Good One...

One of my friend forwarded this to me. It is simple yet interesting...try ur hand at it. (Answers in the comments section)

Lateral Thinking... Just Check This Out!!!!

1.    man
     -------
      board


2.    stand
     --------
      i

3. /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/

4.    r
     road
      a
      d

5. cycle cycle cycle

6.    0
     -------
      M.D.
      Ph.D.

7.    knee
     -------
      light

8.    ground
     -----------------------------
      feet feet feet feet feet feet

9. he's / himself

10. ecnalg

11. death ..... life

12. THINK

And the last one is real goooooood ..

13. ababaaabbbbaaaabbbbababaabbaaabbbb....

`Thiruvasagam' - Ilaiyaraja's Symphony style

After almost 5 yrs, Ilaiyaraja's `Thiruvasagam' is finally ready for release this June 30th. Ilaiyaraja describes it as his 'life's purpose' in The Hindu. His expertise in music is beyond what words can describe. Though he has already made many devotional albums, this one is totally different because of the use of 'Symphony Orchestra'. During his interview he has said "Do you agree that as a musician I can make you laugh or cry with my music? Then `Thiruvachagam' will sway you." Woh, I just can't imagine how good its gonna be. The 'Maestro' is truly a genius in the world of music. He has also requested his listeners not to download it. He added: "If they feel that my music has given them at least a little pleasure, they should buy authentic audios." I am sure his fans will definitely agree with this. One of my friend has already given the link of where to order the original version. I am all set to drench in the divinity of 'Thiruvasagam'. Are you?

Angels & Demons – Dan Brown

I have heard a lot about Dan Brown and his famous book, “The Da Vinci Code”. Many people recommended this book to me, but somehow I never got a chance to read it. So finally when I was about to start reading it, one of my friend suggested me to read “Angels & Demons”, its prequel, first. So that’s how I started reading this book and I’m glad I did. From page 1, this book has kept me glued to it. The story itself seems so true and the narration is just amazing. It felt like I was physically present in the Vatican City and everything was happening in front of my eyes. The thrill in the story was so aptly presented, that I could feel my heart pounding sometimes when I was reading. May be I am just over excited at the moment, but it was definitely a great book that I read, in a long long time. Well, I am all set to check out “The Da Vinci Code” now…I hope its worth the wait!

PS: I have been very unpunctual with my posts this week and this post explains it all…;)

First points of "The Fastest Indian"

And finally, the "Fastest Indian", Narain Karthikeyan has scored his first Formula 1 points. Though just 6 drivers drove in the US Grand Prix, it was still an important race for Narain. He has elevated from "The First Indian to take part in F1", to "The First Indian to score a point in F1". Though he has a long way to go, this is definitely an additional feather to his cap. Way to go buddy!!

Interesting facts – North Carolina

It’s been long since my previous “Interesting facts” post, so I thought its time I come up with the next. When I got to thinking about what should I pick this time, the first thing that struck me was the place I am living in. Well, it’s been almost 4 months since I moved to this place and I hardly know anything about it. So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work and this is what I found.

• State Motto - "Esse Quam Videri" - To Be, Rather Than To Seem
• In 1903 the Wright Brothers made the first successful powered flight by man at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk.
• The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States.
• Pepsi Cola was invented in New Bern, almost 107 years ago in 1898
• Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem.
• North Carolina has the largest state-maintained highway system in the United States.
• The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
• The largest, privately owned house in America is the Biltmore Estate in Ashville. It includes a 255-room chateau, an award-winning winery and extensive gardens.
• North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams

I'll be back with more Interesting facts... soon (???)

Rahman's musical extravaganza

I came across this article at The Hindu. It was really exciting. Maniratnam directing the leading stars for Rahman's musical, sets created by Sabu Cyril and lit up by Rajiv Menon...I just can't imagine how good its gonna be. Especially the theme 'Netru Indru Naalai' is expected to bring out a few memorable songs of yesteryears back to life. Maniratnam has also said, "As a part of the audience, I would be more interested in how the stars of today interpret what the stars of yesterday did." Well, that sure sounds interesting to me. More than anything, the cause for which this program is being organized is the most appreciable. Looking forward to see atleast a recorded version of this extravaganza...

Movies, this weekend

I saw three new movies this weekend. Just wanted to share my thoughts on them. So here it is, my first movie REVIEW (???)

Mr & Mrs Smith


One of the most awaited movies of this year, especially due to the fact that this movie paved way for a relationship between Brad & Angelina. Well, rumors apart, they definitely make a wonderful couple on-screen as John & Jane Smith. They story is a one-liner. Both of them are professional assassins but they keep their career a secret from the other. But one day they learn about each other and the worst is that they have to kill the other within 48 hrs. But finally, they realize their love for each other and everything ends well. The main problem with the movie is that, they tried to combine all genres together; romantic, comedy, action, etc and everything feels incomplete. Especially, the last 20 mins of the movie is an unnecessary drag. Anyways, it’s definitely worth a watch for the star cast.

Ullam Ketkume


Yes, this movie has finally released after 2 yrs. Read somewhere that it is based on college life and hence decided to watch it. The story was nothing new, Kuch Kuch Hota hai style. Shyam and the tomboy Laila are very close friends. Laila is secretly in love with Shyam but he is attracted towards the homely Iyengar girl Asin. But she rejects him for her family. There is another pair, Arya & Pooja who are in love but separate due to some misunderstandings. The heartbroken Laila leaves for USA and has no contacts with Shyam. They all meet again after a few years at Arya’s wedding (who is now a famous cricket star) and then Shyam & Laila reunite. Though the story is old wine, it is presented well in a new bottle. Jeeva has done a commendable job as a director. Shyam is a perfect fit for the role. He has definitely shown maturity in his acting. I hope this movie gives him the break that he is long awaiting for. Music by HJ is also refreshing. Overall, if you are looking for a youthful movie to remind you of the fun of your college days, this is a good pick.

Bunty aur Babli



Well, this movie is a trademark masala movie. I guess it was aimed to be a total comedy movie, with no logic involved. I should say that director has definitely failed in his task. Abishek and Rani are two youths who are bored with their village life and want to achieve something big in life. So they set out from home with high dreams only to realize that it is not their cup of tea. So they start to loot people as Bunty & Babli and make a lot of money. Here comes the entry of Amitabh as the police inspector who vows to trace down Bunty & Babli. Finally, when he gets a hold of them, he is convinced that they have realized their mistake and let them free. The story, though a new approach, is a total let down. Also, the movie is very slow in the second half. The only refreshing thing is Ash’s appearance for a song. On the whole, the first half of the movie is tolerable while the second half is totally disappointing.

Few Quickies

I came across few interesting facts...some of them are fun, some are surprising and some are really scary.

• 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily. (This is the most scariest one)
• A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off. (hmm, doesn’t give up that easy..)
• A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. (what if we say "quack", does that echo?)
• A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (Always tell ur secrets to Goldfishes ;))
• A hummingbird weighs less than a penny. (This one’s very surprising)
• A sneeze travels out your mouth at over 100 mph. (I knew it was fast, but never imagined this speed…)
• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. (Funny,eh?)
• Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age. (Never heard of this before…)
• Dolphins sleep with one eye open. (Pretty cautious!)
• "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. (short & sweet)
• It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound. (It takes less than a minute for people to gobble it…sad)
• Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air. (Wow…they are also the only bird that can swim but not fly)
• Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas. (An important hint for people in India. Watch out!)
• The Earth weighs around 6,588,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. (Phew, can't even count the number of zeros...)
• Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself. (Another scary one!!!)
  
  

A light drizzle on a summer day

There is nothing more enchanting than a little drizzle on a hot summer day. The temperature today was very high and humid. I looked at my desktop weather and it showed me 91F. Just then, when I passed by the window, I looked outside and it was drizzling quietly. There is a small lake behind my office with lots of trees around. The wonderful rain on a sunny day and that quiet lake surrounded with beautiful trees was such an amazing sight to watch. I just stood there for sometime...totally lost, when I suddenly remembered that I was at work and had 3 more hrs to go for the day. With a ‘sigh’ I went back to my seat. Someone has rightly said; Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye -- it also includes that which touches the inner soul. How true!

Maniratnam – a victim of being overrated?

The inspiration for this post is not only due to the discussion going on about him in various blogs (especially, lazygeek) but also because he is my favorite director. The source of these discussions is ‘Nayagan’ being selected in the All-Time top 100 movies by Time’s movie critics. My perception is that he is being a victim of being overrated.

Right from ‘Mouna Ragam’, the one thing that I greatly admire about him is the way he portrays his characters. His characters are so close to real life people that you can actually relate to them. To name a few, the happy-go-lucky Karthik is ‘Mouna Ragam’, smuggler velu bhai Kamal in ‘Nayagan’, craving for his mother’s love Rajni in ‘Thalapathi’, mentally disabled kid Shamily in ‘Anjali’, innocent village girl Madhubala in ‘Roja’, the naïve married couple Madhavan & Shalini in ‘Alaipayuthey’…the list is never ending. Some people say that he starts with a good concept but compromises it a lot for commercial aspects. I totally accept it, but we have to realize that he is not an art film director. He makes commercial movies and his producers have to make some profit out of it. The other accusation is he repeats the same actors like Arvindsamy & Madhavan in his movies. Again, I have never seen them being a misfit for any of his characters. Arvindsamy as a computer geek in ‘Roja’ and Madhavan as a goonda in ‘Ayutha Ezhuthu’ definitely did justice to their roles. There are also others who say that most of his movies are inspired from many foreign language movies that are not so popular. Well, what is wrong if he wants to introduce a good classic taken in Spanish or French to an ordinary tamil movie lover?

My point is, though Maniratnam is not THE best director Indian cinema has ever seen, he is definitely one among the BESTS. He has a unique style of film making and he has definitely strived hard to attract attention towards Indian cinema. The main reason why he is always a target for accusations is because people overrate him and expect his movies to be flawless. So if we go to his movies without any preconceived notion then we would definitely be able to applaud his efforts. I personally feel that one day he’ll definitely take Indian cinema to unimaginable heights.

Making a film, they can't see

When I came across this post in Times of India, I felt very happy. Such a move is very welcoming. There were many movies in the past that portray how blind people achieve great things in life in spite of their disability. But involving visually impaired people in most of the aspects of film making like actors, actresses, music director, etc is just amazing. There may be films like these made in other countries where people with disabilities do everything just as others without any hesitation. But such a film being made in India, will definitely pave way for more people to prove their talents in future. Just as the Director of the movie mentioned, “It is not a typical 'film for the disabled', but a mainstream cinema subtly structured to educate the masses about issues involving the disabled and drive home the message that they do not need anybody's sympathy”, I hope this movie not only changes the attitude of people towards the visually impaired but also inspire more people with disabilities to shed their fear and come out to light and reveal their talents to the world.

Long weekend...Indian style

Just back to normal after the ‘long’ weekend. People in US would definitely know about the hype created by these long weekends. People start planning couple of months ahead, deciding on places, ticket prices shoot up, the excitement of the trip creeps in a week before...everybody wants to go some place & have fun. All these ‘hungama’ got me thinking about what I used to do on a typical Indian ‘long’ weekend...

Well, as most of the holidays in India are associated with religious festival of some kind, my most treasured ‘thing’ usually gets compromised...’My Sleep’. So as soon as I get up, I start cribbing over my lost sleep for sometime and then get ready to go to some temple. The one thing that I never understood was, even if it was not a religious holiday, the best place that we could come up with to visit for the day would be ‘some temple’. And to my surprise, the long queues at the temples would prove that there are many people out there who seem to concur.

So after some waiting & pushing at the long lines, the ‘darshan’ would finally be over and we would then go to a restaurant for a good lunch. Then after we head back home, I would run to my bed for a ‘short’ nap (aah, finally) and my dad would wake me up in no time. By evening, I will freshen up and sit glued to the 'idiot box' for the rest of the day to watch some recent crappy movie which is being telecasted for the first time (Indhiye tholaikatchigalil mudhal muraiage, thiraiku vandhu sile madhangale ana, putham pudhiye thirai padam….blah blah!)

When I try to recollect, most of my holidays were spent in the same manner. No planning months before, no visiting new places, no 'hungama'. Even though the holidays in India sound less exciting & fun than in US, a corner of my heart still craves for those memorable days……anybody agreeing with me?