Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Silver Surfer ..................................

Wanted a break Saw the Silver Surfer 2 . It was awesome. I just enjoy watching the Welsh actor that plays the main character, Ioan Gruffudd. He plays the brilliant Reed Richards, and is engaged to Sue Storm in the beginning of this movie. The character development for him is again about the dual roles he has to play. He has both a sensitive side (and tries to make all the right moves when it comes to his sweetheart (Sue's a lucky gal)), who also has a Super-nerdy side as a brave scientist-superhero good-guy (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic). He also shows some terrific awkward but cool dance moves, but he can dance! Is it me, or does his shy side make him even more handsome [cue Diana King's "Shy Guy" lyrics]? I enjoyed reminding myself of the swashbuckling, principled but mischievous character he played as Horatio Hornblower. I have trouble deciding what makes Gruffudd's characters so cool:
1.he's handsome slim, tall, and built (but shows humbleness)
2.he's got brains and he's not afraid to use it, particularly when it comes to saving the day
3.his chivalrous and witty attitude, funny even when the going gets tough
4.cool costumes and toys! Swashbuckling or superhero? everyone loves a guy with a cool ride,whether its a futuristic spaceship or a beautiful wooden boat
I think its the humor and good nature of his roles. he reminds me of my own Mr. Fantastic, so handsome, witty and kind!

So, this is quite a long post, and I've rambled too long about the leading man. 'N'eWay, I thought the movie was awesome mainly because of Mr. Fantastic, but I also liked the other characters and enjoyed watching it. The plot itself is pretty standard, but nicely acted out. The special effects were very nice, particularly the costumes (the way Johnny Storm flames up, Silver Surfer's shine, Ben Grimm's stony-physique, Sue's invisible woman). [Michael Chiklis did very well as Ben Grimm, and I enjoyed his humorous zingers, so different from his role as Vic Mackey in The Shield.] Maybe one reason I liked it sooooo much was because I expected one of those comic book hero films where the lead character is shaped by revenge and is lonely all the time. Instead, the movie was cute and romantic, even though I didn't expect that. It also reminded me some of the Incredibles. ...

In the movie Sue Storm's wonderings about a normal life are things BITS graduates think about too... I thought the movie gave me some nice perspective in that area because at BITS life is hectic and we work so much that I often wonder what a normal life would be like. but then the way it ended made me realize that I wouldn't trade what I have right now for the world, 3AM nights, hostel rooms, too much too do, too much to think about... wonderful!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

End......

I do not think a single student would ever say, “Oh, man! The semester’s ending!”
It’s more like a mad dash till the end, and then one long sigh. Okay so we have about....20 days of cdc semester left woo hoo!.The begininng of this semester started out easy and then ended up crazy and hectic! I was up all weekened writing code,doing reports and taking vivas ,i barely slept, it was insane.Thankfully last night was my last late night! Annoying. I cant wait for this semester to end.
Too many assignments ,reports , and vivas please just end!!!!!!I think professors gang up together on us to bombard us with tons of work.
However these assignments fetched busy yet satisfying moments.When all assignments are completed, you'll feel the satisfaction and relief,

Just need to get through these last few days ..........

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

yet another day !!!

Google my homepage says today is Earth Day. That we created such an occasion is the mark of human declivity. What will we think of next? Breathe In Day? Smile Day?
It makes my insides curl into a fist which rams into my conscience. We are the only fools who burn our very homes in order to progress our lives. We continuously create divisive notions in an attempt to unite people.
Do we need a conscience when we will live but once? An Earth that exist but once in my life need not concern me.....
In the mad rush to become, to live better, to achieve, to acquire, we have cleverly disguised what we desire into what is essential for living. What is the soul of living? Can it be something objective without being selfish (Dear Ms. Rand, it wasunfair that you died without waiting to engage in a debate with me)?
I doubt whether we can change this world. I would love to see a world with no armies (only internal police for managing law and order), a forest maintained for every car produced, a dozen children fed and educated for every man dying for no fault of his, no man dying for no fault of his, waters regaining their purity (and they can do it well if we simply clean up our act and not touch them).
What can happen is realising the gravity of the entire situation (or simply brush it off if you feel that melting glaciers won't reach you in your life time, so why worry?). Can we change ourselves, just our individual beautiful self? Can we first realise the ugliness of what surrounds us? Can we see the ugliness that has taken root within us, in the form of our misunderstanding of the world,I and the relationship between the world and I? Can we realise that the world doesn't need us, but we do? Can we stop giving excuses like:
Why see only the ugly things? See the beauty of technology, science? ? Can we accept responsibility for making our lives beautiful in a way that no one else would find theirs ugly because of our actions? Can we decide to give up control over this world and let the naturalorder prevail? Can we realise that it is only in our hands to make this world beautiful ? Can we realise the need to live consciously, honestly, sincerely and 'simply'?

If we can do this, do we, then, need an Earth Day?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Chatter box ....

If I ever compliment (and I would regard it as one) someone as being a wonderful chatting partner, I am, more often than not, found facing a disgruntled face with a clear question snaking down the forehead and over nose, mouth and chin.....
Me being told since my lkg ,how much can u talk hehe....
I fail to understand why conversation and the ability to engage in one, has lost its virtue :P It has become something we would all like but dislike to be recognised for or made a stellar example of it without other accompanying preferable accolades.

Conversation is an art, and it does get tiring with everyone calling everything an art, but conversation really is. Having scores of friends spread over so many cities, one observation I can make is that people do not enjoy conversation as much as they believe they do.

Conversation allows a sprinkling of small-talk, but can never stand entirely on the struts of such banter. Conversation is intellectual, sympathetic, mutually fulfilling, light and nearly always leaves the person rejuvenated (versus the feeling at the end of a 1 hour lecture). Undoubtedly the two greatest elements of conversation are: memory and a patient ear.

Listening is vital to a conversation. Conversation is not to impress others (oh! please it isn't unless in an epigamic ritual). Today we were just generally discussing about mba and then came the notion of a group-discussion (GD, as one of the rounds of elimination was called) . I find it crude and repulsive to have a bunch of people discuss a matter with the sole basis of oneupmanship. Listening requires patience and a clear realisation (I don't like the word humility) that there is always more to know and learn. And the benefit of shutting up and listening is also the tinkle of several voices to make up a human orchestra. I am culprit to interrupting a speaker (and in some cultures that is rude) but that is usually offset by the next vital need of a conversation.

A sharp memory is essential for a rewarding conversation. Not only does it help in enriching the discussion with information, observations and informed inferences, it also help in maintaining a respectable cohesion. A ruffian conversation, straying in every possible direction, can be stimulating initially but tiring after a breakpoint. A good memory also helps (and this is why my friends often excuse my interrupting) in keeping track of where conversations diverted and the train of thought that led from each fork. To be able to trace a conversation up its meander is very useful.
"Why are we discussing Miss Universe contests, when we were talking about Goa?"

"Well, D went on to talk about fishes,prawns.....when S mentioned squid hunting off the Greek coast out of the blue. I mentioned reading about reading about squid hunting in some Greek book and you asked me whether it was in a Nikos Kazantzakis one. I said no, before G mentioned the Greek eating every kind of seafood. K wanted to know whether they are the largest manufacturers of packaged seafood, when I mentioned that it was mostly the South American, Scandinavian companies and probably South Africa. D jumped in and said that South Africa did nothing but host Miss Universe contests. Then we had to discuss the beauties and S being S had to question the sense behind these contests. Voila!"

It requires great attention and a deliberate operation of continuously linking things up in order to understand where and why conversations changed direction. It helps in reminding a person who tends to pause often and ask "What was I talking about?" or "Why did I mention acrylics?". So, my usual strategy would be to quickly mention something, pertinent to what someone was saying, and then loop back with a "ok! . No one missed anything! :-)

Recently a dear friend of mine and I had this discussion about whether it makes sense to visit art with a scholarly pince-nez or enjoy it in all it before employing the mind to delve deeper into the facets and constructs of the art form instance. Neither of us convinced the other, but the discussion raged for hours over the phone and then over email. That kind of stimulating conversation (although this was more of a dialogue) is essentially lacking in most congregations.
My mom would often ask, "What are you going to get by just talking and talking?" I suppose nothing, but isn't that exactly what I want? ;-)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Lost !!!!

I realize the best part of love is the thinnest slice
And it don't count for much
but I'm not letting go
I believe there's still much to believe in

So lift your eyes if you feel you can
Reach for a star and I'll show you a plan
I figured it out
What I needed was someone to show me

You know you can't fool me
I've been loving you too long
It started so easy
You want to carry on

Lost In Love and I don't know much
Was I thinking aloud
Fell out of touch
But I'm back on my feet
Eager to be what you wanted

So lift your eyes if you feel you can
Reach for a star and I'll show you a plan
I figured it out
What I needed was someone to show me

You know you can't fool me
I've been loving you too long
It started so easy
You want to carry on

You know you can't fool me
I've been loving you too long
It started so easy
You want to carry on

Now I'm lost, lost in love, lost in love, lost in love
Now I'm lost, lost in love, lost in love, lost in love

Lost in love, lost in love, lost in love
Lost in love, lost in love, lost in love

Donno why, but this song was playing and i wrote it all down, naah.. no copy paste from a lyrics site, but typed it all out, may be coz i needed something to do. Just feeling a bit down under today.. not that it has anything to do with anything, Just one of those days, when u suddenly start missing people, places, things... when suddenly all you want to do is get on the top of the highest mountain and stand alone staring at the dark blue . Ok well, lets make it the longest desert for me being in Rajasthan , but then again i would get lost.. and then the lost in love would be replaced by really lost in desert.. A faint attempt at humour, sick joke, shows how sad i am.. Or am I?? yeah, i am... so help me my soul, to rise above......
Happens often ... u r left with nothing but those few memories u had during the phase when u were virtually close with somethings/someone . ...
People come and people go out of our lives, that is what i have been told. That is what i have read, and to a certain extent have come to believe that. But just sometimes the knowledge takes the back seat I guess n u cant help it either ....

God puts you in so many phases of life and emotions, sometimes its a roller coaster ride and sometimes, just a plain simple ride through the country, soft and easy... and the balance between all this is what your inner peace depends on. I wish i was a bit more adaptive to the changes in my life, and learn to acknowledge them as and how they happen...

hmmm.. okies, enuff of soul searching for a while, me getting back to coding hehe bas aaj ka din hai free kal se fir me on code spree :P .... Oh dear!! am so very hungry i could eat the universe, but then ..... what would i do without one?? ok idea cancel.. me going to nescafe .. so cya laterzz.. in a happy mood....

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Caution :Dont read :P

CAUTION :the conversation below can be highly boring from your perspective :D

1:12 PM Ankur: Hey M. Garg bizee ?
me: hehe hello Mr J :P
1:13 PM
Ankur: so doing what ?
me: Nothin... was jus feeling very weird ...
"u must do everything now ,tomorrow is too late, infact thought of
working constantly no longer seemz foreign or ridiculous" :O
i jus want april to vanish from my life ...

Ankur: huh !!!!!miss neha ,what happened to ur deadline logic

me: :( donno till date i really valued deadlines but now its imposed deadlines ...

Ankur: arey they are called the redlines remember :)
1:14 PM know wat the frantic pace of the redline world will instill in you a sense of panic and urgency

me: hmm may be its the impossibility of actualizing these plans which's agonizing

1:15 PM Ankur:M Garg i know your mind will continue to pour over every detail
as it seeks to anticipate every possible outcome and construct the perfect solution so tats agonizing ..

me: yeah but then it’s easy to convince yourself that the dream is there for the taking

Ankur:But understand that there are many factors you cannot control.....
:)
1:16 PM me: timing being one .

Ankur: hmm and luck being the second :)

1:17 PM me:and i know u r typin "
don’t miss the life you have in the search for the one you think
you want "
Ankur: :)
1:18 PM life is what happens while you are busy making other plans isn't it
me: but then never keep to the present..v… anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming
and were trying to hurry it up
:P
Ankur: i remember these famous lines
1:19 PM kis kisko quote karti rehti ho

me: hehe guess
:)
Ankur: koi hint dedo
1:20 PM me: kshitij ka 3rd year crush :D was talking to him abhi about crushes :P
Ankur : ohh so madam reasearching on pascal ;)
1:21 PM me: haan gen tp ,was bored ...so read about him
Ankur: hehe wasted ur time ,tell u what.. read about him
me: him kaun him
1:22 PM Ankur: Ankur :P :D
me: lolz haan haan y not ,infact have heard a lot about him
Ankur:acha through with ur symbol table stuff ?
1:23 PM me: hmm kinda ,lets leave acads apart naa...
Ankur: hehe acha ..what do u think of programmers ?
me: umm programmer is highly malleable .. smtyms it’s an algorithm you need
to develop, maybe it’s a tricky architecture problem, maybe it’s data that needs
to be modeled...
1:24 PM u can re-implementu can optimize
u can run the compile-test-debug cycle ad infinitum make a change, see a result ..
life is not like this.
Ankur: hehe
me: every action you take is followed by a commit and the transaction cannot be rolled back...
Ankur: u can continue to make changes and optimizations as u move forward but the effects
of these will not be immediately apparent
1:25 PM me: hehe the instant feedback of development is sorely lacking in real life
Ankur: hmm
me: know wat this is the frst tym i thot as a programmer's perspective
1:26 PM
Ankur: probably when i was at ur stage i too thot it likewise :)
me:hmm but me not gr8 programmer like u :)
1:27 PM Ankur: arey me not a gr8 programmer ,it calls for so much perfection
me: haan haan tats heights of modesty
Ankur:acha woh sab wat u call "lite"
me: hehehehe
1:28 PM
Ankur: madam its gonna be 1:30 soon ,do sleep on time..
roz roz night outs are injurious to health ;
me: hehe haan i'll sleep early :)
Ankur : so last 2 minutes of yours :(
me: U know what
Ankur: noooooooooooo :P

me: aaj naaa
1:29 PM
Ankur: aaj aage toh bolo

bolo naaa
neh"A"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :P
thr ?
1:30 PM me: 1:30 ho gaye ab mein jaa rahi hun ,cant ignore ur advice naa :P
me: gn sd ;)
1:31 PM
Ankur: arre batake toh jaao

1:32 PM me: ankur my eyes are closing now ,they are too strained and i cant take this screen nemore :P
Ankur: huh
1:33 PM me: :P
Ankur: oye bata rahi ho ya nahi warna i'll haunt u in dreamzz
me: hehe A naam waale have restricted access ,unka scope not defined for my dreamz so u cant enter ....

n the convrsation came to end after a few more lines ..hehe this conversation i guess i wud never forget .....