Action replay 2012

End of the year is a good time for action replay, to see what happneed over the year.. how was the year.. It's just kinda surprising how this year has passed, like last year. Seems like it was just yesterday. The time goes fast, so fast. Highlights of year:

• Moved work from NYSE/NYC to new project in Stamford, CT
• Moved residence from Jersey City, NJ to UES Manhattan, NYC
• NYFA & then started training at ASI
• XC: Cross Country Road Trip
• Bought Nexus 7 & Samsung Galaxy S3
• Sold my car
• No major injuries, surgeries or health issues

TOI: Action replay 2012: Most read on TOI site

2012: The year social media came of age in India

TOI: The year social media came of age in India

Delhi gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

TOI: Delhi gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

Merry Christmas.. Happy Holidays!!

The big, bad Christmas bogeymen

Newsweek unveils last print cover

Newsweek unveils last print cover... I'm a subscriber of Newsweek. Never honestly read it much. Most of us don't I guess. Its all about online reading now. So they maybe ahead of curve? Or not? We'll find out.. Good Luck!!

Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODIs

TOI: Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODIs... Sachin has always been my most favorite cricket plyer. Its sad to see him go, however greats like him know what they are doing. We have been lucky to see this master in front out us. I stronger what will be next for him? Coaching? Commentary? Lol, no. Academy? Business? Home? Whatever you do Sachin... All the Best!!

Student gang-raped on Delhi bus

Student 'gang-raped on Delhi bus'... So after recent shootings on kids in Newton, now this. And this has been happening for so long. New Delhi, the capital of India; seems to have become Rape Capital of India & world.. WTF!! Police, Government & Law cannot save our women? These sick bastards are spreading terror  and pain and still alive? What's there to run a case or give them a chance to explain. They need to be severely punished, seriously. A punishment which spreads terror in anyone who even thinks of suck crime in future. Any crime against children or sexual crime against women or even men need to be taken way more seriously & treated differently. This is really far beyond ridiculous, painful, sad & everything else.. WE HAVE TO TAKE CHARGE, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, WE HAVE TO CHANGE THIS!!

Microsoft using political brawler Mark Penn to bulldoze Google

TOI: Microsoft using political brawler Mark Penn to bulldoze Google

Children among 27 US school dead

So.. I don't really know what to say. Some sick inhuman goes & shoots kids. WTF! What's wrong with this country? what's wrong with society? what's wrong with people? These shootings have been too frequent now, seems like every other day. Why police, government & society is not doing anything substantial & significant to stop this? There has to be better gun control in America, has to be. This is BS.. And, stricter laws & punishment to such offenders. Really strict, maybe brutal so other offenders can see what they are signing up for. Some of these people just wanna die, so punishment may not matter as much. We need to have punishment for there accomplices or people who knew & could have prevented these incidents. So others understand the punishments possible & try to protect these. And as a society we need to change the criminal mindset and improve this.. My deepest condolences to the families & everyone who lost there loved ones. Hope this changes & improves soon... All the America!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20730717

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20749167

Nokia

Finland: Life beyond Nokia? Nokia used to be THE CELLPHONE, THE MOBILE. back in India 5-10 yrs ago, Nokia was the best cell phone no questions asked. Now, its iPhone, Samsung, HTC & all other smartphones. Surprisingly Nokia couldn't catch up with technology of smartphones. They partnered with Microsoft but seems its not working. I ave neveer owned a nokia phone, but my dad still hs Nokia 33** and it still works. But you gotta keep up with the game to continue. Good luck Nokia, seems most of the people ne tumko No-kia (its hindi, meaning said NO)!!

Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar dies

Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar dies

12-12-12

Today is 12-12-12, isn't it awesome? It's special, cuz it happens once in a century. And it happened.. and we are here to experience this.. AWESOME!!

Indians in national anthem record

Indians in national anthem record.. Sweet. India held the record which was broken by Pakistan. SO India re-did the record lol. Pretty cool. With 1 billion plus population, I would expect at least we can pull this off. If you are an Indian, do you remember the National Anthem? Do you understand the meaning of it? Do you like it??

Another stupid traffic law in India?

TOI: Get real, don't make laws that can't be enforced: Cops... In India, laws are already a tool for the corrupt cops to make money. Some laws are extremely outdated & stupid. And we still keep coming with stupider laws.. Not to use digital handheld devices, even GPS, kidding me? Please grow up politicians & make more sensible & useful laws.

No bloody crime in NYC for first time

NYC sees day of no violent crime... Can you believe that? It's first time that New York City has had a day of no violent bloody crimes. WOW, Congrats New York & New Yorkers!!

Another honor killing in India.. Satyamev not so Jayate??

TOI: Man featured in Aamir Khan's show murdered ... I didn't watch this episode of Satyamev Jayate completely but I would. But can you really imagine stuff like this still happening in our society. I mean, honestly I can imagine it & believe it but I cannot understand or agree with it at all. In a democracy, with law & order we have people not following the law. And that's just BS & unacceptable. There are social & cultural norms & family traditions and all that but none of that should be above the constitution & law & freedom of choice aka free will. If two people want to get married and there families do not understand or accept it, its there personal decision. Its unfortunate for both the couple & parents & even the family to not be able to share the joy of this union & beginning of new life for there loved ones. But that's a personal choice, personal decision and life is not perfect. But no one has right to take law in there own hands, forget about heinous crime like murder or honor killing. That's just plain stupid. What do you get out of it? Seriously? Killing your loved ones, your family or there loved ones.. for picking there own life partner.. wow, that's just ridiculous. Isn't it painful/punishment enough for the newly wed couple to not have family support & blessings & love. And same for parents & family of couple. Relationships are complicated and so are weddings and beginning of new relationships. But we really need to grow up as a society to deal with these situations in a more civilized & human way. And until we can't its responsibility of the police & government to make sure that in a democracy like India, freedom of choice, liberty, human rights & free will is preserved.

Facebook and data privacy

TOI: Stop posting this Facebook message, it's a hoax! .. I was on Facebook but I am lemurly on there any more and not even very active. Why? Cuz I don't want to be an online social creature and I am afraid of my privacy as well. I haven't put any pics on there for a while because I was told that they own you r pictures.. plus people can steal your pictures. Does it really matter? Don't know but I want my data to be mine & just mine. Once its online like that, who knows who does what to it. This whole hoax about putting this "Berner Convention" thing on your wall is BS, as per the TOI article. Facebook & other social networking sites are doing there "best" to protect your data but remember  the reason its free is because they have your data & they use it. Plus others can do whatever they want. So, we are responsible for our own privacy.. Good Luck!!

Gangnam Style

Gangnam Style 'most viewed video'... When I saw this first time I thought this was stupid, I think that I still think its stupid. But.. what do I know? It's number one video on youtube, most watched ever.. although what does that really mean? If he got a cent for every view he'll be a multi-millionaire.. but he doesnt get anything for any view (i think) but good for his career or whatever. So, if you have not wacthed it yet, go & add a little more to his views..

Happy Thanksgiving.. & Life Of Pi (9/10)

Watched Life Of Pi today, in 3D. It's spectacular, visually & as a movie as well. Its story of an Indian boy named Piscine Molitor Patel aka Pissing Patel aka Pi Patel; who believes in 33 million Hindu Gods, Jesus & Allah all together so he can be closer to god. But one day he gets struck by a sea storm which takes away his family & everything from him leaving him on a boat stuck with Richard Parker a Bengal Tiger. Irrfan Khan as adult Pi is narrating the story, so you know he'll survive. But its still an interesting & captivating tale of fighting, struggling & surviving with some amazing visuals & great cinematography. Irrfan, Tabu & Adil Hussain are great and Suraj Sharma is fine too. I miss Tobey Maguire not being in the movie & did not know that Gerard Depardieu was a big actor but whatever.. Go watch it & Enjoy!!

& yes.. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Terrorist and militant Kasab... Western media calling him Gunman? Seriously??

I hope this was funny, but its not. Why is western media from Europe to America is calling him a gunman?? Are you f*king kidding me. This evil Pakistani militant sponsored by Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist group; killed so many people in plain sight. Lashkar is giving statements for him who h clearly tells he is a militant and terrorist from that terrorist group. And his villagers are upset which tells he is Pakistani. Pakistan should take ownership for him. I have nothing against Pakistan as a nation but everything against a terrorist, a killer and his evil. So come on western media, grow up and be honest and truthful. Any attack on your land and your soil is terror attack, but this clear act of terror by this terrorist Kasab is not visible to you? Let's not play these game of words and be open, honest and fight war against terror together.

FYI.. After 4 years of drama and delay, Kasab was hanged and finally put to justice.

Mumbai attacks gunman executed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20422265

Freedom of Speech in India

Facebook arrest woman 'shocked'

So I'm back after long because of this, had to say or write something. India its the largest democracy in the world with constitution & law & all that in place and you see this. People can't speak their mind, there heart. Are you kidding me? I'm glad that at least there its noise from media and even other prominent people. But this happening in our city its extremely unfortunate and total BS. I'm in America and you see the importance of free speech. There are down side to it and you may not want to but others feelings. But in a free city we all should have right to express our thought and feelings. If you don't understand or agree you are free to make counter-arguments. But trying to use power or enforce law over this is completely unacceptable. Lets make sure we keep making boss against such things and make our nation a great democracy it is and better and best!!

Happy Birthday.. Papa-ji, Daddy Jee, Pita-shri, Father :)

Happy Birthday to ME :)

Can women feel safe in the Metros of India?

Share http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EuS0dByPQ2yU/story01.htm

Oprah attacked for India special

I haven't seen the episode yet, but I will soon & then make ky comment on this. But living in US, I can tell how Americas still have stereotypes of India & Indians - how we travel around on elephants, with snake charmers around (I m not kidding), cows roaming everywhere, rushed & crushed in traffic/transport, hot & sweaty, beggars & people with no food, always religious & stuff etc etc. Some of which is true but many of it us not. Plus making fun of our culture - like eating with hands, sitting on floor, religious rituals, arranged marriages (not all the time now), living with family (not always again) etc are great things we are proud of. So no one has right to make fun of or even think of these as lowly or bad things. Indian culture & traditions have there greatness & some not so great points like anything else in world but no one has right to judge us. We are proud of ourselves as Indians and the great growth, development and everything we have. If you cone to our home, if you can't learn from us, at leastcplease respect us..
Oprah attacked for India special

Santhi Soundarajan: an Indian athlete's story

The only reason I am pointing this out is that I feel bad about how a talented athlete like Santhi has to go through this. Can we do something to make this right?

Share http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EuS0cCMWr2oH/story01.htm

Last day at NYSE..

I don't know if I had said it openly earlier that I was working at NYSE (what's NYSE? r u crazyy??). And today was my last day at the project where I have been for 2 yrs.. longest I have been on one single project at one single place, nostalagic & all that. Moving to new opportunity, new project.. in Stamford, CT. (Read this too from few years ago, when I left job at Sapient)

Pranab as President?

Seems Pranab Mukherjee is going to be next President of India. Should he be the president? Dunno.. Congress always brings in this shitty political candidates for president & it sucks. First thing we don't get to chose or vote for our own president, he doesn't have any real powers and then on top of everything. Why not have somone non-political, reputed and someone who can represent our nation in a good way. Like great APJ Abdul Kalam, who could've been the president again, but..

Anyways, I watched few movies:

• The Silver Lining Playbook (7/10)
• Moonrise Kingdom (8/10)
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (5/10)
• Ides Of March (7/10)
• Fast Five (6/10)
• Scent Of a Woman (8/10)

Happy Birthday Maa!!

Special post to say a very-very Happy Birthday to my dearest Maa (mummy/mother/ mata/maatey/mum/amma/maiya/maai/mom..)  Janmadin ki haardik shubhkaamnayein!! :)

Making The Bus Monitor Cry.. But why are we paying for her vacation??

So, I just saw this & this is really bad of course. We never had such problems growing up. Kids respected elders & seniors. I'm not sure how it is now. But this was instilled in us by parents & teachers & everyone. Showing respect to elderly, helping them if needed, offering our seats in bus/train etc etc.. I've seen this behavior in kids in US and its really pathetic. Fault of parents, school & society to not be able to inflict proper manners and behavior. These kids should be properly punished and taught a lesson to not only for them, but to set an example for others. And we as a society should take responsibility to grow our younger generation into better human beings.. On a second note, I saw this campaign to get this poor lady a vacation. Almost $200,000 as of right now & still 30 days left. Really? So that's the idea to teach lesson to those kids & set an example?? People are dying of hunger, heat, cold etc etc in different parts of world. They need more help or this poor lady for vacation?? We don't seem to be as concerned about fixing this problem so thousands & millions of other victims of this can stop suffering. Why do we think more about compensating the victim than fixing the problem and making a better world for everybody. Think about it..


(please read the comments to see what people are saying here & my views further..)

Happy Father's Day

I did wish my Dad Happy Father's Day just now.  Well, it is still Father's Day here. Again, there are so many days to remember - Day for mom, Day for love, day for thanks, day for rose, day for this, day for that... Seriously seems a scam by gift & card industries to make money. And that's why I don't waste money on gifts & cards. But why not take an opportunity to remember, thank & show your love for these important people in your life... So, on this Father's Day, again, I want to thank you Dad. For being you, and for making me what I am today. Thanks.. & I love you!!!!

It's been a nice interesting week. I've been working out quite well. Didn't really watch any new movie except Snatched (7/10 - good performances & interesting but nothing gerat about it. Although Benecio Del Torro does looks like Brad Pitt); The Descendants (8/10 - great performances & interesting storyline, good movie); Bbudah Hoga Tera Baap (6/10 - a fun masala movie for masala & Bachchan fans). Weather has mostly gotten better. But I still just mostly rested this weekend & got good sleep. Cooked too, a new omelet+mixed-veg subzi and ch-ch-chholey. Looking forward to a great week!!

I N-joyed "Stakes" again..

I didn't misspell it, I do mean stakes & not steaks - Belmont Stakes 2012. I'll have another was not playing, so no Triple Crown, but still was a nice day. Bet $40 total & won $20, not too bad I'll say for a fun day of horse racing. What sucked was tolls. From Jersey, you have to pay $13 toll to get in Staten Island and then $13 again to get back to Staten Island from Brooklyn. WTF?? And on top of that we had to pay $3.25 toll each way for visit to Far Rockaway, which is not as bad at night as people may tell you, but not any shops open or enough people after sunset, to have any fun there.. BTW, Union Rags won!!

Watched J.Edgar (6/10), which is not a great movie but good performances by actors, specially acting old. Plus interesting to see what happened in recent history during those days. More like fun documentary for me. Also watched Singham (7/10) which was fun. Not a great storyline or amazing plot/performances etc but not bad either. Actually Ajay Devgn (he's Devgn now & not Devgan) & Prakash Raj were quite good. Over the top action, over the top acting, over the top everything with dropping cars, flying people (when slapped by Singham), tacky dialogues etc etc, but FUN. What else do you want from a movie? Every movie is not suppsoed to make you a better person. When Mithun & Dharmendra were doing similar movies but low budget B-graders, we were too posh to watch those & laughed at them. Now we are enjoying similar movies but presented in a better form. Full fledged Action & Masala time is back in Bollywood!!

Prometheus | Snowhite and the Huntsman | My Week with Marilyn | Life of Pi

I should just make this a movie blog now, no? No. But how many movie reviews do I put & how many movies do I watch.. Anyways, I saw Prometheus (8/10) today in advance screening. The heavily awaited Ridley Scott supposed prequel to Alien is very good. The movie is shot in 3D & looks awesome. It's scary too, one scene of a creature eating some creature actually made me crawl & jump. The idea of finding your creator is interesting. But who created them & who created them & who.. And if someone was not created but was just there, why not us.. That's not what movie talks about but very interesting movie & well shot, good performances & everything. Also, go well before time & do not miss the trailer of Life of Pi, which is actually a scene from the movie. An Indian boy stuck on a life boat with a Bengal tiger and suddenly flying fishes start bursting from all over. Funny & fun scene with very good visuals. Looking forward to the movie..

Snowhite & Huntsman (5/10) could've been a good movie, but it is not. It just tries too hard to be a great movie with un-required scenes, un-convincing performances, un-understandable dialogues. Why show this BIG SFX/VFX scene of horned deer etc to show she's special when mirror already told that & we know, everyone knows she's special. Why she comes back to life after kiss from huntsman but not William who seemed more like the love interest. The last scene with her getting crowned is so unconvincing too, like most of the film. Also watched My Week With Marilyn (7/10) from Netflix, good movie. Not much of a story but good performances & well done. So I have watched lots of movies & we have hod lot of cold-ish rainy weather here in NYC. Although its been clearer & warmer since yesterday. I am working out too, back in Crunch Gym., 70+ mins of non-stop work out, pretty good. BTW, why do they name all these workout classes so ridiculously. Cant just call what it is, like ab class, full body workout, spinning or whatever. Whats the deal with all this fancy names. That's it for now, have a great weekend!!

Madagascar - 3 - Musketeers

Quite obvious that I saw these two movies, very smartly put by me as one phrase above :) Madagascar 3 (8/10) is a very good & fun movie. I went to the preview, where they gave clown nose, paper wig, water tattoos etc with special dance performance too. The movie is full of new characters, gags, jokes & Afro Circus is just funny. This time the gang is trying to escape from Africa to New York by becoming part of a failing travelling Circus with a fierce tiger that can jump through hoops as small as rings, a  sharp jaguar-ess who loves Trapeze Americano & an average intelligence Sea Lion who's cute & funny as hell & likes to "fly". The gang also has to fight & run from Capt Chantel DuBois, a crazy french animal control officer. And at the end they fight it all off & win with 2 wonderful circus performances!! Only bad thing, King Julien (& even others except Alex) kinda reduced, want more.. 3 Musketeers (6/10) is an average movie with some stunning visuals & nice action scenes. The weather's been warm/hot or rainy-ish again & I took a drive to Philadelphia yesterday to meet friends & had a great time.. & a great weekend!!

Gangs of Wasseypur @ NYIFF2012

After camping in Wharton State Forest, I went to the closing event of NYIFF2012 this Sunday and watched Gangs of Wasseypur Part-1 (8/10) by Anurag Kashyap. Its an interesting movie which starts in 1940 with bandit looting british trains; then war of landlords & workers of coal mines; then a boy raised into a ganglord who wants to avenge his fathers death; to his family & further events etc. All original north Indian cast with all original story inspired by  or similar to City of God. Anurag said that Part-2 is almost ready & will be done by Jun 20th but release depends on reception of Part-1. At the after party, I met Anurag, Pooja Batra, Aishwarya Rajnikanth & legendary Shaym Benegal who was given Life Time Achievement Award. The weather is really hot now (have put my A/C) so yesterday was mostly resting, cleaning & time-pass etc.

Wharton State Forest NJ

Spent 2 days 1 night at Wharton State Forest camping this weekend. It's pretty cool & nice. It's biggest forest in New Jersey which is 115,000 acres of pine barrens. It's just 2-3 hrs drive from Jersey City. For NJ residents, the permits are $20 for family sites & $3 per person for regular wild/back-country sites. We took a spot in Batona Campsite & did car-camping (no setting up of tents, just sleep inside the car). Did real camp-fire though, for 4 hrs. Bought a bag of firewood there for $7 and picked up rest of wood from around & burnt it all with help of "crap" (pine leave & grass etc); so cool, I mean so HOT!!

Also did more than 12 miles of hiking. All the trails cross dirt roads here so can be disappointing in the sense that you can reach anywhere by just driving a 4x4 or a dirt bike or maybe even a regular car. But there's no directions & stuff so you need to know the roads & paths. First day was 5+ miles of Mullica River trail from Atsion in 2.5 hrs, which is really boring. Next day was 7+ of Batona Trail from Carranza Memorial to Apple Pie Hill in 4 hrs. You can see Atlantic City & Philadelphia from the top of the tower along with whole forest. Saw some rare species of tree-frogs & special kinda pine trees & interesting flora & fauna. Also there's Atsion lake with fake beach & all that. Also can do lot of canoeing adventures. Overall, very-very exciting & FUN!!

Chernobyl Diaries (6/10)

Just watched Chernobyl Diaries (6/10) in a preview screening. It was kinda good. Not all about noises, booms, shock etc. Kinda tried to build up on story, but kinda failed at the end. *SPOILER* So this guy visits his brother in Kia, with his girlfriend/to-be-fiancee & her friend; and the brother takes them on an extreme tour of Chernobyl area with a ex special-force guide. No one is supposed to be there, but there are not just some crazy dogs & bear but something/someone else. No surprise, nuclear radiation contaminated crazy people who now start killing them. Almost all die in the chase, except one girl who is eventually caught by authorities; revealing those things were run-away patients. They finally have her killed from other patients. *SPOILER ENDS*. But movie goes on in nice pace, with no over drama, but enough tension. Nice camera work, editing, dialogues, acting etc. on a well-done set. Only if climaxed was better, but worth a watch for thrill-horror-suspense fans.

It's been an okay but rainy week. Lotta rain going on suddenly. But I am still busy working & working out. Watched 3.10 to Yuma (8/10) & The Road (8/10) this week. Good plot, great acting and very nice movies. Christian Bale & Russell Crowe playing southerners/cowboys & doing great job; or the young Australian kid Kodi acting so fine.. good stuff. Going to real camping in forest for first time tomorrow to Wharton State Forest, very excited!!.. will let you guys know how it was after I am back.. until then, have fun & have a nice long weekend!!

FUN weekend.. & Modern Indian Village!!

After my Sleep No More experience this Friday night, the weekend was FUN too. Wokeup really late at 2.00 pm on Saturday & went to city to Karaoke48 (I am terrible with English songs and it proved it again) and then dinner at Ah Chiuaha (really nice tex-mex food). Then took the tram ride to Roosvelt Island, which is nice view of city & Island. Tehn went to ruins of Smallpox Hospital where we got stuck cuz the gate got locked at dawn and had to jump over to get out.. FUN!! Then to Serendipity for desset, but the 1.5 hr wait forced us to go to Ralph Lauren's daughter's Dylan's Candy Bar (sundae was fine but no long spoons, no nuts & stupid large cups). Got back home & watched Rang De Basanti (10/10).  Also did some shopping, cleaning etc, went running and had a nice FUN weekend... On a separate note, read this story about this nice modern-ish village in India 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarat-village-that-puts-metros-to-shame/articleshow/13309567.cms

Sleep No More, New York City (7/10)

I watched Sleep No More. It was good but not what I expected. I expected it to be a performance of Macbeth going on in that setup. Story of Macbeth going on in the building, with different scenes in different rooms and you follow people & the story. Something like Shakespeare in the Park but more interactive, more real, more fun. This was not that. This definitely did not seem like Macbeth or even Shakespeare. There were no dialogues for gods sake. Just some grunting & sounds. Thats not Shakespeare as I know it. What happened to that poetic language & weird-ish accent etc etc. Although somethings were good... The setup of the so called McKittrick Hotel was nice. Being able to get in & run around & explore & touch things etc etc was really nice & fun. Also, the choreography of the different dance sequences was nice. I am not going to strongly recommend everyone to go watch this. But it was a very different & cool experience!!

So if you still wanna go, some tips & pointers:

• Its not scary. It could be spooky, but def not scary!!
• Knowing or not knowing Macbeth doesn't matters, cuz it doesn't seems like Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth.
• Its not period show, not 1800s costumes etc etc. Supposedly, its modern interpretation/adaptation of story of Macbeth.
• Its warm inside, so don't need warm clothes/coats unless you need them outside. You'll just have to pay $3 for coat check.
• There's a bar inside right before entry with live music. You can use credit card.
• Bathrooms are on many floor I think & definitely near the bar.
• You can follow the characters/actors if you want to see people & some dancing etc etc. They are really fast, so you have to be fast runner.
• Otherwise just explore. Touch things & do w/e u want. EXPLORE!!
• Try to get personal experience by getting locked in room with some character. Its more on upper floors with nurse/maid & some people.
• The grand-finale is in ballroom, so be in ballroom by end of the show.

Kya Swaad Hai Zindagi Mein

Its been a usual week so far, nothing special.. Watched Braveheart (7/10) which was good, what happened to Mel Gibson? Watched Griff the Invisible (6/10), which was okay.. Been running too, outside running in my new New Balance 993, pretty awesome.. It kinda rained on Mon & Tuesday, so then I couldn't.. Going to watch Sleep No More tomorrow.. About the title, it means "Life has what a taste." Just was thinking about that Cadbury Dairy Milk ad from early 90s, which had this tagline. Here it goes..

Mother's Day.. & New Balance 993

As I have said in the past, why do we need a special day for celebrating love or fatherhood or motherhood. Should be able to celebrate any & every day. Just seems like scam for giftcard companies to make money. Still, will take this opportunity to congratulate all the mothers.. Thank you maa, for being best mom in the world!!

Weather is getting really warm, inda hot. I've been running outside with my new shoes. I feel a "New Balance" while running with these shoes (yes, they are New Balance 993.. they are really awesome but why $145?). Rest all is well!!

Aladeen movie.. The Dictator (6/10)

It's kinda silly/stupid but FUNNY. Sacha Baron Cohen is weird & crazy, but he does what he does & does it very well. Admiral General Aladeen of Republic of Wadiya is a stupid/crazy dictator, who just does not wants his country to be a democracy. Americans and other free country may not understand how dictatosrship allows 99% wealth to be in 1% pupulation's hand, rich to get richer, so called free media but controlled by few people etc etc. So I am not sure that if I aladeened the movie or aladeened it, but its definitely an aladeen movie and you'll aladeen it!!

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

After watching two invasion movies (one by Aliens and one by North Koreans, same thing huh? We don't know much of what they are and what they are upto) Battleship & Red Dawn, I went for a preview invite of Dark Shadows but the seating was full and couldn't watch it. So ended up watching The Avengers (9/10) instead. Is it awesome or what? Its again one of the best superhero movies I have seen, on the lines of The Dark Knight (which is really dark & cool) or Ironman (more like it). It's a great combination of action, comedy, fun, thrill & everything with a good storyline & great performances by the actors. Lot of credit goes to Joss Whedon who's both the screenwriter & director of this movie. Mark Ruffalo is very good as Dr Bruce Banner/HULK, although I am not sure if I liked "the other guy" bit, but great performance by Mark. Better than both Edward Norton & Eric Bana. Funny, nerdy & totally cool (& its awesoem how he hulk totally beats up Loki). Robert Downy Jr is a great actor as I have said in the past & he's very much the Tony Stark & Ironman we know him for, proud, snobby, intelligent, funny and somewhat of a team player this time (his speech/conversation with Loki is just awesome). Chris Evans is good as Captain America, the conflicted guy trying to fit in and the soldier trying to keep his army together. Thor was just fighting almost everyone in the movie but was fine. Everyone else is just fine and they all have decent part in the movie. Even Black Widow, Hawkeye or Nick Fury. Watch the movie till post credit cuz its COOL;)

I was in DC and the weather has been rainy, coldish, warmish etc. I've been okay too. Nothing to tell.. Did watch When Harry Tries to Marry (6/10), good plot/story line but bad casting/acting. Tani really enjoyed it though.. and she almost knew about the movie already i.e. predicted lot of stuff including dialogues correctly.. Almost SCHMOOL!!

Battleship & Red Dawn : 2012 INVASIONs

I watched preview of Battleship (5/10) last week and it was an okay movie. Has lot of action & fighting & some humor and some patriotism for earth & all that. Just another Alien invasion movie which is not bad atall but not great either. Taylor Kitsch was really good in Bang Bang Club and he has 2 big projects already this year with John Carter (supposedly, one of the biggest flop ever) & this one.

Red Dawn (7/10) is really good movie. A group of teenagers from Seattle, called Wolverines, headed by a marine fight against a Korean invasion. When you watch such movies, makes you think of what US has done in Iraq or Afghanistan. I mean, maybe they feel the same way when they are fighting against our forces. Don't know.. But anyways, movie portrays the fight, teh struggle nicely and performances are not bad & Chris Hemsworth is good. A good movie which has been struggling to release fro 2 yrs..

Happy Marriage Anniversary MnD!!

A very-very Happy Marriage Anniversary to my dearest MnD. I remember the first time we celebrated there anniversary (I do not remember the year exactly, but I remember the event). Me and my sister who had just started getting a lil monthly allowance, were saving that money and we bought them a Jug & 4 glass set (really HUGE glasses). And we have been doing something or else since then. Anyways.. I wish a many-many happy returns of the day, heartily congratulations, and god bless you both and all your good wishes and nice dreams & desires may come true. Thanks for being such wonderful parents, such wonderful people and a wonderful couple.. koti-koti pranaam with koti-koti love!!

Busy week-end.. with lotta work, outings/events & Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Departed, Closer & Reservoir Dogs

Ok, so it was a really busy week & weekend. Lots of work from Mon-Sat (yes, monday-to saturday, saturday as well) and I lemurly got 3-4 hrs sleep over weekdays. So busy at work and then I had something or else to attend over every weeknight, for work/business/leisure/fun.. went to Sky Lounge near Times Square one night (which is not sky high whatsoever, but 33rd floor view is ok); went to Bronx one night (not as scary or unsafe or weird as you may expect/think); went to preview of this most wonderful movie I have seen recently called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (9/10). Maybe I am overrating it, but I decide to do that. Such a wonderful movie. Emotions, comedy, drama, fun, nice performances and its based in India (I am not Biased at all). With a great cast like that, wont be surprised by what you see on screen, everyone but Dev Patel (weirdo from Avatar Airbender & yes, Slumdog Millionaire) is very good, just great. It does stereotypes a little (over crowded bus, elephant on road etc etc) but none if it is completely false. The movie does becomes lil slow & kinda dull in middle but beginning & end are just awesome.

Also watched The Departed (8/10), another Scorcese crime drama based in Boston this time, which got him his Oscar. Everything form cinematography, to acting to storyline to everything else is very Scorcese and very good. Also watched Closer (8/10), a really weird romantic drama with interesting plot and great performances. Kinda watched Reservoir Dogs (no rating, would need to watch again), Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, which was inspiration for Kaante (7/10) (or as you may call rip-off, but supposedly Quentin's favorite rip-off of his movie). Weather's been kinda cold but been getting better. Hope it gets much better & more FUN!!

Cold/Rainy Weekend

Well, the first complain is that its been rainy & cold again.. why?? Still managed to go out on Saturday to Sourland Mountain (not a mountain, lemurly 500 feet high.. but very rocky); India Fair 2012 (they had Arti Chhabria as special celebrity guest, really??) in Edison, NJ; and then Jersey Gardens Mall looking for New Balance 990 running shoes (so damn expensive, "made in USA"). Also watched Mozart's Sister (6/10) & American Psycho (8/10, great fun crazy horror comedy psychological thriller kinda movie)..

VEEP & Titanic 3D

Watched VEEP (6/10) preview of first 2 episodes in a special screening yesterday. Its HBO comedy show about a female US Vice President played by Julia Dreyfus,  and her day to day life. How she's dealing with Plastic & Oil lobby and put a person on Clean Earth Committee. Attend stuff for president, her weirdo staff, finding a dog, dealing with her teenage daughter & all that. It was funny, let's see how they continue on that..

Also watched Titanic 3D (10/10) in RPX. (FYI: Titanic is not in Imax 3D, it's been upgraded only to 3d & Imax (non-3D) individually). Undoubtedly a great movie and watching it on big screen in 3D was awesome. I spoke to James Cameron in an interview last week and he was talking about how 3d affects your visual cortex and how it appears more real to your brain bcoz its not flat, so u feel the emotions & everything more (so is should not be just for special effects or throwing stuff on your face) kinda makes sense. Great movie and watch it definitely if you can!!

In iPhone We Trust

That is definitely not me, I am not one of those mad iFans. This morning while walking towards work, I heard this woman walking with another woman saying that.. "In iPhone We Trust", thought just share with you.. any comments??

Anyways, it was a nice weekend. On Friday cooked really very nice aloo/mix-veg subzi/curry, it was awesome. Saturday went to Liberty Park for some running and to city in the evening just for FUN. Sunday was all spent at home, just resting. Also watched few movies, ofcourse: Casino (8/10); There will be blood (7/10); Waitress (6/10); Valkyrie (7/10: very good movie with nice performance from Tom Cruise and god story telling, great visuals etc); Sleeping Beauty (6/10).

Kick the Star out of Stardom.. SRK

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12648019.cms

WTF!! So, it happened again to SRK. He got detained at White Plains Airport in New York for 2 hrs. Do you f*ing know, who he is?.. And regardless of who he is, why is he getting detained every so often?.. Is it completely "random" (like it happened to me), nothing to do with his color, appearence or last name.. don't these guys have electronic records on a person where they can put some info to not repeat there f*ing mistake again & again. Why?? They should be punished, punished by making them watch My name is Khan, in one sitting (if you didn't get it, the joke is they'll be bored outta death)... Anyways.. Congratulations Shahrukh, on Chubb Fellowship from Yale.

Drupal

Parks & Movies

So I went to 2 parks in VirginiA, 4-mile run park near Arlington & other was Pohick Bay Regional Park. The weather was warm & nice in VA & had nice walk/hiking/trekking in the jungle. It was nice!! Also watched couple of movies (seems my blog is becoming a movie review blog, huh!!)

• Man from Earth (9/10): This is really an awesome movie. Simple story where a departing university professor tells his colleagues that he is a 14000 years old caveman. And the story unfolds on some good acting & great dialogues.. must watch it!!
• Lincoln Lawyer (6/10): It was nice, good acting by Matthew (almost no shirt-off this time) & Ryan (where's this guy been, haven't seen since Bang-Bang Club) and interesting enough plot.
• Midnight in Paris (8/10): Although it's no Annie Hall, it' still a great nice fun magical fantasy kinda movie which touches some interesting topics of nostalgia & modernism etc. Owen is trying/being so Woody which works well for the movie but still.. just watch it!!
• The Bridges of Madison County (7/10): An interesting old people romance triangle. It's a good movie with great performance from Meryl.

April Fool, again!!

Well, it gets kinda boring at some point.. no? I mean, its every year. How much & what can I write.. I had a good weekend enjoying Chicago, Zeppelin Biergarten near Grove Street in Jersey City (really-really huge place & nice too).. & watching Atlas Shrugged: Part I (5/10 - its ok but somehow the actors are not that good & direction is weak & scenes don't standout & no grandeur as u may expect) and Housefull (4/10 - really cheap slapstick comedy but not well done atall, some cheap laughs but mostly vague).

Chicago, Broadway Musical

After my first broadway musical - HTSIBWRT, I watched Chicago, the Broadway Musical (7/10) today, the 2.30 pm matinee show. Bought the tickets at TKTS, South Street Seaport (there is no sea or seaport there) for just around $70 each with no crowd or lines like at the one at Times Sq. I thought its like a crime drama but it was quite funny/comedy-ish & fun. Most of the female cast seemed lil older, especially Velma Kelly. And beginning was lil boring & end was not as exciting. But rest was really FUN, good music, nice choreography, decent laughs & FUN. (My rating would be 7/10)

Avengers & Am. Spiderman Hindi Trailers

I watched Hangover-2 (5/10) today. It's pretty much the same movie as last one, but set in Bangkok/Thailand this time, where Stu has to get married and his to-be brother-in-law is missing. Only innovative & extra/special thing is a drug-dealing monkey. They are releasing a third one, next year memorial day weekend... This week has been col, 30-50 F. So enjoy these HOT Hollywood movies trailers in hindi. The Avengers Trailer is kinda funny-ish, with the use of words sainik-bal & khudgarz/sanki & praani etc. Captain America sounds like Amir Khan though. Amazing Spiderman sounds & seems much better in Hindi, but surprised that they didn't show Irrfan Khan..

Jai Mata Di.. Agent Vinod & Hunger Games & Puss in Boots & Muppets

First, "Jai Mata Di" on the occasion of Vasanta Navaratri!! & yes, I watched all these movies over the weekend. Here's what I think:

• Agent Vinod (6/10): Decent plot &nice performances with funny elements & lot of action &great background score. Action seems little outdated/old, too many villains & they die so easy.
• Hunger Games (7/10): Hmm, its quite good but too long. It takes forever for the game to begin when you already know she is ging to win. But HOW? Also, not enough background story to understand. the WHY??
• Puss in Boots (8/10): Just FUN-FUN-FUN, !!
• Muppets (6/10): If you are not a muppets fan, its still kinda FUN!!

300

This is my 300th post here. Some of my most popular posts as per Google's stats:

• General Motors Diet Plan - so people really care about health &dieting etc, hmm!!
• FUNNY QUOTES - humor always sells, so did this blog I guess..
• Fight Against Max Hospital... just another chain-m... - this was me writing & fighting for a cause & it gained its popularity in the process. Not sure what eventually happened though
• Trip to Vaishno Devi & Delhi to Jammu to Vaishno Devi to Jammu to Delhi - people love travelling &googling about travel, so there's that. Plus Mata Raani ofcourse.. Jai Mata Di!!
• Happy Navratri-1 2011... Fasting is Good!! - now not sure if this is Mata Raani or fasting/health agenda but it has worked too.

& here are my personal favorites:

• First Time!!!
• Second Time...
• Do Indians need VISA to travel in India... & be tr...
• My village trip adventure...
• HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!!
• When I lost my 5 rupees coin....
• Please VOTE... but I won't!!
• Old TV Days... DD Days
• India vs USA... Women's Junior Hockey World Cup 20...
• Obama got Nobel Prize.... Really?? Seriously??
• I got fooled... by myself!!!
• Boston to DC.... my first Amtrak Tour!!
• Racial Profiling/Discrimination in US, Again!!
• That's New York I guess...
• life sucks..... but so what?? suck it up, it might...
• Alcatraz and Drive on CA-1 to 17 mile Drive & Big ...
• Comedy Central Roast of Donald TRUMP... by Rahul~R...
• India won against Pakistan in ICC Cricket World Cu...
• If you are Smart & Persistent Customer, Good Custo...
• Obama: Osama Bin Laden's DEAD
• Burlington Coat Factory SUCKS... more than The Las...
• Fish bone stuck in throat/ almost choked2death/ Bu...
• Tony Awards.. I can't believe I haven't seen Broad...
• I am a New Yorker... 1 year in NYC!!
• Earthquake in New York.... Hurricane Irene coming!...
• 4Peaks @ Adirondacks-dacks-dacks
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'...
• RIP Steve.. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died :-(
• My First American Wedding Experience
• MnD are 'here' in USA
• The year that was.. 2011
• Oscars, Academy Awards 2012
• and all others...

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Watched the New York City St Patties Day parade. It starts from 50th & 5th av near St Patricks Cathedral &goes till 80th street near MET. It starts at 11 am & was supposed to end by 4-4.30 pm. I went at around 3 cuz I woke up late & felt lazy. I was late so I went straight to 80th street to watch it. Not very crowded & Igot a good spot. People marching, bagpipes playing, some dancing kinda & walking & all that. But would you believe, that the parade lasted past 6 pm? Yeah, really-really long. Anyways, I left around 6, took a walk through Central Park to Times Square. Met Cyrus, the goat guy there with his goat Cocoa. Yeah, a Goat @ Times Square. Went to a St Patties party at a club at night & then almost sleeping all day Sunday. That's it, that was my weekend!!

Congrats Sachin, on your 100th 100!!

Tendulkar hits his 100th hundred

Sachin finally did it.. AWESOME!! The best cricket player in whole world has finally done it. We all have been waiting for this moment, like forever. Creating so much pressure on him. Almost forgetting all the wonderful cricket he has played in past 22 years, the 99 centuries, the 33K+ runs. ANyways, he has finally did it & we are all very HAPPY. He deserved this & made this happen. I think its possible that he'll retire after this series? I think so.. Anyways, CONGRATULATIONS SACHIN!! (lets hope India also wins this match)

Don't work after 8pm, Gurgaon tells women... REALLY? WTF??

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12254740.cms

Seriously? That's what they are telling?? After numerous incidents of rape & molestation in past days, that's the solution they have come up with. And we live in a the biggest democracy of the world. WTF???? You gotta be not kidding me but REAL STUPID. Or should I use a more horrible word!! Just go &  find the culprits and hang them.. publicly. So others can get a lesson that what kind of punishment they'll get if there sick minds ever even imagine of any such crimes. Do your job right and stop playing a stupid dictator. Or none of these idiots should be even paid..... Sorry, my blog is read by families &minors maybe and I am just being very-very polite, but I am REALLY MAD. We all should be MAD and have to get this MADNESS fixed. or God Help Us!!!!

Chronicle (7/10) & Red Tails (5/10)

Chronicle is a fun movie about bunch of young high school boys gaining super power & dealing with it by not becoming super heroes but being stupid. Nice concept & good execution too. Performances were good by all the boys & emotions have been well played too (ppl cried). The movie does has you asking for lil more maybe, in terms of action & happening at few places but overall its a fun to watch movie. Use of many cameras is mart giving exposure to better camera angles than usual found footage movies.

Red Tails is a 58 million disaster. Its based on Tuskegee Airmen, the bunch of African American soldiers who fought in WWII. Its extremely corny, filled with cliches & bad performances too. Cuba Gooding Jr whatever happened to you man? You were such a nice actor!! He's just standing & smoking pipe through out the movie, looking extremely bored & un-interested. Anyways, the action sequences with planes are nice & the concept is wonderful &true. Only if the movie would've been made well...

A very-very special post..

It's the leap day today afterall, wont be Feb 29th for another 4 years... And my first time writing a blog on LEAP DAY.... For whatever day you maybe celebrating today.. Congratulations & Happy "*" day!!

Oscars, Academy Awards 2012

Academy Awards 2012 were held today & the results were:

1. Best Film: The Artist - I was surprised a little, cuz I thought it could/should be Hugo. Similar concept but grander execution & stunningly beautiful.
2. Best Director: Michel Hazanivicius - Could've been Marty but thsi was well deserved. Making a silent likable movie is quite a task.
3. Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist) - Very surprising actually. I thought it would be George Clooney or Brad Pitt or someone. A french guy with no dialogues to say except 2 words. But he was definitely very good in the movie & deserved it I guess..
4. Best Actress: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) - She's so damn beautiful even now. I haven't seen the movie but with 17 nominations and 3rd win, I am not sure that she deserved it for thi smovie or not, but good she got it.
5. Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners) - I remember him from Girl with Dragon Tattoo & haven't sene this but dunno.. must be good or just got it cuz he's 82?
6. Best Supporting Actress: Ocatvia Spencer (The Help) - I haven't seen this movie or her. Did she get it cuz she's black woman? Just kidding.. I think she probably is very good and didn't have Meryl for competition
7. Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) - I have not been able to see this movie inspite of my multiple attempts through Netflix. I got the disc but it didn't play, got 2 more but they didn't play sound, getting a dvd now. Anyways, I like Woody Allen a lot and waiting to watch this awesome movie.
8. Best Animation feature: Rango - That's the only animation I had seen out of all nominees & it won.. not fair, but it happens.

You can see the other results which were mostly swept by Hugo I think, nobody seems to care much about the other technical categories but they are important and contribute heavily in making a good movie (although we find it boring & that's why I am skipping talking about them). AR Rahman was orchestrating the music I think, i did see him playing which was cool. I didn't like Billy Crystal's hosting, but much better than last year. But Jon Stewart was much better, or even NPH at Tonys (NPH should get to host Oscars!!).

I also watched two movies: 2001 a Space Odyssey (8/10) was pretty cool but I wasn't blown away by it. Although, I enjoyed the extras much more. Tells you how it was so awesome for that time. The visual effects, the imagination, the execution etc and the music is all just AWESOME. I didn't get the plot a lot initially & didn't make lot of sense but I kinda get it now. Stanley is definitely a filmmaker's filmmaker, a great guy. I also watched Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (7/10), which I thought was a rip-off of What Happens in Vegas; but it was not. It's a good movie with ok performance by Imran Khan (he sometimes seems dead-ish, cinema should be more cinematic I think), decent performance by Kareena (she suits these kind of crazy roles) and good plot, interesting ending and great name of the lead guy.. RAHUL!!

Happy Birthday Sister!!

Om Namah Shivay.. MahaShivRatri!!

Happy MahaShivRatri to all Shivabhaktas... Har-Har-Har Mahadev, Jai Shiva Shankar!!

Trip to Providence RI = AWESOME

What an awesome weekend, with a totally awesome trip to Providence, RI. Its around 200 miles from Jersey City, driving on I-95 N. We started Saturday morning & the drive was nice with two Cracker Barrels & lots of Mcdonalds on both sides. The stay in Marriott Courtyard Providence Downtown was great, its right in center of the city, walking distance to everything. So walk around downtown Providence in the evening was fun - visit/walk in Brown University (another Ivy League conquered!!) to Prospect Terrace Park (surprisingly nice view of the city & all that) & walk on Benefit Street (maybe it was just time of the day, but BORING).. Most of the time was spent in the hotel having FUN. I got a free upgrade to a room with whirlpool/jacuzzi (those can get real dirty after use, glad I am not the one who had to clean it) and nice view. Thoroughly enjoyed the gym (worked out twice), swimming pool (tried to swim once) & spa at the hotel. Also ordered "stuffed" pizza in room for dinner, while watching Russel Peters.. REALLY NICE!! 

Next day after more hotel fun (same stuff, but still fun) we decided to go to Warwick, RI. First stop the Warwick Light House which was not easy to locate (drive straight on Warwick Neck Av. till dead end) was closed doors, 4 cars had to turn back. Then 5 mins drive to Oakland Beach, which is nice small rocky beach. Then to Apponaug Village (where was it? is it real??), right next to famous City Hall, Public Library & Art Museum etc. Surprisingly enough, everything but a Walgreens store & a Chinese Restaurant was closed, everything... So drove straight back, stopping in Stamford, CT for dinner at a nice Italian Place called ZaZa (best Italian food I have ever had!!). Then back home in time to watch Scarface (8/10), quite a movie... Quite an awesome weekend!!

P.S. Quite a great foodie weekend too - Not just the best Italian food with various tapas', pasta & crushed cannoli; great "stuffed" pizza; nice Korean lunch (in Providence); delicious burritos & quesadillas (in NYC).. I also enjoyed some "delicious" home made Lava Cake this weekend, really memorble with long lasting effects :)