Of the Hour....

Film Review: Annayum Rasoolum (2013) Malayalam | Rajiv Ravi | Fahad Fazil, Andrea,

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:56:00 +0000

I loved the film. Rajiv Ravi Thank you :)

The initial review said that some more editing and the film would have been perfect. What I feel, well that editing was not required at all. The pace is slow because the film requires that pace to narrate the kind of story it narrates. And such an innocent love story intertwined with religious, minority, religious minority, language, locality politics. Beautifully narrated. As a viewer we travel along with the character and many times feel we inhabit them, a feeling more than empathy.

It is an innocent love story between a muslim man and a christian woman, both working class striving to make a living in the big city of Cochin. The girl is sales girl at the city's boutique while the boy drives a cab and does odd jobs. Their are in their own worlds, the worlds of their colleagues and that becomes an escape from their own personal worlds they enter when they reach their home.

As every love story begins, the boy catches a glimpse of the girl and her glimpse sticks to his heart forever. Then he meets her again elsewhere and again and finally finds himself in a house next door to hers. He follows her everyday, takes the boat she takes to her work place, hangs around near the roads she passes, runs along the footpaths of her bus route to catch of glimpse of her and be with her through her day journey from the time she starts from home for work to the time she returns home tired to rest.

It is natural that when a man is following you everyday you notice, so she does, and so do her friends. And then a friend of his intervenes and they are set. Their love is pure and innocent. I repeat innocent because that's the feeling that comes through out the film. Natural and innocent when two people fall deeply in love with each other with the conviction that they are meant to be.

The rest of the story is complicated because of the religious, minority and local politics, but go through it to see how Rajiv Ravi has brought to an end.

Fahad Fazil evolves as an actor with every film. It was just last year that we labelled him a metrosexual with the kind of repeated roles he was taking up. Annayum Rasoolum brings in a variety, brings in a rustic out of him and he has done well. As for Andrea, almost no makeup, she seizes to be the character she played out in Kamal Hassan's Vishwaroopam (2013). I guess the audience got to see her almost at the same time doing two roles in its extremes

Two directors have played two characters in this film - Ashiq Abu and Ranjit, and yes played their parts to the T. All in all, it is a silent film, it can be interpreted as a race - because of the metaphor of the running of the main character, it could be interpreted as a maze because of the metaphor of the inner roads that lead to the houses, it could be interpreted as travel because of the different modes of transport presented here, it could be interpreted as flow, because the metaphor of the water is very prominent. It is about returning home because of the marine sailor's trip home after years, it is about friendship among boys, because of the boy gang...

The marine sailor who is also the narrator, loved his voice.

Rajiv Ravi has shot Cochin from its borders, its harbours, its jetties and its backwaters. The main Cochin city shots of Panampilly Nagar and the Menaka/Marine Drive area are limited to a couple of shots.

Annayum Raoolum, do watch it, highly recommended. Not when you are in a hurry, when you have leisure time

The Mumbai Book Fair| Hiranandani Gardens,Powai April 13-21, 2013

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:14:00 +0000

According to the organizers, it is the first of its kind in Mumbai, organized by Spandan Foundation and they plan to make it an annual affair.

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

I got to know about the Mumbai Book Fair through a Facebook group I am part of called RAPO - Read and Pass On (a Book), and then it was a chain reaction of sorts, liking their FB Page, making plans and finally being there. The best part of all this activity was that the book fair is a stone's throw from where I live therefore, at a walking distance, a place I could head to even without company. But it so happened that we as a group serendipitously came together over tea and snacks yesterday and decided to go.

What I liked about the fair most was the entrance of it, it was made of the blowout of the spines of some well known and popular books and writers, some with the writer's pictures, prominent among them being Rabindranath Tagore. For a start, it was a good welcome sign. Then there were the stalls ethnic wall hangings and terracotta show pieces, interesting because the group of us who went love these kind of little things. However, we were taken aback by the prices!

The book exhibition per se was not that exciting may be we our expectations were too high. For an the first of its kind, this was a good show, with plenty of organizers and activities. It was clearly a Bengali initiative and therefore, there were three-four stores dedicated to Bengali books which was good. However, had they had translations and other language books as well, the fair would have been a more exciting evening outing.

I liked the arrangement, it was mere stalls alone,. In the middle of it all stood the walk in Crossword store, it was an experience of walking into one of their stores itself, with their kind of book shelves and categories in their own colours. The rest were stalls the normal kind, interspersed with gaming areas of many kinds. I loved the Amar Chitra Katha store the second best after crossword and got a few books from their to relive memories.

It was a little disappointing to see that there was no other language books available, so the absence of Marathi books was a huge gap especially when it was the Mumbai Book Fair. But in general the group of us book and book fair lovers went on a round, looked into the 10-12 stores and came out, we enjoyed our time in it, but expected some more stalls and some more books. The human scrabble game akin to the wizard chess in Harry Potter's Socerer's Stone was interesting, Did not play, but Scrabble is always a favourite game be it the board or the life size version. Otherwise, I expected more out of the book fair, so a teeny-weeny disappointed about it. Hope the organizers take into consideration a wider range of books the next time they organize here in Mumbai.

On another note, I met a fellow colleague and blogger who introduced me to yet another book club exchange programme closer to home, that meet regularly.

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

Venue: New Hiranandani Foundation School Ground,Hiranandani, Powai| Dates: 13 – 21 April, 2013
"The Mumbai Book Fair is expected to have representations from 45 national and regional publishers like Penguin, McMillan, Rupa, and Navneet, displaying more than 3,00,000 books encompassing a gamut of literary tastes. The myriad cultural events every evening have been designed to engage the visitors and include a performance by one of the most celebrated musical bands in the country – Indian Ocean ...... Theatre personalities, lyricists, writers, folk dance artists and celebrities will also grace the event on various days. The daytime events include inter-college, inter-school and corporate quiz contests, art and craft, dance, puppetry and robotics workshops, among others. In short, each of the nine days will be unique with its own events." (Powai Info Website)

Book Fair Comes To Mumbai (wheelsonourfeet.wordpress.com)
When books travel (thehindu.com)
Spandan Foundation & Mumbai Book Fair 2013 (http://powai.info/2013/04/04/spandan-foundation-requests-your-participation-in-the-first-ever-mumbai-book-fair-2013/)

Film Review: Immanuel (2013) | Malayalam | Lal Jose| Mammooty, Fahad Fazil

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:10:00 +0000

In a sentence, you will not feel guilty if you haven't caught it yet!

The best line from the film: Fahad Fazil to Mammooty: "You are my Hero :) Mammooty replies with a smile and pat on Fahad's cheeks. This could be the real entering the film. A real life admiration for his hero, Fahad Fazil would have uttered the truth. On the other hand, Mammooty's gesture was one of those natural moments, a moment of paternal affection towards a director's son, somebody he would have seen in his nappies, running around the sets and now a grown up, brilliant actor.

The film, well it seemed as if the director Lal Jose had a series of shots in mind which were brilliant and artistic in themselves but unconnected in many ways. However when they were set in motion to make the picture they remained the shots and never matured to gel together and run as a whole with the added disadvantage of being soooper slow. It was so slow that I asked my friend, let's go but that's when some action popped up on screen promising some refreshed view. But nothing refreshing occured, and the loose ends in the first half were big clues to how the resolution in the film would come about.

One thing I need to say here is the film shows you how handsome the actor, Mammooty is, even to this day. His character has a makeover in the film from a bearded errand boy/man to a sales executive in an insurance company, and man,the change over after he shaves off his beard and wears new clothes is worth a watch. In addition all the animations on his face when he meets kids in the film are cute. Even the choreographed photo shoot kind of song in all white, pearls falling is a treat to watch.

Otherwise, the film tells you the story of a middle class family headed by Immanuel, who loses his job in a publishing company as it closed down. He then joins an a leading insurance company as a sales executive. The character of the manager is played by Fahad Fazil, a shrewd man who runs the show with an iron fist and demands above average productivity from his team. The corruption and the competition of the corporate world symbolised as new generation and the older variety portrayed by characters like Mammooty who has some human compassion left. Oh yes, Mamootty's son in the film is cute, but I found his talking too much for his age, that can be left out as exaggeration for the role.

The film also stars Nedumuddi Venu (seeing him after a long time in character), Devi Ajit (the woman has slimmed down after Trivandrum Lodge), Ramesh Pisharody and Salim Kumar

Verdict: Watchable! If you don't want to watch that's fine as well.

Observation: There was no need for an actor such as Mammooty to do this role. Also, in most of the films released with super stars these days there is a lot of eulogisation and flattery for the stars themselves in the film. It was there in Run Baby Run for Mohanlal, where I remember a couple of us started counting the number of times Reuters's Venu was quoted. Same here, with Immanuel.

Film Review: Special 26 (2013)| Hindi | Neeraj Pandey | Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpai, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Kajal Agarwal

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 15:47:00 +0000

It will bring a smile on your face... If I say anything more than then the title of the post should read spoiler alert!! :P

What was unnecessary was the Romance.

Neeraj Pandey

When you go to the theatre with the film A Wednesday in the background and therefore Neeraj Pandey, the expectations are a notch higher, because A Wednesday was a very well made film. Personally, I don't mind watching it any number of times to go through its many scenes. Even its actors said that all the characters were well sketched out that they would have acted in any of the roles given a choice just to work in the film.

With so many viewings of A Wednesday, Special 26 comes across as a little less interesting. We feel Pandey may have lost his touch therefore added a romance and songs into it.. I know, I totally disagree with the songs and the romance in such a thriller!

From the start the film grips you... it does, then you wait for Manoj Bajpai and his entry, and his hamsafar, the scooter... then we go on a journey and we travel with the characters.. with a nervous Anupam Kher with 10 or so children, an over confindant Akshay Kumar. Some scenes evoke scenes from Rang De Basanti, especially an old mother, praying in her courtyard... Even Kajal Agarwal for all she is worth is well done. With her, we do expect an item number the wait never ends, thankfully, we don't see one.. such a song would have disturbed the film totally.

What I found lacking, the 1989 Bombay is pitched well, but there are places were the scenes don't blend, with that in the background, and a forgettable romance, I don't mind watching the film again.. it brings a smile in the end, especially towards the end and the last scene at the Stadium...

One team verses another team, the question is about who wins it all and how each one of the teams try to over power the other..

Recommended, one or twice :)

PS: This was a Valentine's Day Treat :) followed by lunch.. with friends

Blogadda Book Review: Men on My Mind (2012) | Radha Thomas | Chick Lit | Rupa Publications

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:20:00 +0000

Radha Thomas

Men On My Mind by Radha Thomas

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As the title reads the plot is about the different men on the mind of an Indian Girl at different places in the world at different times in her life. Her roller coaster ride from age 7 into adulthood with a variety of information, first-, second-hand and some times borrowed, eavesdropped learning from adult talk, imaginary settings of M&Bs, inexperienced school mates, their fantasies and their never to be realized dreams.... from real experience, expectations, desires, biased opinions from adults.... the information just follows from all corners as the little girl grows up with an aim to find her Mr. Right... through her childhood in Mumbai, her boarding school days in Panchagani, teenage in Delhi, and a lot of places outside the borders of India after that... I lost count of seriously.

What makes the novel interesting is the quotidian coordinates Radha Thomas connects to create a background to the pressing whys of this roller coaster ride - a girl from India, India - the land of Kamasutra, India - the land of Draupadi, a wife to 5 men... therefore, the expectations and burdens on a 21st century Indian girl or any Indian girl born until now to be just perfect in the act of love, lust, pleasure and choice of Mr. Right... Thomas has also drawn upon our reading experiences of boarding school stories of Blyton, the romances of M&Bs, the images that immediately come to mind when we think of a certain city, or person, or institution, or a certain profession ... there is an immediate connect with those parts if the reader has read and remembers...

The Girl Friends Files: Men & Music on My Mind could have been an apt title to the book as well... because as much as this book is about finding that elusive Mr. Right, it is also about Music, our girl has a lovely voice, she sings; a handful of men in her life are all musicians of some kind as well, saxophone, violin, DJ .... all strung together through the bonds of friendship among women - between mothers, aunts, BFFs those special bonds of fun & gossip and agony aunt tales :P :P :P

Setting: Contemporary, to be specific Urban Upper Middle Class India - a daughter of divorced parents who shuttles between the homes of her mother and father and their new partners n friends. Very similar to the film, Life in a Metro, where all that people think of is sexual activity...

Reading Expectations :-

For some odd reason I thought the book was non-fiction as the chapter titles were quite arbitrary so I picked, chose and read ... soon enough to realize there is a plot involved, so had to read from page one -cover-to-cover
It could have been a travelogue of sorts because of the sheer number of places the girl visits... some interesting tid bits... but there are just there as a name...
One time read ...

Men on my Mind was my reading experiment ... I rarely read from the genre of Chick Lit... the typical contemporary woman walking through this world with dreamy eyes and looking for the man almost sounds as a Mills and Boons plot... ! No wonder I was so not interested in M&Bs, 10 pages of my very first M&B and it was out of the window, never to visit my library
View all my reviews and more bestsellers

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program by BlogAdda.com.

Recommendation for Easy reads...

Pray for Chick Lit! (girlygirl.typepad.com)

RHI Book Review: Knife Edge (2004) | Noughts & Crosses Trilogy | Malorie Blackman

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:24:00 +0000

Knife Edge (2004) is the second part of Malorie Blackman's trilogy, Noughts and Crosses. It is preceded by Noughts & Crosses (2001) and followed by Checkmate ( 2005). The series is published by Random House.

: Malorie Blackman

The first thing that come into our minds when we read the title, Noughts and Crosses, is the game we play during a boring lecture when in a meeting, as part of an audience, while waiting for our turn backstage during a competition, or just for the sake of playing the game in our free time with a partner.

Simple things needed to play the game - it needs a background, it could be a sheet of paper, the last pages of a notebook, or a corner of a newspaper page, some tissue papers if there is nothing else available, on the sand if we are at the beach :P|

It requires two players to play out each side.

The most important part, the two sides are distinct - a knot and a cross look very different physically & visually, nobody can get confused between them, they are as distinct from each other as it gets.

It is a game, therefore, there is always a loser and a winner. We tackle each other and never let the other finish many a times, most of the times the games go into a draw,

most often the game is about not letting the other win and not winning either, isn't not.

The story of the trilogy is based on almost verbatim on these lines. It is a game in action peopled with characters. The trilogy is dystopic in alignment. The overarching subject matter is racism. Except in here, there is an inversion in the racism practiced. It is a world where the lighter skinned are oppressed, they are the Noughts and the darker ones are the oppresses, the Crosses.

Book 2 in the series, Knife Edge, the only book I've read in this trilogy begins with Jude and Sephy, alternate chapters dedicated to each character. Jude is a Nought who is in hiding, he is one of those revolutionaries, who has strict nought rules to follow against Crosses, in the book he is out to kill his greatest enemy, Sephy, a Cross, who was his late brother Callum girl and the mother of his new-born baby, Callie. Until now there were only the Noughts & the Crosses, with the birth of Callie, there is a mixed race also. In hiding, Jude befriends Cara a Cross, purely for his monetary purposes but slowly finds himself falling in love with her. He is confused, and he beats her up in retaliation to his feelings, killing her in the process.

Reading experience : Interesting, and the pace of the book keeps the reader hooked to the story. I never realized I was nearing the end. However, it is a dystopia, there is very little happy moments in the process of reading the book from cover to cover. At one go it is about perceptions, how one becomes alienated from the society as a whole, because one does follow the societal norms - Sephy, a Cross, falls in love with Callum a Nought |This single incident makes her an outcaste among the rich crosses. At the same time, she is not accepted into the Nought community as well, she is seen as an outsider, a threat who took one of their comrades away, and got him killed! She is blamed for everything she does... what a dilemma! Stupid divisions in society, we want to break the rules and bring in reform, but nothing seems to happen, the story is about the struggle.

Recommended :) :) I'm looking forward to read the two other books in the series. At stores, online and offline, it is categories under Children Literature > Young Adult Fiction.

Wonder why most of the YAF are dystopic in subject matter! It is because the world reality we live in also tending towards and we are giving a slice of its experience to the children, in a miniature book form!

Trivia: Malorie Blackman's Blog URL :Malorie Blackman

Knife Edge on the Casual Vacancy (pinashpinash.wordpress.com)
Design a book cover competition! (girlsheartbooks.com)

Blogadda Book Review: The Krishna Key (2012)| Ashwin Sanghi| Westland

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:28:00 +0000

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Too many details spoil the plot, minimizes the interest and a reader trudges along. Ashwin Sanghi failed to retain the interest he introduced in the first few pages by constant lecturing, repetition of ideas to reinstate, injecting a love story Ah!!! :roll: in the midst of things (just like in Don 2, between Don and the character played by Priyanka Chopra). If it were not for the Blogadda review, I would have left the book unfinished, or skipped some detail and jumped to the end.

However, kudos to the writer for his extensive research and information, but that's where the best and the not so best part of the book are unified :P Towards the end of the book, (spoiler alert) even I could guess at the sight of the number 894 that it was 108 + 786, why so many pages for the Hindu-Muslim unity bit towards the fag-end!

The Krishna Key, as evident from the title, is a treasure hunt, a hunt for a valuable knowledge system or a source of knowledge from the ancient past of our myths and the times of Lord Krishna. It's an heirloom or the concept of an heirloom being passed down from generation to generation for safe keeping, changing hands--secretly, by conquest, by murder, in stealth, and/or as a gift.

It is the Holy Grail of the East, of our people and of Hinduism or that's what Ashwin Sanghi, the writer, projects it to be. The lock in the cover page holds the key to every chapter number. For a moment, I thought the last chapter number, that is, 108, will have the picture of the lock opened, but no such luck ;)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyiz7okQx8I]

The plot, interestingly here, has protagonists who are all doctors in their respective fields -- History of Mythology, Archaeology, Nuclear Technology and Ocean Sciences. The 4 men are researchers, neck-deep into their excavations into the era of Krishna - one, involved in excavating the land terrain, another, diving into the seas around Gujarat in search of the lost city of Dwaraka, another, trying to bring back proof about the reality of The Mahabharata and as an extension Lord Krishna, and the last one, is convinced that nuclear technology is not a modern find. The villain of the tale, is a woman - Mataji; the police officer in pursuit of the killers, is also a woman. The two women are the good and evil sides of the same coin called faith. When you think it is a plot motivated by the love for preservation of faith, there enters our real villain - a don, who is as well versed in mythology and history as our 4 professors, so the repetition in content.

It all boils down to that stone or art that transforms everything into gold- the science of alchemy- in search of the stone with the Midas Touch. A transformation of what nature, is what the quest is all about. The end is philosophical and it brings that nod from the 'secular' reader :)

If the book had actually hit its mark, the reader would have been convinced that all the knowledge of the present day world originated in our land, India - not the India that the Colonial English marked geographically on the map of the world, but the India of the past with its source from the Hindu scriptures, the knowledge the European colonizers could not accept, as a result, tried to cover up or take as their own. So writing back to the west, in a way ;)

View all my reviews | Crossposted @PNA Wordpress, Book Reviews @ 4 Booklovers, By Booklovers |

---------------------------Trivia from the book :) :) :) ---------------

The name Ranchordas - it immediately reminded me of the movie 3 Idiots and Rancho played by Aamir Khan
Koli - I connected it to a colleague researching the Kolis of Cuff Parade and Mulund Creek
Om! - the significance of the sound emerging from our guttural parts of the body, vibrating the path it takes; had a laugh when I remembered an uncle telling me, the priest who teaches yoga in the church, replaced the sound with the name of the Lord. The reason of the laugh, that name of the Lord emerged from the throat :P :P
Research and Doctoral Candidates created that empathy ;)
Alternative thinking and theories - that's what we attempt to do in our thesis most of the time

The Krishna Key - Uncovering Ancient secrets in Modern Times (chowmiaow.blogspot.com)
[Book Review] The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi (palakmathur.wordpress.com)
The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi (aionofiris.com)
Krishna Key: India's Lost Symbol By Desi Dan Brown Ashwin Sanghi, A Review (urbansanyaasi.wordpress.com)
The Krishna Key (theerailivedin.wordpress.com)
The Krishna Key - A Book Review (nishitak.com)

Film Review: Shanghai (June 2012) Bollywood

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:51:00 +0000

Shanghai is an upcoming Hindi political thriller film directed by Dibakar Banerjee, starring Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Amin Raj and based on the novel Z by Vassilis Vassilikos. Wikipedia

Initial release date: June 8, 2012

Director: Dibakar Banerjee

Language: Hindi

Genre: Political Thriller

Oh Yes :) I did watch Shaghai, first day second show, that makes it a 1 pm show the first one that day there was at 12 noon, which PB and I missed by a few minutes because hunger pangs were top priority then :P

Silences speak volumes in the movie, so does the subtle instrumental music, think it is the santoor at some places. Realistic. The violence. The party worker who does anything for the party, even kill... the patrotism for the party! That superior party worker (bald head) who threatens, Imraan Hashmi's fear! Kalki's rage at the truck driver! and Deol - learnt his act of the South Indian well :)

Raw Emotions. The transitions of the characters, their mannerisms - detailing is too good. Hashmi's tongue movements! That dance on the streets :) Deol's submissiveness out of pressure! and Farooq Sheik's upper hand play!

The film is in its details -

the room allotted for the inquiry commission - dirty,
how it is cleaned
the basket ball that bounced in
the expression of the girl who jumps into the room from the window to catch it
how the Kalki and Deol balance from not slipping and falling from on the wet floor

When the party worker persuades the truck driver
Just the two of them having a friendly, but serious (kind)of conversation
Then the party worker enters a mob, snarls and launches himself into the attack
Smears a shopkeeper open on a hartal day with black paint
Smearing in slow motion, the movement of his hands, and the cheeks of the shopkeeper... ! Gory not in red, in black, the intensity achieved

Krishna (Deol) gets a breakthrough evidence.
Heads over to the Chief Secretary's office/conference room
Seats himself in on of the chairs near the door
Opens the file and says Sir, I've got something
Farooq Sheik (Chief Secretary) says, something about his future Stockholm promotion
Krishnan closes the file.
Chapter closed!

Expectation:

I went in with zero expectation. Because I just couldn't stand Love Sex Aur Dhokha for some reason, it was a hyped movie, and I totally hated what I saw on screen! One movie after which I looked at Ms. Chopra and Mr. Masand reviews critically with the market in mind!!
The attraction was our dear Prosenjit Chatterjee after watching Dosar and Baishe Srabon:) He does have a charm :D and we, (the blackholes) call him the Mohanlal of Bengal
Abhay Deol for some reason ;) (No I'm not one who see all of Deol's films because he is there)
And after The Dirty Picture, a new found admiration for Emraan Hashmi. He has proved he can do good stuff. Watch out for the transition in him! Mannerisms! worthwhile.

Credits : Very well lined up, in red bold letters with the black background. Reminded me of Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar and Sarkar Raj.

Lights, Sounds & Colours: It is not in that black and white, it is shot in colour, there is colour but with darker shades and tinted. There is enough of day light and pastel colours as well.

The plot tactics: The chief minister is omnipresent character. She is revealed bit by bit, as posters, cut outs, as memories, as phone calls, as reported speech, as an inspiration, as power personified. She is the all in all and the crux of the movie, but when she appears towards the last half an hour in person, the audience is ready to receive her.

Verdict:

I would ~~love~~ (no I'm not in for the violence) out of curiosity see it a second time.
It has layers of the powerful, it is not just one powerful man or woman on top, every level has its own hierarchy. Power rules! And history repeats! sad but true!
The last scene is a classic!
Very intense. The topic is of utmost importance.
The plot has a focus, and is consistence
Not saying anything more, go watch.
At least watch it for Hashmi boy, who is trying to act and doing a good job :P

Movie Review - Shanghai (spmenon.wordpress.com)
Shangai: The plot thickens (thehindu.com)
Shanghai movie review: Overhyped and a let down (madaboutmoviez.com)
Masand: 'Shanghai' is consistently watchable (ibnlive.in.com)

Whispered Carefree Stay Free woes and stories :)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:19:00 +0000

I was shocked when my current roommate asked me to pick up a carefree for her on my way back from the market! Carefree in this day and age! I couldn't pick it up because Carefree was not available in the two-three medical shops I looked up... even the shopkeepers said, who in this day and age! and mind you this in not Health & Glow kind of shop I visited, but the local medical stores where you get everything from the sundry tic tacs to capsules of higher grades!

When I asked the girl, she said, she was comfortable using these rather than any other, a reverse phenomena to mine and many stories I can say from memory or if you ask around!

Personally speaking I remember using Carefree only the first time, when I had my first flow! But the belt was so uncomfortable to wear, it itched! and the pad never stayed in place, remember asking my dad to fix it once when mom was not around... MJ still muses at the scene and says, "I can never imagine my father helping me out in this!" So we changed to Whisper and others like it... My brother was all of 5 or 6 when it started for me. It was this little fellow who came home every month with a new variety of a sanitary pad, every month for us, mother and daughter and explain the special features of the wings or the double lining or the package colour. May be I should ask him now whether he understood the difference and comfort the new features made to us.... and whisper became the synonym for sanitary napkins. It could be any of it, but we still refer to it as whisper

And there were the whisper girls, whisper seemed to rule, wherever I went from school to college to university ... all I knew were comfortable using it. My maiden workplace had bottles of different kinds of pads in the ladies restrooms.... the importance of which we understood when we went into a restaurant restroom in an emergency and did not find any at all, and the shops were a mile away from the entrance driveway!

Came here a year back and then came to know people who couldn't use Whisper or Stayfree or anything with that plastic/synthetic lining, it caused skin allergies, it caused itching. Younger girls who started with the whisper types... and changed over to cloth ones or paper ones or some other itchingless material...

The very first thought that came across while attending the meet was, it would be sacrilegious to utter Whisper :P :P Jokes apart, one thought that stayed through the meet and after, the Stayfree Indiblogger Meet at Mumbai was begin the change with yourself...

I find it very difficult to digest that a little daughter in a lot of pain is asked to wash her own clothes, bed sheets, beds and the rest she uses when the she bleeds monthly! Not to touch anything and if they do, it goes bad/impure/unclean (the English language has neutralized the effects, "ashudh", the word, gives the impact which bad does not).

When I came back after the meet and discussed around in the hostel, many of them said, they were used to it, "so what, that's how it is" "it is only 5-6 days every month," asked if they felt bad initially during their younger days, they said, "they did," asked if they will follow the ritual with their children, "many said yes... ! What will society say" some said "no". Though small in number, the voices were forceful. They reason out with religion, rituals and society and bring in the change, the future hope :D :D

"Where to break the cycle, where to bring in change..." the snappy answer I received was, "you will not understand your religious practices are different! ours demands it!" with a kind of force, a defensive stance when the R word was spoken and all the chatter was directed to that one line! Nobody can touch anything with religion it seems... education does nothing to core internalized thoughts is it!!!! Or do they not think! I do respect their views but there is an itching to pounce on inseparable why along with it!!!

Mind you, these are girls of all ages, ranging from 17-60 doing their higher education, post graduation to Doctoral degrees in one of the premier institutes of the country in an Indian metro which prides about its modern ways, and cosmopolitan nature!

Reminds me of a story MJ once said, A cat created a helluva lot of trouble in a gurukul when the guru taught his students. Therefore, one day the guru decided to tie the cat to the pillar near his throne or peetam. The guru died, the cat still made nuisance and was tied next to the throne, years passed, the cat died. The gurus changed, a new cat was brought in to be tied to the pillar to resume studies... Years and years passed, and cat became an inseparable part of the guru's throne while he taught. And they wrote treatises on the cat's presence and its affect on the studies in the gurukul :D To the why the cat was there, the new gurus, the managers of the gurukul and the new students replied, it is auspicious, a practice from time immemorial! Farce of the first order :P :P More on the Guru's cat :) http://www.firstparishnorwell.org/sermons/cat.html

I leave you with these writings from blogs and posts .... to continue the thought, discussion and change :)

Read Deeps here about Worshipping while Menstruating - Why Not? http://deepsspeakingup.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/worshipping-while-menstruating-why-not/
This is where I got the image from: http://jumpoffthebridge.com/2009_08_01_archive.html
Guru's cat stories and treatises :http://www.firstparishnorwell.org/sermons/cat.html
Change Yourself Stayfree! (ramblingego.com)

Book Review: The Devotion of Suspect X

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 21:37:00 +0000

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

The Devotion of Suspect X is a translation of a Japanese crime fiction into English. A page turner where we the reader know all the details as to who killed whom and who helped to shove away the body, still with all details the reader reads on to know how it plays out in the minds of the police officer and his sidekick friend (the genre of the Sherlock Holmes tale, Bhyomkesh Bakshi, look at any, almost all the time they have an assistant). A popular crime story with all the elements of the detective fiction in place where the mystery lies in how the writer grips the reader to reading it to the end in one go ;) and that's art :D

How is it different>>>>> It is not in our regular Perry Mason or Agatha Christie style, here we know all the whos of the who-dun-it. It is a matter of how the police figure out, how it was done how-dun-it may be. The mystery is in the reconstruction of the crime scene.

Intertextuality >>>>>> As always, the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the book cover, was an earlier book, quite popular, a bestseller which was made into a movie and (did it win an award?) Memoirs of a Geisha, especially the cover page, the eyes and the face and the hair falling on the face... #reading memories

And for a change, we are taken away from the all so familiar western setting of a story, the US or the UK or the Continent, to our eastern neighbour, Japan. Like in the story of the Geisha, Oshin (remember Oshin, an oldtime DD1/2 Japanese serial) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIHGI4mzPTQ]

Together with the plot of the story, we discover Japan as well. We enter a new scape, the outside and the interiors of a home with new names to new items of furniture to begin with, sliding doors, it is a little difficult to remember the names--character, places, things, flip a few pages back and forth and you get a hang of it... the description is just right that we walk with the Maths teacher up the river, looking at the dwellers there, looking back if there is a green bicycle in the parking lot...

The feeling is that of being under Potter's invisiblitly cloak following every action of the characters without their knowledge, like a meta, our place is that of the reader and the silent observer in a new place...

A few tips, if you are reading it for the first time, look out for words that repeat, I wonder how many times, the word logic and its adjective logical is used from page 1. Hold on to it, and combine it with the clues where it is most often used and you are set. Nothing out of place, just like a crime scene wiped clean of all the evidence and then a reconstruction of it... that's what this story from Japan is all about...

You'll enjoy it :) I certainly did.

PS: I'm fascinated by cover pages, it is one of our immediate entry into the space of the book, it works like an advert trying to entice a reader to pick it up and read. The book was released in English in 2011 and with a year and a half, we have so many different covers and a couple more publishers. The red of the book attracted me when I spotted it first at the airport a month back, and to my joy, Blogadda gave away 100 copies to review... (And FYI, Harish does send reminder emails when the review is not up on time :P)

This review is part of the Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. To Get free books! Participate now!

Something to keep you occupied on that long bus/train journey or on a lazy day when it is raining outside, and a cup of coffee beside you, or when you have just finished your work and you need to relax ...Highly recommended :)

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered. When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime. One of the biggest-selling Japanese thrillers ever, and the inspiration for a cult film, The Devotion of Suspect X is now being discovered across the world. Its blend of a page-turning story, evocative Tokyo setting and utterly surprising ending make it a must-read for anyone interested in international fiction. (Summary from Flikart)

Happy Reading folks

Pins :)

PS: View all my reviews

Book Review : The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (curleduptoes.wordpress.com)
Book Review: the devotion of suspect x (reflectionsinsilence.wordpress.com)
'The Devotion of Suspect X' by Keigo Higashino (kimbofo.typepad.com)
Book Review: The Devotion of Suspect X (crimsonshadows.wordpress.com)
Upcoming: Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino (avidmysteryreader.com)
The fascinating world of Geisha (spectacularsentience.wordpress.com)

Film Review: Men in Black III (MIB3)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sat, 26 May 2012 02:55:00 +0000

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld |Writers: Lowell Cunningham (based on the Malibu Comic by), Etan Cohen | Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin

The character of Griffin played by Michael Stuhlbarg. That man in the cute woollen cap in the centre in the picture. One cute character and it is he who saves the Earth. One rolly-polly character who lightens up the mood and does the needed, and is more than what he appears to be. Oozes of sweetness... Loved the scene where the three of them in the picture, watch a game of baseball.

Let's do this review in pictures, what say :)

It is Agent K and Agent J again, come back to see us in the third part of MIB

<<<<<<Agent J is... That's Agent K in his younger days, precisely 40 years ago... on 16 July 1969. ... the young Agent K done excellently well by Josh Brolin

The movie moves backward in time.... It just so happens that one day nobody in office know about Agent K, according to records, he is dead for years now... To get to the bottom of this, Agent J jumps down a building with a time machine gadget into the past 40 years ago to save Agent K from dying while he faces the crooked teeth villain Boris, the Animal. Of course the year sounds familiar doesn't it not ;)... when read along with moon and Armstrong and America.......

<<<<<<<<<< The villain: the guy with something instead of his eyes! and inbuilt darts part of his body as weapons.... and some crooked teeth! At the start of the movie, he is imprisoned in a prison on the moon....

that brings back memories of <<<<<< the evil Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda 1. Don't mind watching Kunfu Panda again, just to see that great escape :) and for other reasons. Boris escapes in a similar fashion! not quite, still...

The two men in black from the future and one from the past, facing the villian from the future and the past together (unlike Deja vu (2006) and Denzil Washington) - the one handed Boris from the present who escaped from the lunar prison meets Boris from the past... and they fight the two MIB together in 1969 around the space craft that is set for the moon with our three to be famous astronauts.

Verdict: MIB 1 still rules, nothing compares to that first movie. MIB3 better than MIB2 at any rate

'Men in Black 3' game: Let's hope the movie is this good (reviews.cnet.com)
Will Smith Brings MIB 3 to NYC With Help From His Costars and Family (popsugar.com)
Men in Black 3 review (digitaltrends.com)
'MIB3': Too Little, Too Late (foxnews.com)
Box Office Predictions: Will 'MIB3′ Dethrone 'The Avengers'? (screencrave.com)

Film Review: 22 Female Kottayam (2012)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:30:00 +0000

Release date: 2012 |Director: Aashiq Abu| Running time:122 minutes|Language: Malayalam |Cast: Rima Kallingal, Fahad Fazil, Prathap K. Pothan, T G Ravi

22 Female Kottayam is a story of pure revenge. And what a revenge it is :P :P Nothing feminist about it, nothing chauvinist about it. It is just a pure human emotion. Edmund Dante did it, so did Tessa.

It is a love story to begin with, a girl (Tessa K Abraham), a 22 year old female from Kottayam, a nurse by profession meets a boy (Cyril Matthew) in a different context (of a nurse recruiting agency), in the city of dreams ~~Bangalore~~ Bengaluru. Soon the working relationship turns into a personal one, that of attraction and of love. Under a certain circumstance when the boyfriend is away, his boss turns up at their door... when the incident repeats a second time, and later when she is arrested on charges of drugs and sent to prison, the 'pavam*' Tessa plans to avenge her perpetrators...

The Narration: The story begins in the present, and goes into flashback and ends on a future note.

What I loved about 22FK:

1. T G Ravi... so adorable.. hard to believe that an erstwhile ruthless villain can be so cute in his later screen avatars.

T. G. Ravindranathan, popularly known as T. G. Ravi is a Malayalam film actor, mainly noted for his roles as a villain. He along with Balan K. Nair played most of the negative roles in Malayalam cinema during the late 70s and the 80s. (Source: Wikipedia)

2.      The /ph/ /b/ conversation between Cyril and Tessa... especially the one in the last scene... brings back the magic of their romance for a moment again...[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=338mpApboZs]

3.      The handling of the theme.... A very tight script acted to almost perfection by the main cast, Rima, Fahad Fazil, Prathap Pothen and T G Ravi. The colours are set to the mood... and awesome, especially the final scenes in the studio flat overlooking the Cochin backwaters :)

4.      The song... well it changes the rhythm and pace with each step in the transformation ....

5.      The Emotions are portrayed so well. Nothing raw, nothing out of place... To the point.... the audience can empathize with Tessa.

There is a moment when the audience feels and wants to take the stick (my co-viewers at screen I watched the movie last weekend) ...when Prathap Pothen's character says "Can I have sex with you" even we sit up with clenched fists as we are unable to pull him out of the screen and beat/kill him....His character reminded me of our Bob Biswas of Kahaani fame...

An innocuous looking clerk by day transforms into a deadly contract killer by night, actually, any time of day... Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee's iconic assassin Bob Biswas in Kahaani has become larger than the film, and director Sujoy Ghosh isn't complaining (Source: The Times of India)

b.      The same ruthlessness, if that was cold blooded murder this is cold blooded rape.

c.       And there was a loud applause when Tessa pronounced her final verdict :)

What I did not like about the movie, very few, still...

1.      The tonal quality of the voice over of the quote introducing the intermission

2.      Tessa's sister Tissa's character.. that woman's character though pertinent, was a little over the top with a wig of a hairstyle!!!

Verdict: Miranda Priestly would say, if you do not watch it, you would be an idiot. So go watch, it is a must see...

Thank you Ashiq Babu, If Salt 'n' Pepper was funny, this one with it lighter moments takes up a very serious topic. Many of the reviews were misleading... it is a not merely any movie, it is a movie of substance, and it would be extraneous and reductionist to some extent if the movie is described as feminist...

PS: 22 Female Kottayam or 22 FK, just like we say, 1Bedroom Hall Kitchen or 1 BHK. Here, the title is not generic like the BHKs. If this is a story about every 22 year old Female from Kottayam, well mistaken... it could well have been 22BK also.

Cross posted from Pins N Ashes @ Wordpress

Clicking success (thehindu.com)
22FK Malayalam Movie Review - Theater Balcony (theaterbalcony.wordpress.com)
22 Female Kottayam (fwdlife.in)
Malayalam Review: '22 Female Kottayam' is excellent (ibnlive.in.com)

Aamir Khan and Satyamev Jayte

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:15:00 +0000

Originally part of my post on Byomkesh Bhakshi and Tehkikaat, I felt Aamir Khan's SatyaMev Jayate needs a post on its own. One because it is Aamir Khan, two as he is one of my favourite actors, and three because I liked what he did on the show yesterday.

As for Aamir Khan, he does everything with a bang... it is evidently a different kind of tv show, he takes up an issue, its past present and future into account, airs it on tv, at time now called the graveyard time in entertainment (11 am)... gets case studies, opinions and finally the music.

What I did not like about the show: The NGO bit, mmm! I'm not quite convinced, so are the crying bits among the audience and Aamir himself dropping that tear (!!!) (most of the details were shocking!! I also gasped! so like I gasped they cried, could be, but it was recorded so the unrest!)

What I loved most about the show, the song... it is still haunting.. and the way the issue of female feoticide was handled... there is an argument put forth here, the audience need not believe what is shown, they can take a stand, but since it is Aamir Khan, and the repetition of the team work bit over and over again, make us take a stand with him, on his side, so...

About the time of the show: He isn't airing it at a 11 am on Star Plus alone, he has a video on his site as well, that's where people like me, nowhere near to owning a private television set got to see the episode (not sure whether it was simultaneously aired)... he is using the internet revolution to create the awareness.

The Facebook page, I think will see more likes and more comments...

The good aspect about the show is that people will want to be a part of it, the movement of change, and since it is tagged to one of the perfectionist actors who has made a name for authenticity, well this... show was eagerly awaited and not many are disappointed

A Very Good initiative... as "Let My Country Awake" (Tagore)

Jai hind :)

And with it I begin my journey on Blogspot again... missed you, therefore, I'm back to be with you, Blogger :) mwaaaaaaaaahs

Our New Address

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:52:00 +0000

A Proper Wordless Wednesday, I hope :P

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:33:00 +0000

Spotted n Shot: AB

For the Wordless N Wordy Wednesday hop on to PNA @ WP

Miss Curls n Master Tshirt @ WP :)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:25:00 +0000

I was at this Mall the other day, the Food Court to be precise, waiting for AB to bring me some food, while I plonked down on an empty table, when I saw these two in front of me.

So this Boy in a blue and white striped T-shirt, a cargo shorts and this girl with thick curly wiry black hair and a pair of yellow hair pins clipped to keep them from flying to her eyes................

……..the advantages of sitting right in the centre of a whole set of people… and what’s more exciting than observing their antics or gestures, their expressions, their eating habits (some have horrible I say, makes me pukish ….and if you are thinking that I was ogling at the yummy KFC Buckets, or the hotdogs or the momos… No!! I was not. Because my tray of goodies was on its way ….

......................................................Continue Reading at PNA @ WP
Don't tell me, u haven't added the WP blog to your readers... go go go ...

Folks,

Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do with this blog...

It's very close to my heart and I would love to continue with it but what do I write...

Everything I write is me me and I don't want all of you to get bored of too of me ;)

Send your ideas... comment, here or mail me @ pinashpinash@gmail.com

I'm listening... :):)

Pins/Pinooooo/PNA/Ashes/Ash

Shots on a Saturday :)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:38:00 +0000

That River
Like a snake it goes
Those Rays
Like a stray it stays
The Greens
Like a cluster of trees

Do U think it's Oil!!

Spotten n Shot: Yup, PNA
:-) :-) :-)

New Post @ PNA @ WP

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:31:00 +0000

New post @ Pins N Ashes @ Wordpress[dot]com
Ha! Hey! Lee! Bay :):):)

Cheers
PNA :)

Procrastinating....

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:47:00 +0000

So I've been procrastinating...
You know why? Because I was reading all the comments of the last post, that Awesome one and I was unhappy that I was unable to reply indiviudally. So I thought and thought and finally put the post up on WP and am proud to say that procrastination is 95% cured :) a few more replies to go and I'm done :)

Conclusion: I like the commenting system at the WP. Hope Blogger gets such a similar widget (is that the right word now!).

Nope! I'm not abandoning blogger. No! I love this new template and the header and the blue and the look. Until I fall out of love with this, Pins N Ashes @ blogspot remains.

So what you have to do, is add another entry to your readers.

Here's the URL: pinashpinash.wordpress.com

And off you go, for a puzzle awaits you at PNA@WP...

This gives me a chance to understand how WP works first hand from the backend and whether I can handle it like my blogger baby :):)

This will definitely try my love for blogger and I'll know exactly where I stand in my learning skills :)

On a new journey with all of you @ WP.. :)

cya soon here and there
Pins :)

It's Awesome, really?

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:05:00 +0000

MJ was telling me the other day that people use the word ‘awesome ’ so much these days to describe anything and everything, from the relevant to the irrelevant, that the word has lost its meaning and charm for her. I saw myself nodding to what she said. I really don't know what to discern if somebody says awesome after every word or sentence they speak! I don't know whether they mean the slang or the meaning !!!!

American culture catching on us fast, may be... we talk like them at least, use their spellings, their punctuation style and we think or even better, are made to believe that those are the correct forms of language, decorum and dictum. Common problem. But nobody cares! another common problem again!!

For people who are schooled totally on British English and Indian English as a extension, American English sounds a little offish. Take no offense plzzz... Only in the usage, let me remind you, in pronunciation to be precise and vocabulary in general, nevertheless I enjoy their literature and their spirit of pursing the dream.

So most of us mix together all the englishes when we write and speak, and if you are submitting a written document to a university professor who specialises (is that z or s;-), or somebody with strict rules on the lanuguage, they will tsk tsk at it and jot down at the margin in red 'to stick to one form of the English!! Plzz!!'

Let’s make things clear here a little, otherwise I may be in some danger of being misunderstood. And the clarification is, I have absolutely nothing against the Americans per se and I fully understand why they rebel today or have rebelled in the past against anything remotely British.

Hold that thought there and come to India... Does it not make you wonder why most of the Indians, that is, us, revere even the tiniest of ants imported from the West! Always!!

We have a similar history ...We went through the same tortures of colonialism. We were exploited and used, we were divided in the name of region and religion under the reign of the great queens and kings of the English monarchy, to be given Independence in 1947 and labelled as what, a part of the third world!! And still we are using this global language. See the catch, it is the language of the globe even though Mandarin Chinese has a larger number of speakers according to statistics.

Without hesitation or shame, we can say that the introduction of the English language was a blessing in disguise, a blunder at the hands of the then British govt. It opened the floodgates to its literature, all kinds. And we in turn won our freedom. We have to profusely send our flowers and deepest regards to Thomas Macaulay for his vociferous Minute against the Orientalists to make his mother tongue as one of the subjects for our instruction.

But the downside: we neglect our mother tongue ...yes, the tongues spoken by our mothers... However, mother tongue can be a wrong word in the context because our mothers would be using more of the English language therefore, we speak the same and in the purest literal sense, follow it!

So, native tongue may be an option... whatever the terminology, this is an oft vocalised debated, our neglect for our own languages favouring English because English is the language of power and status and to many of us, ease....

Ok! Put up your hands, eh... comment, that is, how many of us think in English or find it easy to think in English rather than our so called native tongues... I’ll tell you my case, there are times when I think in all the languages I have been trained in and at times, I forget a particular word in one language but remember the same or the synonym in the other. That’s when these English-English-Native Languages dictionary comes in handy ;) Are we born translators!!

Would love to know your take :)

Enjoy your Thursday

Pic Cout: usmansheikh

Have a blessed, garbage-free Wednesday! ;)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:31:00 +0000

"One day I (not Pinooo ;) hopped into a taxi (Pinoooo Aside: Our evergreen Padmini :) and took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car (yup a jet black scorpio) jumped out of a parking space right in front of us (DI what do u say, road rage again!! how do we deal with our Scorpio guy??). My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! (Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaam, Ayyyyyyyyyyooooooo). The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us (WT****!!! what did we do!!).

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy (Driver u blind, deaf or what, insane Homo Sapien!!). And I mean, he was really friendly. (OMG will I ever reach the airport!! This guy has lost it!!). So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

(Lecture begins ..... ) He explained that many people are like garbage trucks (oh! is it). They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, full of jealousy, full of distrust, and full of disappointment. (ya ya ya... Pinoo nodding, is everybody nodding??? ). As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. (U mean We are dust bins!!!!! Yikessssssss.. Pinoo reminded of Vimuuuuuuuu's Tasteless Tuesday 1.25 :P :P:P :P). Don't take it personally. (Wow! U mean become traffic saints!!)

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. (Say Cheeeeeeeeeeeese, tatatata.... God Bless ....) Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. (Nopes! spreading garbage!!! )

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. (So be successful :) of course, simple, spread cheer :) :) )

...................Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets

(Of course, u are right)

.............Love the people who treat you right. (Nod Peeps)

.........Pray for the ones who don't. (Yes, Nod again)

............Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! (Yes, Nod)

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

One of MJ's Forwards....

Since it is in line with the previous post, I thought I'll share immediately :)

So let's ignore all the garbage trucks ...
and spread cheer :) :) :)

Pic Court: Istock Photo

People

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:24:00 +0000

Well, what about them.............So many of them in this world...............And so many we know.

Professionally,

Personally

Flatterers

Cheaters

Authentic

Scholars

Stealers

Friends,

Family

Foes,

Fakes

Bluffs

Mates

Real

Fans
Nice

Cruel

Slimy

Catty

Classy

Beauty

Rotten

Virtual

Prime

Giving

Taking

Lovely

Spirited

Spiteful

Copycats

Innocent

Strangers
Followers

Well Wishers
Some love us; Some hate us;
And some admire us
While others can't stand us

So many of them, still we know,

Our x-ray screens every hole and pore

Inside out, Upside down,

And the best part...

They think they hide

Beneath tissues, under piles

Of paper or vine or juice or even some grime

Think they fool us with silly sweet talking,

Or turn serious with some high hits and cracking

We still know them for what they are

For Actors we all are too like you,

Don't waste more time

Learn a lesson dear,

We are not all naive and nice! Here!!

We know who's Dear
We know who's Near

Who's like stepping on ice

Who back bites

Or issues forth a knife

So, fool yourselves

And be Happy,

Fools always rush in

Where Angels fear to tread ;)

Moral of the story

Get to know people better;

Roam around with those who spread cheer;

And be cheerful always;

and never do anything Evil

:) :) :)

Thoughtful Tuesday

Pic Court: Shock Photos

What's in a name .......

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:17:00 +0000

"Parcel for AB”
“He’s out”
“Got an ID....”
“You are not a B....”
“Is his wife home?”
..........

Census 2010...

What’s your Mister’s (??) name? AB
Ur name .... PNA
Errr...Ur name.... PNA
Errr... u mean PB ?
U’re not married to AB?

................................

Census 2000

Husband: DJ

Wife: MJ

Children: 2 ------- PNA, Kiddo

.................

Census 2010:

Husband: DJ

Wife: MJ

Children: 1, Kiddo

...........

Strikethrough :)

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:20:00 +0000

Venky tagged me and I found this one interesting :)

1. Graduated high school. Yes Sir!

~~2. Kissed someone.~~ Yup :)

3. Smoked a cigarette. nope never tried
4. Got so drunk you passed out. neither
5. Rode every ride at an amusement park. every time :) I love amusement parks :) :)

6. Collected something stupid. ya, still do, and somebody tells me I'm piling garbage in the house!!

7. Gone to a rock concert. yup yup...

8. Helped someone. always

9. Gone fishing. Yes, but the patience !! ahah!! I hate that :)

~~10. Watched four movies in one night.~~ like every other night :)

~~11. Lied to someone. yes, I confess!!~~
12. Snorted cocaine. never touched
13. Smoked weed. nope either
14. Failed a subject. well no! thank God :)
15. Been in a car accident. u mean the time I went to hit that poor buffalo at night that day :):) (AB tells me add an S to the accident lol!!)

16. Been in a tornado. (If cyclone counts,) yes phian, November last year

17. Watched someone die. No!! and I don't want to either! Scares me!
18. Been to a funeral. (courtesy demands!!) ya many!

19. Burned yourself. (yup many times, amateur cook that I am, my skin is so in love with hot pots n pans!!
20. Run a marathon. (100 metres race at school, yes :) I would love too:)
~~21.~~ ~~Cried yourself to sleep.~~ ahaa!

22. Spent over 10,000 bucks in one day. I love to shop heee hee :)

23. Flown on an aeroplane. would love to fly one too, one day and experience a hawk's eye view
24. Cheated on someone. nope
25. Been cheated on. Well frankly I don't know... !! u mean a lover no!!
26. Written a 10 page letter. haven't written even a love letter! Poor AB!!
27. Gone skiing. I wish:)
28. Been sailing. (boating) yes that one that runs on oars or motor, out in the sea, yes :)
~~29.~~ ~~Cut yourself.~~ of course, clumsy me

30. Had a best friend. ?? had, still have, live with one, and phone three others every day :)

31. Lost someone you loved. yes :(

32. Got into trouble for something you didn't do. many times !!

33. Stolen (nopes) ~~borrowed~~ (yes) a book from the library. (I'm a good girl, u see)
34. Gone to a different country. Different meaning another ? then yes
35. Watched the Harry Potter movies. first day first show and twice for preview :) :)

36. Had an online diary. offline yes, u mean my blog yes/no again

37. Fired a gun. water gun, yes ;)

38. Gambled in a casino. nope... but if u mean playing Rummy in April after exams are over with Dad, bro and mom... yes:) that was a ritual :)
39. Been in a school play. Yes yes

40. Been fired from a job. no :)
41. Taken a lie detector test. no :)
42. Swam with dolphins. would love to :)
43. Voted for someone on a reality TV show no!!!
~~44. Written poetry. ya!!~~ all rhyme and some meter :)

45. Read more than 20 books a year. yes more than that every year :):)

46. Gone to Europe....no...
47. Loved someone you shouldn’t have. Now, what does that mean any way ?!
~~48. Used a colouring book over age 12. :)~~ hee hee

49. Had a surgery. it's painful bad!!

50. Had stitches. yes!!

~~51. Taken a Taxi. ya!~~ everybody does!!!!!!!!

52. Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once. yes!! multitasking skills at play ;)

~~53. Been in a fist fight.~~ yup yup what are brothers for :)

54. Suffered any form of abuse. nope!
55. Had a pet. Still have we've kept dogs, cats, a tortoise, fishes and now we have parrots :)

56. Petted a wild animal. A monkey in the zoo count!! yes

57. Had your own credit card & bought something with it. yes yes
58. Dyed your hair. yes...:)

59. Got a tattoo. big babbool yes... otherwise nothing to do with paining my body !!

60. Had something pierced ya my ears :)

61. Got straight A’s. all the time, I never failed an exam, :)

62. Known someone personally with HIV or AIDS. Not personally, but visited yes :)
63. Taken pictures with a webcam. yes

~~64. Lost something expensive.~~ yes

65. Gone to sleep with music on. TV, lights, music... yes thank god! the door was not left open ;)

Tagging CB, Piyu, DI, Titaxy, Varsh, Divzz, Comfy, Swar, Rumzz, PB, Priya, Nu (would have loved to do it), Smiths, Deeps , Sus.... it's fun :) and everybody else who wants to do it... it's fun... tag urself and give us something to read, a glimpse into ur life :)

Edited 2 Add:

U know what!

What I don't like about tagging people.... because I can't mention all of all...

so from hence forth...

all tags for all, open invitation...

meaning, u see me doing a tag on this page (a rarity!),

means u are tagged automatically :) :) :)

Sounds gr8 to me :)

Wordless or Wordy ... It's a Wednesday - 3

noreply@blogger.com (PNA) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:24:00 +0000

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Have a blessed, garbage-free Wednesday! ;)

People

What's in a name .......

Strikethrough :)

Wordless or Wordy ... It's a Wednesday - 3