Back after a week

Its been a week since I updated my blog...a little busy at work (ok…ok...I can see people raising their eyebrows…"arasiyal le idhu ellam sagajam appa"). More than the work, I guess the actual reason is I was lazy. I have finally started “The Da Vinci Code” and its going great. I think I started the book at a wrong time as I am not able to spend much time on it. But will definitely dedicate a couple of hours of my precious sleep for it.

Also, listened to songs from “Ah Aah” by ARR. Though the album is not great, 2 songs are good. “Anbe Aaruyire” sung by ARR himself is the pick of the album. The music is just ok kind, but ARR's voice is mesmerizing. The next best is “Mayilirage” by Madhusree and Naresh Iyer. It’s a beautiful melody and Naresh Iyer’s voice is awesome. As always Madhushree tortures “Tamizh” a lot.

And I watched “War of the Worlds” last weekend. It was disappointing. Steven Spielberg could have definitely done better. By the way, Tom Cruise was cute…as usual..;)

My Car!

After looking out for nearly 2 months, I finally bought my car today. Its a 1998 Nissan Sentra. All my friends used to say how good it feels when you get a car. Today I can u'stand fully well what they meant. Its definitely a great feeling. One of my favourite past time is "driving". When I was in India, my car was one of my BEST friends. I used to miss it a lot after I came to US. After nearly 3 yrs, I am back on wheels again. I really hope to enjoy every moment of it.

Interesting facts – Coffee

This post is the result of the “gamma gamma” filter coffee that I am having for the last couple of days. Thanks to my friend Priya’s Mom, I am enjoying every sip of my coffee these days. So as always, I just wanted to know more about the refreshing coffee that I enjoy every day. So here it comes,

• Coffee is the world's second most popular drink after water.
• It is consumed at the rate of 1400 million cups per day.
• We say coffee beans although they are really berries.
• A coffee tree has a lifespan of about 50 to 70 years.
• It takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity. The average yield from one tree is the equivalent of one roasted pound of coffee.
• The first coffee house in Europe opened in Venice in 1683, while coffee was available in Europe as early as 1608.
• In December 2001 Brazil produced a scented postage stamp to promote its coffee - the smell should last between 3 and 5 years.
• The second most widely used product in the world after oil.
• Goats actually discovered the coffee plant. Their shepherd noticed that they were getting very hyper; therefore, one day, he followed their every move, and found out that they were eating a strange berry that was keeping them awake all day and night.
• Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce!

Update:

• Largest producers of coffee in the world: Brazil followed by Colombia and Vietnam make up the top 3 bracket, with Brazil's coffee production contributing 35% of the world's coffee production. (Thanks Filby)
  

I am sure there are many ill effects of having coffee too. But why would I want to know about that. As long as I just have 2 cups of coffee a day. Right Mummy? ;)

Top 5 songs of the year (Jan to June)

My friend, Filbert came up with the mid year review of top 5 songs in his blog and also tagged me to come up with my Top 5 so far in this year. According to me, none of the albums released so far was a wholesome entertainer. There were just a couple of songs in each album that were good to hear. I was even beginning to worry whether those good old days have come to an end when it was very difficult to pick just 1 song from an album. Anyways, I begin my list hoping that the second part of the year is not as bad as this one.

1) Andha nal nyabagam ~ (Adhu oru kana kalam)
Music Director: Ilayaraja
Singers: Shreya Ghosal, Vijay Yesudas

This one is a neat melody from the “Maestro”. Very few songs sound appealing the first time we hear it. This one’s definitely from that category. Especially, Shreya and Vijay’s voice are mesmerizing. Vijay has done a very good job and he seems to have inherited the greatest gift from his father. Lucky him!

2) Iyengaru veetu azhage ~ (Anniyan)
Music Director: Harris Jeyaraj
Singers: Hariharan, Harini

I used to love this song before I saw the movie. “used to”?? yes, after I saw the picturization, I was greatly disappointed. That’s a different story all together. Coming back to the song, this one is a wonderful melody from HJ. The classical touch in the song along with the voices of Hariharan & Harini makes it even more enchanting. Easily the best pick of the album.

3) Athinthom ~ (Chandramukhi)
Music Director: Vidyasagar
Singer: SPB

This song is my favorite only because of SPB. The music was a good try by Vidyasagar, a classical/melody mixture. Though the music was not very great, SPB’s voice was awesome. I started liking the song from the moment I heard the first word in the song “Athinthom” in SPB’s voice. Its still ringing in my ears.

4) Konjam Konjam ~ (Arindhum Ariyamalum)
Music Director: Yuvan Shakar Raja
Singers: Kammt, Maheeva

This one is a great piece of music from YSR which was badly sung (Never heard of the singer before). I don’t know why people think it’s a style to mispronounce the words. I am not sure if it is sung that way deliberately or they just can't pronounce the words correctly. Either ways, I am sorry, it sucks. But the music was amazing. The album had a couple of other good numbers too.

5) Khajraho ~ ( Oru naal oru kanavu)
Music Director: Ilayaraja
Singers: Hariharan, Shreya Ghosal

Another good one from the “Maestro”. Though this album has several other good numbers, this one is my personal favorite. I like such little fast melodies (???). Though it was not very great at first, I started liking it on repeated hearing.

Before I end this post, I have to mention about one song. Though it is nothing great, this song is the one that I am hearing too the most these days. Its “Andankaka” from Anniyan. Sometimes I like such fast folk songs. Something to lift your spirits when you are down.

Firefly - Emergency cellphone for kids

Yup, this Firefly phone has all features like an ordinary cellphone; the only difference being, kids can call only the numbers "stored" in the phone. Upto 20 numbers can be stored in the phone (pin protected by parents), in addition to a number for MOM, a number for DAD and an emergency button to call the emergency services. Parents can also restrict the calls received on the phone to the numbers stored in the phonebook. The phone is also aesthetically designed to resemble a toy. The sounds, lights and the look & feel of the phone is sure to attract kids. Woh, a cool looking gadget with a very useful purpose.

KB - The living legend

Today is K. Balachander's 75th B'day (source) and also the first day shoot of his 101st film, "Poi". Tamil film industry is very indebted to him for introducing many great actors including “Thalaivar”. Also, how can we forget his exceptional films like “Aval oru thodarkadhai”, “Ek thuje keliye”, “Thillu Mullu”, “Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal”, “Sindu Bhairavi”, “Punngai Mannan”, “Azhagan”, “Kalki”…the list is never ending. I just feel that most of his characters were not appreciated much because they were ahead of time. If only some of his old films were released now, they would have been accepted widely. I have always admired his different approach in his films. Of course, he has also given a few disappointing movies. But as we all know, nobody is perfect.

In addition to movies, he has also directed some wonderful serials like “Kaialavu manasu”, “Anni” & “Sahana”. While most of the serials are just meant to be a total melodrama, his serials were definitely of different genre and interesting. Now, even at the age of 75, he is all set to direct his next movie. I really wish he provides us with one more of his finest movies.

My heartiest wishes to the living legend. Happy Birthday KB sir!

Yet Another “Black Day” in History

Series of blasts, many bodies of civilians scattered in the pool of blood, hundreds of innocent people hurt, thousands of near & dear ones across the world worried, analysts debating on who were responsible, Leaders from every country condemning it, a few days of mourning…

It is said that today is the "worst day" in the history of London after World War II. Every time such an act occurs, I only pray that it never happens again. As always, “Oh Lord, let this be the last inhumane act mankind has ever seen”. PEACE!

Tahquamenon Falls

Though not huge nor famous like "Niagara Falls", this one was beautiful & enchanting in its own way. One of the few places that left an everlasting image in my heart.

Anniyan – He who comes from Hell!

Yes, I finally saw the most awaited movie of the year. After so many delays in release dates, after so much hype b’coz of the money spent, after lot of speculations about the story…the one question that came to my mind immediately after seeing the movie - was Shankar’s “Anniyan” worth all that???

Well, to begin with, my only expectation from the movie was, “Will Director Shankar be able to bring out the BEST from an amazing actor like Vikram?” And I have to say that my expectation was fulfilled beyond words. Though Vikram got a “National Award” for Pithamagan, I somehow felt, that movie was not his best. Nobody could actually relate to the character of Vikram in that movie. I could see more of Bala than Vikram in that character. Well, that’s a totally a different topic of discussion.

Coming back to “Anniyan”, the story, though interesting, is not convincing. The main reason being, it is inspired from several other movies. To mention a few, the style of killing and writing a note from “Seven”, Time Slicing fight sequence from “Matrix”, MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) from “Tell me your dreams” by Sidney Sheldon and not to forget, punishing people who do not do their duty from his own “Indian”. It is very difficult to appreciate the story ignoring these inspirations.

The star cast in the movie was well chosen by the director except the female lead. I felt Sada was a total misfit in the movie. May be I am just being partial here b’coz I personally don’t like her, but I could not come up with even one scene where she did a commendable job. Vivek’s comedy was awesome and it was good to see him after a long time. Prakash Raj, as usual, delivered his job well. I felt Nasser was wasted in such a small role. Anybody cud have given the explanation for MPD, we definitely don’t need a versatile actor like Nasser for that. Another major let down was music by HJ. The songs itself were mediocre and the background score was also not worth mentioning. I definitely missed ARR-Shankar combo.

So coming back to my first question, “Anniyan” is definitely worth a watch for one factor - VIKRAM. It was Vikram all the way in the movie; from start to end, frame by frame. He has done a wonderful job as a person affected by MPD. The hospital scene and the fight sequence between him & Prakash Raj were the best of the lot. He has beautifully enacted three totally different characters, "Ambi, Remo & Anniyan", with ease. His facial expressions and voice modulation for the characters was awesome. As always, he has done his homework well for this film also. My full credits to him. To put it in simple words, “Anniyan” sans Vikram, would have been a total disaster.