Must Watch

Out of the three movies i watched this weekend:

1. Gajini: Mementos minus the subtle acting that keeps the movie pacy plus lots of bollywood drama and overkill +really bad songs + haryanawi accent to accentuate the bad elements in desh

Star Rating: 2/5 just for the nice romantic angle to it

2. Outsourced: A Must watch..really..its got our bourne identity side hero and a whole lot of american- indian humour..its really a fun watch and very well directed, though Ayesha Dharker is a little over the top and acts more american than indian from a village, but you got to give her that since she is trying to relate to an essentially ABCD audience.

Star Rating: 4/5 for e fresh plot and glorification of our eccentricties as a nation

3. Made of Honour: A really funny movie, good performances and nice scenic beauty of Scotland adds to this oft repeat oft cliched storyline. But its the protagonist who takes the cake with others following his cues ... the only incongrous bit being it turns a little bigot-ish for the scottish or others looking to integrate themselevs with the foreign women...but no one asked you to analyse below the glass surface...its all in goood humour..

Star Rating: 3.5/5 for the good laugh and entertainment

Book Review: Tales of Beedle the Bard

Someone please tel Ms. Rowling that its one to simplify LOR trilogy, its quite another to pretend to be Enid Blyton! For heavensake, why does this book seem so inadequate and overflowing with all sorts of confused messages.

The whole big 9.75 USd worth book (its going at a 25% discount currently and if it weren't for the author's earlier good karma it wud be retailing for free) is like giving candy to e very hungry starving kid. First the movie gets postponed ( was it to ensure a steady stream of revenues -first from the books then from the movies? Who knows? who cares? we poor readers are just left high and dry), and then we get to read THIS!

Save your souls and skip the book.

Desh revisited

Oh, and to think the festival of lights is just two days away!

So well, I kind of got my wish- in a weird way though- if I can’t go back home- home came to me.
For the past 4 hours we have had a blackout in the apartment complex I live in. Yessir, just like the good old times. There was a storm predicated, it rained too, and yessir there was the familiar sound of the transformer going bust..err..bursting ( Do they even HAVE transformers here or do they just use some computerized stuff to generate and distribute electricity).Well whatever it was- it went like BOOM! And there they was none-I mean no electricity.

I was thrilled- of course- when temp is neither sub zero, nor above 25, one can afford to be thrilled. The big difference was that within minutes of this occurrence there were 2 fire brigade trucks- (the only place I saw them bck home is parked at the station or on TV arriving to douse fire which has spurred way out of control) with red light blinking and imp looking people carrying torches. Not that they managed to do much. Its 10 p.m and there still no electricity. We have three aroma candles which should last us for the night. We are well stocked and hubby is already in phase 4 of sleep.

I think this situation is more comforting for a person who spent a large part of her teens and grown up life with more than 4 hours of power cuts a day. Feels just like home. Even the generator is running for the elevators and common areas. I am more active than I have ever been here- I have thus far cleaned up half the house, put my shopping away in the proper place, listened to my fav songs on the Ipod, managed to write a piece and watch my fav show on a Netflix CD that came in today. Mighty achievement in just 4 hours. Imagine my productivity if we don’t get electricity back for a whole week.

Return of the king...

At the possibility of creating a CR infringment and stuff like that, I still brave on, for what else is an apt title for this blogpost, braving adversity and change to create itself from the current nothingness or need of either the creator or reader to warrant its presence.
To break the month long slumber of this blog, it braves on, muscle and sword in hand to yet establish a connection between the different factions that created it, gave it life, blood, only to abandon it in times of full frolic work responsibilities, hardships and all that kind of stuff.
Before the onset of yet another harsh american winter full of suprises, market crashes, chori, dakayti, births, rebirths, autumn falls, house shifts, cartons unpacking, cramping urself in 748 sft of urban illusion of space, before all this came the summer.
Having discovered the tastes of varies foodstuffs like pancakes, shrimps, fishes, chicken, pastas, crabs, lobsters, waffles, and all else foreign and forgotten, my taste buds suddenly started longing for home food. Home smells, flavours, places, everything "home". Friend of mine asked an interesting question- 026 where are thy abode? Whr is your home? MN, WI, NJ, CT, UP, AP, RJ....BBSN...CAL...
Silly question. Of Course home is where the heart is...or whr u have spent yor childhood.It a trite question for me.Could be interesting to ask 021 this question- one who never stayed in one place for more than 5 yrs.In all probability he is gonna say CA.Good for him.
So well almost 11 yrs out of "home" this nostalgia makes me irritated more than sick...how can it be...whatever happened to mans adaptibility and stuff....why do i miss vegetarian food....why cant i get kadhi chawal out of my head...why do i want to wake up in carpet waala room, with sun shining on my face...and no electricity at home...why do i think of lighting and thunder and rains pouring on the red bricks lining the lawn....i d not even think of just the wonderful times like holi diwali...even the time i had chicken pox and typhoid and lay in bed the whole day comes to me with a sweet longing smell....
So i wait...
Wait for the return...its said the thought and emotion is stronger than what one actually feels when one achieves something he has been longing for....I feel like I am in the forst semester of my hostel again....
And that feeling my friend is worth a thousand lives...for what follows was jst fun and frolic!!

Need a break?

People need a break from all kinds of activities. Some need a break from break, some need it from relatives, friends, moms, places, things, scenary, movies.I need a break from break.

Ok let me explain that.

Since my coming to the land of golden opportunities, I have been on a perpetual break. Break from husband( that actually started before i came here), break from work, break from family, break from Minneapolis, now break from Wisconsin, break from friends....

You would say thats not break..thats change..change in the current situation in life. Sematically i would like to argue. Change is permanent. Break is not. Simple.

So well now i am having a break in communication from the outside world. The reason I still choose to do the expressively futile activity of blogging without getting and sign of life in return is the hope that like Jadoo or its earlier version E.T maybe somewhere out there is listening and would help me get a break from this break.

ooooooooommmmmmmmmm

ahmazing

its amazing how one can get used to not voicing what he feels inside.That happens to one as vociferous as me only when I am not sure of what and how i feel inside.

Its been two full months since the time I last wrote. So you can either assume I was too busy and preoccupied with other things in life or you can assume that I didnt want to communicate.

Communication has a way of backfiring at me.I communicate and usually it has dire consequences.

Like today.I wish i had kept my trap shut.

So anyways, people who have been to midwest should know what I am talking about what I mention the Lambeau field.Its the single most impressive places in the city of green bay.Its the home turf of the Packers and in one singular visit I learnt more about american football than i could ever have by looking at the net and at the game itself. i wish we indians, apparently a cricket obsessed nation could have such a place in our homeland- a true dedication to the game and the players who made it famous and passionate.

If wishes were horses.

I am now a convert, Go Pack go!

i wish we could see a game played on the beautiful green field once...

My sister's (A)Effect

Last night I am cooking a quick meal. Rajma chawal is the leftover from y'day. Hubby is asleep.I decide to spruce up things a bit- i meant menu wise. I keep these delicious looking fries in the oven for baking.

"Lets eat maggi meanwhile.i can keep an eye on the oven.."

Maggi gets cooked. Maggi is consumed standing up on the kitchen shelf with one eye on the oven.

There is this awesoe documentary about chinese clothes shops...do they make GAP there too? Lemme watch this.

Hubby is still asleep..

Programme is good...they say that in the time we watched the documentary 20 children in china made 35 pair of jeans and got paid 95 cents for them. Moral Dilemma- to buy or not to buy Made in China ? Grey cells go off...

Hubby wakes up to strange smells...

"is all well? This place looks as if there is smoke in it...

Hey nothing, you are just sleepy..go off...do you need any food ? No? Good, sleep off.."

So if I buy those jeans, I am supporting the greedy factory manager and giving all profits to him ...if i dont buy..I wonder where will the Chinese girl get her next meal from?...

This place is kind of smoky...something is burning...is it..oh..can it be those fries......

FRIES...my beautiful lovely perfectly shaped fries are now pieces of black charcoal.

I think she has passed on her jinx to me.

May Cold Winds, Ironman et al

I sometimes wonder if I have repeated the titles.So I write about what I am going to write about in the title.I also observed that I types as fast as I speak and since I don't know typing it really creates a lot of typos when i type fast - and If i dont, I lose track of what I was thinking...See that typo came, slowed me down and now i forgot where I was...

The title helps...

Can you imagine being cold in May- May the month of heat, starting of summer holidays, ACs back home...we are in May and the heating is on...it was raining for hours yday and today when Mr Sun finally found the time to show its face, it came along with Mr Wind going on at 20 mph..dont ask me what it did to me...

Freidns ask how is it here- are you liking it or not- i wish i could sometimes just listen and walk away- like they do when they visit my blog- read and walk away..come on people- feedback is always welcome- bad or good..at least i would know people read the crap i write...

Watched Ironman today..not bad..paltrow did a good job..who is the ugly hero anyways..but if he is an MIT grad, I am certainly not putting him down on the must watch list...which makes me think - are all genuises made of the same DNA- he reminds me of some of the intellectuals I have met in Life...is DNA(by which i mean behaviou, motivations, mannerisms) of all these guys eventually == Flirts, highly egoistics (dont blame them for it though), Driven , Geeky, Weird, Bad at any sorts of Filial Relationships...??

And you thought i would say it was an awesum fun movie ? what with eating a four dollar hot dog?!

More later...too late at nite...

Ciao.

@Public Library

After much ado ....and for the sheer curiosity of it- I finally reached the Minneapolis Public Library. I think what compelled me to do this was the fact that "working from home" really doesn't help if you are holed up inside a 1 BHK and specially not when its supremely messy...

Do not ask me why did I not think of this earlier, but as someone said- Adversity is the harbinger of change- so after hearing one too many digs about how working from home means housework and people giving a small grin when I told them i actually work, to hubby laughing at my measely paycheck..i decided to take my future in my own hands...

Which means....I am now joining the thinking, working, doing population of the United States of America for which you need to step out, get dressed and sit with a laptop amidst people with similar goals.

About if this move helps me get my grey cells working faster than sitting on a sofa with a laptop curled up on my lap struggling to read and type..is still a matter of debate.

I shall keep you posted dear readers.

Till then,
syonara

Success at last!

Inspired by my sister, I finally succeeded in migrating some of my older posts from a previous blog to this one...if only blogspot had a functionality that could enable that transition with ease...it would have been quite an achievement..i spent a good hour migrating just about 1% of my total blog history!

But people, I have arrived finally, sans the guilt of putting the URL of a private, undercover, group website...

Yo!

Forgetting

Ok I know I already got my share of webspace for today.. what if we all eventually get alzheimer's disease one day...we all forget what we experieced, thought or who we were....?? would a blog help us in remebering it all... If it does..then I must write everything.....everything i will want to remember...quite a task....

Sightseeing

Well, the result of being in US for a short time, you want to see everything, fill up your senses with what is the "feel" of this country and more importantlt be able to go back with a sense of satisfaction of having truly sensed the soul of this big huge nation... To give my fellow bloggers a feel of what I did in the past few weeks to make up for this:


1. Stillwater (St. Croix lake): You can find some nice pics in this website http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Minnesota/Minneapolis-813712/Off_the_Beaten_Path-Minneapolis-STILLWATER-BR-1.html http://www.city-data.com/city/Stillwater-Minnesota.html

Essentially a small quaint town with proximity to the river..the old sad part is we visited it in peak winters when all you see is the frozen river...but yes..we DID visit it!

021 would be happy to note that there are just too many vineyards and wine tasting places along the valley of St. Croix

2. Stockholm: No, its not the European capital city (well it is) but the one i am mentioning here is in Minnesota, no Wisconsin..actually its on the border of both the states...its an absoulte stunning place and has these amazing shops in which you can buy antiques, gifts, books, tea local to the tastes.

We had never seen more harley davidsons in one place before this...I would recommend this for any visitor to the state/city

3.Mystic Lake Casino: The low point of the site seeing: All is has is slot machines, gambler, hopeful (greedy?) people..sitting and wasting themselves and their money...the route is also not too exciting and i am happy i never have to visit it again

4. St. Paul: This is the capital of Minnesota State and has lovely roads, parks and places to visit. I just went there to see Marcie and Peppermint Patty's statues...I will go there once more to see Snoppy and woodstock!

This town is the birthplace of one of my fav cartoonists- Charles Schulz the creator or Peanuts...and the statues in the town have been dedicated to him...Capitol, Cathedral of St. Paul and the cobble stoned Rice Street show add to the grandeur of this city.

5. The Science Muesem at St. Paul. Dinosaurs, Activity Centre, Animation Centre, A real Mummy..3D movie about the Alps...what else do you need on a sleepy Sunday Afternoon...

6. Lake Calhoun and Calhoun Square: Yes I seem to have visited more than one lake but yes- this one takes the cake for its proximity to Minneapolis uptown...and the nice jogging path it has alongside it..the lake is still frozen but am sure the area would be breathtaking once summers come (when?)!

7. Lake of Isles and the Parkaway: OMIGOD...this IS the place where the Rich and Famous..and yes..they live in palatial houses to show for it..the road is terrible at the moment..but hopefully should be repaired soon...what a drive THAT would be! I shall return soon with Part 2 of this continuous journey in minneapolis... Stay warm!

Talking of composite houses

Think the whole of amru land is made up of just that...

Pieces, pieces and more pieces. I think by the time I leave I would have my brains full of assembly instructions for all arbit things- table, rack, more tables, more racks, sofas, utensils, bed, matress, pillow, covers, toilet seats, tissue papers...i guess you got the general idea.

I recently got a Huge lego set as a Gift (no I just teeny weeny Forced my hubby)..which has 2400 peices for assembling.Now I regret the decision- after having bought a TV stand which has equal number of pieces with elaborate assembly instructions.

Now you would ask me why am I sitting here blogging when I have a sexy new, newest (latest in the stores we were told) HDTV 37"? Why? Silly, the table hasn't been assembled yet...

..becasue unlike Lego pieces these ones weight about 20 kgs each.... I love India- I love Indian carpenters.I am gonna cook food for them everytime they come and do assembly work at home. (Thinking about that, how great it would be if we could outsource carpentry to India!hmmmm...)

Now comes a better one- the reason why TV prices have been going down I have been told is because the manufacturers are cutting down on labour intensive activities like "calibrating the TV set" which for "only$250 more we could do for you:---Are you out of your mind? Thats ow much a TV in India costs me...so well interestingly this is all that calibrating a TV does for me as a customer and for everyone bothered about the enviornment -http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1765771&type=story

But yeah, we cheapos didn't get ours calibrated or castrated or whatever else nonsense they do for the purpose of cost cutting (the articles doesnt mention its a cost cutting intiative, but the Best Buy guy did). So well, we evil guys down here will watch our Blaringly bright TV without shame- that is once the TV table is assembled.

The second month in amru land

So I survived the first month...through numerous slumbers, phone calls, gtalk conversations, grocery shopping and getting used to the awful cold..

I think i will be 200 pounds by the time i leave from this country.

I just hope the above doesnt come true please deliver us from evil (aroma of cakes, ice creams, packed food, lazy winters, jumbo cokes, jumbo everything, cheap junk food).

Amen.

Animation movies

The greatest achievement in being vella is that I watched all (almost, well no one is testing for accuracy here!) the latest animation movies...the simpsons, ratataoiulle(watever, dunno dont care about the spelling, never did), futurenama, meet the robinsons, the bee, cindrella (ok dont kill me for it), happy feet (very long movie with a pathetic ending), about all the possible chip and dale cartoons uploaded on you tube......

Hello? Am i losing the audience? Well, sigh...i should make an animation feature on this one.

One Week completed..

..In Uncle Sam's land.. I seem to have visited a decent number of places for a first time visitor- Walmart, Target store (3 times), Macy's, Patel's, and of course the fitness center!

I miss paapad...sigh.. I absolutely am amazed by the number of people in the gym- i have never seen so many people together in one place in the whole of minneapolis downtown!

So well, that is to say that unlike what most of us think- everyone in amreeca is not fat and obese (which gives me less company than i thought i would have!). I do not miss office at all..which is strange considering that 90% of my life in Hyd was spent in the office (or maybe thats why i dont miss it!)

I have already started liking the cold..and am experimenting with doing with fewer layers each time i use the skyway... I miss reading do rupaiya ka newspaper- the newspapers that come here for free are so crappy-they are worse than dainik jagran...and the normal ones at like $1.75 to $2...hardly worth it..besides no one delivers newspapers at the apartment which is totally insane! or maybe i will have to hunt around a bit for that..

Baaki, I am overall a little awed and amazed at this country- its got so much and thats becoz they have a govt which functions...i really dont know if i will be as proud an Indian when I return as when I came back!

EMC's Country

Ok here goes what I have been trying to put in since quite a long time:

First the positives- What I like about America or rather minneapolis:

1. Hershey's chocolate bars...I have been dying to have them!
2. very friendly and professional people...at least on the face of it
3. Heated houses.
4. Clean environment
5.Beautiful stationery and gift wrapping
6. The snow!
7. Super fast internet
8. drink from tap
9. Cheap Electronics
10. The mississippi
11. HEated Skywalks
12. Big book stores
13. Post offices looking like muesems

And things I am not fond of here..

1. 1.75 dollars for laundry per load, 1.75 for drying additional
2. $15 from walmart by cab
3. Sub zero temperatures
4. Bitter tasting water
5. Bulk sized packs for junk food
6. Shyam sunder
7. chinkies smelling of soya sauce
8. windchills
9. Everything is free, though installation, maintenance, taxes etc are all charged
10. $25 for home delivery for a $17 dollar cake
11. Incoming charges on the phone
12. Continental Airlines ki service in economy class