Thursday, December 13, 2007
Cyclops
So I am back to reading Clive Cussler. I am still having trouble accepting the computer that responds to verbose commands. But the hunt for the El Dorado with Dirk Pitt is simply irresistible!
Death on the Nile
Saw this 1978 film adaptation of the Christie novel. Actually I missed the first few moments of the film. So when I saw Peter Ustinov (playing Poirot) I thought he was one of the other characters. :-)
I remembered David Niven (playing Colonel Johnny Race) as the guy who makes an awkward dive seconds before the Guns of Navarone get blown to smithereens.
Oh, and it was a surprise to find old Hindi movie comedy actor I.S. Johar playing one of the Egyptian characters.
One more thing.....in the temple scene - where a boulder is pushed off a pillar almost killing Simon and Linnet Doyle - the shot of various people moving at different locations reminded me strongly of a similar scene in an old Hindi thriller "Gumnaam".
I remembered David Niven (playing Colonel Johnny Race) as the guy who makes an awkward dive seconds before the Guns of Navarone get blown to smithereens.
Oh, and it was a surprise to find old Hindi movie comedy actor I.S. Johar playing one of the Egyptian characters.
One more thing.....in the temple scene - where a boulder is pushed off a pillar almost killing Simon and Linnet Doyle - the shot of various people moving at different locations reminded me strongly of a similar scene in an old Hindi thriller "Gumnaam".
Gender bias and me
- NASSCOM TO STUDY WOMEN’S ISSUES
- HR MANAGEMENT RESISTANT TO WOMEN BEING PROMOTED: EXPERTS
- WOMEN TO CONSTITUTE 45 PERCENT OF IT WORKFORCE BY `10, SAYS NASSCOM
These were some of the news items from an office email that caught my attention. The 2nd and 3rd points sound rather contradictory, don't they? I mean why would more women want to join the workforce if they are going to be overlooked every time the promotions are announced?
What was frustrating me for past few days was that for the first time in my career I came across collagues who seemed to be gender-biased. It always happened with friends. And I have advised them to be calm and deal with it in a matured fashion.
But when it started happening to me I realized why it is not possible "to be calm and deal with it in a matured fashion". Simply because your calm is considered your weakness and your maturity goes unnoticed. To add insult to the injury, the very people who probably can't even spell the word "professionalism" have the cheek to ask you "to be a professional"!
After a while I realized that argueing will get me nothing except for high blood pressure - and possibly ulcers. About the same time a lunch with a friend passing through the city was a wake-up call. He reminded me that my health, peace of mind and personal life were far more important. I knew he was right.
Maybe I am not doing the right thing but I have decided not to lose any more sleep over it.
An old prayer comes to mind:
Oh God give me the strength to change the things that I can control
The patience to accept the things that I cannot control
And the wisdowm to know the difference between the two.
I think I just got wiser! :-)
- HR MANAGEMENT RESISTANT TO WOMEN BEING PROMOTED: EXPERTS
- WOMEN TO CONSTITUTE 45 PERCENT OF IT WORKFORCE BY `10, SAYS NASSCOM
These were some of the news items from an office email that caught my attention. The 2nd and 3rd points sound rather contradictory, don't they? I mean why would more women want to join the workforce if they are going to be overlooked every time the promotions are announced?
What was frustrating me for past few days was that for the first time in my career I came across collagues who seemed to be gender-biased. It always happened with friends. And I have advised them to be calm and deal with it in a matured fashion.
But when it started happening to me I realized why it is not possible "to be calm and deal with it in a matured fashion". Simply because your calm is considered your weakness and your maturity goes unnoticed. To add insult to the injury, the very people who probably can't even spell the word "professionalism" have the cheek to ask you "to be a professional"!
After a while I realized that argueing will get me nothing except for high blood pressure - and possibly ulcers. About the same time a lunch with a friend passing through the city was a wake-up call. He reminded me that my health, peace of mind and personal life were far more important. I knew he was right.
Maybe I am not doing the right thing but I have decided not to lose any more sleep over it.
An old prayer comes to mind:
Oh God give me the strength to change the things that I can control
The patience to accept the things that I cannot control
And the wisdowm to know the difference between the two.
I think I just got wiser! :-)
Murder on the Orient Express
I have been feeling like a movie critic already. :-) Saw this movie adaptation of the Agatha Christie book. Few of the cast members that I could recognize were Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Perkins (he is responsible for the pain caused by soapy water getting into my eyes. Just couldn't close my eyes while taking bath for a few days after watching his Psycho!).
This story got its inspiration from the incident of the Orient Express getting stuck in the snow for 5 days a few miles off Istanbul. At the time this movie was made the train was already out of operation and the shooting was completed using the coaches kept in museums.
This was also the only movie adaptation done while Agatha Christie was alive. She attended the premiere and liked the movie.
I enjoyed the movie even though I knew "who-dun-it". :-) But I didn't like Albert Finney who played Hercule Poirot - Christie's Belgian detective with an egg-shaped head who always gets annoyed on being called a Frenchman.
I think David Suchet fitted Poirot's description from Christie's books to a T - or should I say to a P!
This story got its inspiration from the incident of the Orient Express getting stuck in the snow for 5 days a few miles off Istanbul. At the time this movie was made the train was already out of operation and the shooting was completed using the coaches kept in museums.
This was also the only movie adaptation done while Agatha Christie was alive. She attended the premiere and liked the movie.
I enjoyed the movie even though I knew "who-dun-it". :-) But I didn't like Albert Finney who played Hercule Poirot - Christie's Belgian detective with an egg-shaped head who always gets annoyed on being called a Frenchman.
I think David Suchet fitted Poirot's description from Christie's books to a T - or should I say to a P!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Teri movie bhool-bhulaiya
Really feel like singing this to Priya Darshan! I continued doing "parallel processing" while watching Chak De but dropped all my work and sat glued to the screen to watch this film - because I have liked all earlier PriyaDarshan movies. However, disappointment was just around the corner waiting to hit me after intermission!
I liked the way the movie began and progressed. Maybe it was because I have read "Twisted" recently I realized who could be doing it all. But I kept on hoping that the twist would be something else. I went on hoping even after my hunch was proved right.
I think the movie drags on painfully after the culprit is revealed. Priyadarshan sounds confused about whether this is a comedy movie, a psychological thriller or an out-and-out ghost story. I had lost all interest in the movie when it finally concluded.
The songs appear as if they were added as an after-thought - however I liked most of them - right from "Teri aankhen bhool bhulaiya" and "labon ko labon se" to "Allah Haafiz".
Must say that Akshay Kumar was a surprise package of the movie for me! He alternates between being funny and being serious with ease. And his comic timing is just too good! Shiny Ahuja doesn't have much to do except for running through the vast rooms of the palace every time someone screams. Amisha Patel looks cute but acts as dumb as her debut movie "Kaho na pyaar hai". Vidya Balan looks positively frightening in her "Monjulika" awatar. I will shudder every time I see a roshogulla now :-) I wonder if Vikram Gokhale himself has a clue as to what he was doing at the end of this movie :-)
Finally, I wonder which palace was this film shot at. The place looks simply awesome! At times like this I regret not having the kings and princes around anymore in India. :-(
I liked the way the movie began and progressed. Maybe it was because I have read "Twisted" recently I realized who could be doing it all. But I kept on hoping that the twist would be something else. I went on hoping even after my hunch was proved right.
I think the movie drags on painfully after the culprit is revealed. Priyadarshan sounds confused about whether this is a comedy movie, a psychological thriller or an out-and-out ghost story. I had lost all interest in the movie when it finally concluded.
The songs appear as if they were added as an after-thought - however I liked most of them - right from "Teri aankhen bhool bhulaiya" and "labon ko labon se" to "Allah Haafiz".
Must say that Akshay Kumar was a surprise package of the movie for me! He alternates between being funny and being serious with ease. And his comic timing is just too good! Shiny Ahuja doesn't have much to do except for running through the vast rooms of the palace every time someone screams. Amisha Patel looks cute but acts as dumb as her debut movie "Kaho na pyaar hai". Vidya Balan looks positively frightening in her "Monjulika" awatar. I will shudder every time I see a roshogulla now :-) I wonder if Vikram Gokhale himself has a clue as to what he was doing at the end of this movie :-)
Finally, I wonder which palace was this film shot at. The place looks simply awesome! At times like this I regret not having the kings and princes around anymore in India. :-(
Watching Chak De
I will be definitely termed as a "Laggard" if the Rogers model for adoption and diffusions of innovations is applied to movie-watching. :-) I watched Chak De India and Bhool Bhulaiya long after the rest of the Indians watched these movies, criticized/appreciated and forgot about them.
First about Chak De. I can't say I watched the movie in its entirety. I haven't still been able to make myself tolerate Shahrukh on screen for long. So I watched it in bits and pieces while I continued finishing up some pending work at home.
But I was in for a pleasant surprise. Shahrukh wasn't Shahrukh "King" Khan in this movie - he was Kabeer Khan. :-))
The scene I loved most was the one where the girls teach a lesson to some eve-teasing idiots at McDonald's. :-) I dropped what I was doing and clapped - much to the amusement of the rest of the family :-)
And of course the scene of the Indian team winning the Championship! I kept on telling myself that it's only a movie, that we are miles away from it happening in reality.
But there is something in that saffron-white-green flag with the Ashoka Chakra in the middle that fills me up with a lot of hope,pride and confidence - we will do it one day India!
First about Chak De. I can't say I watched the movie in its entirety. I haven't still been able to make myself tolerate Shahrukh on screen for long. So I watched it in bits and pieces while I continued finishing up some pending work at home.
But I was in for a pleasant surprise. Shahrukh wasn't Shahrukh "King" Khan in this movie - he was Kabeer Khan. :-))
The scene I loved most was the one where the girls teach a lesson to some eve-teasing idiots at McDonald's. :-) I dropped what I was doing and clapped - much to the amusement of the rest of the family :-)
And of course the scene of the Indian team winning the Championship! I kept on telling myself that it's only a movie, that we are miles away from it happening in reality.
But there is something in that saffron-white-green flag with the Ashoka Chakra in the middle that fills me up with a lot of hope,pride and confidence - we will do it one day India!
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