Innovation lies here

Innovation lies here

Into the wild

"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quite life."

- Leo Tolstoy on 'Family Happiness'

Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer is a wonderful, haunting, thought provoking and slightly depressing book. But it's definitely worth a read. I am only half way through this book and don't feel like dropping it until its finished. A movie by the same name is supposed to be good as well. Don't watch this on a Friday evening though.

Have faith. Science can solve your problem

The Royal Society turns 350 glorious years. Here's an excerpt from an interview with Bill Bryson.

"Think of a single problem confronting the world today," says Bill Bryson, in full rhetorical flow. "Disease, poverty, global warming… If the problem is going to be solved, it is science that is going to solve it. Scientists tend to be unappreciated in the world at large, but you can hardly overstate the importance of the work they do. If anyone ever cures cancer, it will be a guy with a science degree." There is a fractional pause, then a sheepish smile. "Or a woman with a science degree."

What does it take to be part of the RS ?

The unbearable...

The unbearable lightness of being..

I can literally feel the weight of this statement. So heavy and depressing that I dared not to even read the gist of this book. How long can you avoid what eventually should happen.

A short conversation with H on this and now I want to read this. An excerpt from this book will give you a glimpse of what you can possibly expect from this.

"Anyone whose goal is something higher must expect some day to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo ? Fear of falling ? No, vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves."

There is a movie by the same name. The plot sounds zara hatke..but maybe worth a watch.

movie reviews

Two depressing and one light hearted movie, dad's 58th birthday celebrations, a couple of rounds to the hospital and one not-so-pleasing doc. This is how my last ten days have been.

Revolutionary Road - 4/5

I'd been waiting to watch this for a long time. The poor audio quality didn't deter my urge to watch it completely. Emotionally charged, splendid performance from both Kate and Di Caprio makes it a must watch, especially if you've liked American Beauty. Sam Mendes is the director. Set in the mid-1950s, the story revolves around a couple and their struggle in their lives. The movie ends on a rather depressing note, but its got a strong plot which will keep you hooked on till the end. If you like movies on relationships, don't miss this.

Road, Movie - 3/5

Off-beat, slow, awesome cinematography, quintessentially abhay deol movie, lacks a gripping plot. The last time I enjoyed such a movie was Lost in Translation. Though both these movies belong to different genres, what you can expect from such movies are similarl; don't watch the movie hoping for surprises, happy ending, abrupt ending, song sequence and the likes. Visually stunning and has an arty-movie blend. If you are the one who likes hitting the road, seeing this movie will make you feel you are missing something.

I haven't seen any of the other two Dev Benegal's films. But, am waiting to see his next one. There is nothing much to the plot that I can write about, but its definitely a great movie to watch on a lazy sunday afternoon.

Shame (Swedish) by Ingmer Bergman - 3/5

This doensn't quite match up with 'The Seventh Seal'. This ones about a couple who used to part of the orchestra but live in a remote place in an attempt to escape the civil war. They eventually get affected by the war and inspite of being apolitical, get caught in between political parties ruling the state. Has a fairly abrupt ending and a pretty sad one. Definitely worth watching once.

Waiting to see 'Wild Strawberries' next.

Longing for an adventure

From the cover page of the book which bears the same name as the movie.

unusually quiet

how much can one ponder

reconstructing a shattered dream

will take eons of patience and courage

Reasons to have a kid

After talking to a few moms and soon-to-be moms and the I-never-wanted-to-be-a-mom groups.

1. Need something challenging in your life

2. Bored of seeing your spouses's face

3. Peer pressure

4. Fulfilment/Contentment for being a woman

5. No special reason. I have nothing else to do

6. Thats what's supposed to happen after marriage. Isn't it ?

7. I am already turning 30

8. My parents are asking for one

9. My grand parents are asking for one

10. My In-Laws' relatives and their friends are pestering too much

11. I've always wanted to be a *single* mother

12. People start doubting your potency. Isn't it time to prove yourself ?

How many of these are genuine reasons ?

Bought a copy of Descent Into Chaos, a book which I had gone through half way. Eager to finish it.

Time to log out ?

I love it. I support of free thinking as much as I support interference free internet surfing. There is much more than the reasons(coordinated cyber attack and not allowing unfiltered internet service in China) stated by Google for logging out of China. With 400 million, or is it 800 million, internet users and Google having rougly around 25%-30% market share (Baidu has the largest market share), exiting a lucrative market requires a solid reason. Baidu is reportedly pro Chinese Government and has the largest market share.

Its about time that someone stood head strong for its ethics and look into the eyes of someone as shrewd as the Chinese Govt. When Cisco's IOS code was supposedly 'flicked' by a Chinese company (someone correct me if I have got this fact wrong), they still could do nothing. They had to succumb to this as they wanted to stay put in world's fastest growing economy. Whatever the reasons may be, I'm glad Google has at least shown the intent of doing this. BBC reported a lot users who supported Google's decision have being laying flowers at the firm's HQ in China.

I still wonder what authority does a small set of people who are at the helm of affairs have to decide on an entire nations' preferences, be it filtering, free speech, human rights, freedom to morality to what Hinduism actually is and even deciding on legal sex positions even if its in your own bedroom.

Humans are funny, that's what makes life so interesting.

classic 500

I decided to gift myself something for this new year..time to pamper myself..

Bought a Classic 500. Its a sheer pleasure riding it. Hope to get some pics soon..and some long drives very soon. For a change getting stuck in traffic seems good. You(meaning the bike of course, not me :) ) get those stares and looks esp. when the engine roars....I love it. Feels good when people on the street ask me, "new bike ha ?", "is this the new bullet ?", "when did you buy..whats the price...looks good eh .."

yeah thanks

at last the year ends

The last year didn't quite go through as expected. Towards the end there was a lot of churn..some wanted and most of it unwanted. A lot of turmoil and hope things settle down. The trip up north made sure the 2009 ended well and this year started off well.

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Even if you are in a state of equilibrium, why is there a need to increase the entropy of the system ? Damn, human nature, I guess.