parent trap

it's one of my favorite movies... its not my fav bcoz its the funniest, cleverest, wittiest movie.. it doesn't excel exceedingly in its genre... but IMHO the most rewatchable movie.. this one gives me a warm feeling everytime i see it.. may be i always wished for a twin sister i would find somewhere who would make my boring childhood eventful.. :))

i guess another rewatchable movie released in 2010 was How to train your dragon..

my fair lady (1964)

was pretty good.. i've seen Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' before this and though this movie had come before and I was surprised to hear her cockney accent! she did a pretty good job.. The guy playing Henry Higgins on the other hand just plain got on my nerves.. the movie description says that he's a misogynistic professor.. but i wasn't ready for all his rudeness! we who were watching it wanted to throttle his neck! :))

heard the familiar song 'all i want is a room somewhere'.. they made the brittania marie jingle with it - 'all is want is english marie.. oh so english the real marie.. isn't it loverly?'..

didn't really show how much higgins was dependent on eliza.. don't know what happened to the poor guy who lost his heart to eliza.. but on the whole i liked it..

musical movies - part 4

watched 2 more recently.. and i have to say that one changed the scale by which i rate all musicals! The Sound of Music! It was freakin' awesome! The songs were all brilliant and I loved the story. I've heard a lot about it from friends but sadly only got to watch it now. It has now replaced 'Singin' in the Rain' at the top of my best musicals list..

and the other one i saw was 'love me tonight'.. from the description i thought it would be funny but it wasn't really.. dukes, countesses, viscounts, squandering nephews, impostors in the castle, unsuitable matches.. the story could be right out of a Wodehouse book! only difference is this is based in some village in France instead of Shropshire, England. most of the movie i spent in observing the life of the peerage.. the music was not bad.. i loved the starting bit where the sights and sounds of Paris were all blended in to a symphony.. :) a typical love story of two people not of the same class.. and i have to say this for the old movies.. boy! did it take very little to fall in love those days! :))

ROFL! ROFL!

still LOLing for Barney's Christmas message!
not for what he said but how he said it.. i was expecting a regular christmas message and the shock of it was too much!

movie time - part 5

saw beauty and the beast the next musical movie on my list.. it was not bad.. the only fault in the storyline i could find was that they didn't give much time for the beauty and the beast to get to know each other..

why do all the fairy tales have stories where a prince usually saves a very beautiful princess (for ex. sleeping beauty, rapunzel) whereas a girl is always supposed to a save an ugly prince (for ex. 'beauty and the beast', 'princess and the frog').. i didn't notice this trend in old fairy tales until now.. maybe even then they knew that only girls can be expected to see beyond the surface and really observe the inner beauty of people.. :)

movie time - part 4

A Night at the Opera
Found it really funny! the crowded cabin in the ship bit, moving the beds in the apartment bit, converting the opera to a baseball game.. it was all fun.. the silent guy in the movie (harpo marx i think) was the funniest! i think the marx brothers type of comedy has to grow on you.. so would recommend watching 'duck soup' before this one.. also i think this would be more fun while watching it with a group..

chevy spark

i saw the tail light of chevy spark recently.. it looked brilliant! i'm not able to see a good picture of it with the lights on.. until a few days back, i thought the tail light was made of LEDs.. but sadly found out that its regular bulb inside with strategic etches on the silver plating surrounding it.. really sad... LEDs would have looked much better..

movie time - part 3

was watching movie musicals recently.. in India all movies are musicals.. but only some are musicals in English.. my all-time favorite, as I might or might not have mentioned, is 'Singin' in the rain'.. very upbeat and fun.. a few years back in Chicago i went to a musical performance and got hooked to live performances too.. some of the plays i saw were 'Grease', 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Raincoat' and 'Cabaret'. I loved 'Joseph'!! very funny and innovative.. loved all the songs.. got sooo hooked that i bought the entire album cd from amazon a few days after i saw the show! i don't know why some people criticize Andrew Lloyd Weber's musicals..

well anyway getting back to the point.. saw some musical movies over the past few days.. have already seen 'Singin' in the Rain' lotsa times and 'Wizard of Oz' on tv many times too.. i saw 'Lion King' (which i've seen before).. it was god as usual.. then i saw this Marx brothers movie 'Duck Soup'.. it was funny, but was too slapstick for me most times.. loved the mirror scene! was ROFLing.. i've seen the mirror scene copied soo many times in cartoons but never as funny as this!

will be seeing more of these still..

returning to origins

when i was younger i used to think that i would not do some things (actions, deeds - whatever you may call them) when i became older and more matured in my thinking.. because i thought some of my (then) current actions were immature... but when i became older i realized that i did the same things and the only difference was i knew exactly why i was doing them.. its hard to explain with a specific example but hope that this makes sense..

when i was younger my habits and beliefs were of one kind.. when i became older i discarded them as immature and changed to a method that made more sense to me.. and later now i see no fault in the things i was doing in the first place but much the wiser for my experience...

i guess i'm rambling - but i'm reading this book 'Eat Pray Love' and every time i read some of the author's observations that i can completely relate to it gets me thinking in these terms..

bewitched quote

Endora says: "the ability to forget is very important to you mortals. you do so many stupid things, a perfect memory would be impossible to live with." do i agree with her or what?!!

apart from the mistakes i do being my own biggest critic sucks bigggg time! not only do those mistakes remain in my memory, they are magnified ten times by my critical mind!

i wish

i could freeze the time when i was reading 'famous five's and 'secret seven's! that would be like 3rd std.. or even 'nancy drew's, 'hardy boy's or 'the three investigators'.. that would be 5th i think... yesterday i passed an old book shop and when i looked in i saw these books and it was kind of nostalgic.. its hard to work up an enthusiasm for those books now but i think i'd like to collect them just for fun..

comparison

on observing the BBT episodes I feel whenever Bill Prady steps in to write the story its a lot more technical (and fun for me) than when Chuck tries to.. the dumb storyline can be credited to Mr. Lorre i suppose.. i guess then in 2.5 men Chuck dictates the entire story and Bill discovers big 'tough' words for the chiropractor guy to utter! brain without sense isn't worth anything..

The taking of Pelham 123

was pretty lame! a halfhearted attempt by the director and a very weak storyline..

Why do we watch TV shows?

The whole reason you watch a TV show is because it ends. If I wanted a long boring story with no point to it, I have my life. LOL!

ROFL!

i grew up here.. i speak conductor!!

prayer

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

Mayim Bialik is back in business

when i saw the 2nd episode (of BBT season 4) i thought for a moment that the 'Amy' character was not going to continue. but in the 3rd episode she was back with a bang! and i liked the episode too because they mostly talk of social interactions (which i can relate to) and i liked the part about the neuroscience perspective dominating the scientific one.. and after all Mayim has a PhD in neuroscience (in real life). so it was cool..

and its weird that in an earlier season in the episode where they form teams to win the Physics quiz trophy, Raj suggests that they recruit the 'girl from Blossom' who apparently had a PhD in neuroscience.. :D

SP - Cartman - 1

got reminded of this episode where Cartman says "It's not going to be easy. But nothing worth having ever is"

drinking water on an empty stomach

i've been trying to find some proof that the claims made for this are true and i've been so far unsuccessful.. i saw the same baseless article about drinking water after you wake up (without even brushing your teeth!) about some japanese formulation and its supposed to cure every illness in the world including cancer!! totally stupid how people will include anything on their blog without proof..

Mayoclinic has a nice article about water and its benefits (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283) but it mentions nothing about drinking it on an empty stomach. I wish people would stop to think before they follow any practice..

ridiculouser and ridiculouser

BBT season 4..
but liked the fact that they cast that Blossom (tv show) girl (now a lady) as Sheldon's girl friend.. as a girl she acted well though.. in s4e1 of bbt i thought she was talking like a robot..

oil pulling

doesn't seem to have a lot of scientific evidence supporting its alleged benefits.. only accepted benefit is that it prevents plaque probably because of a saponification process.. but that's what using a toothpaste does too.. its really weird how much faith people have in this process with absolutely no proof

animation...

i like 'star trek - the animated series' much more than 'star trek - the original series'! i mean in the tv show with william shatner it's all about showing how macho he is, how he charms women and all that rot.. women seem to be powerless characters b4 him! absolute nonsense! and the story drags on without too many technical or philosophical turns in the story... they tried to tailor it for the layman i suppose..

traffic...

how can people pull up sooo close to other vehicles till the point where they are not able to see that vehicle's tail lights and still complain that the vehicle going before them gave no warning of stopping??

order of the phoenix...

i have been watching the harry potter movies again and i have to say that i found order of the phoenix movie (the 5th) to be an almost accurate adaptation of the book.. sure it wasn't exactly as it was in the book.. but once u get used to the idea that they cannot enact the entire sequence of events given the limited time and that conveying the essence of the information is the most important thing here - it was superb...

they have stripped the book of extraneous or repetitive details and only specified that which is most essential.. i couldn't ask for a better adaptation - and i'm an avid reader of the books myself..

i really didn't know if its the screenplay or direction, but i'm more inclined to believe its the former..

then when i watched the half-blood prince i was astounded! the screenplay writer was not the same but the director was! what a difference some good direction can make.. i'm really glad that the same guy (David Yates) is directing the deathly hallows movies too! :)

though why Mr. Weasley had to say (in HP6 movie) that the vanishing cabinets "were all the rage" when Voldemort was at his peak power.. i mean why would a magic object that all wizards use be in a dark arts shop like Borgin and Burke? that piece was inaccurate and i don't know how Rowling accepted this..

world of goo...

is brilliant!!!! amazing! awesome physics simulation game...
finished 2 chapters with about 10-12 levels each.. very very innovative..

another one from hp...

chamber of secrets.. always liked this one..

“It only put me in Gryffindor,” said Harry in a defeated voice,
“because I asked not to go in Slytherin. . . .”
“Exactly,” said Dumbledore, beaming once more. “Which makes
you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that
show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

i thought...

the marauder's map was supposed to work only when harry was inside the school grounds.. then i realized i was thinking of it like a GPS! :D

harry potter...

i've mentioned before on this blog about how i follow the harry potter books.. and how much i like them.. in each book something stands out (it mostly happens to be something that wise ol' dumbledore says).. and i remember it for what seems like ever..

for example, one friend was talking to me about thrill rides and what it was about them that scared people.. i said that it was probably 'the unknown'.. and then i quoted a line from one of the HP books.. "fear of death and fear of dark are nothing but fears of the unknown".. i might be rephrasing it a little bit - i forgot the actual words.. and i feel that's true.. imagine if you completely knew what was going to happen it wouldn't be that scary anymore.. thrill rides add new twists and turns that keep us guessing, any new experience scares us at first..

another one i came across just now when i was the HP1 book again.. this line always rang true to me each time i read this book (like 7 or 8 times i guess)..

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the
next great adventure." :)

nexus..

'the man from earth' movie could've been inspired by the 'requiem for methuselah' episode of star trek TOS...

life is like linux...

was a hectic day @ work when this hit me.. :D
life = linux coz it doesn't come with a (good) manual, you struggle to comprehend it and at times feel hopeless and just wanna give up, and then sometimes suddenly everything makes sense! LOL!

bigg confusion..

don't know whether to watch the tamil 'ravanan' or the hindi 'raavan'! :D
heard vikram's acting is really good in tamil, but i like abhishek bachchan better.. :D

in google reader....

what does it mean when people like a news feed? does it mean that they like the way the reporter put it or does it mean they like the news?
i ask this because in comic feeds and other places where creativity is involved, people like it because they appreciate the creativity.. confusing..

geeks n nerds

that xkcd cartoon abt geeks and nerds is funny.. i always am particular what they call whom.. i think i'm more of a geek than a nerd.. but well its a matter of opinion..

its really weird though that i like the geeks in most tv shows... bob saget in full house, jim parsons (sheldon cooper) in BBT, monica & chandler in friends..

But dude! He's got Heather!

LOL!
south park has some gross and weird stuff.. but i always try to look beyond all that and see the point they are trying to make with every episode..
the title of this post is from one of the episodes in Aspen.. the kids' parents are stuck in a timeshare presentation while the boys try to ski on the bunny slope.. stan gets pulled in to this weird but typical storyline of most movies.. where he has to ski race against this tough pro skier.. initially stan doesn't care and he's like 'whatever dude'... then he gets involved without really a reason!
stan: but dude.. he's got heather!
kyle: dude! u don't even know heather!
or something like that.. LOL!

i like to see analogies in most things.. and i felt that this was a kind of thing that happens to all of us.. we observe things and events happening in our life and we initially don't really care.. then somehow (stupidly) we get involved in all this worldly stuff and laugh and cry with it! weird and funny.. :)

what goes around comes around?

i don't believe in karma... i sure wish i did..
somebody suffering for the wrong they did to u would sure be sweet.. :D
but u probably shouldn't do the right thing just because you feel you would be punished otherwise..

chicken and egg... part 1

there are many things we see in life where we don't see the causality of something.. take this thing i observed a year back for example..
i noticed that most guys who drive convertibles are bald.. are they bald because they spent most of their youth stressed out earning their convertible? or are they bald because born rich they spent too much time driving the convertible with the top down? and if its the former then isn't that ironic? :D
the point i got from this was to be happy with whatever we have at the moment..

aspirations...

was watching old episodes of the BBT and was thinking of how well I could understand and in some cases relate to Sheldon Cooper... was thinking i could work as a geek therapist! LOL!

OMG!

i cant believe they made a spoof of SP in BMW! oh my god they killed kenny! ROFL!!
awesome one the episode was..
also liked the one where the microwave malfunctions and cory is transported to somewhere else.. and a few more with bits here and there.. nice TP..

movie time - part 2

watched 'Sherlock Holmes' played by Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.. it can only be described as a travesty of the original image of Sherlock Holmes... Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have turned over in his grave.. it was absolutely despicable..

i have nothing against the actors - robert downey is pretty good, as is jude law.. i have nothing against the direction and portrayal of tense situations.. i would have watched this movie happily and even appreciated the suspense were it the movie of a completely new fictional character who the movie writer just made up...

but unfortunately this is not true.. they are trying to portray Sherlock Holmes! and i have this indelible image of him.. have read all the books and have the complete anthology back home in India.. have read those books as a kid and completely cherish them..

Sherlock Holmes - he is not a man of action - he can fight if he needs to but not crassly like in the movie - every chance he gets.. he makes brilliant deductions and only describes the conclusions.. and gives the details behind it only if he is asked to.. he does experiments on many things but only when he needs to.. he is not described as extremely dirty is any of the books..

the movie makes him look like a bumbling idiot and goofball who is capable sometimes of making good deductions and seems to be dependent on Watson more than he should be.. and the encounter with Irene Adler is horrible.. the whole experienced wasn't one i'd go thru again..

i do not discourage making of period movies with suspense and thrilling incidents... but just the defacing of the indomitable spirit and image of a beloved storybook character

movie time... part 1

saw 'what's your rashee' last weekend... finally!
as with most Ashutosh Gowariker movies some of the prevalent social issues and situations came to light in the movie.. a flash of the Indian spirit - you could call it.. and also some scenes that can only be described as pseudo-emergencies... a relatively normal situation heightened and portrayed as more tense than it really is.. his signature is very clear..

the storyline was not that impressive.. Priyanka Chopra did a decent job.. but the issues i was talking about: like girls not being let to study further, marriage being the only way of escape for some girls.. i dont know if it's still there in India, not in major cities but may be in villages?

i don't believe much in zodiac signs as a sure indicator of a person's nature or behavior.. but observe some things sometimes..

why i love google - part 1

Google is one company most adored.. different people have different reasons.. and i have many..
take this for instance: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-acquires-aardvark.html
aardvark searches with social context (was reading the white paper).. is something that is really cool and until further tuned slightly bumpy.. i just adore it that google invests in such cool things.. some turn out great, some don't... but they invest in future and nobody can predict exactly how it would turn out..
must read lawrence lessig's stuff some time..

50 states

was watching the tahnksgiving episode of friends (7th season) where ross tries to remember the name of all 50 states.. so was trying to recollect the names myself.. could only remember like 45 of them..

here are the ones i could remember:

1. illinois
2. pennsylvania
3. maryland
4. new york
5. indiana
6. wisconsin
7. iowa
8. nebraska
9. new jersey
10. massachussets
11. connecticut
12. ohio
13. vermont
14. new hampshire
15. georgia
16. alabama
17. arkansas
18. kansas
19. missouri
20. oklahoma
21. california
22. nevada
23. utah
24. texas
25. new mexico
26. florida
27. tennesee
28. north carolina
29. south carolina
30. rhode island
31. north dakota
32. south dakota
33. washington
34. d.c
35. virginia
36. arizona
37. kentucky
38. minnesota
39. mississippi
40. montana
41. colorado
42. west virginia
43. wyoming
44. idaho
45. michigan

forgot:
- delaware
- maine
- alaska
- hawaii
- louisiana
- oregon

not bad i guess... left all the ez ones..

if life is just a show...

i want my money back! LOL!

old times...

'workspace augmentation of photon impingement through impurities removal'... suddenly remembered... used to read this a lot in grad school days... http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=18

this is going to hurt just a little bit...

went to the dentist today and every time i visit i think about this poem by Ogden Nash called 'This is going to hurt just a little bit' that i read in school.. i remember asking my brother to read it before his visit to the dentist thereby scaring him..

today was not so bad.. the doctor and the nurse were chatty and i was chatting along with them.. while waiting for the local anesthesia to kick in the doctor was asking me about movies that i liked.. i was generally saying that of the recent movies i had enjoyed 'avatar' and so on.. he was talking about the movie 'slum dog millionaire' and violent scenes that were there and how he couldn't watch it...

he said: 'i just hate to see people suffer so much, you know...'
i said: 'but you're a dentist!'

the doctor and the nurse were laughing for a whole minute.. it looked like i relaxed them more than they did me.. LOL!