Haji Ali with the 50mm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaibhavm/sets/72157631714376256/

Fab Blog

http://whatswrongwiththeworldmama.blogspot.in/2012/06/what-tv-taught-me.html

Scotoma ... Mind Sees What It Chooses To See

.

Every now and then some lyrics or movie quotes get inextricably stuck in my head. What follows is that the quote becomes my status message on FB, Gtalk, Twitter and just everywhere. I just keep thinking about it as though a record player's needle got stuck. Apparently its some kind of a cognitive itch called earworms/ ohrwurms that cause songs etc to get stuck in out head. Having been a student of psychology I love reading up these bits and pieces of research and  then boring people with them.

So yeah, one of these quotes which got stuck in my head was "Scotoma ... Mind Sees What it Chooses to See" from Da Vinci Code. "Scotoma” comes from the Greek word skotos (to darken). The concept originated in the field of optics where it means blind spot which mind tries to fill up. Used in psychological terms, it means our ability to believe and disbelieve whatever we chose to.

I believe our mind shows us the world in the light of who we are, what we are made of and how we see ourselves. While at times it gives us hope where there is none, at other times it doesn't let us accept harsh realities of life. In the end its just scotoma ... our mind sees what it wants to see ...

You Twit Face !!!

.
Technology might be shrinking the world, but the social networking websites and half a dozen chat clients seem to be shrinking our vocabularies as well. Infact not following grammar rules is quite the couture for today's teenagers.

People don't write anymore. They chat, they blog, they send smileys and ping but they don't write anymore. Punctuation and grammar have no place in today's world and despite increase in the modes of communication there is a general decline in quality thereof.

Moreover, fewer people read for pleasure these days. Gone are the days when college-educated english speaker had a working vocabulary of more than 100,000 words. Today if they have a vocabulary of a couple of thousand then its an achievement. Would you believe that there are 540,000 words in English Language and we use a nil, nothing, negligible fraction of it.

Call me traditional, but am not impressed with broken English. I am amazed how little one can convey and yet keep a conversation going for a sustained period of time. Come to think of it "What Else Syndrome" on chat clients is actually kind of boring. I mean how boring is our life that the answer to "What Else" always comes back as "Nothing Much".

That said though, I guess we need to accept the fact that communication changes over years.Our generation has witnessed the change. The change from typewriters to computers and from the paper age to today's e-age.

Also, some of these new net-lingos are pretty cool ... 2000 and counting. BRB, TTYL, JK, LOL and LMAO being a few common ones. Question that now arises is whether the vocabulary is shrinking or just changing? I might prefer good old King's English but does that give me the right to question the change?

Well maybe not... So until the next blog ... TTYL & TC

Denny Crane !!!!!

In an interview, LeBlanc (Joey) from Friends said that after a few episodes they didn't have to introduce a character, never had to lay a pipeline and they just got right to the funny part. Sandwich/Pizza jokes about Joey, Divorce jokes about Ross, Sarcastic tone of Chandler, Monica’s competitive nature, Phoebe's quirks … all had already been established and they all got right to the funny.

This blog is about some of the funniest characters. This list is a little subjective. These might not be the greatest characters ever but they are my favorites. I can’t remember every movie ever made or every sitcom I ever watched right now at 5:30 in the morning. But as I cant get to sleep, these are ten of my most favorite characters I can remember right now …

1.    Dr. Perry Cox
Cox’s sarcastic and comic one liers and more often the loooong rants in Scrubs are just fab. He has a serious/soft side to him but he keeps it to himself. It’s an extremely well defined character and we have seen a lot of shades of Cox in seasons of Scrubs. Knowing that his rant is a sham is what makes it even better.

2.    Denny Crane
Denny Crane!!! Denny Crane !!! Dennny Crane!!! … has to be one of the funniest characters on TV of late. This top lawyer from a top law firm is an eccentric Republican with a flair for Guns and is obsessed with himself. But when in court, there is a method in his madness and madness is his method. He enjoys a 100% win record and is a treat to watch on screen…. Denny Crane !!!

3.    Miss Chanandler Bong
Miss Chanandler Bong aka Chandler Bing has defined sarcasm … he has made people take pride in sarcasm. Sarcasm and Chandler have become synonymous. Even otherwise it’s a very well defined character and they have traced the character from his teens. He has inspired characters like Barney to a great extent. The original joke that nobody knew what was chandler’s job was adopted for Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother as well.

4.    Amelie Poulain
First chick to make it to this list. She is just too cute and funny isn’t she and the movie was fun as well. Acting by the lead chick is just brilliant and that shy mischievousness she brought to the role was just too cute.

5.    Barney "Legendary" Stinson
Well Barney Stinson is truly a “Legend … wait for it …. dary” character. Banrney is one of the funniest characters on TV today and is a mix of Joe, Chandler and more. His Bro Code has given a new definition to the Brotherhood. So much so that I wished all my friends “The Bro Day” rather than friendship day this time.

6.    Stewie
Well if calvin is a six year old and is inquisitive, Stewie is only one and is destructive. Always planning on world domination and matricide, this character is just insanely hilarious. He reminds me of Pinky and the Brain as well where Brain keeps making plans of World Domination.

7.    Poe the Panda
Poe the Panda ought to be one of the funniest characters of all time. Jack Black’s voiceover was just hilarious. The character’s interplay with likes of Shifu and Uruguay is funny and his training from “A Big Fat Panda” to “The Big Fat Panda” was a treat to watch.

8.    Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow, his insatiable thirst for rum and other quirks make sure that he makes it to this list as well. There was a quote about him in the movie “Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?” … well after watching all three movies of the franchise I am still unsure ;P

9.    Juno
Juno was one of the finest movies of that year and Ellen Page was fab in the title character as an independent and blunt teenager facing a pregnancy. The movie is just a different treatment to the story. The jokes and one liners throughout the movie were just brilliant. I still feel Page deserved an Oscar for the movie.

10.    Topper Harley
Well this list wouldn’t have been complete without a mention of Topper Harley. Hotshots, a spoof on Rambo and Top Gun ought to be one of the funniest spoofs till date. Topper Harley, played by Charlie Sheen was just too funny while he was ripping the most action packed sequences from Rambo and Top Gun into shreds of laughter.

Skadoosh !!!

A good movie is nothing without some excellent dialogues, some witty lines, something that either cracks you up or makes you think.

So yeah this blog has some of the finest lines delivered in some of the finest movies. These quotes have been my status messages on facebook/gtalk/MSN. 

I have purposely avoided lines like “Bond, James Bond” and “I’ll be back”, coz frankly I’ve gotten too bored of that stuff. So here are some of my most favorite quotes from movies:

1. Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
 
This has to be one of the greatest lines ever. One of the most quoted ones as well. It just sums up how unpredictable life is. You never know what fate will hand you down and where you will be tomorrow. Hanks delivered a fab performance, one of the greatest ever and the movie “Forest Gump” is one of the finest ever.

As the promo promises “Life will never be the same once you’ve seen it through the eyes of Forest Gump”

2. I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
 
Well this one by Brando in Godfather is again a popular one. Brando’s stellar performance as Don Vito Corleone was just something out of the ordinary. This subtly delivered line is just an ultimate show of power, and that too a calculated one.
 

3. Why so serious?
 
If Brando’s Line was the greatest line of dad’s generation, this one has to be the best one of mine. Once in a while someone delivers a performance which can never be outdone. Heath Ledger as the Joker just did that in the Dark Knight. Nobody will ever be able to match what he did in the movie. Nobody will ever be a perfect Joker.

He was a different Joker. A meaner Joker. A Super Villain for a Super Hero. The perfect antagonist for an incorruptible hero. The lines “Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn” just epitomize the brutality of the man. The knives he uses, the way he talks and yeah that scene where he makes the pencil disappear ….. well just brutal, pure evil ! … so yeah lets put a smile on that face and move on with the list ;P

4. May the force be with you.
 
 This quote from Star Wars has become the “best of luck” for THE COOL. Anything I say about it  would be less. So I will leave it at that.

Star Wars was just full of such great lines “Do, or do not. There is no try” by Yoda and even “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”. Almost all these lines have a real world application.
 

5. This Is Sparta!!! 

Well the movie 300 ought to be one of the most bloody movies ever … and yeah what a friggin powerful performance by Gerard Butler. “This is Sparta” stands for just Raw Power, Raw Brutality … Just Blood … No peace ... no mercy .... Just War !!! Even the bloody kick has come to be known as the Spartan Kick ;P

6. You can't handle the truth!
 
 In this intense court scene, Col. Nathan Jessup, just retaliated under pressure and admitted the crime. But still so fuckin proud of it. He dint for a second, bog down under pressure. It was the pride !!! Just his Pride !!!! and WTF that was some awesome performance by Jack Nicolson and what a fine movie “A Few Good Men”.

7. My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. ….. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next 

Russell Crowe, in “the Gladiator” was the General who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor.

This scene ought to be one of the most powerful ones of all time. Here he removed his helmet and revealed to the emperor his true identity. Then he goes  … “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. ….. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next”.

8. Wax On Wax Off 

“Wax On Wax Off” has become more of a metaphor for unconventional way of teaching. Miyagi in “Karate Kid” used it to teach Karate to a kid. Similar one in the remake “Take off the jacket...Now put it on” doesn’t really have the same feel though. Even otherwise I felt the new movie doesn’t quite compare to the old one. The remake does have some fine moments and performances but the old one is just such a classic.

The recent movie Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift had a different take on Wax On Wax Off. Han says “There's no wax on, wax off in drifting. The first drifters invented drifting out here in the mountains by feeling it. So feel it!”

9. The secret ingredient is... Nothing! 

Well this list wouldn’t be complete without a quote from Kung Fu Panda. The movie was just fab and full of witty lines. Jack Black was friggin awesome. This particular line comes from Po’s Dad and helps Po realize Secret of the Scroll. He realises that to make something special you just have to believe it's special.

Even otherwise the movie has so many fine quotes. Another favorite of mine is “Quit, don't quit? Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present.".

There are more … “There is now a level zero.”, “There is no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness.” And many more.

10. Sometimes truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded. 

Both the movies Batman Begins and the sequel The Dark Knight delved into human behavior. The psychology of the crowd/the populace under pressure.

The Dark Knight in particular showcased the ultimate sacrifice of the hero. Ultimate sacrifice to keep people’s faith in Good. As the Dark Knight explains “You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes... the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.”

11. It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking: How did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it, no matter what. How did he know that? 

Well those are some brilliant lines !!! Indeed you can't achieve HappYness, you can only pursue it and the pursuit is life.

12. You never see the hard days in a photo album... but those are the ones that get you from one happy snapshot to the next. 

These lines from the movie "Just Married" actually got me thinking. Got me thinking about the times of which we don't have any pics. The tough times. Well, I took the photographs and still frames in my mind of those in-between days as well … coz they took us from one happy snapshot to the next …
 

13. What truly is logic? Who decides reason? My quest has taken me to the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional, and back. I have made the most important discovery of my career - the most important discovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reason can be found.

Second quote of Russell Crowe in this list. He is one of those few actors who can perform just about any role that you give them. The movie, A beautiful mind, is based on a real life story. A fine story and a well told one as well.

14. Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was another movie which had some fine quotes. This particular one is one of my favorites from the movie. Another good one from the movie was "It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you."

15. You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
 
Matrix Triology is a treat to watch. This was the choice given by Morpheus to Neo. Choice whether you opt for a painful disclosure or for the blissful ignorance. The entire movie is based on the concept of Choice, which was later stated by the Oracle when she said "We can never see past the choices we don't understand. " This was the foundation of the movie. The triology is full of good quotes and another favorite of mine is ... "What is "real"? How do you define "real"?"


So yeah this list is over ... next one is gonna b a list of my most favorite characters of all time ...

Putting a Theory to Test ;)

So yeah ... I turn 27 today … tried walking backwards … & that din work either … :(

As a friend said 30s are staring down at me .... while I sit down and remember the good old days ... look up old photographs .... remember the times with family and those with close friends .... tagging them in facebook albums as well ... fun times ... great times ... :)

That’s the beauty of time ... past has left fond memories ... present is making fresh ones ... while the future is awaiting me like an empty canvas ....

Life is a one way trip ... You can't turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again ....

or maybe I should try the moonwalk ... that might work ;)

No Passing on the Torch Just Yet ...

                                                                                                                                .

''I just came back to this event to use whatever there is left of a talent''

- Shumi (before a carting event in December 09)

Well an article about the finals of Australian Open last year claimed it was the end of Fedex Era and beginning of Rafa's. It brilliantly spotted the ''most poignant rituals in sport: the rare moment of a hand over of ascendancy, the passing of power''. 

Its true, no one can rule a sport for too long. Ultimately the body does fall apart and one has to make room for another. Our generation of Legends beg to differ. They just refuse to give up. They refuse to retire and let go. 

Federer is number 1 again. The swiss snatched it back from injured Rafa, a comeback nobody thought was possible after being destroyed by Rafa so many times and specially at Australian Open  finals last year. Well he has won 15 Grand Slams and who knows how many will he get.

Armstrong, at 38 came back from retirement last year and what a comeback it was.  Podium in Tour De France against all odds. There is no doubt he might win his eighth one soon. Afterall if he has beaten the age of dopers he can certainly beat the clean ones of our time.

Even Tendulkar cameback from all injuries and answered his critics by some phenomenal knocks. His hunger for runs just doesn’t seem to fade even after 20 years. He just wants to kill the chances of any Ricky Ponting to even dare look at his records. Those who wanted to challenge his throne came and went but he is still there. At 36 he is still in killing form and will continue to play for many years to come.

Now Schumacher is back on the circuit as though theres something left to be proven. As if 7 championships are not quite enough. At 41, he might not be as quick as he was 3 years back but even if he is 90 percent of what he was, he would be quite a handful for the new kids.

I think its just a matter of time when the Tiger comes back from the Woods. These great ones just don't wanto hang up their boots just yet. Don't you write them off just yet. The Nadals, Alonsos, Pontings of the world can wait on coz the legends are intent on ruling the planet forever.

They won't be passing on the torch just yet ...

Let's go out exploring again ;)

                                                                   .

tooth brush n paste ✓
shaving kit  ✓
phone charger ✓
facewash ✓
headphones ✓
a few Ts ✓
jeans and shorts ✓
passport and tickets ✓

just shoved these in the same ol backpack and I was off .... coz it was that time of the year again .... time to use up annual leave ... time to blow up savings ....  time to bid farewell to the last year .... and to usher in the new year...

Three of us had decided on Thailand.... and a fab trip it was. There were indeed a few hick ups to begin with  .... but what a trip .... from water sports to 7/11 burgers and from the funny streets to the Boss .... after coming back I find it funny that people say Mumbai never sleeps ...  haha ... i feel it sleeps ... and it sleeps wayyyy to early ;P ..... all in all an exhilarating  and unforgetable trip to Thailand from Sawadee krab (Hello)  to La Korn (Good bye) and a perfect way to bid goodbye to 09 ....

This one reminds me of the special trip I took last New Years .... one to Goaaaah with lawschool friends. The three of us had set off for goa with a rather crude plan and low budgets ... little did we know that we were on the best trip of our lives and indeed it was nothing short of a Dil Chahta hai .... ;P 

 With one on the wheel, other with the map and third chalking out the itinerary we went out exploring the entire stretch of Goa from Calangute/Baga to Anjuna and from Candolim to South Goa ... and each other in the process as well.....

Since then I've been to Goa a couple of times and have come to love the place for its laidback and relaxed way of life ..... but I guess a near perfect trip like that or other special momments in life are impossible to recreate and all we can do is to keep taking photographs and still frames in our minds ....

Well, the year between the two trips was fine as well .... I’ve had my share of ups and a lot of peoples' share of set-backs .... but the year is gone .... the new one is here .... its like an untouched sheet of clay and I need to decide what to make of it ....

so let's go out exploring again ;P

& the last few weekends were LEGEND ... wait for it .... DARY ;P

.

Captain's Log, stardate 14.9 ..... errrrr ... I mean Metzy's blog, date 14.12.09

Well, for last few weeks I haven’t really had the time to blog, and come to think of it, its actually a good thing. For a change rather than just blabbering I was actually doing some stuff. In order to follow the footsteps of my idol 'Barney LEGENDARY Stinson' I really needed to 'pen down' ... errrr 'type out' whats been happening all this while ... so here I am again ....

Well theres lots happening on this planet 'Work' for a change. It being the year end, the native species is having to slog their asses in office. Even on weekends at times. Lots of travel and lots and lots and lots of work, but for some reason am still not complaining.

Maybe the real reason for the work not taking its toll on me is that my life outside the office has finally kick started. I finally decided that I will come out of my shell and venture out now ... come out of the afterglow and follow it no more .... well so I tried a few new and different things ....

1. picked up a couple of nice books ... Wikinomics being a highly recommended one...
2. watch atleast one play each week ... The play 'Class of 84' being a highly recommended one here
3. a bit of adventure sports, while I tried my hand at paint ball but my latest favorite being rock climbing .... Youv gotta try these to know what am talking bout here
4. started playing table tennis occasionally ... well 8-10 years of not playing can really rust your skills
5. hit the gym again ... hmmmmm .... errrr ..... not regularly but just enough i guess
6. even the work trips to Delhi have proven rejuvenating ...
7. partieng a bit ... funny thing wherever i go these days I run into someone or the other ...
 
Last few weekends leading up to the Christmas Eve and the New Years have always been fun ... and they havent been very different this year either ....

Well, but now what i need is a TIME OUT. After the rather weird YEAR THAT WAS, even more so. But guess I will reflect on the  'Year That Was' closer to the NY eve. Anyway ... as for the TIME OUT am taking a trip to Phuket on the Christmas Eve with a couple of friends. That shall give me a looooong deserved break.

Wish u all a Merry Chrishmas ... and i shall be back to wish you NY as well ....

life without the shift key ...

                                                                                                                                                          .

lets begin this blog with a question .... how important is the shift key in our life ... well i guess none of us has really thought about it ... reason being, why would you .... unless ofcourse you were forced to ... so here i am ... for some reason both the shift keys on my lappy aint working ... and am having to work without them till i get it corrected ....

when i first realised this, i couldnt care less .. thought how much will it affect me anyway ... huh ... but don't they say u don't know what u got till it goes away .... well thats exactly what was happening to me rite now ...

if you haven’t already noticed .... therz not a single letter in this blog in capitals ... there aint no question marks, no exclamation marks and emoticons .... no brackets .... no quotes ... no absolutely nothing ... but i guess what i miss most right now is that sign called 'at the rate' ... coz minus that i can't log into my email, my messenger, nor my facebook and not even this blog ...

as i do for all life's questions, i went google ... looked for a few blogs and articles where ppl had similar problems and requested for solutions … but nothing seemed to work … and I knew there is no way I can correct this on my own …

but then again ... am being followed by the moon shadow ... so iv begun to c this as an opportunity to see how bland our life is without the shift key ... and how i can work around it ....

ofcourse i can use the caps lock key to make a few characters in capital .... but what about the other functions of the shift key .... how do i make all the emoticons and the all important sign 'at the rate' ....

well, I went google again ….. n boy did it come to my rescue once again ... here i typed ''at the rate'' and picked the sign up from a search result ... same way i looked up the 'question mark', 'exclamation mark', 'colons', ‘brackets’ for emoticons and a couple of others that mattered ....

soon i became efficient on working around it …. copied all these signs in a notepad document .... so i can copy paste the signs as and when needed ... and now things seem alright ... most problems i was facing without the shift key were okay ... things werent the same without it ... i could not do a 'shift del' ... but then onscreen keyboard is another way out ... still i couldn't do things as fast as always ....

things were not impossible, but yeah they were uncomfortable ... not the best, but i could survive ...

but quite a shift from regular life, isn’t it .... v all have got so used to it ... and don’t quite imagine a life without it till its gone ...

well iv begun to see it as a metaphor .... how some things, come into our life and become such an important part of it that and when they leave they leave a vacuum in our life ...

life isn't really impossible without them ... but u know, its a lil uncomfortable ... you might not be at your best, but could survive ...

not that things are really comparable …. but shift key and my experience with it might be a microcosm of how things work in life …. i tried to resolve the problems, trying to get back to normal … but when they dint work out, i started to took for a life around it …. accepted it as a given ....

well ... the comp guy should be here tomorrow to correct it .... apparently its a petty job for him and my e-life should go back to normal with the shift key back .... but i guess life's problems cannot be corrected as easily as in a computer ...

so i shall end this blog with the only emoticon i can make right now ... ;P

Here I am, this is ME !!!

Well ... here I am, this is ME .... and this is my first ....

Dunno why I didn’t do this earlier ... I mean started a blog .... but I guess it was always just a question of 'WHEN' rather than a question of 'IF' I will ... and I guess that applies to a lot of other things in my life as well ... I mean WHEN rather than IF !!! ... neway ... we will ponder over those some other day ...

This blog will be my mirror ... rather the ЯΣΛЯVIΣЩMIЯЯӨЯ ... uncut ... uncensored ... what I think when I think

so as I said ... here I am, this is me ... and this was my first ....