Thick As A Brick

Goodbye

2010-06-10T13:04:00.003+05:30

Sorry, all you faithful followers, but I've decided to shut this blog down. It's sad but true, that my first love in the blogging world was Wordpress, and I've decided to move back there. So feel free to check out that blog! It won't be very different from this one but I'm just more inspired to write there - don't ask why, i cannot tell!

So, i say goodbye! :)

new blog : http://starryeyedn.wordpress.com

How To Train Your Dragon proves Animated movies are the best genre!

2010-04-01T08:07:00.002+05:30

I'll say it again! I'll never get tired of Animated movies! Yes, there are those which aren't great, but of late every single animated movie I've seen is just AWESOME! And How To Train Your Dragon is no exception to that rule! I'll admit when I saw posters of the movie it looked slightly lame. But it had gotten RAVE reviews on Rotten Tomatoes so I gave it a chance and watched the trailer, which really did it!

What is the movie about? It revolves around a village - Berk, which, like all human communities, has its share of problems. However, Berk, unlike other human communities, is plagued by what we in the real world would consider "mythical creatures" a.k.a - Dragons! As protagonist and narrator Hiccup says - "most other people would leave, but not us, we're vikings, we have "stubborness" issues!". Like everyone in the village, Hiccup wants to slay dragons. But from the beginning we all know that he's not going to follow the band-wagon and he is going to do something outrageous!

Hiccup is your quintessential loser who becomes the hero and saves the day. He unwittingly wreaks havoc and there are many amusing jibes at his character in the first part. What is so appealing about his character is that he wants to be a tough guy but the audience knows from the very beginning that's not really what he is! In addition, the script is full of good jokes and the voice cast is pretty great!

The animation is great, I'm sure the movie is a BILLION times better in 3-D. Now, I'd like to take the opportunity to say that How To Train Your Dragon is going to win next years Oscar for Best Animated. I know it's too early to make such lofty claims, but I was dead sure Up would win same time last year and I was right!

The best thing about this movie is that its theme is - don't judge a book by its cover, which is sort of what I did initially with this movie. The posters didn't look great but I gave it a chance and I loved it! So I hope that you will do the same! :)

Sherlock Holmes: Dangerously Alluring... indeed it is!

2010-01-10T19:42:00.004+05:30

I was at a total loss as to what I should write today, until a phone call at 11:48 am!

Allow me to explain...

On friday evening, on my way home from my internship, like every time I'm on a bus, I was listening to the radio. Now, the entire week the radio station - Radio Indigo had been giving out tickets for the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I had been trying throughout the week, in vain, to get those tickets. Poetically enough, the friday evening show was the last time they were giving them out and, in brief - I won! I was told I'd get a call regarding the details of the tickets and that's your explanation in brief and now to the movie.

First let me tell you, I had been put off this movie because I'd read a review which didn't paint a very pretty picture. I have decided to trust those reviewers no more! However, my cousin and two friends loved it and Robert Downey Jr. is my new Johnny Depp so I was back to wanting to watch the movie. Conclusion - GO WATCH IT!!!

If you are a big Sherlock Holmes fan, in that you've read all the novels and short stories, then MAYBE, you shouldn't watch this. This is nothing like the books. Holmes as created by Arthur Conan Doyle is, in a way, a latent version of the Holmes Robert Downey plays. This Holmes is an unmistakable junkie and quite virile! So, if you're looking for Conan Doyle's work in this, you may not like it. Therefore, I suggest you watch it with just a vague idea of literature's best known detective.

Next, applause to Guy Ritchie. The man is a brilliant director, if you've watched any of his stuff, and loved it, you'll probably love this movie too! I love his camera work in Sherlock Holmes. I think he was the right guy for the job. All hail Guy Ritchie. Which reminds me, watch Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels if you haven't.

Now the actors. Of course Robert Downey (Sherlock Holmes) was just awesome. Now here's the fun part, I've never liked Jude Law (Dr. Watson), but I loved him in this movie. The two of them are so good together, it looks so effortless, there are no words to explain the rapport the two had on screen, you'd have to watch it to get it! The rest of cast was just brilliant to, they facilitated the movie so well! Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan and all the others (don't know their names). Reg Poerscout-Edgerton (the casting director) I salute you, you sort of made all this happen.

This is not mind-blowingly brilliant or Oscar worthy movie, it's just a very well made, witty, adventure movie, which you can watch again and again. It's appealing to me, if you find that sort of stuff appealing then you should watch Sherlock Holmes. So what are you waiting for? Go get tickets for the earliest show!

P.S - If you're wondering about the "dangerously alluring" tagline, apparently that's one of the taglines for the movie and it gave me a good idea for a title, so I used it!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T08:10:00.002+05:30

Happy New Year to all of you! I know I haven't written in about 6 or 7 months but I sincerely hope to change that.

I'd like to start the new year and new decade with a list of what I think are the best and worst Books, Movies, Music and News of the decade (2000-2009) that has come to an end. I'll give you my top 3 and bottom 3, feel free to express your opinion if you differ from mine!

BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE:

1. The Kite Runner.

I think this was the best book to come out this decade. It was well written, ethnic and poignant. It was a heart-wrenchingly good book. If you haven't read it, please pick up a copy as soon as you can.

2. Atonement.

In my opinion, this is one of those books that kids will learn Literature as a classic from the early 21st century as we learn Dickens, Tennyson and Jane Austen. It's very well written. To me, it's a novelty in a decade in which the only kind of books that really sell are easy and quick reads.

3. Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.

You can't deny Harry Potter a position in top books of the decade. Harry Potter wasn't a regular series it was a phenomenon! I chose the sixth book, because out of all the Harry Potters that were published post 2000, this was the best.

WORST BOOKS OF THE DECADE:

1. The White Tiger.

If you like this book, you're an idiot. Seriously. Or you read like you watch T.V - mindlessly! It's incredibly bad and full of factual errors. I fail to understand how it won a Booker Prize.

2. How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, And Got A Life.

Awful. I like my fair share of Chick-Lit but this was mind numbing. And worst of all, those of us who read it contributed to the profit made on this book because of the plagiarism case against it.

3. The Twilight Series.

I couldn't choose which was the worst of all, so I just put the whole series. I'm ashamed to say that I went through a phase of obsession with these books. However on hind-sight, that was certainly a momentary lapse of intellect!

BEST MOVIES OF THE DECADE:

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

They were brilliant. Enough said. May not be as great as the books but the movies were spectacular. Though they are pretty much forgotten nowadays, the trilogy dominated the Oscar scene in the early 2000s

2. The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight is to the Batman series as Godfather 2 is to the Godfather series. I personally feel Dark Knight deserved a Best Film nomination at the Oscars, especially since the movies that were nominated weren't half as good as Dark Knight.

3. The Departed.

Martin Scorcese finally got that Oscar that eluded him - Best Director. Of course, it's not his best movie but it was good, fast and had a great ending. It deserves to be here.

WORST MOVIES OF THE DECADE:

1. 300.

By a mile, this was the worst movie of the decade. I love action movies, as you can see the movies I picked as best of the decade aren't comedies or chick-flicks. I didn't get the point of men with rock-hard abs wearing nothing but capes and underwear. Also, there was no denying the homo-erotic undertone, which was really weird, Note: Xerxes the Persian king. This movie isn't heroic or about bravery by any stretch.

2. Lady In The Water.

After this movie, I swore never to see an M. Night Shyamalan movie ever again. Which is why, this is my pick for worst movie, because I haven't seen The Village or The Happening. It was all too weird and I still don't understand the movie, and I think I'll leave it that way.

3. Twilight

I don't have a vindictive grudge against this franchise. But I put this movie here because nobody acted well. It was extremely amateur! Once again, I fail to understand how anyone could like this movie.

BEST BANDS/ARTISTS OF THE DECADE:

1. U2.

They've dominated the rock charts for over two decades now. You cannot deny that they can be considered the best band of the decade.

2. Coldplay.

They are alot of people's favourite band and they deserve the fame and love they've got. I hope they're as successful in the new decade.

3. The White Stripes/ Radiohead.

I couldn't decide between the two bands. Rolling Stones says Radiohead has the best album of the decade, I don't agree, but they've contributed alot to the rock of the decade. The White Stripes = just great! Their off beat sound is brilliant and so they are one of the best artists of the decade.

WORST BANDS/ARTISTS OF THE DECADE:

1. Akon.

Why does this man have such a big fan following? Why do people like him? His nasal voice, psuedo "hard life" lyrics, crass references to women's bodies. In a word - terrible.

2. James Blunt.

Do we here about this man who was "oh so popular" 2 or 3 years ago? No! He's a bad artist! That is all!

3. Timbaland

Even I can grunt and say a few words in songs and sell it, if that's all it takes to be a hot selling artist like Timbaland. His popularity is far more than he deserves.

BEST NEWS OF THE DECADE:

1. Barack Obama Elected As President Of USA.

It was the most landmark thing that happened in the decade. The entire world followed the elections. Obama is the first black President and I don't think any of us thought that would happen.

2. Internet To The Forefront.

2000 brought about the increased popularity of the internet. At the end of the decade I can say, that Internet is almost a essential part of alot of people's lives.

3. No Y2K Crash.

One can say this was good news. The anticipated collapse of all that is technology didn't happen and that's good.

WORST NEWS OF THE DECADE:

1. Financial Crash.

By far the worst thing to happen this decade. It effected the entire world. 2008 was by far the bleakest year of the decade because of this.

2. President Bush's election to US Presidency.

The spurious manner in which George Bush was elected in 2000 and then all the disaster that followed such as the Iraq War. Definitely one of the worst times in US History.

3. 9/11 Terrorist Attack.

This brought terrorism to the forefront as the world's primary problem. Ever since, there have been attacks all of the world. The 2000s will be seen as the decade in which terrorism rose drastically.

But let's not leave on a negative note. It's a new year and new decade which always means new or renewed hope. Once again, wish you all a Happy New Year and New Decade.

Working out the wireless.

2009-04-23T17:33:00.000+05:30

So my last blog entry, gave me some great inspiration on ideas for this blog, it's going to sound stupid when i say it out loud, or in this case write it out. So the inspiration is - happenings from my life. tah dah! This entry, like the last one, is about something that happened... i'm going to stick to the format i used last time.

Let me first introduce the topic to you, about 10 months ago i convinced my mom that it was absolutely necessary to set up a wireless connection in our house. She caved, and we bought a router. But that wasn't in time, for our terribly ancient PC died... i mean literally died because towards the end you had switch it on, wait for it to heat up a bit, switch it off and switch it on again, and finally, one day, it just stopped switching on! Do not judge me by this, i'm a gadget freak it is my parents who keep dragging me down into the stone age. If we have time i'll tell about how long it took me to get them to buy a DVD player! Back to the point, with the PC gone, we (my dad and i) didn't have a computer till my mom bought a new laptop and gave us her old one and the broadband would need to be configured on that before anything could be done about the wireless.

Eventually we did get the old laptop but one small hitch, the CD drive didn't work (i seriously don't know what my parents do to abuse technology so much!). CD drive not working meant no installation of wireless software. If you're tech savy, you must be thinking "Well use your mom's new laptop to configure wireless and then everything is ok!". I tried that. But the new laptop needed to have broadband configured on it before i could setup the wireless. I'm sorry if i'm confusing you but try and stay with me.

So in between all the fights i have with my parents about everything, i kept nagging my mom about the wireless. She finally got the computer guy from her office. Finally was today by the way. He came today, ten months later. Well he configured the wireless. Two thumbs up! Then my dad came in.

Dad: What's happening? (you'd think we were setting up the wireless in absolute secrecy)

Me: *look of frustration*

Computer Guy: Yea, it's working now, see.

Dad: Will it work if we take the computer to another room? (i kid you not. He asked this)

Me: Yea!!!

Computer Guy: Yea, yea... it's a wireless signal which is given out and any computer with wireless capabilities will be able to access it. But we've put this complex password so not just anyone can crack it.

Me: Ok good! Thanks

Dad: (not really getting it) yea! thank you!

Exit Computer Guy.

Dad: (opens a browser) It's not working.

Me: Of course you'd say that. (looks at the screen) Get up let me try.

Dad: This was a bad idea it's not working and the guy has gone.

Me: Ssshhhh!

It took me about 10 minutes to figure out what was wrong. After i figured it out

Me: You're not allowed to use this connection, go somewhere else and surf the net.

Dad: What? You found out what's wrong?

Me: YEA!!! The phone line wasn't connected!!!

Dad: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (he was in splits!)

Me: You better be finding another computer to use, i'm not letting you use this one, all your negative talk about technology and fatalistic attitude about the wireless.

Dad: Ah phoo! Go eat your lunch.

After that, he spent an hour not using the laptop in the study, where we usually keep it, but at the Dining Table.

Scene from what happens during an important football match...

2009-04-19T08:06:00.000+05:30

So this actually happened last night during the second half of the Chelsea vs. Arsenal FA Cup Semi-Final, and it took me alot of time to see the comical side of it, so we're going to go through this like it's a script of a play. The characters are Gooner, Dad, Mom and T.V (T.V refers to the commentators actually!). There may be discrepancies in the time and I've left alot of details related to the match, but that's not the point of the post. Also, if you are a Chelsea fan, don't take it too hard! I was really really upset, basically you all need to see the funny side to Gooner's exasperation and anger! You're supposed to see it as over-dramatic, because that's where the humour lies. Here goes:

Gooner: I hope Arsenal wins, I hope, I hope, I hope!

Dad: (grumbles while half asleep)

Gooner: Pay attention this is an important match

Dad: Go to SLEEP!

Gooner: Are you crazy??? NO WAY!

T.V: A bit of a slow start to this second half

Gooner: Come on! Score! Score! Score!

Many minutes pass by and nothing terribly great happens, Gooner keeps messaging friends who are also watching the match.

Dad: Go to sleep!

Gooner: (shouts) NO!

Mom comes stumbling in, also half asleep

Mom: Who's losing?

Gooner: (irritated) Of course you'd say that, now Chelsea will score and Arsenal will lose and then you'll say "Oh! Arsenal is losing, why do you support a losing team?"

Dad: Hahahaha! Oof you're so fatalistic and superstitious!

Mom is not bothered and walks away.

10 mins later...

T.V: Drogba scores!!! Surely this will send Chelsea to the FA Cup Finals!!!

Gooner: (in absolute despair) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Dad: That was a stupid thing on the part of the goalie!

Gooner: (screams into cushion) AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!! Why does this happen to my team???????

Dad: I'm telling you... It's because they're scared to win anything!

Gooner: (super mad now) THEY ARE NOT SCARED TO WIN! GOD! I'M TELLING YOU! I ADOPT A HARDY-IAN WORLD VIEW ON ARSENAL!

Dad: And what is that?

Gooner: Whenever Arsenal is doing well... (looks up at the cieling and shouts) SOME GREATER BEING DECIDES TO PUSH THEM DOWN!!! IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THIS!

Gooner continues her rants on SMS to her friends. Various messages are: "I'll kill Lukas Fabianski", "Arsenal totally deserved this", "God I hate Drogba", "I hope Chelsea BURN and SUFFER in Champions League!". Meanwhile, Arsenal have a corner and after three unsuccessful attempts... no equaliser. Drogba, Toure and Silvestre crashed into each other during the course of attempts...

Gooner: (jumps to her feet and starts screaming at the T.V) I hope you get a brain haemorrhage!

Dad: (disapprovingly) What a nasty thing to say! There is time, don't be fatalistic!

Gooner: Time isn't good enough! They're going to lose because everyone hates Arsenal!!! I HATE Drogba!

Dad: He just did his job and you're team's goalie didn't!

Gooner: NO!!! THIS IS A BIGGER ISSUE! DROGBA ALWAYS RUINS EVERYTHING!!! CARLING CUP, THIS... (Gooner has run out of examples... she proceeds to shout at the T.V with a great deal of gesturing) I hope Barcelona KILL you all! I hope they crush you like bugs and not just any player, I hope it's Thierry Henry who crushes you, WHY? Coz he's an ex-Arsenal player. I hope he scores three goals and you'll never know what hit you!!!

T.V: And the whistle is blown, so Chelsea go through to the FA Cup Final after an eventful game of football against Arsenal. Wenger is not too happy about that...

Gooner: (shouting at the T.V) NO SHIT SHERLOCK WHAT DO YOU EXPECT HIM TO BE? DANCING AROUND THE FIELD WITH JOY OVER LOSING!!!

Dad: Go to sleep!

Gooner: Fine!!!

Gooner is still messaging (sympathising) friends!

Gooner: Oh mom! This is all your fault, if you hadn't come and asked who's losing then they'd have been FINE!!!

Dad: She's asleep and don't be ridiculous

Gooner grumbles, goes to her room and shuts the door.

THE END.

India: Living up to Galbraith's words!

2009-03-26T20:24:00.000+05:30

Last Thursday or Friday I submitted a voter's registration form and hopefully by the 3rd I'll be a registered voter in the world's largest democracy! If you haven't gone through the process, you wouldn't know this, but registering to vote instills a righteous need to uphold the democratic values of the country, you feel immensely responsible to vote for the right person! I'm not being over-dramatic, this is EXACTLY what I felt, my dad says he went through the same thing so I'm guessing it's quite universal!

Now, due to this compulsion to voter right I began to pay more attention to party manifestos and what each prospective government would do if they came to power. It went to such an extent that I argued with my dad that i wouldn't vote for a party but the person from our constituency whom I thought would be best for the job.

Don't understand? Let me take you through it - in India there are SEVERAL parties there are just too many, but generally when a government is formed it's a coalition of smaller parties with either one of the two biggest parties in the country - The Congress and The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) so usually voters will vote for one of these two OR for instance in some states the smaller parties are more popular, like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and CPI-M in West Bengal and so on. But the way people get elected to Parliament is by winning in a particular constituency. So no matter what their party is whoever wins is answerable to that constituency, and represents that constituency's interests in the Parliament. So surely you should choose the best candidate for your constituency and not according to what party they belong to!

Anyway... moving on. About two days ago my dad and i were watching the news and the present Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was basically doing a little campaigning. He is from the Congress and the Head of the party is Sonia Gandhi, and she was there too. Now alot of people believe that Manmohan Singh is Sonia Gandhi's puppet. I'm not going into details, it's such a dramatic political drama really! So after Mr. Singh was done with his speech the audience was allowed to ask questions. One of the questions was addressed to Mrs. Gandhi, it was: Since the fall out with CPI-M if the party were to ask you for help in forming a government would you agree? (those weren't the exact words but something like that.)

To fully understand this we need to go back a few months. The UPA government was formed by a coalition of the Congress, the CPI-M and some other parties. A few months ago the BJP which was the opposition in the parliament passed a no confidence motion against the government and the CPI-M sided with them. In the end the motion fell through and the UPA made it to the general elections.

Back to the question. Mrs Gandhi's response was - I can't comment on post poll arrangements. I told my dad: if i were to form the government, on principle i wouldn't seek the help of a party that pulled the rug from under my feet. My dad laughed and said: what were the words you used that they wouldnt. I looked at him puzzled and he said: ON PRINCIPLE.

That was the pill in needed to cure my need to uphold democratic values. Here's where J Galbraith's word's come in, he once said that India was a "functioning anarchy". There is no phrase that can beat that on describing India crisply, effectively and right on target.

Not your puzzle to fix...

2009-03-19T21:38:00.000+05:30

For whomsoever it may concern,

It's about time that you learn,

You've pushed me beyond the limit.

Your eternal criticism has lost its market,

You've lost your only constant customer,

The one person about whom you could bicker.

Indeed you did see, in me, some good qualities.

Yet, the bad always outweighed these.

Never suppressing that insatiable greed,

Of your mean streak, and sadistic need!

I shouted, screamed and protested

But now I throw my hands up - it's just not worth it!

You can go on about my anti-social ways,

Scruffy, faded clothes and about me wasting days.

I'm ignoring all this crap from now on

Just counting down the days till I am gone.

I'm not your little puzzle to fix

Good luck finding someone on whom to pick!

What I Thought Of Oscars '09

2009-02-23T15:28:00.000+05:30

It sucked! The one year i was able to watch the oscars from start to finish without having to get ready for school and it sucked! I was totally disappointed and i'll tell you why:

1. Best Film: Why wasn't The Dark Knight recognised as worthy contender for this award??? That movie had everything you could POSSIBLY ASK for in a movie! I know people who normally don't watch Action movies who loved this movie! Slumdog winning is OKAY! It's a good movie, it isn't brilliant and i certainly don't think it deserves such an accolade but then again movies like "Shakespeare In Love" and "Titanic" have won it, so that doesn't say much about the voters!

2.Best Actor: I haven't seen The Wrestler, but i still think Mickey Rourke deserved to win. He swept every other award (except for S.A.G) and SEAN PENN's ALREADY GOT AN OSCAR! Give it to someone else! Yes Sean Penn is an awful lot like Harvey Milk in his mannerisms, but that doesn't beat someone overcoming so many obstacles, making a comeback in the industry and winning every other award! That's a slap on the face!

3. Best Actress: Oh my god! It was so cliched!!! Before the show everyone said Kate Winslet would win and give one of her breathless speeches. Guess what? That's exaclty what happened! Okay, yes she deserves an Oscar, sucks to be nominated 6 times and not win even once. But look at Peter O'Toole, 8 nominations (correct me if i'm wrong) and not one award! The Reader isn't great and i wasn't particularly dazzled by her stoic, proud Nazi German character!

4. Best Foreign Film: Ok so i thought Waltz With Bashir would win. It won at the Golden Globes, and most people thought it would win! Wiki it and read about the movie! It sounds really interesting! I honestly don't know how a movie about a retired musician who becomes an undertaker beats Waltz With Bashir!

Lastly, to all my fellow Indians who are so ecstatic by the Slumdog sweep! Dudes! This is not India's night! The screenplay writer is British, the director is british, the producer is british, the main protagonist is british, i believe that makes it a BRITISH movie! Don't be so delusional! It's ridiculous the way everyone is hyping this win out here in India! You should actually be ashamed of the fact that it took a foreigner to make such honest depiction of India!

Delhi 6 Disaster!

2009-02-22T13:14:00.000+05:30

It's quite clear from the title i've given this post:

a) I'm talking about the latest Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra movie - Delhi 6

b) I didn't like it!

You don't have to agree with me, but this is what i think of the movie! In a word - r.a.n.d.o.m! The first half of the movie is just several scenes put together haphazardly, it's like a 4 yr doing a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces of ten seperate puzzles! I honestly thought i'd lost all possible comprehension of hindi, because i just didn't know what was going on! But i found solace in the fact that my friend, a 'Delhiite' who also came to watch the movie didn't gather much from it either.

After the intermission things just got worse. Partly because i stopped trying figure out what was going on and partly because you cannot have a two and a half hour film which addresses its issues in the last half an hour! Abhishek Bachchan's new found patriotism, the sudden outbreak hindu-muslim riots in this happy peaceful neighbourhood and a new romance blossoming cannot be dealt with properly in half an hour! In my opinion the film lost massive credulity with the ominous "Kaala Bhandar" who kept sabotaging the neighbourhood's attempts to enact the Ramayan. This just didn't make ANY sense, though it provided for some humour in the beggining! The story was just poorly woven. All in all, it was lika 'Rang De Basanti' was added to 'Swades' and then thrown against a wall to create 'Delhi 6'!

Of course there is a light at the end of this tunnel. A.R Rahman's music is excellent, it's way better than the Slumdog Millionaire score. "Dilli 6" is my personal favourite. The score combined with excellent cinematography is what saves the movie from falling into an abyss! It's clear from the beautiful shots of Delhi that Omprakash Mehra's heart was in the right place when he was making this movie, but it sadly lacked proper execution! Watch the movie for the cinematography, if you're from Delhi or have been to those parts of Delhi, those scenes will take your breath away!

Rating: 2/5 (wait till it comes on TV, it's not worth paying Rs. 100)

Fertile Myrtle...

2009-01-31T08:58:00.001+05:30

Hi! It's been too long!

So I was looking for inspiration because I really need to keep this blog alive!

Last night I did think of something to write, but I can't remember what it was. I went driving with my dad which has scared me to bits!

Anyway... I was reading the newspaper about 20 minutes ago and this really CRAZY story stood out from the rest! It was just down right W-H-A-C-K-O!

The article was one about a women giving birth to octuplets. Ok that's not the freaky part, the freaky part is the fact that she has SIX other kids! SIX!!!

Six + Eight = FOURTEEN!!!

Not only that, she lives with her parents in a three bedroom house.

(Fourteen kids + Three adults) / Three bedroom house = One hell of a population density and a hell of a cramped space!

It doesn't end there, the women's mom is really happy to have so many grandchildren. Yea! Wait till she has start changing 8 diapers and feeding 14 growing kids!

The women is a single mom. Dear god! She's a single mom. Someone needs to track down the DAD(S) and atleast palm off some of those kids on him/them, infact if it's just one guy he can take seven and she'll take seven! Or if there are seven dads (0ne for each of the six and one for the octuplets) then each dad can take their kid and an octuplet free! Honestly this sounds like something out of a movie!!!

You must think I'm a cruel, heartless person. But COME ON! It's ridiculous! It supposedly costs 2 million dollars to raise 14 children, just raise them, with food, clothing and education! I dont think this woman has that kind of money! Infact, the article also said that at an early stage the doctors asked her if she'd like reduce the number of kids growing in her and she said NO! I'm not cynical or archaic in my outlook. She can't possibly give equal attention to all 14 kids, some of them are going to gravely suffer from this situation and that's what I am against!

All I can say is that somebody is really really STUPID! She should get an award for most FERTILE IDIOT in the world!

It's a new year

2009-01-21T09:27:00.000+05:30

Yea... this post is WAY delayed! :)

Sorry about that!

Well HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It still counts because we're not even 1/12th through the new year!

I assure you I'll have more to write post this Saturday when I'm writing my SAT's.

So till then...

Chao! :)

I suggest...

2008-12-17T17:41:00.000+05:30

OK! I haven't written for a really long time!

Why?

Because I had stupid exams to think about, if it wasn't college exams it was a spanish mid-term, if it wasn't spanish it was SAT prep! So, as you see, I've been kind of tied up!

Anyway, I did mention in my previous post that I had a really cool idea for post! Well, first, this is not it and second, I might not write it after all! If I muster up enough confidence in my ability to write... then well, you might be in for something WORTH READING (take note of the MIGHT!)!

Then what is today's post about you ask?

It's about what I suggest you do if you have holidays like I do!

1) Watch Madagascar 2!

It's a very cool movie! If you liked the first one you will FOR SURE love this one! Sequels almost never work for other movies, but they've pretty much got it spot on with this one! But I warn you if you don't like too much sentiment and only like laughs! This movie has much more depth than the last one! I'm not going to give away any part of it! If you are like one of my friends, and are apprehensive of King Julien not being there... no worries, he's there and funnier than ever, so are the penguins and the two Monkeys! So what are you waiting for! GO WATCH IT!

2) Read Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox!

If you are an Artemis Fowl fan like me, you really don't want to miss this book! Once again Eoin Colfer doesn't fail to give his fans a mind boggling plot which leaves you awestruck and most certainly confused! The beginning is sort of boring! It also is a little odd because you're not reading about the manipulative, deceitful criminal mastermind that we've all come to know and love. Artemis has a sort of shift in character in this book. It might leave you disoriented, but try to get used to it, you don't want to miss the fun stuff!

Spoiler: A character you least expect comes back!

That's about it I don't have much else to suggest of say right now! At a total loss of words, I just basically needed to update the blog because I hadn't written in ages! That's all! Adios!

My devious little plan!

2008-12-03T19:11:00.000+05:30

Evidently I've sub-consciously chosen Wednesdays to be the day of the week that I update my blog! This week isn't like last week where I had a block, in fact I had loads of ideas!

... and today's post isn't one of them! I will write one on Sunday! My dad has unintentionally given me a new angle to look at it from... so I'm looking forward to doing that!

Anyway so back to the topic at hand. So I have an English exam tomorrow and I'm partially prepared. Firstly, because I have done English of much higher standards while in school (Eliot, Wilde, Yeats, Keats, Auden, Hughes, etc...) and this is just a farce! Secondly, I don't feel the need to please my professor or be a shining student! Thirdly, the lessons are just crap!

For the last 3 days I've been generously giving my time to inconsequential things like watching T.V and surfing the net and watching T.V online! But at some point you've really got to study! One can't fail and look like an ass when English is your forte so to speak! So, quite grudgingly, I picked up my book and began to read the lessons, missing my 11th and 12th grade Optional English classes...

... and then I had this brain-wave!

Why not piss off the examiner! What's there to lose? I'm not going to do well anyway because we've all been told we can't possibly get good marks! So what I'm doing now is finding out all this vague information on each of the authors so that I not only have stuff to write during my paper but also sound totally pretentious and really piss them off! I used to do this for Optional English, except there, my teacher really loved it when you did that!

I know this sounds risky and acting egoistical might cost me the few marks I could get. But look at it from my point of view - English is my best subject, it always has been and I know that I will not do well tomorrow merely because I cannot dumb down to the level they expect me to (trust me. I'm not acting cocky! They really do have low standards, my English teacher says things like "Don't get the BORING with Grammar"). So what I'm actually doing is trying to give the best I can, but I know they'll think I'm way to pretentious.

But honestly, I'm not pretentious! I just have higher standards than the drab, laid back college that I go to!

A string thing!

2008-11-27T13:52:00.000+05:30

Hi! There are several reasons why I didn't do my regular (attempted regularity actually!) Sunday post! One, I totally and completely forgot because I was totally wired up about the Twilight movie (you have permission to groan if you don't like the book) and I was running late for Spanish class! Two, by the time I came back from home I was way to lazy and I was still in a state of forgetfulness (if that's right and you get what I mean)! Three, I had NOTHING to write about! Zilch! A whole week had passed and I couldn't find anything to write about and I certainly didn't want to write something as pathetic as my last post!

So, Today, I make up for missing out last Sunday's post!

I've been feeling really restless the past few days because I just can't get down to studying for my Semester exams! So I decided to vent by writing in an old unused diary of mine. I opened the book and saw that the last entry I'd made was 2 years ago! How much I had changed since then! I almost laughed at my own naivety, how stupid was I! I briefly went through the entry and began to write what I wanted to today and I realised that there were a lot of similarities! Then I was upset about leaving my old school and joining a new school. Now, I was upset about being in such a boring college. Then, I just wanted to cry. Now, I wanted to cry and tear my hair out!

It struck me that I'm pretty much the same person as 2 years ago! Yes, I'm smarter about so many things and older! But still the same in many ways! It's like my life is like a string and each year you add another thread to it, or at each life changing moment you add another thread, you learn from your mistakes, you become street smart and less naive, you become stronger and tougher (just like a thread with more strings intertwined in it!).

I don't know! You might think I'm crazy, but it seemed like a pretty neat idea when I thought of it and I just wanted to share it with you!

Being able to see the future.

2008-11-16T17:08:00.000+05:30

So today while I was waiting to be picked up from Spanish class I had this idea - what if you could be able to see all the consequences of something you do, before you do it but just after you make the decision to do it. For example, you want to do drugs (morbid example I know... but I couldn't think of another) and you see how drugs would effect your life before you actually do drugs! Make sense?! I really can't explain it... but it's great if you caught on to what I was trying to say!

The point I was trying to make was that, if you could infact see how your actions would effect the rest of your life wouldn't it make life way easier?

I think so. People would be way happier because they would know where their lives are heading according to the decisions they make. It's evident I'm not one for mystery and suspense.

I think the best way I can explain this is with an example from my life. I'm a law student in my first year. But I didn't get into the university I wanted to go to and, well I've been vacillating between highs and lows ever since I found out I wouldn't be going to university of my choice. Now, I chose to do law in the 8th grade, if I had been able to see how things would pan out, I guess I wouldn't be on the brink of depression all the time. It would be better for me and for everyone around me!

Though I like the prospects of knowing what is to come, there are some situations in which it is best you didn't know what was in store for you! I mean how HARD would it be to throw someone a surprise party!!! So I guess I'll always long for this future sight ability and hope for the best otherwise!

The game that i love...

2008-11-09T08:32:00.000+05:30

Hey guys! So the rest of this week (after I created this blog) I was trying to figure out what I should write about! Call it writers block if you want, I just couldn't think of something to write!

Then last night it hit me!

I was on my way to my uncle's place for dinner, and my heart was humming, my brain was buzzing and I had the world's widest grin on my face!

Why you ask...

This is my reaction to the team I support winning a big match! What game you ask...

F.O.O.T.B.A.L.L!

The reason I wanted to write about it is sort of weird. You wouldn't understand it if you weren't a crazy football fan! The reason I wanted to write about this is because it is really absolutely impossible to put down in words the pure, concentrated emotions that the game can invoke in a fan. The reason I wanted to write this is because if your are a football fan you understand my loss for words and totally get the tremendous high of you team winning, we hence share some sort of mutual understanding of each other! Don't get freaked out, I'm not some sort of stalker!

Yesterday's game was Arsenal vs. Manchester United. Now if you are one who follows the English Premier League, you'd know that Arsenal weren't going into this game with the best of records - losing to Stoke, Fulham and Hull this season! I was preparing myself for an Arsenal loss, not only were they in this inexplicable slump, they were also missing key players! I was tense. I kept telling myself they are going to lose, but I couldn't help hoping that they could actually pull off a win! That's when it struck me. I said to myself - "Damn! I'm so bloody dedicated to this team... I can NEVER see myself supporting another team!" And it's so true!!! It almost made me feel totally helpless because there was this unbreakable bond tying me to Arsenal and there was nothing I could do about it! Yes, I know you think my parents should seriously think about sending me to a psych! But I'll tell you what I told them - "You just don't get it!"

Well if you watched the game, you know how it ended. If you watched the game, you know it was a treat for any football fan no matter which team you support! There are about 4 times similar to yesterday that I remember with absolute precision - they are some of my most treasured memories not only because of the wins, but because I've always had friends I frantically message or call and we have such a great time bonding over those 90 minutes!

So to me, football is so much more than just a game. It makes you understand the bizarre things people do and it gives you an opening to escape from the claws of reality!

Hi world. It's me again!

2008-11-04T07:40:00.000+05:30

The number of blogs I have floating around in cyberspace has got to be criminal if not a 100% ridiculous! I think ever since I was 16 I've created about 3 blogs every year! Everytime with the same thing in mind - I'm going to share my thoughts with the world EVERY WEEK! Never happens... so I scrap that blog, or invariably forget the password and won't be able to access it and then... I just dump it! Pathetic! :)

So here is a new blog from me! I hope to keep this one alive!

*fingers crossed*

So a few things about me in this first post:

10. I love unpopped kernels… I know one day my teeth will break if I keep biting them… but I love it! :P

9. I love to sit on the computer for hours on end… which teenager doesn’t?!

8. I’m constantly trying to keep a blog of some sort… but invariably they all disappear into a dark abyss… coz:

a. Im not regular at writing

b. I forget the password! (told you so!)

7. This is actually hard work… shows how little I know about myself

6. Ok… got one… I love Coke (the drink) NOT DRUGS!!!

5. When I say LST, I mean L-S-T not L-S-D!!! sheesh! :P

4. Gooner for life! :) I LOATH Manchester United and especially hate Sir Alex Fergusson, Wayne Rooney, and Cristiano Ronaldo! (So expect some trash talking about them in this blog)

3. I love the smell of rain, and whenever it rains all I can think about is sitting outside with a sweater on and just looking at the grey scene!

2. I love music… more than anyone knows… it’s my BIGGEST pick me up when I’m low… whether I’m listening to it or playing the keyboard

1. My name is Nayantara! But I love to put various names like - Elfrida Cragg, Cap'n Mae Slashface... etc... don't ask why... it's just one of my quirks!!! :P