2.23.2007

Departing from routine

Yesterday night I watched "The Departed" inspite of my body telling me to shutdown. I dint regret it even a single moment. Amazing movieyisay! A must watch.

Its a slick movie with fantastic actors. Even though the archiness of Jack Nicholson's eyebrows did irritate me a little, I could push it aside and enjoy him acting as Frank Costello. Leonardo, oh Leonardo where hath you been? Watching this guy act as Billy Costigan is like watching magic unfold. Its unpredictable and always leaves you in awe. Matt Damon could do with a little more histrionics on his face. But he has done enough justice to his role of Collin Sullivan. There is a Vera Farmiga also who plays the role of female lead and sanity (in the psychiatric sense) in this movie aka Madolyn. Whats most captivating about her is her eyes. They display an earnestness in them. Huge blue eyes. Extremely expressive. Martin Sheen as the police chief seems a little wasted in the movie but he carries the "President" regality about him. Mark Wuhlberg as the acid mouth spewing slews Dignam is a treat in a sometimes still movie.

The movie is about the Irish mafia in Boston. Before watching this movie I was not even aware of the huge Irish presence in Boston. Expect to be witness to a lot of blood and gore and brutality. A scene where Frank Costello hits with a hard shoe on Billy Costigan's broken hand left me feeling my stomach contents defying gravity! Its an intense movie with a few funny dialogues. I was sometimes thankful to the subtitles in the DVD. The editing is extremely neat and the sudddenness of the movie shocks you. The soundtrack is amazing and I might starting looking for it to use as my ringtone. Watch out for the slick Samsung flip phones featured throughout the movie.
Neat presentation Mr. Scorsese! When's your next?

2.19.2007

An Orange Monday

Well, this post has nothing to do with the colour of the kurta I am wearing today. Its a general description of my mood. Orange is vibrant, bright and adventurous and this is what I feel like today. Of all the days on a Monday you ask? Yeeeahhh but I am a little weird you know. Why? Let me see now
  • I din't sleep on the way to work
  • I came in to office before the clock struck eleven (and the mouse ran down hickory dickory dock) *just couldnt help myself there but ignore madi*
  • I was all active and awake from the time I came in to now and its nearly been 10 hours. Hick!
  • I dint break my diet by eating junk food. Even had my dosa oil-less.
  • Tried a Macchiato at Coffee Day and swore never again. Gah! It was decoction with a pretense of milk!
  • Had two fairly successful meetings. If I may say so myself
  • Missed a wedding with legitimate reasons. Yay! I dont have to dress up like a doll *feeling coy*
  • Mom-in-law just called to tell me that I should somehow come to the wedding hall even if by auto. I like the feeling of being thought about and wanted.
  • T is in the mood for accompanying me to a place that I will tell you about very soon. He is actually looking at the logistics. Yippie
  • Most of the pending work at our new home got done. Thanks to T, I would have blown my top off.
  • Will be talking to appa and amma for a good forty minutes now on my way home. Office Shuttle
  • Gotta run else I miss it. *Scoot*

2.15.2007

Moi the Chef?

Hmmmm....mmmmmmmmmmmm.....huuuh....hmmmmmmmmm
I want to share a few nice simple recipes with my memory and the rest of the world.
Did you go back and read the previous line again? LOL. I mean it, really. Sharing with my memory part. An online journal of recipes types. Of amma's thalik* and mamyar*'s adige*. I hardly remember what goes into all those concoctions conjured up in the kitchen. The first few times I made rasam I had a post-it on the fridge to take me through. Now out of habit I remember how to make rasam. But there are a few more exotic (dont start imagining shaahi paneer here) concoctions like kolamb, nalagri, kootu, morkolamb/majjigehuli etc which one doesn't make on regular days. Hence the need for an online diary which will give me an "informed" choice for lunch :)
I have done a few posts on food itself in the past but the new blog will be dedicated to not just my thoughts on the slurpy delights but also a complete Idiot's(then again who is talking about you?) guide to the cookery universe.
What got me started on this line of thought is the fact that I did not get a "Kolamb" recipe on the net. I googled for it and dint find anything so I though if someone else like me googles for it they should definitely get it at my blog and therefore I started
http://bendekayikarimb.blogspot.com/
Go ahead, take a peek, you'll like it.

PS :- *thalik in tamil = adige in kannada = cooking, mamyar = mother-in-law in tamil


PPS :- Incase anyone is wondering about the title of the food blog,
bendekayi = ladies finger/okra, karimb = curry in tamil
And its my favourite dish! Tastes best when eaten with Hot rice and rasam

2.12.2007

I am the DEVIL!

Today there is a Bundh being observed in Bangalore for the Cauvery issue. And my office has remained closed anticipating problems in getting to work. Hence I had luxurious time enough to take a quiz I found on Cheti's blog. And heeerrrrre are the resssults!




You are The Devil



Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession



The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.



Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.



What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.



Does this mean I am a slave to ambition?Or I can be? Oh my thats scary! As always I dont understand such language in which people prophesise about one. Neither am I a total believer. Just an occasional temptation to know the future brings its head up but the little corner of anxiety pushes it down fearing bad news.
What I do like about this tarot card though is its colors and the design of the devil itself. Very creative and I like the presence of so many lines.

2.08.2007

Happy Kumar


He’s a jolly good fellow
He’s a jolly good fellow
He’s a jolly good feeellowwwww
And so say all of us





What are the odds of finding a jolly good bus driver in Bangalore? Did I hear you say none? Think again. If there was a place where I could place bets on the grouchiness of bus drivers I would have made at least 200:1 kind of moolah. For now it just remains as a one off experience. A great way to start the day!
I will call him Happy Kumar in keeping with his state of mind. And he was driving a Volvo bus.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has become the first public sector city transport carrier to introduce Air Conditioned Volvo Buses. It has become one of the best ways of public transport in Bangalore today (though even the regular buses are arguably the better ones in India), even beating the Auto to a pulp. Ok my mind wont stop pestering my hand so let me give you another itsy bitsy fact – the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is the only profit making urban sector public corporation in India.
In Bangalore (as with most other places in India) most buses have one person driving and another dispensing ticket. Today due to staff shortage Happy Kumar was also giving tickets to passengers. People boarding the bus wouldn’t know that and hence would just proceed to occupy a seat. Happy Kumar had a unique way of informing them. He would sing aloud “Buy your tickets here” in English and in Kannada. The best part was that he greeted every passenger with a smile. Talk about customer service. Most call centers need to learn a lesson or two from this guy. He was on a highly stressful job (people who know about traffic congestion in Bangalore know what I am talking about) but he dint take it out on his customers. For example at every bus stop at least 20 people would climb on board. That means 20 ignorant (about the driver giving tickets) people scrambling to grab seats. Plus the Volvo itself is a fast mover. You need to be good at reflexes to drive a sensitive vehicle like that. Happy Kumar not only managed to keep the bus in perfect control but also managed to not miss out selling tickets to any of the passengers.
For once I dint sleep on the way to work and remained laughing on the bus with the rest of the strangers. Happy Kumar made us all feel like one big family.
Wish more people in the service industries were like him.
I got another reward because of Happy Kumar: People at my office told me I look wide awake today! (For those who don’t know I carry an aura of sleep around me)


2.03.2007

Uncle can you see

Uncle can you see


The fresh green leaves
And the bright blue sky
The springing red flowers
And the sprouting yellow fruits

Uncle can you see
Them both being brave
For their solace we all pray
And the third being a pillar sort
Reaching out and lending support

Uncle can you see
Her, who was your strength
Your soulmate, always at an arm's length
She is alone today in a sea of people
Straining to hear your voice even if feeble

Uncle can you see
The rest of the family knitted close
Standing by your's in their woes
But please forgive me
I wasnt there to bid adieu

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