How about paying me - facebook, google and whoever you are ?

Obviously, my browsing infos are extremely important for you - I am ofcourse para vetti oppicer(yes goundamani patented title) but for some reason my reading of film gossip, randomly googling people, my wikipedia entries about pandyan kingdom. googling and drooling at food recipes in the hope that i cook them ... . all such random stuff - are all details you want to collect.

Fine, I can send you a daily report - in the format you desire but just pay me, you  evil snoopy big corporation.

 - an innocent snooper.

Ps: Here is the link that triggered this post - Apparently facebook collects info from you after you have logged out.

Delhi belly, Zindagi na milegi dobara

Considering I came back from India only two weeks ago, that is a lot of movies, right? Oh well, the advantages of being single. 

Delhi Belly

Out and out Funny. Well edited which is important when it comes to movie like this. Watching the movie took my thoughts on  a different track - about movies like Oram poo and other well made funny tamil movies. Those movies would never get the reach of this movie just because they are regional  in a south indian language. So on for even writers. Curse of regional language I suppose. Sigh.

Delhi belly though is a good movie. The adult dialogues, totally not out of place for the characters and the space they live in, isnt really required to make it funny. I guess the marketing made it out to be sort of an usp of the movie - - I didnt care either way. So on for the bit of toilet  humor, just a bit. I dont enjoy it much in american movies which revel on comedies based on gross subjects - but that is just me. (most Indian girls, as well?)  The gross part is only bit of the movie and not as much like say a 40 year old virgin.

Oh, hold your breadth, I watched the movie entirely in hindi( film was supposed to be 40% english and they had dubbed those portions). That sucks. 

And also much to everyone's surprise or even shock, Imran khan acts well. Porcelain skin, cute face and acts well - what more would a woman want?

ZNMD

I loved Zoya for Luck by chance. But I also thought she would be a one film wonder. It was one of those films which had shades of brilliance - the seduction scene was so subtle - so many good scenes but overall it missed a wholesomeness - it didnt maintain the same emotional overtone. There have been other directors like that and they have all had just one film. So didnt think Zoya would have any more future either.

In ZNMD, surpirsingly, zoya doesnt have that problem. She is still a brilliant director. Even for a simple movie like this, bits of story like hrithik's last breakup, hrithik and farhan's fight, it is revealed as the movies goes in bit of conversation here and there. But I am bored nevertheless. All these life changing inspiration, doesnt cut any ice with me now that I have well, lived life a bit. Overall the film isnt too sincere I suppose with those anyway. Also these south mumbai guys with 12000 euro bags is pretty boring.

Hrithik is the only reason this movie could be as big a hit as it is. The movie isnt bad( Personally, I was bored but that could just be me) But movies of this genre would usually make half the money. But I am starting to like Hrithik. He is a good actor and with diverse roles he has started to do of late compared to his earlier exclusive super hero movies, it is easy to observe that. 

Katrina Kaif - uff.... let me admit I am a bit annoyed that this girl doesnt even appear for more than 30% in any of the movies that she acts in but they all turn out to be hits - is she really lucky or is her white skin obsessed (granted the features are good too) fans are so fanatical to flock to theatres for that 30% appearance? On top of this, all she has in this movie, a smile, always. I suppose an happy princess. 

Those supposedly life altering dialogues she utters to Hrithik lose their meaning with that so happy smile on her face. I want really wipe that smile of the face and make her feel .. errr some emotion - surely the woman might have little bit more ambition in life than standing in movies? 

Kalki appears a little more than katrina and is good. And so is rest of the cast.

Arundhati roy

"Is corruption just a matter of legality, of financial irregularity and bribery, or is it the currency of a social transaction in an egregiously unequal society, in which power continues to be concentrated in the hands of a smaller and smaller minority? Imagine, for example, a city of shopping malls, on whose streets hawking has been banned. A hawker pays the local beat cop and the man from the municipality a small bribe to break the law and sell her wares to those who cannot afford the prices in the malls. Is that such a terrible thing? In future will she have to pay the Lokpal representative too?"

- Arundhati roy in an article she wrote in "The Hindu"  dissing Anna Hazare's protest.  

That in a nutshell is prototype of all the argument Arundhati Roy has put forward. Devoid of logic, an abundant use of the different words meaning poor people without suggesting even remotely good to them and  the Anti India statement -though this time the last bit might not be true. Just this time.

What she essential says bribery is a great leveler in our unequal society because hawkers can pay bribe  and like most sentences from Ms. Roy it doesnt even involve convoluted logic to break her argument -  the big shopping mall owner can pay much larger amounts than the hawkers so corruption will ensure the hawkers get bull dozed out. 

Infact, that would be the problem with corruption. That it ensures an "egregiously unequal society" remains so. 

But Roy writes and has been writing with this sort of lack of logic for a decade and half and thinks she can get away by just including the word minority, people and a bucket load of flowery language and What more - She does get away.

Now, I dont know where I stand regarding Anna Hazare's protest for the Lokpal bill and I havent had time to even scrap through wiki entry but this piece makes me think may be it should be supported. You know the logic there? Anything Arundhati roy supports would be anti- India and reverse might also be true. If she rejects an idea it must be good for India. 

That logic.

The Corn field of lawrence expressway

I dont take Lawrence expressway to go to work any more. In the first two years after arriving at Silicon valley, I used those roads every day. Well after 7.00pm, when even the bumper to bumper traffic of lawrence expressway had reduced, I would come back from work through that road. Work wasnt as bad but it was still hectic for a newcomer, along with it the pressure that builds up in your head when you get introduced to one too many ambitious people and their ideas, I would come back quite tired. As I move closer to elcamino, I would spot the cornfield.

Yes, Right in the middle of the concrete houses, right next to a heavy traffic expressway is a corn field - reminding my history thirsty brain that this is what the valley was like before it became silicon valley - that right in midst of all these people who run after money, there is one family that choose to continue farming their land  - land that could easily be converted into 20 homes which even at this rock bottom economy will go at 550K each. 

But they choose farming and have continued so for generations.

Same to Same

Whether  they are fighting a so called 'Jihad' or crusade against 'Islam" - they do the sound the same, no?
So cliched but so true.

Cross to bear

I had a weekend sore threat - came on friday and left today morning. Since it didnt trouble me at all today, without much of a thought went to neighbour's house. They have a 2 year old... hopefully didnt pass anything to it.

But universe I can take this one

It was supposed to be the easiest of dinner I had ever thrown. I had it all planned. Things at work went smoothly even. I had soaked the lenthil and rice for pesarratu in the morning.

I reached home on time @6.15, called up friend to confirm and assured her it would be a simple menu. Almost ready to grind up the pesarattu - a dish I had made only 15 or more so times earlier, I noticed something unusual, some part of the moong daal just remained as I saw them in the morning after a good 10 hour of soaking - as hard. I dont know exactly about the problem between the moong daal and water - but a part of them had decided to be water proof.

Let me be honest, for a moment I thought I will still try grinding them but better sense prevailed. Also an image of a guest with a broken tooth came up, may be. 

An hour and a half later which included a rush trip to grocery store, I was done with a mixed rice and side dish.

I am not making this up but as I type this late in the night, the cookery show on the tamil channel is showing how to make pesarattu!