Thursday Tidbits: #5

2 minutes to a happier you

- Found this nice article on the Prevention magazine's website...

As per this, below are some simple ways with which you can lift up your mood... (For the complete article, click on the link above)

• Flip through your old photos
• Munch on Nuts
• Inhale a calming scent
• Open your shades - let the sunlight stream in
• Walk around the block
• Clear away clutter
• Think Fast - Turn your thoughts into a race!
• Cue up YouTube - for a hearty laugh
• Rethink your retail therapy - before you plunk down that credit card
• Put on a happy face - just smile! :)
• Zone out - rest, peace, quiet and solitude
• Chat up a friendly neighbor - socialize with a cheerful person
• Chop veggies - good unwinding technique
• Do a good deed

Agnee

....the new face of Indi-rock is the perfect blend of contemporary musicians. The band formed about a year back comprises of the trio - Arijit, Koko and Mohan. What adds the majaical touch to this band is the unique individual styles and influences that each of these members bring with them. Arijit with his Jazz-Rock, Koko with Classic rock/pop/indian and Mohan with carnatic/hindustani classical music. That's indeed a huge pool of talent!!!!!

Though I havent heard too many songs by them, the very few that I have listened to, have mesmerized me. I absolutely fell in love with the new theme song that they composed for Splitsvilla-2 (why I watched that crappy show is a totally different post by itself, so no questions entertained right now!!) . I've been desperately looking for the source of this music and finally managed to find out today and I'm damn thrilled about it :)

Here's the song I'm talking about. I *loved* the melodic content of it...beautiful!!
(The band was invited on the show to play the song and the video below is that part..)



More details on the band here

I've heard and read that they have a great stage presence... waiting to see them live on stage sometime..

Thursday Tidbits: #4

BookCrossing is defined as "the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise." The term is derived from bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which began in order to encourage the practice, aiming to "make the whole world a library."

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

A nice cool website for all those who love to read and are passionate about books. You can read, register and then release your books into the wild...for other people who are interested in reading the same. You can also follow their progress with a unique tracking ID on the label..I haven't tried doing this myself but nevertheless looks like an interesting concept. You can also read reviews, know the latest in the book world, join the community and discuss in the forums and interact with like minded people

Hum chlormint kyun khatein hai?

Looks like Perfetti has signed up the Khan brothers (Salman & Sohail) as the new brand ambassadors of Chlormint mouthfreshner. Caught this Ad on TV yesterday and I was seriously at a loss of words... Creativity seems to be going down exponentially in the Ad world or is it just the new mantra that if you can't make a good Ad which people will remember (in turn increasing your brand recall) then just make a bad one....... coz the end result is the same, people will still remember the Ad - just for a different reason!!!!! So you move up on the brand recall either ways... hmmm...interesting!

I was just browsing thru the reviews on this ad and was quite surprised to see the large number of ppl who actually loved this one - now, that's called tapping the fan following!! You know who I'm referring to, dont u?

99

In the last few months, there have been quite a few unconventional movies being made in bollywood and I've tried to watch each one of them. I have been quite impressed with the script, story line and quality of these movies...though most of them haven't done well at the box office (Glad to see that few movie makers have realized this is not the only criteria that defines a movie's success!)

A movie, with an unusual title - 99, starring Bomman Irani and Cyrus Brocha *had* to be something different and it sure was! The movie is set in the year 1999 (hence the title) in the year when communication media such as cell phones and internet were booming. Two small time crooks Sachin (Kunal Khemu) & Zaramud (Cyrus) get caught with a bookie/gangster and become his recovery agents. They end up taking on the biggest bet of their life on a cricket match...and the question is whether they will manage to hit that century in life finally, having been stuck at '99' (one short of the elusive century)

Some people say that 99 falls in the same genre as Guy Ritchie's cult crime comedies like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but more toned down and 'Indian'ised. The only complaint I had was the slow pace, especially in the first half. But it was well compensated in the second hour where the plot unfolds really fast and keeps you engrossed.

Apart from the length, the movie scores in all areas - perfect casting, fine performances, smart and slapstick comedy that can make you roll on the floor with laughter at times. In short, 99 is an interesting, smart, well-made, good looking film and a complete entertainer, if you go without much expectations..

Quote for the week

Loved this one ... so simple yet so profound..
So if u want to change something u do, change the way u think abt it!

I haven't tried yet, but I will...for sure

Movie Review: Angels and Demons

After I read this book by Dan Brown, I've been eagerly waiting to watch this movie and it finally released in India yesterday. The book was definitely a good read, it had everything that a mystery/thriller novel should have. (Click here to read my review of the book). My first impression was that the book was more apt for a movie becoz of all the masala and high intensity drama...so I was all the more keen to watch this translate into the big screen...

Whoever said 'dont judge a book by its movie' said it right! I didn't enjoy the movie as much as I liked reading the book. It is obvious that a 600page book cannot be made into a 2.5hr movie with that level of detail. But there was a serious lack of adrenalin in the movie. I was also a bit disappointed with the change of plot and the drastic reduction in Vittoria Vetra's (the female lead) role. It was almost as if she was insignificant. She played a very important role in the book and her revenge against her father's murder was the main focus. But that was completely removed here and she was made to look like a redudant actor. I had even expected a different climax but was glad that it wasn't completely different from that of the book. Even though the story was altered, it was at least weaved in well to reach a logical ending...

Tom Hanks as harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is quite impressive though the script doesnt do enough justice to showcase his ability of solving those cryptic puzzles to find the path of illumination. Last but not the least, I loved the visuals and effects. It was a treat to see those monuments, churches, symbols, statues etc described in the book! That's probably the only part of the movie that I liked. I'd anyday prefer the book over the movie :)

Thursday Tidbits: #3

I've been drinking a lot of green tea off late and hence googled up facts on it to gain more insights...Here are some random facts about Green tea.

Did you know....

• Types of green tea - Chinese, Japanese, Decaf, Asian, Herbal


• A cup of green tea should only steep between 2-3mins whereas black tea needs 3-5mins and herbal teas about 5-6mins


• Green tea tastes the best when the water is just below the boiling point whereas Black tea is best with boiling water


• Green tea is made from the same plant (Camellia sinensis) as other teas such as black and oolong, but with a different process.


• Green tea is green because it is not fermented. Hence green tea retains more health benefits than black tea because fermentation causes destruction of more nutrients


• Green tea has been shown to increase calorie burning and fat oxidation and hence used widely by people for weight loss


• Green tea contains compounds known as flavonoids, which are also found in broccoli, grapes, and red wine, and which are known cancer fighters


• Beneficial molecules in green tea may protect the liver from toxins, including those from tobacco smoke and alcohol.


• Green tea also contains natural flouride, which is a known cavity fighter.

So..what are you waiting for? Go Green! :)

Keep Off the Grass..

"All of them had some version of the same advice that I intuitively believed in, but was glad to hear from folks who had lived it. Ten years from now, none of my present concerns would matter. Would I care whether I was ranked in the top five or the bottom five of the class? No! Would I care whether I learnt finance, operations or marketing at the IIM? No. I realized that the only thing I would care about after graduating from here would be whether I had been happy at the IIM or not. Did I have experiences I would remember? Did I have relationships that would stand the test of time? These would be the only things I would look back at, and judge my level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction during my time here"

These lines from the book Keep off the Grass, echoes *exactly* my thoughts about B-school life :) I absolutely loved these lines...Sometimes you feel overwhelmed when someone else can express thoughts on your mind so easily and so well...

Click here to read my review of the book

Short notes..

Watched some good unconventional hindi movies over the last few weeks..

Gulaal - One more compelling movie by Anurag Kashyap after Dev-D, full of political drama which takes democracy to a different level, has perfectly etched characters combined with a powerful plot and superlative performances by every actor. With a lot of violence and a Shakespearean ending, the movie is definitely not for a mass appeal. I admire Anurag Kashyap for making such bold and different movies like Black Friday, Dev-D and now Gulaal. Glad to see that there are a few directors who dont care for commercial success alone!

Barah Aanah - is again not a 'typical hindi film', more of an experiment, with a short and simple story of 3 unlikely friends who are not happy with their lives. It's definitely not a comedy as the makers make it out to be. Naseeruddin Shah is the main attraction, delivers a good performance mainly through his facial expressions, though he has a very few dialogues but the maximum screen time. The pacing of the movie in the first 1 hr is very slow and can test your patience. However, with no songs, the movie is kept short and crisp and definitely worth a one-time-watch.

Straight - another light-hearted yet low key hindi movie based on homosexuality after Dostana & Fashion, which cruises through some untrodden paths. Vinay Pathak delivers an awesome performance with a great timing for comedy. There are several Laugh-Out-Loud moments as well as some sweet sentiments. The script has an interesting idea but fails to explore it deep enough and settles with a safe ending. Again I wouldnt classify it as a great movie but it's not unwatchable either.

200

Ah! I just noticed that this is my 200th post after 3yrs of starting this blog :)

Why is it a big deal? Well, it's really not but it's just a small milestone and we all know the importance of milestones in life. It's these small targets that act as checkpoints through which we keep track of our progress and they remind us that we are on the right track of achieving the larger goal...in any aspect of life. They are small yet significant events (or turning points) which indicate that we are moving closer to our destination. So go ahead and set up these small milestones to fulfill bigger dreams in life!!

The best way to mark this post is with this pic I took a few months back at Hesarghatta :)

Bikhre Bimb (Odakalu Bimba)

I've been wanting to see this play for over a year now and finally made it to Rangashankara yesterday. What an AWESOME play it was! I am truly at a loss of words here. For the first time I felt that a play was worth a lot more than what it was priced for (100 bucks). Believe it or not, it runs full house every show even today, years after being created...

Bikhre Bimb, which means Broken Images, is a one-act play written and directed by Girish Karnad originally in Kannada and later translated into Hindi as well as English. Now, if the hindi version itself was so good, I am sure I'll love the Kannada one ("Odakalu Bimba") even more. Original versions always have the maximum impact, dont they? :)

For starters, Arundhati Nag is the sole actor of the play who delivers a spectacular performance leaving the audience mesmerized with her talent! The play is a portrayal of a professor & a kannada short story writer-Manjula Naik who achieves success, wealth and fame overnight with her bestseller novel in English. The script moves on to tap into her inner soul and slowly the story reveals the truth about her book, marriage and her personal life in a very intricate and powerful way. The television image, call it the character's self image, alter-ego, conscience or the inner soul, is like a co-actor on stage whose job is to interroagate the character to reveal her true self. At the end of the play, there is a blur created between the real and the self-image and you are unclear on where one starts and the other ends. The story by itself is not unique but the way technology is used (multiple TV sets on stage) to unveil the true story bit by bit and the PERFECT timing & co-ordination between the actor and her image on TV will just leave you speechless!! It was truly a wonderful experience watching Arundhati Nag's effortless yet brilliant performance on stage...

I was surprised to learn that this play was Girish Karnad's first directorial venture in the theater space. His understanding of the character and the plot is extremly intuitive and the language of the script is pure and marvelling. It's a true reflection of what a gifted playwriter he is.

If you are a theater person and you still haven't watched it, then what are you waiting for??? Make sure you dont miss out on the next show!!

You can book tickets online for the play at http://www.indianstage.in/

Thursday Tidbits: #2

Today's tidbit is another useful website that I found:

http://www.saleraja.com/

I came across this site which has a consolidated list of all the sales and promotions currently going on in the city in various categories - Apparels, Electronics, Household, Footwear etc. So if you are looking to shop and want a good deal and plan which shops/malls to visit so that you can optimize your time, this site might just help you! You can also search by Locality and Brands, in addition to the item categories. The drawback is that the site currently caters to 2 cities only - Delhi and Bangalore.

Talk about being crazy!

Came across this piece of news on domestic violence...A new law in Saudi Arabia. Now, if this isn't being crazy, then what is! I'm amazed at where the world is heading into!

"Husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence, Saudi media reported Sunday. Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper based in Riyadh, reported that Judge Hamad Al-Razine said that "if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment."

Quote for the week

I can so totally relate to this! Feel like this more often than not...

Thursday Tidbits: #1

I realized that my blogging frequency has gone down recently...to keep it more regular I decided to start this new weekly column, every thursday where I'll share some piece of useful info that I come across - it could be anything - like a useful website link that not many people know about or some health tips, articles worth reading and so on...So, don't forget to visit this space every week! :)

Here's the tidbit for today:

http://www.investmentyogi.com

I came across this pretty cool website that has multiple tools!

1. Budget calculator - helps you in planning your budget. You can track your income and expenses and organize them under various categories.

2. Tax calculator - quick and easy tax calculator which helps you estimate your taxes

3. Tax Planning - helps in planning your annual taxes with information on income tax slabs, tax covers, etc
4. Financial Plans, Insurance needs, articles and lots more!

So what are you waiting for? Go and explore the site! and let me know if you found it useful :)

Book Review: Angels and Demons

Author: Dan Brown
Pages: 610
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Fiction
Rating: 4.0/5

I was a bit let down by this book as compared to The Da Vinci Code coz it seemed more like watching a highly dramatic bollywood movie. But hey! it's supposed to be a Thriller, so I can discount this fact and say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book which always kept me on the edge of my seat with its share of surprises and a never expected nail biting finish. I dont mind suspending my disbelief if the story is well written and it can keep me hooked till the last line of the last page!
[Click here to read the complete review]

:-)

Miss Wormwood: What state do you live in?
Calvin: Denial
Miss Wormwood: I dont suppose I can argue with that..

Calvin's quotes *always* put a smile on my face :)

"When someone is searching", said Siddhartha, "then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal... You, O venerable one, are perhaps indeed a searcher, because, striving for your goal, there are many things you dont see, which are directly in front of your eyes..."

Loved these lines from the book Siddhartha (by Hermann Hesse) that I am reading currently...

Orbis Terrarum Challenge - 2009

Bethany is hosting the challenge once again this year! It has started March 1st and goes on till end of Dec 2009. I had a lot of fun participating in this challenge last year and I even won a book :) It got me interested in a lot of genres and gave a kick to my reading habits! If you want to see the list of books I read as part of this in 2008, here it is.

I am already done with my book for the month of March (A Flight of Pigeons by Ruskin Bond) and will be posting all the reviews of the books I read on my book blog.

Here are the details if you wish to take part in this challenge.

http://orbisterrarumchallenge.blogspot.com/2009/01/rules-and-regulations.html

Main Challenge Rules:

*The Orbis Terrarum Challenge begins March 1 2009(you are welcome to join later) Through the end of 2009.

*For the challenge each reader is to choose 10 books (for the 10 months).

*Each book must from a different country, I have decided to go by the country of origin of the author, or the country he/she lives in is fine as well.

*You don't have to have a list, that means you can change your mind at any time. As long as there are 10 from 10 different countries, written by 10 different authors: Anything goes.

The bottom line: choose 10 different books, written by 10 different authors, from 10 different countries.