Movies@2012

1. The Vow **
2. John Carter **
3. Vicky Donor ***
4. Shanghai ***
5. Avengers ****
6. The Amazing Spiderman ***
7. Teri Meri Kahaani ***
8. Captain America: The First Avenger ***
9. Cocktail ***
10. Dark Knight Rises ****
11. Ice Age: Continental Drift ****
12. Kya Super Kool Hain Hum **
13. The Fighter **
14. Limitless ****
15. Green Lantern *
16. Downfall ****
17. Kahaani ****
18. Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol  ****
19. Barfi ****
20. Scent Of A Woman ****
21. Goal: The Dream Begins ***
22. Pulp Fiction ****
23. Oh My God ***
24. Kung Fu Panda ****
25. Kung Fu Panda 2 ***
26. Goal II: Living The Dream **
27. Memento ****
28. Student of the Year **
29. King's Speech ****
30. Chakravyuh **
31. Jatt and Juliet ***
32. V for Vendetta ***
33. Borat **
34. Scary movie *
35. Life is Beautiful *****
36. Love Actually ***
37. Braveheart ***
38. Talaash ***
39. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II ***
40. Jab Tak Hai Jaan ****
41. Hobbit ****
42. The Perfect Storm ***
43. Prometheus ***

Rating:
* - Poor
** - Average
*** - Good
**** - Very Good
***** - Awesome

Tour to Banerghatta National Park

Its around 3:40 pm, we are waiting for the safari coach. It would be my second safari, after Jim Corbett National Park. We are currently staying in Jungle Lodges and Resorts. It is a very serene resort situated in the national park. Banerghatta national park is situated near Bangalore. We started as a group of 12 friends from Bellandur in a BMTC bus. We reached the national park around 3 pm. The park's vehicle was waiting for us at the gate. From their it took us 10 minutes to reach our cottage. We booked a dormitory, it had 16 bunk beds. After getting fresh, we had lunch. Then we, had a little photographic session. The cottages provided a nice background for photos. The wooden cottages in forest provided a really nice  view. The forest here is not that dense and the average height of trees was also around 10 ft.

Then, we went for safari. The van took us into the depths of forest. The view from there reminded me of the opening scene of Jurassic park. Mountains laden with greenery as far as you can see. The horizion blurred with layers of blue mountains and you feel that its magnum opus of nature indeed. Looks like weather is also in good mood, sky is cloudy with a cool breeze flowing. I was just gazing here and there and our vechile stops gradually. I see a black gate in front, with signs of bear safari. The area nearby is fenced, it again remind of Jurassic park movie, when those colossal gates are opened, however, the gates here were dwarf in comparison  After a short distance, we spotted black bears, in a huge group. One bear is dancing in a real cool fashion, moving his hind legs.

Then, after few minutes we saw a herd of spotted dears, really cute, furry animals. The park is actually divided into cells for various animals. Then, we moved to lion safari and then tiger safari. There, we also saw the white tiger. It was a really good experience. A tiger was even lying in the middle of road, without any fear as proving his dominance. There, was so much difference between this tiger and the one I saw in the zoo in Jaipur. The one in zoo was lean and lacking energy. This one was moving as a king, proud and pompous. There was a distinct shine in his eyes, radiating pure power. Now, I got to know, why it is the national animal of India. Then, we started to return back to our cottage, on the way we found lots of pools filled with water. One even had crocodiles in it.

While coming back I noticed that a lot of construction projects were going on, some areas were filled with cement. The park was clearly showing signs of human intervention, I think there should be no roads in such parks. These only make them more unreal, widened trails would be better. We can enjoy more, as the park will seem more realistic. I think, the more we try to meddle with nature, the more backward steps it take. As it is said 'beauty is to see, not to touch', places like this should be left as they are. After, returning, coffee and biscuits were served. Then, we started playing volleyball. We played three matches, out of that my team won 2. Then, we played little badminton after which we went on a little excursion. After, a little exploration we came back to cottage. We were just discussing what to do, when the official guy came to inform that they had organised a little camp fire. We went there and played a game of ball pass. Then, we went for dinner. Dinner was delicious.

Now, I am lying in the bed. Its around 11:30. Its cold here and its feeling cosy under the blanket. The place is having some charm, its very peaceful here. Tomorrow morning, there is a morning walk. I  am hoping, it would be great. I am going to sleep now. The next morning I wake up in chaos, everybody is running here and there, the park authorities are continually asking us to hurry as we are getting late for our morning trekking. I freshened up quickly and then went to the group. The group had three more people, they were looking professionals, with SLR cameras and shorts. We all went for trekking inside the park, where we saw deers, bisons and some birds. While trekking we came to a plateau, from where there was an awesome view of the hills surrounding it. The cool morning weather was making it scenic  We reached the camp back after around 90 minutes, where we had  gourmet  breakfast. Then, we again played a game of volleyball. After that, we were all tired and every muscle of body was in pain. 

We all took some rest and then got ready to leave the cottages. We packed our bags and went to the outskirts of park, having zoo. There we saw wild animals like cheetah. Then, we went to butterfly park. After, that nobody had even one joule of energy left. We took the bus back to Bellandur. We were all sad that we will have to go to office tomorrow. Overall it was a nice trip, we all enjoyed it. It was first  time i had stayed in cottage in a jungle. I will remember it for ever.

Friends - An Introduction

I am currently watching Friends, yeah you are right that comic show of 90's. It is my second sitcom after big bang theory and I can definitely say it seems more real. The fun started from the beginning theme song composed by Rembrandts - I'll be there for you. It is addictive and I have even made it my ringtone.

Well basically there are six main charachters Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe. The story revolves around the lives of these friends living on Manhattan. Monica and Ross are siblings.

Monica is a cook and is looking for a relationship, but is only able to have small stunts with unusual guys. She is a little hot headed and likes her home to be clean and things to be in the same order as she had placed.

Ross is a cute and simple guy who works in a museum and is in love with Rachel since high school. He was earlier married to Carol but they are separate now as she turns out to be a lesbian. They have a son named Ben.

Rachel is Monica's high school friend and shifted in her apartment after she left her fiancee just before wedding. She is now working as a waitress in Perk café. In the second season she and Ross become engaged in a relationship.

Chandler is working in a MNC and is roommate of Joey. Their room is opposite to Monica's. He usually behaves weird in front of girls and is desperate to be in a relationship.

Joey is a cool headed casanova who is struggling to be an actor. He recently got role in a TV show as a doctor. He is usually great with girls but doesn't believes in a relationships.
Phoebe is an eccentric but sexy girl who writes songs (Smelly cat) and usually performs at café with a guitar. She believes in totems, curses and aura. She usually provides her weird comments on everything.

I am currently on second season and still 8 more seasons are left. :O

Rise of America - Triumph of Freedom

I have a great respect for people who are brilliant and have achieved something. People who set aside from the common path to achieve their passion. If we talk in terms of Robert Frost, the people who chose the road less travelled. Here are two lines of his poem, depicting the sentiment.

                   I took the one less traveled by, 

              And that has made all the difference.

A nation is made up of people, it's most important natural resources. If there are ambitious people in a country having the right skills, they can even turn problems into oppurtunities. One such nation is United States of America - the land of opportunities. The land of freedom.

US came into existence on July 4, 1776 declaration of Independence was adopted. From the beginning, America was at a different path. It led to genesis of democracy, an entirely new system of governance which led the center of power to shift in hands of people. This new regime based on the foundations of equality and freedom attracted people from all over the world. Lot of people migrated to US and settled there. These people were also responsible for rise of US as these people were full of passion and energy and wanted to change.bb their lives in a new land. These people contributed a lot; even today there are very few native Americans left, most Americans are descendents of those immigrants.

It was US which gave the world consumer rights. It was US which gave the world nuclear bomb. It was US which gave us the Internet. But the recent crisis creates some doubts on its credibility. The media is filled with the predictions by all gurus.

I believe America can rebound, and it will rebound strongly.America has all the basic ingredients to rule the world. But they have lost their focus right now on trivial things.What they need is a total overhaul.

Why I am acting like a pro supporter of US? I like that nation. I believe they need to be thanked for the major technological and medical inventionsthey provided. US spends most on welfare for other countries in form of foreign aid. I am not denying the fact that they have done some hideous acts, but the benefits far outweigh the losses. We need America either this one or some other, which can act a leader in world, which motivates us daily to take our country at that level.

No country is perfect, but I believe the contributions of America will be remembered ever.

Shanghai - The Movie

Just came back from cinemax after watching Shanghai. It was a good movie, little slow but the acting was superb. Abhay Deol's magic still continued. He played the role of a bureaucrat investigating a poltical murder. The power of an IAS was clearly visible. My friends didn't liked the movie much, especially the girls. They kept complaining the whole time as they wanted to watch Rowdy Rathore.

Moreover, had a busy day in office. So, I am gonna sleep now, can't write more.

Rating: ***

Riddle Called Life

Even after 22 years, I don't know how to live this life. People say that the world is full of mysteries, but I think the most difficult challenge is life. The ultimate answer to this riddle is still not found. I just want a set of instructions that will absolutely lead to the expected results. But that is the beauty of life, there is no one concrete answer, you have to change with the situation. I mean people say be a good person. Now what is good here? In computers term, good is a variable here, that just keeps on changing. The trick lies to adapt yourself too quickly with the situation. I hope it comes with experience. How should a person live his life? Some people spend their whole life in gaining knowledge, while some live to enjoy. They don't think what will happen in future, they squander the money. I believe both the ways are correct, as like trekking a mountain, the fun is not when you reach the peak, the fun is in the journey. So, do what makes you happy, rather than trying to do  what makes others happy. I mean maybe roaming around here and there will be fun for someone, but maybe not for you. Live the life fullest according to the way you want, otherwise you will repent later. If you want to do something, which is right, but others are saying you should not, take their advice, listen to them, but do what your mind says.   People will always criticise/object your actions. Pay no heed to them, do what you want. When you are being criticised, you can be sure that you are growing up.

Randomness

I know there are somethings in this world which one can never get, but only dream, or am I wrong. Can a person do anything he wants? Is this true that determination can do anything? I believe yes and no both. It depends on the situation. Is luck really out there or everything is random. Sometimes I feel, what is random? well, if we go in its meaning, random means unplanned, a situation in which we cannot predict the next outcome. Some people relate it with luck. In computers we can generate random numbers through a simple algorithm. Just take the system time and date in numeric form and apply some long calculations on it. As the system date and time changes, the number pattern changes. Moreover, the calculations are so long that one cannot deduce the next number easily, but it is still predictable. So, what else will we call random?? Outcome of a dice? Or is there any way we can predict it? I am gonna think about that.  

Smartphone

I really want to buy a smartphone now. I am fed up with my Nokia E 63 now. Earlier it used to be a dream to have such a phone, but now that I have it, it seems like penny. The most negative point of this phone is that it is having Symbian in it. The age of Symbian has passed, now the market is ruled by either Android or iOS. Windows Mango has also entered the market now and till now its great. The major advantage carried by these two operating systems is that they have collosal app stores which enable the users to do virtually everything with their mobile phones. It makes them much more productive.  Another good feature of OS is its interface. When we compare the interface of Android with my Symbian, I really feel pathetic. These newer OS makes mobile  usage so much easier and fun.
Apart from OS, another  good reason for buying a new phone is that I will able to use internet over it. It would be like a computer which I can user anywhere, it will bring whole of the world in my pocket. I can sync my emails with it so that i can get instant notifications about work or friends. Moreover, I will have the ability to search anything. That would make the times easier when I want to know about something but I have to wait till I reach home and switch on my laptop and google about it. I can use internet on this mobile, but it is not user friendly at all. It is cumbersome process. Moreover, the phone is having a much longer response time. Therefore, it wastes a lot of time. Another thing I would like to do on my phone is reading books. My this mobile phone is also having a PDF reader, but its screen is too small. So, I need to scroll sideways again and again to read the complete line. Then, another thing is music, now that I am buying the phone I don't want to waste money on another iPOD. This phone's volume is too low. Another desired feature is good camera so that I can click good snapshots. So, now lets converge all these.
First of all OS. For OS we have following choices: - Android - iOS - Blackberry - Windows 7.5 Windows 7.5 Mango is a new attempt by Microsoft to gain the mobile OS. The interface is completely revamped to suit  touchscreen input. The homescreen is tile based. Moreover, internet explorer is very easy to use. But the app store is still far behind those of android and iOS. The major problem with iOS is that it only comes with iPhone. iPhone is really awesome smartphone. But there are few concerns regarding it. First of all its damn costly here. It will cost me around 40000 bucks to buy one. I can buy a good laptop at this price. Its money wastage to buy one. Second, the iPhone is very restricted. The Apple has designed it in keeping only themselves in mind. We cannot share files between an iPhone and some other phone through bluetooth. Third, apple is still new in India, so there are very few service stations. So, if something happens, its gonna be problematic. So, I have decided, I can buy it later, when i will have more money :). Further, blackberry is also going down nowadays. The good apps are all paid ones. And after seeing the blackberry phone of Vivek, I am not that much impressed. I think android provides everything nowadays that blackberry had. The main reasons of rise of blackberry were: BBM and Push to email service. Apps like these are now readily available in Android App Market. So, in the end I conclude, I am gonna buy an Android smartphone. The android has a new version released now recently. It is the 'Ice Cream Sandwich'. I am looking to buy this one.
Till now only a few mobile manufactureres have come up with this. But I will wait for sometime and buy this one only. One other choice is samsung galaxy s3. Its gonna launch in april. So, lets see what the future awaits.   

Some Thoughts on World in 2020

Its year 2012 and I am travelling back to home in company shuttle.  I am currently 22 years old approximately. As far can I remember the world started to change rapidly after 2000 especially India. The dot com revolution had begun galloping and the world started to become smaller and smaller.I didn't recognised the change at that time but as the time passed on  and got more and more connected to the world, I realized that the world has started picking up pace. The more i think , the more i feel the same. The technology revolution has shaken the world like never before. Never in the history of this planet has any species left such a mark on it as now. We are becoming meaner day by day. We just think about us nothing else. We are expanding cities like never before. So hows it gonna be in 2020? I don't know really. A lots of think tanks have published their predictions, but i believe its gonna be different. New areas will be discovered, beyond the realm of our imagination. 8 years is a collossal period of time.
Some people say it is gonna be a better world, some say its gonna be hell. I think both, for some it would be heaven, they would have all the comforts, while for some its gonna be more competitive to live. My dream is that there is a single government on planet, no India, no China but Earth. It won't be possible in this decade, but it is surely gonna happen in future. If this happens, its gonna be one of the greatest revolution on earth. But the consequences would be mixed.  The good thing would be that unlike today less amount of money, time and resources would be involved in wars and millitary. But on the negative side this will hurt the economy as the competitiveness will be reduced drastically.
Today, one of the major reasons behind technological improvement is the rivalry between the nations. If we move back in time, we can easily see that one of the most productive periods for world were -  During Nazi Germany and Cold War. While in the former the rivals invested a lot in research and development, it was the cold war between russia and usa which led to the space age.   So, what should be the best model for a global government which provides a central solution so that less time, money and resources are wasted in unproductive things but also maintains that spirit in people that they have to do something. That they have to become better than the other person.   The UN is a good global platform which has been a good step by the world. But it's structure, its soul is old. The world has changed a lot from its creation. So the foundations on which UN is based no longer applies to the world. The UN is just a tool of the developed economy. The creators of UN made sure that the powee lies with them always. But the world now needs a more balanced approach, a new organisation both structurally as well as fundamentally, whose main aim is for the greater good not personal motives. I hope the world moves on this way. Just imagine how much more advanced our race would be if we all 7 billion dedicate ourselves to it.
But still one major thing is left - GOAL.   A goal is a very powerful thing. It can inspire, it can motivate a man to do things, he can never imagine. A goal was the main success recipie of USA beating Russia in space race. The vision that Kennedy put into the thoughts of millions of Americans when he gave his famous speech was a master stroke that inspired them to do something which was thought impossible earlier, and it continues to inspire some people to do something which has been never done before. It was the charismatic speeches of Hitler which lead the Germany to recover so rapidly.

21 Feb 2012 : A normal day in life

Today is 21 Feb 2012, I am right now sitting in backup shuttle from office to my pg. Today's day went good, I am satisfied with my performance. I did work today. I woke up in the morning around 7:40 to the sound of door bell. I was aware that Vinod had left the home as he had to catch the shuttle for office. So, I woke up and went to door, but there was no one there. Then, i thought it is better to dress up now that I have left the bed.
Then, I remembered that I have to  wash clothes, so I went to roof and put my clothes in washing machine. The sun had risen and it was hot up there. So, I quickly dumped them in the tub and set the procedure. There, I saw the option of air turbo, I had seen it before also in other washing machines, but I had never used it. So, I selected that also. I don't know what would be the result, I have my fingers crossed. Then, i went back to room and switched on tv and set the channel to mtv. I like listening songs in the morning. It feels fresh after I listen good songs in morning. Then, I started dressing up for the day. After dressing up I went for breakfast, it was not that good. Then, I started walking to bus stop and got the shuttle to reach office. Today, too much traffic was there and further, it was aa hot day, so it was problematic to reach office today. After what seemed hours of punishment, I reached office.
In office , I did lots of work today and wrote scripts on tenders in pos. Then, there was a  conference call with onshore team today. So, I was there attending the call. Now, after all that I am sitting in shuttle. I am feeling hungry now and hope that there would be good food today at pg. But my heart knows that this hope's gonna shatter when, I reach there. After having dinner, I will watch TV for few minutes and then, check my mails. Then, I am gonna study my two novels little bit and few other articles. Then, I am gonna sleep.
Today, when I was having that con call in that meeting room, I was wondering how far I have come and how far will I go now. Let us see, what the future has for me.

Reality of Change

The only thing constant in this world is change. Change is the reality of life. Nothing is eternal in this world. i completely agree with the Darwin when he quotes : “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Change is the glue which has woven the fabric of world. Even pain occurs due to change. We feel pain as the mind tells us something is different, something is not right. Pain is just a sensation of change.

It is clear that change occurs but the most interesting thing about change is its timing. It just happens at the time when we least expect it to occur. That's why it hurts a lot. We don't expect it and lower our defenses and that is the time when the change strikes. So what can we do about it? Nothing. The only thing we can do is to embrace it and accept it as a bitter part of life. God has gifted us with cure named 'Adaptation'. But it needs practice, patience and self control. 

After some time we will develop the ability to adapt and face the change head on. Then only we can hope to live successfully because change is everywhere, everything and for everyone.