Scattered Thoughts

Moved on !!!

2010-09-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

I started this blog having one objective in mind - to pass on any news, views or some interesting topics which I come across on a daily basis. This was the time when Facebook and Twitter didn't exist. I also used this blog to vent out my frustrations on media, personalities or any general happenings. The comments coming from several people encouraged me to write more and more. I loved writing music reviews and movie reviews.

But then came Facebook followed by Twitter and along with work I just couldn't find time to write anything here. Pretty much any interesting stuffs I wanted to share with my friends I started posting on facebook and twitter became my online diary where I could write, post or shout out almost anything. In short my Scattered thoughts got scattered to different websites and this blog has dust settled all over it.

In these few months I discovered a hidden passion in photography. Bought an SLR and started shooting pics. Actually traveling gave rise to this passion. And I opened a photoblog very recently which you all can check it out.

http://openyoureyes.aminus3.com/

Also you can catch me on twitter ( where I try to be frequent )

http://twitter.com/sirishm

Ram Gopal Verma turns religious after seeing Avatar

2009-12-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Yes !! and his God is not Shiva, not Vishnu, and even not Jesus...but surprisingly James Cameron...well in the context of his blog it kinda made sense..he's totally swept away by the impressive spectacle on big screen. Most notably I was very happy to read the line about he confessing that our filmmakers spend over 100 crores and proudly proclaim it while on big screen we wonder where the f*@# did the 100 crores go ??? ( read: Blue, Kambhaqt Ishq...) Read on...

http://rgvzoomin.com/2009/12/16/the-second-coming/

Top 10 Best Vodkas from all over the world

2009-12-15T16:23:00.001-08:00

Wow after a long hibernation its back to back posts from me on one day. Hopefully I can continue sharing all the information wealth I collect on a daily basis, after all that was all this blog all about.

Its christmas season and I'm sure like me many are looking for lot of gift ideas. Well there are tons of electronics gifts out there which are top priorities for many. But this post is for someone who are looking for a good Vodka as a gift. Its helped me to select one for myself, Imperia Vodka. I'm sure it'll be of help to you too. The link also gives some brief intro to the history of Vodka's origin and some cool facts. Check it out..

World's Top 10 Best Vodkas

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Kick - Ass movie's gonna b Kick - Ass

2009-12-14T20:08:00.001-08:00

This weekend is gonna be a big one for me. No I'm not talking about Christmas shopping. I'm talking about the movie which is gonna change the way we look at movies in the future. And no again, I'm not talking about My name is Khan. A v a t a r !!!! has been in my brain for quite sometime now. I finally can get it down from brain to my heart this friday and hopefully it settles down there for a long time. Many people are waiting with bated breath for this movie and the reasons are numerous. For me, I just wanna be blown away..I wanna feel excited like a kid jumping on his seat..with mouth wide open..I wanna be lost in the dreamy bio luminescent world of Pandora..I just wanna get magically transported to somewhere beyond my imagination. So friday it is..IMAX 3D it is..James Cameron plz dun disappoint me.

Now while the whole world's talking about Avatar, there came a new teaser from a movie which I didn't have any idea about. Kick - Ass, starring one of my all time fav actor Nicolas Cage. Its about this hardcore superhero comics fan who decides to take his hobby into reality and becomes a superhero. The only problem being, he's a superhero with absolutely zero powers. There's a trailer floating around for quite a while which kinda gives you an intro into the characters. But this new trailer is a very unique and totally unconventional one. When you'll watch it you'll know what I'm talking about. I think this movie's gonna be truly Kick - Ass.

Blue is New ??

2009-08-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Blue..coming in the style of the world and a
Blue..shining like a diamond pearl and a
Blue..walking in a new kinda sound and a
in a town and everybody get down and a..

Alright, thats not how the song might go, but that was the first impression I got when I heard the song playing in the background of the new promo from the upcoming movie "Blue". Its uncanny resemblance to the title song from "New", just that its replaced by "Blue". But that aside, I think this would be a kick-ass soundtrack by AR Rahman, who comes into the filmi scene after quite sometime (actually.. just few months). I dunno why, but after his Oscar victory and Delhi 6, I was waiting everyday to hear something new from him and now it seems like I've waited a long time even though its just few months.

Anyways Stunning visuals, better than usual Bollywood action sequences, hot babes ( Katrina and Lara ) and catchy music pretty much sums up the mildly entertaining promo of Blue where makers ensured everything looks Blue without giving any Clue...regarding the story. I guess there isn't any..well hope not as after a long time I'm seeing an out and out action thriller having AR Rahman's music ( plz dun tell me Ghajini was one ).

Check it out..

Kabhi hum Kaminey nikhle, Kabhi doosre Kaminey

2009-08-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Two songs, just two songs from a movie has made me comeback to the lost era of hindi fillum music. I mean literally after DevD and Delhi 6, and yeah CC2C, I found no interest whatsoever in listening to any new hindi releases. Boring and Repetitive were the only words ringing in my head when trying to listen to any new songs. All of that changed with the entrance of Kaminey. Saala Kamina itna der kar diya aane ko.

Ok coming back to the two songs, one Kaminey and two Pehli baar mohabbat, simply mindblowing stuff !!! The lyrics, the feel, the orchestration, the singing, its like everything is in a perfect harmony. I wonder why Vishal Bharadwaj doesn't make music for that many films. He's one of those few MDs who've been consistent right from their debut, the other being obviously AR Rahman. And yes Anu Malik is also there, being consistent in copying right from his debut.

Check these two songs out and also the rest of the album, but for me these are two brilliant compositions which Vishal should be really proud of. Bravo !!

P.S. - The movie promos also look pretty interesting. Shahid doesn't look that baccha anymore, may b a turning point of his career ? lets wait and watch

Congrats Media, you've successfully killed Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

His death has overshadowed even an ongoing war against a huge religious regime in Iran.

He's been in the middle of most horrible controversy surrounding children.

He's changed so much in terms of looks that every passing day he started looking different from the day before. In most ways worse and scary.

Love him or hate him, Michael Jackson is a one man army responsible for such a major part of American culture and music. I mean what genre can you not put his music in ?? Pop, hip-hop, rap, jazz, soft rock, rock, world music, his songs had every possible genre in it. I don't know any other artist who's got such a diverse talent. He wrote his songs, sang them, danced unlike any other, had style unlike any other. He was such an influential icon across every nook and corner of the world. And what did the media make of such a person ??

A JOKE !!!!!!

Last 18 yrs of his life were filled with nothing but news about his face, his inexplainable relationships with children, his face, lawsuits, and again his face....Shame on every media person.

I watched an interview on TV years ago where someone said that MJ was the first male soloist who was universally thought to be cool by every subgroup be it punks, rappers, stoners, teenyboppers, or rockers. I can't imagine today any male singer gaining that wide array of respect.

Who didn't try to copy or be inspired by his style ?? Usher, Justin Timberlake in the west, Prabhu Deva, Hrithik Roshan in India and god knows how many more celebrities across the world.

His songs, their lyrics spoke volumes about his personality and yet the media seemed to have not given much thought into those as that wasn't spicy enough news for them. Its just too sad for me as I grew up listening to his songs, watching my brother dancing to his songs in typical MJ fashion. I still can't believe he's no more, he should have done his final tour. It would have been complete. But as always, God has a plan for everyone. hmmm...from when did I start believing in these things. Oh thats right it was always in my mind..never dared to accept it. whatever !!

His death makes the end of this recent article even more sadder:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1050082/As-turns-50-Michael-Jackson-really-look-like.html

"I don't know what I was thinking back then, " he recently said. "Everyone makes mistakes when they're young, I guess. But I still look OK, don't I ? I mean, for 40?"

When reminded that, in fact, he was about to turn 50, Jackson gave a sad, half smile.

"It all went by so fast, didn't it? I wish I could do it all over again, I really do."

But for Michael Jackson, it seems, the time for a comeback has passed. "I'm tired," he said last week. "I've got nothing left to give. I just want to be left alone. Is that so bad ?"

SAD !!!! Thanks Media for doing this to a legendary pop icon. You've successfully destroyed the King of Pop. And all of a sudden now you are broadcasting him all over the channels. Feeling terrible. Why ??? Oh yeah thats right...now this is a spicy news aint it ?

RIP MJ, you're gone, but your music will always remain in everyone's heart..forever..

Nayab copies AR Rahman's song for Dekh Bhai Dekh

2009-06-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

There’s been a dearth of good hindi / tamil / telugu music lately. I like one telugu song from Current, the neat melody Atu Nuvve. And that’s about it. I mean there might be many songs people are crooning to, but c’mon after spellbinding Dev D, the effervescent and diverse soundtrack Delhi 6, and joyous to a bit Chandni Chowk 2 China, I havn’t heard any good albums. So I gave myself a chance and went ahead to listen to all possible crap out there and hola ..look what I stumbled upon. A song Bhavre hoon mein from Dekh Bhai Dekh movie, which probably I’ll never see in my life. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this song is a direct lift from AR Rahman’s popular tamil number, the Tajmahal title song from the movie Dodgemagal ( actually Tajmahal, but that’s how Bharathiraja pronounces it in the cd ). For people unfamiliar with the tamil original version here’s a comparison of both videos.

Tajmahal song from the movie Tajmahal -

Interesting observation in Lakshya movie's BGM

2009-06-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Pardon me if i'm late to realize this, but I just watched the movie few minutes ago for the first time. Needless to say this is by far the best Indian movie made on Kargil war or in general Indian Army. Now lets leave it right there instead of going ahead and comparing with the surprise hit Border or the multiple love stories never ending saga LOC Kargil by JP Dutta. This movie had music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, pretty good music for a war movie. More realistic and less melodramatic. Very situational too. However there was something familiar about the background music. Something I felt like heard before. And when it came the second time in a much spread out sequence it became very clear that this BGM was the inspiration or the cue for one of their later songs in a superhit album.

Watch the video to judge for yourself, and if you couldn't get it the answer is below the video. You can view it by highlighting it.

Rock On !! from their album Rock On !!

Microsoft Natal - The potential Wii Killer

2009-06-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Now thats what I call a Wii Killer and may b everyone's gonna call the same. Microsoft "Natal" as they'd like to call it, is gonna b the future of Xbox's interactivity. There's gonna be a camera/sensor arrangement kinda like the Wii sensor however with a supercool advantage over it....u dun need to have any controllers !!!! YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER !!!

One of those cool inventions which makes me wonder yet again..why didn't I ever think of it b4. may b thats what distinguishes me from them.

Check the link for more information - Microsoft Natal

The Joke

2009-05-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Rorschach: I heard a joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life is harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world.

Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. The great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go see him. That should pick you up."

Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor... I am Pagliacci."

Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

-------------------------x-----------------------------

Edward Blake: Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

-------------------------x-----------------------------

I started a Joke - The Bee Gees

I started a joke

Which started the whole world crying
But I didn't see
That the joke was on me, oh no

I started to cry
Which started the whole world laughing
Oh, if I'd only seen
That the joke was on me

I looked at the skies
Running my hands over my eyes
And I fell out of bed
Hurting my head from things that I said

'Till I finally died
Which started the whole world living
Oh, if I'd only seen that the joke was on me

I looked at the skies
Running my hands
Over my eyes
And I fell out of bed
Hurting my head from things that I said

'Till I finally died
Which started the whole world living
Oh if I'd only seen that the joke was on me
Oh no! that the joke was on me
Oh...

Angels & Demons and its music

2009-05-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Remember the fascinating score "Chevaliers De Sangreal" which comes at the final part of the movie Da Vinci Code? It starts from the scene where he sees the blood line all the way till the discovery of tomb of Mary Magdalene. To me that was probably the most powerful part of the entire film. After several internal mind conflicts I came to a conclusion that its that background score which made the ending so much more powerful compared to the book. The score builds slowly and continues to build into a full blown beautiful mixture of orchestration and digital synthesization. When I first listened to that track it sent chills down my spine, it did the same thing to me in the film. Only Hans Zimmer can bring out such an "Epic" feel to a score. If this score aint enough for you to believe, check out Gladiator and Thin Red Line soundtracks. Absolutely mindblowing stuff !!

And now for the new movie Angels & Demons, Hans Zimmer continues with the same score which gives me more than one reason to watch the movie this weekend. The other main reason being the brilliant book itself. I heard the movie has been made much better than Da Vinci Code, which itself I thought was real good. Check out the extended trailer which features the background score I'm talking about..

Look who's cumming soon...Borat's Gay Brother !!!

2009-04-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Lemme warn u. This video has lot of offensive material and so..plz..Not to b watched in Office, when kids arnd, if u r an easily offended type person, and if u were totally disgusted with Borat, the movie. With all those things kept in mind when u manage a sneak in time for urself..enjoy this hilarious "Borat" style homosexual trailer of "BRUNO"...yeah !!!!!

BioShock 2 - The Big Daddy's gonna b back

2009-04-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

The creators of Bioshock have come up with one of the greatest teaser trailers in the history of gaming world. So mysterious, haunting, yet calm and beautiful it provokes so many questions on to what the final game is going to be. The song in the background ( Dream by The Pied Pipers ) takes me back to those magical days of plasmids, puzzles and the dark enigmatic music. Check it out..

Btw is that the Big sister in the trailer ?? Is this gonna be a prequel or sequel to Bioshock 1 ?? Are we gonna b the Big daddy in the game ??

Can't wait to know these answers...I wanna go to rapture soooooon

Raccoon bites off man's penis

2009-04-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Just read this story on the web and thought...What a dumb fucking moron...

Toothy raccoon bit off manhood

I mean look at her...how would you get the heart to fuckin rape this poor little thing ??

He’s been told they can get things working again but they can’t sew back on what the raccoon bit off," said a pal. That’s gone forever so there isn’t going to be much for them to work with."

My question is why sew it back again ???? To rape another raccoon ?? How pervert and desperate can that man become that he could just go for any hole. This has to be the life changing lesson for this douchebag and for many other perverts out there. Don't go fuckin coons man.

On a lighter note, I think its also not the man's fault entirely ..the stupid raccoon didn't have clothes on..hehehhe...

Did You Know ?????

2009-04-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Awesome presentation,awesome content and awesome concept backed up by awesome music by Fatboy Slim's "Right here, Right now".

In the end...what does it all mean ???

That we are royally fucked ???!!!? If 3 years could make such a lot of difference, how would it be in 2012..If I was magically transported to that time, I think I would freak out in amazement and astonishment. Seems like we ARE heading towards the Terminator direction...

Earth Hour 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2009-03-30T19:08:00.001-07:00

Click on the link to see some mind blowing images of most famous buildings and monuments across the world -

Earth Hour 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Love the dimming effect in the photos. I'm so happy that LA was part of it and more importantly I was part of it. I think we should have Earth Hour more often rather than once every year. Great job World !!!

Earth hour 2009

2009-03-29T10:33:00.001-07:00

Earth hour 2009
Originally uploaded by krishh17

Most of the nights we switch off lights in our homes and head out, or we stay at home do usual stuff with lights on. But yesterday nite, the Earth hour was very special as we switch off lights in our home and stayed at home. I wish there were many Earth Hours. Enjoy the pictures I took during this hour. Click on the pic to see more from my photostream.

The Financial Meltdown - how we're officially, royally fucked

2009-03-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

The short and long of the financial meltdown...

The short visually explains what happened

And the long really explains how few people in AIG and wall street took us for a ride (and continue to do so):

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/print

Men are so Simple Minded

2009-03-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

One of life's cruel ironies is that the more comfortable and secure a man makes a woman, the less likely the woman is interested in sex with him. Check out this funny, yet sad in a way comic. Women just don't understand how much men think about NOT pissing them off. Yet we still manage to, all the time, because 99% of the things a man does will probably piss off a woman.

....and so his smile disappears.

For more of similar web comics check out Abstruse Goose

Rahman appears on Apple website

2009-03-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Cooooool. Something which was long coming..Read this interesting interview on Apple website

http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/action/arrahman/?sr=hotnews

Watchmen - This world is afraid of them, they've seen its true face

2009-03-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

First things first. I hadn't read the comic book before. I had no clue about Watchmen until I saw the trailer before The Dark Knight. I got even more interested in it because of Zack Snyder, who made a visually spectacular "300" earlier. Agreed that movie didn't have soul, but yet it gave a new direction for a war movie and man what mind blowing visuals !! Now coming to Watchmen, before watching the movie I was knowledgeable enough not to expect a Spidey or a Batty kinda superhero flick. Neither did I want a popcorn spoon-fed flick where I just have to be awe-inspired by spectacular effects and graphics. I wanted a complete suspense thriller woven with powerful thought-provoking dialogues interlaced with some breathtaking action sequences played out with a haunting background music. Watchmen turned out to be all of that and more. This movie unlike 300 had lot of soul. It was complex, made me think for the most part of it. Made my brain work much faster. It was storytelling in a whole new dimension. Right from the fantastic one of the best intro scenes ever, till the grand finale, Watchmen was one helluva ride.

Lets start with this. Who is a "Superhero" ? What does one expect from a Superhero or in other words, what does one want a Superhero to do ?? Till date most of the superhero movies had this ultra powerful superhero ( except for The Dark Knight ) who looked like the good guy and his nemesis, who clearly looked like the bad guy ( green goblin, doc oc, joker...) and a plot where the good guy protects the common people/the world from this bad guy. Now what would happen if the roles got reversed, and we have green goblin, joker, and other baddies be the good guys and superman, spiderman be the bad guys. Thats something the general public would never digest. And thats exactly where Watchmen stands out. Watchmen forces all of us to think about the terms good, bad, protect, innocent, crime. It questions your judgement of right and wrong, good and evil. On the whole this film is made at the borders of intellectualism and entertainment, and it's as violent a place as any border town.

Throughout the movie, there are all the various characters figuring out answers to these questions. Watchmen made people think, but didn't tell them what to think. Of course that's going to tick many moviegoers off. In other words, this isn't a kids' movie. Not because there's sex and violence, for which individual parents' mileages will vary. It's a grown-up movie because it helps to have read the comic first, and to be old enough to understand that a challenge to your assumptions is not a personal affront, but an invitation to think. Some people will never be old enough.

As the movie is set in the 80s the mood, the setting and the music have an old world charm which always is enticing. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bob Dylan's The times they are a-changing and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Its funny now when I think about it that I went to the theater thinking Rorschach is the main villain, just because he DID look like a bad guy. I've gone ahead and bought Watchmen the comic from Costco, which sells for jus $ 11.99. Most of the bookstores and sites like amazon sell it. Its turning out to be an engrossing read. I'm able to relate to every scene of the movie and also many more things missed out of the movie. That was obvious coz it looks like there's a lot of story in the 12 chapters which made it a daunting task for Zack Snyder to put it within 2:45 hrs. Anyways I'm glad he did that, because he's done full justice to the story and the message which the story gives. The message which it gave in the 80s, which is still valid even in these times.

JUST DO YOURSELF A FAVOR..WATCH THE MOVIE AND READ THIS BOOK!!!

One of the best dialogues :

Rorschach in jail - ""You all think I am locked in here with YOU...but YOU are all locked in here with ME!"

One of the best visually stunning scenes :

Nite owl and Silk Spectre kiss on planet mars with Nuclear explosion in the background.

One of the best action sequences :

The intro fight sequence between The Comedian and The you know who.

One of the best musical scenes :

The burial of Comedian with Sound of Silence playing in the background and Hallelujah playing while Nite Owl and Silk Spectre have sex.

"The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel -

Undersea volcano erupts near Tonga..where is this place ??

2009-03-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Random news checking brought me to this spectacular never before heard news about an Undersea Volcano eruption. I've neither seen such a thing in my life nor read about it. I know...I wasn't a great geography student. But its not too late to learn. The Scientists are wondering it may be related to a quate of magnitude 4.4 which could have caused this volcano to erupt. However luckily there's no danger to the few living over there.

Check out the unbelievably breathtaking pictures at this site -
>> Undersea Explosions near Tonga <<

Also check out the video taken by the daring few -

So where is this place Tonga ?? Its actually situated in South Pacific Ocean, close to more popular Fiji islands. There are a total of 171 islands, with only 45 inhabited and apparently the archipelago of Tonga is affectionately called the "Friendly Islands,". Not anymore I guess, as these underwater volcanoes are drop dead scary. You go boating and all of a sudden u know u are in the air covered in ash. But most astonishing fact about Tonga is that its the only South Pacific country never to have been colonized by a foreign power. So they are still ruled by Kings.

Back to the explosion, this amazing occurrence of nature reminded me today that we humans, however far we progress, are very tiny in front of the mother nature. All our technology can fall flat if she gets angry. And so give respect and don't abuse nature. Ok from when did I start giving advices. Actually the clouds of smoke, steam and ash in the pictures are really scary. And the eruption took place just about 6 miles from Tonga's main island, Tongatapu, an area where upto 36 undersea volcanoes are clustered. Bottomline, if all volcanoes get angry, Tongatapus are screwed !!!

Kaisi hai yeh rut ke jis mein phool banke dil khile

2009-03-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

While driving back home in crazy traffic of LA where the max speed attainable was 20 mph, all I wanted was every single car to come to a complete stop, except for mine which wud still move at 20 mph, and that I wud enjoy my drive in slow motion. Weird right ?? well that didnt happen naturally, but that fleeting moment of serenity happened with the help of this song from Dil Chahta hai. I don't know how i remembered this song, but for me this was the song of the moment which transported me to that mysterious world of slow motion. All happening in my mind...on the freeway...

Dekho, nadi ke kinaare
Panchhi pukaare kisi panchhi ko
Dekho, yeh jo nadi hai
Milne chali hai saagar hi ko
Yeh pyaar ka hi saara hai caarvaan

Bye Bye Circuit City

2009-03-08T23:23:00.001-07:00

I'm not really a fan of Circuit City, but still this has been one of the giants from the time i came to the States. I still remember the first black friday sale when we guys were standing outside CC at around 4 am and ran like mad dogs when the doors opened @ 6 am to pick up free CD packs :). Yes those days CDs weren't that cheap and iPod had just arrived. No I'm not old school, I'm talking about 2001, just starting my college.

Anyways couple of days ago me and my wife saw big "Going out of business, massive discounts" sign @ the CC near our house and so we decided to go check it out. And believe me, there was nothing we saw which we thought was cheaper than what we get online. May be paper towels, which also were on sale, but thats about it!!!! Now what kind of massive discounts were they talking about ??

So yeah, with the rise of e-business and stiffer competetion from Best Buy, its no surprise that this one had to go down. However at a worst time like this, the fall of a major giant like Circuit City is depressing. Also imagine the state of all its employees. damn !!!! Hope somebody gets everyone out of this huge mess soon.