England the Lords at Lords

West Indies were thrashed by England in the first test. Onions the rookie England bowler and Swann the spinner shared the honours as the West Indian batting order crumbled under the Ebglish bowling attack. Chanderpaul had his lowest test aggregate score of 4 runs. Ravi Bopara's wonderful century should England's No.3 batting woes to rest. Graeme Swann was named the man-of-the-match for his excellent all-round performance.

Brief scores:
England-377 and 32/0.
West Indies-152 and 256.

Another Resignation!

"I am sending my resignation through this e-mail. It has been a great pleasure to work under your guidance and leadership, but I guess it is time for me to move on to a more challenging assignment. Please send this e-mail to HR so that the relieving procedures can be put into action and I am relieved at the end of my notice period."

Well folks that was my resignation e-mail. Is it a moment of madness in this recession? I do not know. I guess it will be forwarded to HR and I might be relieved in the first week of June. It has been fun working here and I have met a wide range of people and have had the best boss so far in my stint with various companies.

I am moving back to my core area of expertise Instructional Design. The field has changed in this gap of 2 years and there have been lots of improvements and changes in the various associated models and theories of learning. Lots of new tools and technologies have come in to vogue too.

So like the Prodigal Son returning to his father's house I have chosen to return to Instructional Design. Will keep you posted on all updates!

Wish me luck folks!

DVD Reviews

Well I guess more reviews are headed your way! You folks must be wondering how does this guy get time to see so many movies! Well I just manage my time-the same 24 hours that God has provided to everyone is what I get too. No more philosophy. The reviews follow:

THE ODESSA FILE

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth this is a fast-paced thriller with the tension building slowly. A Nazi plot to regain power, a secret society called the Odessa, a group trying to infiltrate the Odessa, a journalist who discovers the truth based on the suicide of an old Jew. Lot of plots and sub-plots ending in a shootout. Starring Jon Voight as the journalist Peter this is a definite must-watch. Shot on location in Europe good cinematography and simple but interesting action sequences keep up the tempo of the movie.

FELON

Star Cast-Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer and Harold Perinneau.
Director-Ric Roman Waugh.

This is the saga of a man who ends up in jail after accidentally killing a burglar. The ramifications of his action on his family and his personal life are brought out well. In prison a sadistic warden creates a mini=arena of sorts where the prisoners indulge in fighting with each other to remain alive. The movie shows the bitter truth about life and racist divisions American prisons. Val Kilmer gets a solid role as Stephen's protector and old-timer in prison. A grim looking movie with excellent performances by all.

DVD Reviews

It has been a while since I posted movie reviews here So folks get ready for a bunch of reviews.

FRENZY

Star Cast-Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen.

This Alfred Hitchcock classic is about a serial murderer who rapes women and strangles them with a silk tie. The movie has a scene in which the killer puts the corpse of a woman in a sack and loads the sack on to a van carrying potato sacks. Then he realizes that his tie-pin is missing and returns to the van and hunts for the sack with the corpse. The van starts moving an he panics and struggles in trying to retrieve the pin. A well-made thriller.

INKHEART

This Brendan Fraser movie is a nice fantasy tale. Based on the best-selling Inkheart series of novels. It describes the adventures of a book-doctor(Fraser) who has the power to bring characters to life when he reads aloud. A well-made movie thorough family-fare for the long summer.

BEDTIME STORIES

Starring Adam Sandler this Walt Disney production has a similar premise like Inkheart. Sandler works as a handyman in a massive luxury hotel which was built on the site of his father's old motel. Sandler gets to baby-sit his nephew and niece and when he tells them stories the next day it happens to him. A good family-movie.

THE DARK CITY

Star Cast-Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Richard O'Brien

Directed by Alex Proyas this 1998 movie went surprisingly unnoticed. Imagine you wake up in a hotel having no memory of what you are and what you do. You find the corpse of a young woman in your room and you are on the run. The police wants you a young woman claims to be your wife and a sinister group of bald-headed men are out to kill you. To add to the confusion a strange psychiatrist also follows you. What is the mystery? Watch this movie to find the answers. The suspense quotient is high and the dark locales are complimented by the stunning cinematography and massive sets.

IPL News

So some good news for the Chennai Super Kings after three consecutive wins we are at the top of the table with 9 points from 8 matches. Most other teams have just played 7. So in all probability we will slide to place 2 or 3 by the end of today's matches. Dhoni and Raina played well, with a mature knock by M. Vijay. Jakati the spinner is doing a good job and has been instrumental in CSK winning the last two matches.

Hope that Kolkata Knight-Riders win today I feel terribly sorry for them and Mc Cullum who has tried every possible thing but he has been weighed down by the burden of captaincy. Let us see if he can recreate the fiery 150 of IPL-1 today.

Good Morning!

This happened to me to this morning.

I was waiting for the elevator, when I noticed one of the top bosses of the company also waiting for the elevator. As a matter of courtesy I went up to him and said-"Good Morning." To my consternation I did not even get a blank stare. A minute later one of the beauties of our office walked in flashing her pearly smile and you know what happened? The top boss walked up to her and said-"Good Morning. How are you?"

Damn! I never knew being born as a woman had such advantages.

Any way life goes on.....

IPL News

Things are pretty bad for Chennai, Kolkata, Rajasthan and Bangalore. The teams have performed horribly and with Hyderabad and Delhi comfortably perched at the top with Mumbai Indians following the leaders it is time for the other teams to perform.

Shahrukh and Shilpa must be fuming with the mediocre performances of their teams. Kings XI Punjab had bad weather spoil their chances but the other matches that they played they have done well.

To early to say anything but it looks like Delhi and Hyderabad are serious title contenders now. The way things are going the fourth semi-finalist will be the place which the teams will fight it out for as Mumbai Indians are likely to be the third semi-finalist.

The big news is the person who is running this blog- www.fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com
Some posts are real vintage humour. No one knows who the author is though I doubt if any actual KKR player is behind the blog.

Come on Superkings with Flintoff gone now play Ntini for God's sake. Dhoni you better score runs or you are going to end up like Laxman and Dravid. Remember no individual is greater than the team. Come on Superkings set the stadiums afire!

CSK vs DD

Chennai Superkings lost the match to Delhi Daredevils by 9 runs. A match that should have been won.

De Villiers got a super century 105 not out that ensured that DD won. Hayden provided a solid platform but Dhoni's boys panicked and made a mess of it. Dhoni you better start scoring runs and play Ntini for God's sake. We have lost two matches now.

Buck up boys!

In the Name of My Father-3

The great man whom I greatly hate-my Father-has decided that come what may he will continue to drink himself to death. All medication suggested by doctors will not be taken. He feels that a great injustice has been meted out to him. Two sets of sleeping pills prescribed by the doctor are rotting in their strips untouched by him.

The fights continue at home. I am losing my sanity and returning home has become a dreaded prospect. I am seriously contemplating some drastic step and just do not know what to do! Perhaps I will be forced to admit my father to an alcohol de-addiction centre. That remains the only option now.

I wonder how he manages to sleep for just three hours every night go to work drink all he can and again get up early in the morning at 1 AM to disturb me and my mother's sleep. Will there ever be a possible solution. I don't know. I try to stop thinking about him but there is a constant fear at the back of my head that he has fallen down somewhere and is lying injured or in an alcohol-induced stupor.

God give me strength in times of darkness and suffering!

The sins committed by men continue to haunt their sons and daughters!

I am a living testimony to this fallacy.

IPL-2 News

Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hydearbad have one victory each to their name. Hayden's batting heroics were awesome. Kumble the old war-horse deserved a MOM award for his 5-wicket haul in their match against RR, but justice was once again denied. Rajasthan Royals have made a bad start. Today's double-header promises much. If the weather holds we will have a pair of interesting matches.

Let us see what happens!

IPL Season-2

So folks after all the political tamasha, security concerns and a hundred other lame reasons the second season of the IPL is beginning in South Africa tomorrow.

Wishing all the teams best. With KP at the helm of Royal Challengers Bangalore and many Australian players expressing their inability to participate you don't know what is going to happen.

So folks may the best team win.

HAPPY VISHU

Wishing everyone HAPPY VISHU

May the year bring in joy, success and good health!

Another Corporate Cultural Show

So folks a long break from blogging. Well lot of stuff-firstly a lot of work, secondly a corporate cultural show that has six teams with four teams in the branch that I work in. Folks in office are busy with work, the people who ain't got work are creating a proper tamasha with their campaigns.

India won the series in New Zealand. The last match ended in a draw because of rain. Well if Dhoni had declared at least an hour or two earlier we would have won the series 2-0.

The IPL-2 will start on April 18. So expect more articles on cricket.

On the personal front nothing seems to be happening. When I think that I have forgotten her, I get a phone call from her and suddenly I feel happy. But then again we know that things are over for the better. Life is indeed a cocktail and I guess my drink is a bit on the stronger side now.

Horoscopes as usual are flying thick and fast. But it seems that my horoscope is a muddled mess and lots of special parameters have to be matched to find the perfect match:)

I promised that I would write a detailed post on my trip to Kolkata and indeed I will write it.

So long folks!

You will get to read about six movie reviews soon. All old classics. So keep reading and have fun.

Can Team India Create Cricketing History?

Many summers ago the Nawab of Pataudi led the Indian cricket team to a famous series win over New Zealand in Wellington. Unfortunately that was India's last series win in New Zealand. Now Dhoni and his men have a chance to recreate history by winning the third and final test. Napier was a bad dream and Gambhir, Dravid and Laxman saved India the blushes with useful contributions from Sachin and Yuvraj too.

Will Balaji be playing tomorrow? Will Dhoni be fit enough to play?
Let us see what happens tomorrow!

From Calcutta to Kolkata

I was born in a city that was called Calcutta. When I left the city more than a decade ago it had a strange old world charm about it and I thought that there can never be another city like it.

12 years later when I returned to the city of my birth I realized that the city had changed. It had gone back to its native name - Kolkata. The occasion was the sacred thread ceremony of my cousin.

A trip on the Coromandal Express with my parents and my uncle, aunt and their son. The trip was delightful as the other passengers in our compartment included two kids aged three years old. It was fascinating to look at them play, fight, eat, sing and dance. It was truly a memorable journey.

We reached Kolkata at around 12:30 in the afternoon. A Bolero was hired after much haggling over fares and we reached our hotel-Komala Vilas. A quick bath to wash away the grime and sweat of the long journey and we visited the restaurant to have a sumptuous lunch.

Later in the evening I went around the city and was fascinated by the changes that had taken place. Huge malls have come up in places that were vast plots and closed factories. The traffic has increased with bikes, cars and pedestrians jostling for space. The popular tram service has been relegated to a bare minimum because of road-work. The locals say that the trams will be fully operational soon.

I visited Esplanade, New Market and College Road revisiting my memories of a childhood when Sundays meant going shopping on Mirza Ghalib Street for second-hand books, sampling "jhaal muri" and "puchka" ended by a glass of fresh orange juice.
I travelled by the underground train service-the Metro. The system is efficient and well maintained. The service is well used and the trains are crowded. The girls look beautiful and one can see a fashion parade with the bevy of beauties outdoing one another with their elegance, grace and make-up.

Also managed to visit the Kalighat temple and seek the blessings of the all powerful Mother Goddess. The temple was thankfully not crowded and we had a good "darshan." I also visited the South City Mall on Prince Anwar Shah Street and was amazed by the design of the building and the facilities and range of products/shops in the mall. Spencers' and Citi Centre can learn a lot from this mall in Kolkata.

The ceremony went well and I returned to Chennai with a multitude of memories and thoughts about the city. One more update could be a possible bride for yours truly from Kolkata. Nothing is being finalized and I don't know any details but if the horoscopes match well it will be Mr & Mrs. Iyer.

So folks wish me luck!

13 B/Yaavarum Nalam Movie Review

Movie-13 B/Yaavarum Nalam.
Starring-Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Sachin Khedekar and others.
Music-Shankar, Eeshan and Loy.
Direction-Vikram Kumar.
Genre-Horror/Thriller.

In Bollywood horror is a genre that is terribly stereotyped. You have haunted mansions, tantriks, spirits, and young girls possessed by ghouls. All this ends in a showdown between the hero and the evil spirits. Ram Gopal Verma showed a bit of change with Bhoot.

Madhavan's latest movie 13 B titled as Yaavarum Nalam in Tamil is a new intelligent movie that treads between a thriller and a horror flick. Two brothers with their wives and mother and two kids move into a new apartment on the thirteenth floor. Strange happenings like the milk getting spoilt, the inability to affix nails on the wall begin to happen. Madhavan is troubled because the lift never works when he is all alone and wants to use it.

Then we have a TV serial that is broadcast at 1 PM and only visible on the TV in Madhavan's flat. Slowly Madhavan realizes that the serial and his life is interlinked. Neetu Chandra as Madhavan's wife looks like a million bucks and has done a good job. Sachin Khedekar plays a doctor/psychiatrist and has a plum role.

What is the mystery? Why is Madhavan alone able to interpret the story from the serial. Why does a dog of Madhavan's neighbour a blind man-refuse to enter Madhavan's house? The tension builds slowly and the climax answers all the questions. This is one of those films whose second half is much better than the first. Interesting cameos by Sampath Kumar and the characters who appear in the TV serial.

Director Vikram Kumar uses the TV as a medium for the spirits to interact with the protagonist. What is the mystery behind Apartment 13 B and is Madhavan able to save his family and himself from the starnge forces in his house. Great music by Shankar, Eeshan and Loy and nice cinematography by PC Sreeram.

Watch the movie to find the answers.

The Week in Review

Well so many things happened in the past 1 week. I embarked on a quick trip to Nagpur to participate in the house-warming ceremony of my sister's new flat. The trip was really fascinating and it will be a separate long and juicy post. Met some really beautiful people:) on the trip! Then again those friends are just people who are forgoten who just provide conversations on the train to battle a boring journey.

India won the one-day series in New Zealand a record after 40 odd years. Sehwag broke the psyche of the New Zealand attack with his heroics but India lost the last one-dayer. Elsewhere West Indies won a test-series against England 1-0.

Political equations keep changing with Patnaik in Orissa flummoxing everybody. The third-front being launched by Deve Gowda and Co.

The IPL seems to be doomed and it still does not have a schedule approved by the state governments.

Work seems to be going on. One more colleague quit. Best of luck to you:)

Horoscopes are flying through couriers to all parts of the country and responses are being awaited. Saw a lot of movies on Saturday and Sunday-Dev D, Vennila Kabbadi Kuzhu, Delhi 6, Colours (Malayalam and absolute rot). Detailed reviews will appear soon. VKK was really touching but the director seems to be from the Bala school of film-making and spoiled the end by killing the hero.

Under Maintenance

There are about 200 to 250 men working in our office. At any given time an attendance of 200 men is confirmed. Now there is the mens' restroom. It has 4 urinals and three toilets/latrines[Pardon my language but if there is a beter word-do let me know].

It is almost a month since one of the latrines has been locked and an "Under Maintenace" sign has been stuck on the door. Now this is really disturbing. To assume that among 200 men no more than 2 men would want to use the latrine/toilet at the same time is insane.

God knows when the third latrine is going to become operational!

Till then it is a matter of luck and timing!!!!!

In the Name of My Father-2

Years of alcohol abuse and he continues to drink on the sly even after the doctors have warned him. A broken family, an unhappy childhood, a mother who was forever sad but nevertheless continued to toil and stayed with her brother practically doing every task in the house so that her children would not suffer. I continue to wonder at my mother's inner strength.

My father never managed to stick to one job for more than two years. The sole exception being his 18 years of service in the Indian Navy. If not for my two uncles I would have been on the road-begging to survive.

I feel like slapping my father and holding him by the scruff of his neck and ask him-"Why did you do this to us you bloody....! What mistake did my mother do to bear this tortured life? What was my crime to have suffered such a psychologically painful childhood?"

He shamelessly continues to pretend to be a great devotee of a plethora of Gods and yet drinks, utters lies, and torments us psychologically. People often ridicule me for being cynical and negative in many of my actions. I guess my father has a big role in the negative traits of my character. One good thing that his actions have done is my absolute hatred for alcohol! I am 27 and yet to have a beer!

Oh Lord! Give me patience, one of these days I am really going to end up slapping my father! His latest fad is to pretend that he is suffering from a big heart ailment and he needs to have a big surgery done. I have taken him to two different cardiologists and all they say is that he has to stop drinking and nothing else is wrong with him. He is staying with my sister and he is feeling the heat there as he is afraid of my brother-in-law who is a strict disciplinarian.

He cannot go out to drink and he feels his freedom is stifled. The only solution that I see now is to get him admitted to an alcohol deaddiction centre. But I am sure once he gets out of there he will start drinking again.

How am I ever going to find a solution and with this messy state of affairs, how am I going to find the courage to move ahead and start looking for a life-partner!


Life is too complicated!
Death is an option for the weak!
Is there a state in between?

Taxi Driver

So after years of hearing praises about Taxidriver. I finally got to see it.

Martin Scorcese’s classic that catapulted Robert de Niro to fame. A movie that is relevant even today. Travis Bickle[De Niro] is a taxi driver. He drives the taxi in the streets of New York. He is a lonely man who suffers from insomnia. He drives the cab all through the night but he can’t sleep. He visits 24 hour porn theatres but he still can’t sleep. He is disgusted with the city and its people.

He is attracted to Betsy who works in the campaign office of a Presidential candidate-Senator Pallantine. He asks her out on a date. He takes her to a movie-confoundedly to a porn movie. I still don’t get it. Why would a man on his first date take the girl to a porn movie? Is Bickle naive/sex-maniac/crazy? As the movie progresses we realize his frustrations coupled by his service in Vietnam. The movie moves aimlessly till we get to see Iris a twelve-year old prostitute[Jodie Foster].

Travis becomes emotionally attached to the girl and all his suppressed anger erupts when he finds out how Sport uses the naive girl Iris as a prostitute by making her a cocaine-addict. Travis buys a lot of guns and a knife and decides to become the vigilante-one man army and decides to clean New York of its filth and scum.

He shaves his head[mohawk style] and decides to start by assassinating the Presidential candidate. His uneasiness is spotted by the Secret Service agents-and Travis flees the scene. The climax is bloody and violent as Travis goes on a shooting/killing spree and shoots Sport and other runners of the prostitution racket. He is also injured in the shooting spree.

The next scene shows the wall of Bickle’s room full of newspaper clippings proclaiming him to be the hero. We also listen to the contents of a letter from Iris’s father to Bickle. He thanks Bickle for his heroism.

The movie ends with Bickle dropping Betsy home and refusing to accept the fare. The movie is an intense study of the psyche of the American male. Times of war and unstable economic conditions, drug-use the tough seventies, black-white conflict, prostitution-many facets of American life that have been touched upon in the movie. We sympathise with Bickle and secretly wish that he finds true love in Betsy. But in our minds we know that Bickle is a drifter and he can never find calm and inner peace or true love.

Robert de Niro and Jodie Foster shine in this movie. The back ground music is haunting and cinematography simple and effective.

Iconic lines-”You talking to me….” “Flush it out.”[To clean New York]

A powerful movie that leaves a bitter taste in our mouths and a long-lasting impression on our minds.

The biggest upset was when Rocky won the Oscar for best movie in 1977.

Cross-posted at www.mramani.wordpress.com