THIS MOVIE: FATE...nothing other than fate. Fate that I had a friend, who had to see some movie on Diwali every year.

Coming to the crux of the matter now….Movie is not that great, that being said it should be a good one for Ajith Fans. If you want to watch this movie, kindly do so when you have Ajith Fans around you. The movie in itself seldom entertains you, however the Fans do so throughout.

I went in late for the movie, probably would have missed about 10 minutes of the movie. I was on time for the intro song. About 1/3rd of the Theater was dancing to the song. Not that it was a great song music wise and choreography wise. This is a trend in Tamil movies nowadays, having a Song for Intro of the Hero. This is prevalent in Rajni, Kamal to Vijay and Ajith movies. I used to wonder why, after this one I cease to wonder, Thankfully. (Now I would love to use words like Male Protagonist and all, however I would end up doing a lot of F7’s here and that’s too much work if you ask me.)

I don’t want to let you people on the story line because not a single thing in this movie is new. For eg. I distinctively remember one of the actions done by Ajith in this movie has been mimicked from Chandramukhi. During the interval, I heard a comment made by an ardent fan of Ajith “Naanum moonu varshamma parkurren, ethavuthu change irrukumnu intha padathulayavathu. Herovum evanne villanavum evanne.” (I have been watching for the past 3 years that there would be some change in his movies, however nothing has changed. He acts as the hero as well as the villain. )

I don’t understand this logic of him acting in multiple roles. Probably Ajith feels there is no one to challenge him as a villain in his films. Probably that’s why we get to see too much of him onscreen. The first half of the movie was literally boring while the second half fared a little better, Thanks to Ajith Fans and their Lively comments and gimmicks.

All being said, I enjoyed probably 20 minutes of the entire movie. Take note of Probably in that sentence. :)

While watching the movie one would wonder why, the movie was called Godfather all along before they changed it to Varalaaru for tax benefits. You get your answer just before the end of the movie.

To summarize, watch this movie as a last resort. I would suggest, staying home all alone and staring at the ceiling instead.

PS: This is my opinion you may have different opinions about the movie. Do feel free to share. Cause Perception Differs.

My Search

2006-10-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

My Search

There was a day, when I felt that,
I couldn’t’ feel
What it was to be in love.
I thought of the day
That I too will be loved
Like a flower loves a bee,
Like a lotus towards the sun,
Like the birds to a tree.
Though the day is far away,
I will still dream of that day.
That which keeps me going,
It is that what I seek,
The day I find it shall be the day,
My search for love will end.

G. Siva Shankar

In a rut !!!

2006-09-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

Right now am stuck in a rut. Not interested in doing anything that I used to enjoy a couple of weeks back. I don't even like checking my mails nowadays. I don't enjoy watching movies. I don't enjoy listening to music. Only thing I seem to enjoy nowadays is playing with my dog Mac.

I haven't watched any movie or atleast new ones like the way I used to, 2 or 3 per day. Also, I havent dedicated some time for my PS2. Bought games however haven't really played them. Wondering why I am in this kind off rut.

My friends tell me that this is another phase and it will pass on, once I have something interesting to do. Well to my knowledge I have been waiting for that day for the past 5 years or so, and yet that day has not come.

Hopefully I should be able to come out of this after some soul searching I will be doing in the coming weeks.

Nothing is what it seems

2006-09-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Been quite sometime since I blogged. Wanted to goto the Blogcamp's Unconference at Tidel Park. Then thought what will I do there, a big question mark...so didn't

Wanted to blog something here, but couldn't think of anything so copy pasted my old poem....

Nothing is what it seems

I thought I couldn't fly
But one day I tried
And I really flew

I thought I couldn't go the last mile,
But I took one step at a time,
Before I knew it I was there.

I thought I was lonely,
But when I looked around,
I was not so alone (as I thought) .

I thought I was sad,
But when I looked inside,
I was the happiest person alive.

I thought I was bad,
But when I looked at the world,
I was as good as they can get.

I thought I knew everything,
But when I was questioned,
I knew only about the mole and nothing about the mountain.

I thought I knew you
But when you left me,
I realized that “nothing is what it seems'.

I thought life was not fair,
But when I looked at mine (life) ,
I knew that mine was. (Fair)

I thought that no one was perfect,
But when I looked in the mirror,
I knew that I was. (Perfect)

I thought I couldn't write (a poem) ,
But look at me now,
I have written this.

G. Siva Shankar

Heaven help me....

2006-08-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Today is a Sunday. Weekend time. Nothing much to do. Normally weekends will end up in a movie for me. The only thing I do on a regular basis. Nowadays this has also become not so regular for me.

I am wondering the state of mind I am in right now. If you take away my PS2, my DVD player, my TV, my Computer...there is nothing I want to do. Don't fancy reading a novel. Don't fancy taking a walk. I don't want to do anything that will involve me going out when the sun is out. This is what I have realised. I hate going out when the sun's is shining. Probably due to the fact I have been a nocturnal creature this past 4+ years, thanks to my job/s.

I am bored easily. I guess this is because nothing holds my fancy due to my short span of concentration. However, at work, I am able to do away with my tasks, without even flinching. Wonder why. Guess, Money motivates me more than anything. However, I am not even earning that much. I would love to do nothing and just enjoy being me. No pressures. Well, I ain't living in utopia, guess I need to bear with all this.

And the only thing that cheers me up a little when I am really down is this "Coule be Worse". I don't know whether I am being optimistic or being a pessimist. I don't know whether I am happy that life ain't bad than this or whether I am sad that Life is so bad. I don't know. All I know is that I need to head out now and do something really useful with my life.

Guess I can think of some changes professionally and personally in the coming months......

Movies for July... Superman Returns Review

2006-08-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

I have watched some movies...here's the partial list for July :

You, Me and Dupree
Match point
The Devil wears Prada
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Superman Returns
The Lady in the Water
Matchstick Men (2nd time)
Sin City (2nd Time)
The Family Man
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Need to check my spelling on Caribbean)
Come September
Casablanca
Hira Pheri
Krissh
V for Vendetta
36 China Town
Corporate

I desperately wanted to write a review on Superman Returns cuz I saw one article in a magazine by "some guy" who knew like what he was writing about. Actually some of his words were exactly the same like the ones in the Viewers Comment in IMDB.com

I would say that "Superman Returns" is a good movie for Superman Fans and to others as well. The reason being the caption of the first Superman movie was "You will believe a man can fly". Now, dare to dream thats all. Yeah ! it's science fiction, however think of all the possibilities or consequences if some men really did have these powers. Do you think they will be do-gooders...HELL NO !!! they would become evil personified.....cuz that's how humans are.....Thank God Superman was Kryptonian.....

I know most of the people who read this post (and I can count only about 4 ppl :) ) would disagree and say that the movie is for Kids. However, I grew up watching Superman Cartoons so for me it is a really good movie which I would watch more than once. Actually I have watched it twice already on Theaters.

This movie like any comic book movie would have been difficult to tell "his" story. I would say this is exactly the way "Batman Begins" was like. Batman Begins was following 4 parts (I think) and this was the fifth sequel. They needed to reinvent the wheel so to speak and Christopher Nolan did a wonderful job. Christian Bale also did a great job portraying the "Dark Knight".

Back to Superman Returns, I was kind off wondering how Brandon Routh would be as Superman. He turned out to be really good. He reminds you of Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent, however as Superman he is totally different than Reeve. He's built like the Man of Steel, which adds to his character.

Kevin Spacey as one of the Producers said in an interview "adds the star value" did a amazing job. His own style of acting and bringing Lex Luthor to the fore and giving him another dimension to the whole character. The only downside I felt was the choice for Lois Lane. Why her ? that's all I can ask.

On the whole, it was really a good experience for me to watch it in the theater.

Things I penned in 2002-2003

2006-08-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

I dream of a dream.
I dream that my dream shall someday come true.
I dream that all my dreams shall not remain just a dream.
I dream for that day when all these dreams are realized.
I dream that I don’t’ spend my days dreaming.
I dream that my dreams shall be more than just dreams.
I dream that these dreams will make me dream more.
Though these are dreams today, I dream of making them a reality one day.
I will always be dreaming of these dreams,
So that I do have hope in life, I still hope that this life is worth living.

G. Siva Shankar

This was something I wrote when I was in a phase of attending 2-3 interviews per day and dreaming of great things to come....a big post...a big pay check....a big banner and all that stuff.....was browsing through blogspot when this poem caught my eye....and that too here [http://constantreveries.blogspot.com/] ..was totally shocked...I don't consider this as a good poem at all....this was something I rambled on and on....some of the sentences don't even make sense....coming to think of it, I never made sense during those days :) ...ah !!! wonderful days they were....

Guess I need to look into my other works and publish them here..just like that.....atleast I don't need to spend time on thinking what I need to write about....and probably posting my old stuff can keep me going for one more week...hopefully !!!

Random Ramblings

2006-07-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Going through my previous posts and the frequency in which I have posted, one thing dawned on me today. Unlike others my life isn’t interesting or notable. My life is boring as per me and I don’t think people would find it useful. Probably, the younger generations can take a few leaves out off my book on “how life shouldn’t become” or “how life can become if you are a sloth”.

Having said that another thing occurred to me now, it’s not that my life isn’t interesting, it’s just that I don’t know what’s interesting. I don’t believe I have the literary tact to write or conjure up a fascinating anecdote of my life. I guess it’s up to the writer’s ability to make up one’s life interesting or not so interesting. No wonder I am not famous. Now that; I take with a pinch of salt.

I am a man “with“ few words. Take notice it’s not “a man of few words” it’s “a man with few words”. Just one word is changed and the entire sentence takes a whole new direction. So being as careful I am, certain things cannot be missed or misinterpreted. Eventually things you say or do will most definitely be misinterpreted. By the way do I really care if it is?

This was supposed to be published (online and by me) on June 21st 2006. It has taken me more than 20 days to find time to post this. My current boss told me one thing that I may not forgot easily “ However busy you may be, you still can find time if you really want to do it”. That’s really true. If you “want” to do it, you will find some way to do it. I used to quip at interviews “I want this job, I don’t need the job”. There is a difference between wanting something and needing something. Want arises out of desire while Need arises out of necessity.

Having written the stuff about wants and needs one thing occurred to me, I did not read this anywhere nor did I hear it from someone. It came out during one of those interviews, which eventually I rejected their offer on monetary issues. I could say I coined this myself. I am thankful for the good education that I got and also to my colleagues who later on became my (and still are) good friends, which enabled me to be a Creative and a Quick-witted Professional (I can’t help but chuckle whenever I hear this word).

I think this is the 3rd post, which was in the Drafts section for some time (read 20 days) before I posted it. There are still 2 more posts, which are so to speak, in the works. One of my schoolmates whom I have known for the past 10 or so years, who is working abroad told me, on his recent visit to India “ We know the problem and we have the solution as well. However, we don’t act upon it.” Upon further scrutiny, this is true in everyone’s life. Most people are unhappy with the way things are going in their life, however they are so comfortable in the place they are at, in that point of time, they are not willing to move from it. Comfort Zone; if we can’t get past the comfort zone you won’t go anywhere.

Break the shackles, be your own man, open up your mind, embrace the world.

That was just an Intermission. As always I have meandered all over and yet to arrive at a forbearing conclusion. This is ME. I am like this. I cannot make things Interesting. No wonder I find my life so dull and boring. One comment a friend makes always to me, when I start to crib, “ Get a girl. All your other problems will disappear.” I don’t know in what context my other problems will disappear. However it is a nice phrase to ponder upon, probably on my next post.