There is always this sense of doom coupled with a hope of better things to come whenever it's your birthday. Resolutions are made,new dreams written down on paper and the mood is generally upbeat. On the other hand,when we realise that not much has actually changed compared to our birthday last year,we go into a self pity trip that destroys much much more than it comforts.
So,when i celebrated my birthday recently,I was cautious not to fall into either of the two extremes listed above. Instead I hope ,and I truly hope,to be more aware of the fact that I am living a life that is my own,with its own unique issues and triumphs,and that comparison with others is folly. The reason most of us are unhappy is that we compare our current positions to others,or we wish that we were in a happier,more financially secure place than where we are now.
Because the truth is that we are damn lucky to be able to have a roof over our heads,with food to eat and water to drink,and people who love us-family,friends,whoever. And we have the luxury of wasting food that is enough to feed a starving African family. The bigger picture is what i'm thinking about,and urging readers to do the same.
I figure that the more we have,the more we want,and once we can't get it,we curse and abuse our fate and go into that self pity trip I was talking about earlier. I know this sounds very pop psychology,but let's just stop for a moment and think about what we have with us now,and picture ourselves without it. Then let's see what we value,and hopefully then we can differentiate between what we really need and what we want.
Apart from that,I'm confused about what subject to pursue for my residency-Internal Medicine or Psychiatry.Hopefully I'll come to a decision soon.
Good Night and Good Luck.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Updates
I am unable to write as often as i'd like to,what with starting work and all,but I hope this entry will suffice in providing updates(or lack thereof)
There is this one movie called "Cinderella Man" starring Russell Crowe which I would advise anybody to see. Because in the tradition of the "Rocky" franchise,it speaks about the triumph of the human spirit,but it also says that we do need a break once in a while,when the chips are down.
I have always found Crowe to be a tad overrated. I was not particularly impressed by his performances in "Gladiator" or "The Beautiful Mind", but on this occasion he has delivered a truly remarkable performance as a professional boxer who goes from riches to rags during The Great Depression.Only to fight back and finally come out triumphant. Mostly understated,he lets the strength of his characters spirit do tha talking. Ditto Renee Zellweger,who is one of the most underrated actors of our generation,as the loyal wife who is paranoid about the safety of her boxer husband.
In current news,you would have all heard of the rift between the Congress and the Left front,over the nuclear deal with the United States. There are,as always,two sides to this story. The deal will bring with it much needed electricity and other essential requirements.On the condition that we do not conduct any more nuclear tests. Which I think is silly. It's not that we are so bellicose as a nation to expand our arsenal at any given opportunity to counteract the slightest possible threat,real or imaginary. The world would be a much more peaceful place if everybody were libertarian,which translates into..Leave others alone and vice versa. But it will never work out.Because sometimes what others want will impinge on your way of living,and if you are to stick to your word,then it would mean that you get screwed in the name of being a Libertarian. There is a thin fine line to walk,which we will never find,not in all our lifetimes,between letting people be and an intervention that is needed to protect ourselves. Like i said,we'll never find it,let alone walk it.
Apart from that,Sanjay Dutt is in jail. Which is the supreme irony,like many things in life. Christopher Reeve plays Superman on screen only to be paralysed from the neck down in real life. You take the bus instead of your bike on a rainy day because you fear the bike may slip and you might injure yourself,only to have a humongous crash involving the very bus you took. Munna Bhai is convicted and sent to jail. Will this ever end? Its cruel,very cruel,and the exact reasons for such events happening in such a sequence are poorly understood.
The song "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles is one of my favorites,but the number of times it has been covered and remixed is a stark reminder of the fact that creativity is wearing out in the entertainment world. Not to mention the countless mediocre sequels to movies that were a box office hit. It's basically sticking to a formula. And the results are there for everyone to see. Whatever happened to spontaneity? To original thinking? To being open to the idea that one might actually fail,but at least one has failed at trying to do something original.
More later. 'Night.
There is this one movie called "Cinderella Man" starring Russell Crowe which I would advise anybody to see. Because in the tradition of the "Rocky" franchise,it speaks about the triumph of the human spirit,but it also says that we do need a break once in a while,when the chips are down.
I have always found Crowe to be a tad overrated. I was not particularly impressed by his performances in "Gladiator" or "The Beautiful Mind", but on this occasion he has delivered a truly remarkable performance as a professional boxer who goes from riches to rags during The Great Depression.Only to fight back and finally come out triumphant. Mostly understated,he lets the strength of his characters spirit do tha talking. Ditto Renee Zellweger,who is one of the most underrated actors of our generation,as the loyal wife who is paranoid about the safety of her boxer husband.
In current news,you would have all heard of the rift between the Congress and the Left front,over the nuclear deal with the United States. There are,as always,two sides to this story. The deal will bring with it much needed electricity and other essential requirements.On the condition that we do not conduct any more nuclear tests. Which I think is silly. It's not that we are so bellicose as a nation to expand our arsenal at any given opportunity to counteract the slightest possible threat,real or imaginary. The world would be a much more peaceful place if everybody were libertarian,which translates into..Leave others alone and vice versa. But it will never work out.Because sometimes what others want will impinge on your way of living,and if you are to stick to your word,then it would mean that you get screwed in the name of being a Libertarian. There is a thin fine line to walk,which we will never find,not in all our lifetimes,between letting people be and an intervention that is needed to protect ourselves. Like i said,we'll never find it,let alone walk it.
Apart from that,Sanjay Dutt is in jail. Which is the supreme irony,like many things in life. Christopher Reeve plays Superman on screen only to be paralysed from the neck down in real life. You take the bus instead of your bike on a rainy day because you fear the bike may slip and you might injure yourself,only to have a humongous crash involving the very bus you took. Munna Bhai is convicted and sent to jail. Will this ever end? Its cruel,very cruel,and the exact reasons for such events happening in such a sequence are poorly understood.
The song "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles is one of my favorites,but the number of times it has been covered and remixed is a stark reminder of the fact that creativity is wearing out in the entertainment world. Not to mention the countless mediocre sequels to movies that were a box office hit. It's basically sticking to a formula. And the results are there for everyone to see. Whatever happened to spontaneity? To original thinking? To being open to the idea that one might actually fail,but at least one has failed at trying to do something original.
More later. 'Night.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
23 and what it meant,plus The Dark Knight
I was seeing the movie "23" a few days back,starring Jim Carrey.And it was a good movie,no doubt,although a bit cliched,as all suspense films these days tend to be. Although I had a vested interest in watching the movie(to see the beautiful Virginia Madsen as well), there was a line in the movie that really hit home:
"There's no such thing as destiny,there are only different choices..Some are easy,the others aren't. Those are the ones that define who we are as people"
I suppose the screenwriter,whoever he is,has summed up the whole search for the meaning of existence in those 2 sentences.
Because,in the end,it's all about the choices we make. And the choices you make define who you are. Even if we don't do anything and sit around on our arses all day long,we are making a choice in deciding to do nothing. Although I am one of those people who are more happy to sit back and let things happen to them instead of taking a more proactive stance in life,it is only recently that I have realised that you need to do things for yourself in this world and make things happen,instead of letting things happen to you. Should you fail in your attempt,at least you know that you have tried the best you could,and that is what we should all strive for in our lives,be it in the work place or in the sphere of human relationships and interactions. Because the pain of not trying for anything just because we were scared of the result,or worse,because we were lazy, is the most excruciating experience we will ever feel,and it is certain to leave a bad taste in our mouth for a long time to come.
(Borrowed heavily from Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch,a must read)
Now,on to more exciting stuff...the teaser trailer of The Dark Knight, the new Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan,That Genius amongst film directors,has been released,and although it did not have any visuals,I had an idea as to the central theme of the movie.
Nolan and co-story writer David Goyer have said that this movie is a continuation of where the last movie ends.If you remember,Gordon and Batman are standing on the rooftop of a building and Gordon says that there is a possibility of escalation :"We start carrying semi-automatics,they buy automatics" just about sums it up. So this one looks as if there is going to be a murderous backlash from the criminal community,and of course,The Clown Prince of Crime himself,The Joker.
Heath Ledger's casting as The Joker took me by surprise. I was not disappointed,because Ledger has shown his ability to deliver the goods in "Brokeback Mountain". But my obvious thought was that "He just isn't physically right for the part". Lachy Hulme would be more physically in line with what The Joker looks like. And my personal favourite for the role was Alan Cumming. Or Sean Penn,whom Warner Bros first approached for the role.Penn would have been amazing!!Cumming too has the maniacal glint in his eyes which is so The Joker.
However,after hearing Ledger deliver his first threat as the homicidal maniac "Starting tonight,people will die. I'm a man of my word.HAHAHAHAH!!!",I feel a bit reassured.Chris Nolan is not one to follow stereotypes,for starters. And his choice of actors are such that they are exactly right for the role they play,or in other words,you can't imagine anyone else playing that part,instead of wondering whether they had been miscast or not. And Nolan does deliver.
Ok,ok,I'm a bigtime Batman geek alright!!!
"There's no such thing as destiny,there are only different choices..Some are easy,the others aren't. Those are the ones that define who we are as people"
I suppose the screenwriter,whoever he is,has summed up the whole search for the meaning of existence in those 2 sentences.
Because,in the end,it's all about the choices we make. And the choices you make define who you are. Even if we don't do anything and sit around on our arses all day long,we are making a choice in deciding to do nothing. Although I am one of those people who are more happy to sit back and let things happen to them instead of taking a more proactive stance in life,it is only recently that I have realised that you need to do things for yourself in this world and make things happen,instead of letting things happen to you. Should you fail in your attempt,at least you know that you have tried the best you could,and that is what we should all strive for in our lives,be it in the work place or in the sphere of human relationships and interactions. Because the pain of not trying for anything just because we were scared of the result,or worse,because we were lazy, is the most excruciating experience we will ever feel,and it is certain to leave a bad taste in our mouth for a long time to come.
(Borrowed heavily from Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch,a must read)
Now,on to more exciting stuff...the teaser trailer of The Dark Knight, the new Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan,That Genius amongst film directors,has been released,and although it did not have any visuals,I had an idea as to the central theme of the movie.
Nolan and co-story writer David Goyer have said that this movie is a continuation of where the last movie ends.If you remember,Gordon and Batman are standing on the rooftop of a building and Gordon says that there is a possibility of escalation :"We start carrying semi-automatics,they buy automatics" just about sums it up. So this one looks as if there is going to be a murderous backlash from the criminal community,and of course,The Clown Prince of Crime himself,The Joker.
Heath Ledger's casting as The Joker took me by surprise. I was not disappointed,because Ledger has shown his ability to deliver the goods in "Brokeback Mountain". But my obvious thought was that "He just isn't physically right for the part". Lachy Hulme would be more physically in line with what The Joker looks like. And my personal favourite for the role was Alan Cumming. Or Sean Penn,whom Warner Bros first approached for the role.Penn would have been amazing!!Cumming too has the maniacal glint in his eyes which is so The Joker.
However,after hearing Ledger deliver his first threat as the homicidal maniac "Starting tonight,people will die. I'm a man of my word.HAHAHAHAH!!!",I feel a bit reassured.Chris Nolan is not one to follow stereotypes,for starters. And his choice of actors are such that they are exactly right for the role they play,or in other words,you can't imagine anyone else playing that part,instead of wondering whether they had been miscast or not. And Nolan does deliver.
Ok,ok,I'm a bigtime Batman geek alright!!!
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