"Luck By Chance"

hmmm

I really can't make up my mind on what to write about this movie...

there is a story... of a struggling actor... how he uses everyone to carve a name for himself in the world of Bollywood.

Then by the time the movie is over... the story takes a pro-feministic arrpoach...

There are a few powerful scenes... few of the harsh realities of life have been portrayed brilliantly...

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia... were absolutely brilliant... only to be outdone by Farhan's brilliant performance... Hrithik's Cameo... was the breather from the serious scenes...

About the movie... I'm not really sure of how to rate it...

Overall Rating...: ##/10

"Seven Pounds"

I saw it once and immediately saw it again.... to be in touch with all the details of the story...

This ones a real good one... an emotional drama... and it gives you a lot to think about...

Will Smith & Rosario Dawson... were both brilliant...

No Spoilers here, about the story...

One request: Watch it till the end...

Rating: 8.5/10

26th January

Today is 26th January-

The relevance:

On this day , in year 1950 the people of India adopted the Constitution of India and declared themselves as a democracy.

I don't intend to comment on the relevance, the implications, the interpretation, the positioning... the global political atmosphere etc.

Writing in this post, to remind us why this day was chosen... if you actually go back in history the Indian Constitution was written and ready in the November of 1949, but we waited for two months to declare ourselves as a Democracy... the answer is something that we all would have read as a part of the curriculum, but I'm not sure many would remember/recall...

In case you don't recollect read on...

Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre is recorded to be one of the most pivotal events in our struggle for freedom. This was one incident which stirred the nation, brought them together, what was until now an outrage against the Britishers in small pockets had strengthened grip... in year 1920, Gandhi ji along with fellow congressmen came together and committed themselves for " Swaraj"... this was later followed by the civil disobedience act, the non cooperation with the British Govt... then Simon Commission... in 1928, when Lal Lajpat Rai was killed... further uproar... and more outrage...

What followed was a stage of reforms and denial of the then Indian political parties by the British Govt.... this in turn helped the oto grow stronger and function as a unified body... the motion to uproot the British from the Indian soil grew stronger. As a revolt to all the British doings, the then congress members, the likes of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. C V Rajgopalachari, Nehru , Gandhi etc. pledged out the Declaration of Independence...on New Years Eve. This was then officially declared on 26th Jan 1930. and ever since 26th Jan was celebrated in India as Independence Day... till 15th August 1947 happened.

So, in order commemorate the 1930 declaration, the consitution though was ready, was to effect from Jan 26th, and now is celebrated as the Republic Day.

This is probably the only thing I remember from the History Books.

read it somewhere

"Initially, what separates us, is the choice...

eventually

what separates us, is the effort"

Hinduism...

I got this article in my email. This clarifies much of our thoughts about Hinduism.

"Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey, CA An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly seven hours.

I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible unusual of young Americans. After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India. Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 'What?' I didn't understand the question.

'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'

'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'.

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?' 'I am a Hindu', I said.

She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?

I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

'Who is your prophet?' she asked.

'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.

'What's your Holy Book?'

'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.

'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.

I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.

'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?'
What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.'

'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'

'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'

She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?'

'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority.

'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.

'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.'

'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'

'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don't think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.

'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?'

'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,'

'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'

'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.'

'Hmm ..very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed.

'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.'

'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'

'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.'

I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it in religions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.

For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.

Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. 'Isavasyam idam sarvam'… Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas.- It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.

I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception'

I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence-'Ahimsa Paramo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn't conditions my mind with any faith system."


The above is an article I read... and wanted to spread the awareness of the same... So posted it...

Funnily something similar happened to me... but that's another post

What about Economic crisis?

Read it... found it worth... so posting it here...

Shankar Acharya, who earned his PhD in economics from Harvard in 1972, was India's chief economic adviser from 1993 to 2001. Currently he's an honorary professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

A freelancer called 'Jason OverDorf' interviewed him, about how India will be affected by the current global economic crisis.

JO: What's your latest read on economic growth for next year?

SA: All these things change very fast these days with the changing situation in the world economy and in India, but with that caveat I would say that there's a reasonable chance that our growth rate in the coming financial year, 2009-10, will be in the region of 5 to 6 percent.

JO: Does it continue to get more negative?

SA: I think so, but I think that's true the world over. If you look at IMF projections for the US or the UK or Europe or Japan, the IMF puts out these projections normally twice a year, and in the last five months thy've done four sets of projections and each has been significantly worse than the preceding one. That's the way the world is going at present. What you're seeing in the world is what you're seeing in India. With the passage of every month, this is a more serious problem for all parts of the world than they thought a month ago.

JO: Does this 5-6 percent take into account the projected job losses?

SA: Job losses will be there, and they will continue to be there. A lot of the job losses have to do with the direct export sectors, like textiles, leather, garments and all that sort of stuff, and there are a certain amount in the software/IT space as well, and in the fincl sector certainly. A generally scaling down of expectations among busiensses across the board, barring one or two here and there. So I think the job losses are there. We don't know how long it's going to continue, or just how large and how bad it's going to get.

JO: I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, that you expect a slowdown in exports and foreign investment. Does that account for the entire slowdown in growth?

SA: No, there are other things at work. The slowdown in exports is a strong factor, because exports account for 22-23 percent of India's GDP. And as you know the most recent data that we have, for the month of October, shows a 12 percent drop in exports—at least goods exports. And a similar number is expected for November. But it's not limited to exports. Exports are linked to the rest of the economy. Also what has happened is that growth of investment is slowing very fast. There's a lot of cancellations or postponements of projects across the board, as people realize that there is a very substantial slowdown of growth in India – it's not a recession, but it's a substantial slowdown, where we're going from over 9 percent growth to possibly under 6 percent growth in the span of a year or so. That's a sharp, sharp correction, so all the businesses that had geared up their investment and employment plans are having to rescale quite swiftly. Some companies here and there are of course facing negative growth, so that's leading to job losses. And even the ones that are growing in output terms may be undergoing job losses because they hired people last year on the premise that there would be continued rapid growth. That is no longer a tenable premise.

JO: From the rest of the world's perspective, 5 or 6 percent growth looks pretty good. What accounts for India's continued strong domestic demand?

SA: I think there are several reasons. One is of course is that domestic demand, if you take the aggregate of the Indian economy, is over three-quarters of the total, whereas in, say, China, domestic demand would be perhaps 50 percent because so much of the demand comes from exports. That's one reason why relative to East Asian economies India is somewhat insulated from the global trade slowdown—but only relative to them. I'm not saying we're insulated. Then of course from a sectoral point of view, nobody expects the rate of agricultural growth will be changed one way or the other by what is going on because it's somewhat autonomous. It's more dependent on monsoons and things like that. So if we get a reasonable monsoon next year, we'll see agricultural growth on the order of 3-4 percent, as we've seen in the past two or three years. Of course that accounts for hardly 20 percent of the overall economy, but it's good to know that part is insulated. And the services part of the economy, which accounts for over half of the Indian economy, it's up to about 55%, is expected to be more resilient in how much it slows down. Areas like telecom are expected actually to grow quite fast. With all this 3G and things like that. There are similar areas in services. Govt services will show some growth because of the pay increases that went through 3 mos ago with the sixth pay commission. And there are a few other things like that. I think that there will be a slowdown in some service sectors, like finance, externally oriented IT and software, airlines and restaurants and hotels and all that. But the rate of change downward will be more moderate than in industry, which will take a sharper hit. It has already done so: the industrial production data for October points to a – after 15 years it dropped for the first time by about 1 percent. It's never been in negative territory before that. But it's all consistent with what we know about the various sectors, commercial vehicles, autos, textiles – they're all being affected.

JO: To get simplistic, are these companies that are still growing investing on the basis of future speculation or is the number of people who are able to buy some of these products and services still growing?

SA: It's hard to pinpoint. Basically, when you've had an economy growing at 9 percent for several years, that has a lot of momentum, and it takes a while for everybody to adjust their plans and activities. And that's just as well. I think we'll have a better idea a few months down the road when we have clearer data about what's happened to which sector.

JO: Are there any sectors that are very important to domestic demand? For example, construction, which employs a lot of people who are coming from agriculture, and creating a new class of wage-earners?

SA: Construction is a very important sector, but I suspect it's a sector that will continue to show a lot of activity. Again, not perhaps at the rates we've seen in recent times, but because quite a lot of construction is driven by govt funding, and as you know the govt is continuing to spend quite heavily and has recently done another fiscal stimulus. While I expect a considerable slowdown in construction related to private projects, it may be somewhat cushioned by things like roads and so on, which continue to be built out of govt funds. But where some of these roads are being built by private-public partnership, there may be financing issues, delays and so on. So it's still hard to tell.

JO: Things like roads and some other infrastructure projects are growth multipliers, right? Because they connect new sets of people to the market who weren't connected before?

SA: That's exactly right. It's similar to telecom. Telecom also is a great connector, we've seen in India. It's not a rich man's toy. A lot of low-income businesses and street vendors and so on find cheap mobile phones extremely useful for conducting business. That has been a big growth story in recent years, and I think it will continue quite well despite the problems we're seeing.

JO: You mentioned government spending will be important. What do you think of the stimulus package that the government has unveiled so far? The reaction seems to have been negative, but that may have been industry lobbying for sops.

SA: I think that could be. To my mind the recent stimulus that was announced a few weeks ago is a fairly modest one, but the really big stimulus I think came – it wasn't announced as a stimulus, it was more a matter of getting spending authority from parliament for decisions already taken months earlier. But in October the government passed through parliament a huge supplementary expenditure demand – without the approval of parliament they can't spend more than the budget. And this was about 240,000 crores – or about 4.5 percent of GDP. A lot of it was not instantly spent in cash. It was for things like petroleum bonds or fertilizer bonds to petroleum and fertilizer companies who had not been able to raise their prices [despite the rise in oil prices], and instead of compensating them in cash the government has given them these bonds. But what that means is that those prices have remained low in a period when international prices were going up, leading to these very high subsidy requirements. In itself, one would say that's a bad thing, and it is a bad thing, leading to high fiscal deficits and all that. But given that we were suddenly going through a period where other components of demand were collapsing, having additional spending power in the hands of those who buy fertilizers and those who buy petroleum products was a good thing. So all that fiscal stimulus really occurred in October. Some of it was in pure cash as well – roughly half of that 4.5 percent of GDP was for cash expenditures on things like the pay commission increases to government wages and salaries, like the farm loan waiver, like additional spending on the rural employment guarantee, and so forht. That was really the big additional spending if you like, for this fiscal year at least, rather than the recent 20,000 crores that we saw announced last week.

JO: One thing that seemed significant, or the most debated, was their efforts to stimulate the construction or real estate sector. The reaction was “too little, too late.” Do you think the demand for low and middle incoem housing will allow growth to continue or is something else needed to boost that sector?

SA: I think time will tell. I think the initiatives taken have been quite good. As you know they've recently announced that government owned banks – tehy've essentially said that all these banks must lend at a rate below 9.25 percent or so for housing up to 20 lakhs, and there's a special provision for those under 5 lakhs. Those are good initiatives, because it's a way of using the government's control over parts of the banking system in a useful way, because there's been a problem of on the one hand the cnetral bank is reducing its interest rates, but it's not going through the system. There's been a transmission problem, which, again, is happening all over the world. But here's a case wehre government-ownership of 70 percent of the assets in the banking system can be used to serve a good public purpose, provided of course the lending is done in a sensible way. I think a lot of the people who say not enough is being done are catering to the higher end of the housing and real estate market, and, really, that's a case of overexpansion and expecting the good times to roll forever. There has to be a correction there. They have to lower prices, and it's painful, and one or two companies may go bust.

JO: And some may need to change their business models, and they may be trying to avoid that pain...

SA: It is genuinely painful for enterprises. I'm not trying to minimize this, and it's a big adjustment. In many cases an extremely painful adjustment. But the reality is, nowhere in the world can the government bail out every enterprise simply because times are hard.

JO: To get back to the contrast between India and China, have the two central banks taken different financial policies.... In the past India was criticized for not being expansionary enough, but now they're starting to look clever.

SA: I don't know enough about what exactly has happened on that in China. My sense was that both these countries have been somewhat cautious in engaging with international finance, and that has stood both these countries in good stead in terms of exposure to toxic assets. But in terms of whether one has more space in monetary policy than the other, I'm not competent to comment. I think China has more space in the fiscal area, because the fiscal postion of their central and state government is much stronger, so they're in a much better position to take on additional spending. And they're usually better at implementing additional spending on infrastructure and things like that without running into problems of excessively high fiscal deficits and so on.

JO: Do you think the Central Bank will drop rates more rapidly from now?

SA: They will do that in a calibrated way because they also have to worry about pressure on the exchange rate and things like that. Too rapid a declien in short term policy rates would create problems in that arena. They will do so, and they have been doing so. They dropped policy rates from 9 to 6 or so, and tehy've dropped reserve requirements from 9 to 5.5 percent. SO both in terms of pumping in fresh liquidity and lowering rates, it's been the fastest loosening of monetary polciy ever in India

Read it somewhere...

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.”~ Neil Gaiman

My take: I so bloody much agree...

Bargain

I've exhausted my 1 tb hadrdrive and needed another one to go...
So in an attempt to buy one... I went shop juggling y'day... and that's when this blog occured to me...
RULES of Bargaining - Indian Style
Rule #1 - The true price of any item is what you pay — so talk with several vendors before making a significant purchase.
Rule # 2 - Assume a number and die trying to make the sale/purchase happen at that price...
Rule # 3 - Make them show lots of merchandise — Get the vendor to “invest” in the transaction — emotion, time and energy.
Rule # 4 - Say “TOO HIGH”, a lot – Don’t even start negotiating until the salesman has scratched through the initial price and lowered it at least twice
Rule # 5 - Remember Rule # 2, don't drag yourself to the price

One final point - no matter what price you pay — if the sales guy is smiling when you leave — guess who won…

define freedom...

last two days... I've been part of these interesting conversations... Initially had some pieces to add... but then I got lost... and thought would post them here... to get more from ppl...

1. Topic: freedom...

a bunch of us were having discussion, one of my friends who's been brought up here brings the topic to life... he's simply said... I wouldn't wanna go back and stay in India... and this triggered it...

I asked him, why... he said... coz I can't deal with it... fair enough... he's got a reason... then we all added to it.... that given a choice... we'd wanna go to this country / that country or wherever... yeah India is the place for me...

anywaz... the arguement popped up... of why that place and not here... where we all are right now... and all of us the recent expats... answered unanimously "freedom"... HZ asked us... to define freedom and... why do we feel confined... in this place... immediately few of us came up with random and absolutely idiotic examples... which I personally condemned ... ( these were... lame ones... like... I can drink and drive... I can smoke... and swear... etc... others were beyond the levels of stupidity... hence i refuse to even quote them)... comin back... HZ asked me to quote one example to define, how freedom means someting beyond in India and not here...

I was dumbstruck... all the examples that kept poppin inside my head... were in line with what was poppin out from the others... lame... all of them were lame... all were of them had a similar base... breaking down rules... all of them were bordering themselves between legal & illegal...

I gave up... I told him that in the current context of all the examples being quoted and denied... feedom is not the ability / grant to do anything and everything one desires... but in pure form an absence of fear... an absence of the constant circumstancial fear... a fear of being tested against equality...
... in the end ... I told him that freedom is an emotion and not an expression..., hence I cannot quote an example to prove why not this country or otherwise... I couldn't think of anything better... in the end to close the conversation...

this conversation was stalled for the moment... but I still don't have my answer...

still struggling...

chandni chowk to china

....spoilers....

I am a huge fan of AK and hence not gonna elaborate on this one...

but in my attempt to be sincere... I think the movie sucks... too many loopholes... random links to extend the movie/ connect the story in parts to make a movie...

AK was gud... DP was average...

my advice... watch it, only if u got nothing.... absolutely nothing better to do...

please know that the movie ain't worth all that... hoping that this lowered expectations makes it better...

Oh yes... the highlight of the movie... was a friend of mine jumped off his seat... yelling... "what crap" ... and I second him... " What crap"

rating : 4/10

cheers...

slumdog "overhyped" millionaire

welcome to the world where hype obscures reality...

To be honest... I got so bloody bored, I had to skim through the movie at places to finish it...

My honest opinion, I'm still to figure out why, why is this movie acclaimed so?
It's not believable, if you are an Indian you'd have similar stories of rags to riches a million times... what it does beyond is to showcase the poverty in India... an wasted attempt to mix poverty vs. realism... the movie is loaded with so many negative scenes about poverty , sequentially placed in a manner that it does create a sensation (not sure of if the word fits right) amongst the westerners, who've have forever looked at India as a land of poors/ snake charmers... for them the movie will appeal as they in their myopic view on realism... see what they want to see and believe.

What surprises me is, why are there are so many people celebrating, and why especially in India? Just coz it has an Indian/Indian origin cast, staff, viewers in India, Indian show hosts, news anchors ... does that mean we need to agree upon or just create a hype for the same...

Are we aware that by appluading this movie we are reinforcing the stereotype... ?

And abt Rahman winning @globes... have you guys lost your senses or taste... Rahman... no doubt makes brilliant music... infact brilliant is an understatement... but this surely wasn't a piece that great... pick any movie for which he's given music to... I bet, u'd find atleast two or more tracks far better than "jai ho"...

My take on the movie: just another movie ... overhyped...

rating : 6/10

"Chinese Democracy: GNR"

Guns N Roses...
1993 + 15 years - SLASH = Chinese Democracy

Rated as One of the greatest Rock Bands Ever...

until chinese democracy...

To be honest... I've been a GNR fan ever since... for me GNR is rock... and rock is GNR... and when I read GNR was planning to release an album... the wait... the desperation...

Was reading a review of the album in rolling stones... only to realise that it took 15 years to make... Since the time the band dissolved... I assumed no more GNR... also since I had a constant track of Mr. Slash... I assumed everyone else would have formed there own bands or moved on... MISTAKEN...

downloaded it... and now...

...CHINESE DEMOCRACY...

K before I begin, GNR without Hish highness,Slash... is just another rock band... with Axl as lead... just like Vevelt Revolver lives on Slash's... I should have assumed GNR to live on Axls... wronged again... I was still expecting magic...

The Band: Axl Rose, Robin Finck and "the buckethead"...

based upon all the reviews I am expecting this to be one of those heavy of on Studio Engineered music than that of the authentic riffs...

Here's a track by track, blow by blow... run down.

1. Chinese Democracy

It don't really matter
I guess you'll find out for yourself
No it don't really matter
So you can hear it now from somebody else

Starts with subtle sirens and some chinese crap... and followed by the riffs... for which I've been desperate to hear... though the riff does sounds a lot like "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions... and slowly the guitars kick in... and it latches on to you... rocks pretty hard.

Rating : 7/10

2. Shackler's Revenge

Don't ever try to tell me, how much you care for me
Don't ever try to tell me, how you were there for me
I don't believe there's a reason (I don't, I don't believe it)
I don't believe there's a reason (I sure, I don't believe it)

More on the digitally worked song's... may be the one... the Rolling Stone described, as te Studio song... I just couldn't get enough of the lyrics...

Rating : 8/10

3. Better

So bittersweet, this tragedy won't ask for absolution,
This melody inside of me, still searches for solution,
A twist of faith, a change of heart kills my infatuation,
A broken heart provides the spark for my determination.

I kinda fell in love with the lines mentioned... but when I heard the song... all the digital noise... makes it more of a pop than a pure rock... but I just love the lyrics of this one...

Rating : 9/10

4. Street of Dreams

To the feelings that I felt I saved for you and no one else And though as long as this road seems I know it's called the street of dreams But that's not stardust on my feet It leaves a taste that's bittersweet That's called the blues

Bring me back the GNR from 90's... and Sweet dreams it is for you... can be classified more of blues than anything... the guitar does give a feel of Slash's... but the words couldn't quite paint

Rating 6/10

5. If the World

I never knew the way that you looked at me Would ever mean so much to me But in my heart I found The feelin's that I've never shown And now they've Got the best of me

No comments

Ratings : 4/10

6. There was a Time

Broken glass and cigarettes Writin' on the wall It was a bargain for the summer An I thought I had it all I was the one who gave you everything The one who took the fall You were the one who would do anything The one who can't recall

A ballad of course... Metal ballad... plays on for almost 7 minutes... Catchy

Rating : 7.5/10

7. Catcher in the Rye

When all is said and done We're not the only ones Who look at life this way That's what the old folks say But every time I'd see them Makes me wish I had a gun If I thought that I was crazy Well I guess I'd have more fun

Just another song... I'd wanna skip through...

Rating : 4/10

8. Scraped

Don't you try to stop us now I just refuse Don't you try to stop us now 'Cause I just won't let you

M gonna skip this one too...

Rating : 4/10

9. Riad n' The Bedouins

All my salvation and All my frustration Caught in the lies And if your at home as well Somewhere in time where only I can tell

I refuse to comment

Rating : I refuse to rate it...

10. Sorry

You like to hurt me
You know that you do
You like to think
In some way
That it's me
And not you

One of the stronger songs on the album... Slower paced... sludge style riff. Perhaps the only negative is that at over six minutes, the track goes just that little bit to long. 7/10

11. I.R.S.

All the reasons that you gave
I'd follow you
To where you'd lead
And if that'd be
The end of time, it's true

This one can almost sit with some of the older Guns 'n' Roses material... remininsence...

Rating : 7/10

12. Madagascar

I won't be told anymore That I've been brought down in this storm And left so far out from the shore But I can't find my way back, my way anymore

the last line says it all... too much effort... but all in vain... GNR in pieces is not GNR at all...

Rating : 5/10

13. This I Love

And now I don't know why
She wouldn't say goodbye
But then it seems that I
Had seen it in her eyes.

And it might not be wise
I'd still have to try
With all the love I have inside
I can't deny

I just can't let it die
Cause her heart's just like mine
And she holds her pain inside

my "november rain" for this album... a piano driven ballad... the best of this album... though November Rain still stays the top... this one's amazing too...

Rating : 9/10

14. Prostitute

If my intentions are misunderstood
Please be kind
I've done all I should
I won't ask of you
What I would not do
Oh, I saw the damage in you
My fortunate one
The envy of youth

A perfect album closer...

Rating : 8/10

In summary

It's really not fair to compare Chinese Democracy to any of the previous Guns 'n' Roses albums, largely due to the fact that this is not the same band. It's Axl Rose with some top class hired guns.

Lets be honest, there's nothing on this album that stands up against tracks like Don't Cry, Sweet Child 'O Mine, Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise city or November Rain... but it does sport a few good ones... esp the This I love... Shackler's revenge

But for the casual Guns N’ Roses fan or the general public, this is a very solid modern rock. Does it have its flaws? Of course it has... Is it worth the Money... download it ...

smiles

"FIGHT CLUB"

FIGHT CLUB

One of my all time favourite movies... was bored at home... saw this movie one more time... and couldn't resist... postin this one... couple of key lines from the movie...

The Philosophy :

to begin...

“Nothing is static. Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart. Since fight club, I can wiggle half the teeth in my jaw. Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer … Maybe self-destruction was the answer.”

... read on....

“Nothing is static. Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart. Since fight club, I can wiggle half the teeth in my jaw. Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer … Maybe self-destruction was the answer.”

The completeChuck Palahniuk hypothesized about the virtues of self-destruction in his novel “Fight Club.” While just about any college student is familiar with the movie or book, and many enjoy it, Tyler Durden’s underlying philosophy is very rarely taken seriously. It’s a difficult notion to digest, given the idea that education and application are the essence of improving oneself.

But what the Palahniuk work—and I, for that matter—suggest is that the obliteration of self is necessary to improve. It doesn’t have to involve basement brawls or self-mutilation. Those avenues are tired, lined by the less than ideal adolescent role models with too much black in their wardrobe, and habitually lead to other interruptions into any semblance of growth. Rather, deconstructing the world around you through introspective thought and analysis can greatly improve your well-being and, frankly, your worth to those around you.

Zen Buddhist philosophy emphasizes the importance of meditation and self-examination. What distinguishes the “Zen” from the rest of the dogma is a stressing of sudden enlightenment, an emphasis on the here and now. At one point in life, every man is capable of reaching a sudden realization, an enlightenment, which will allow him to grow. In a sense, it’s like a lifetime’s second wind.

Unfortunately, we as a community are too often content with who we are, shirking introspection for diversion. When Joe Sixpack realizes he’s got a drinking problem, he habitually fumbles with his addiction. When Jane Doe’s grades drop because she’s partying too much, she’ll inevitably fall back into the habit after a week or two. There are tons of self-help sessions offered on campus, seminars designed to aid with your time management, drinking problem, problème du jour. Like enrolling a peewee gangster into AYSO soccer, it doesn’t fix the issue more than it just provides another distraction.

Many people don’t get that second wind. You might know them from high school. They’re working for their dad or uncle and, after a few years of community college, resigned to a career that they hate. But they cling to their hobbies and pastimes, drink too much and reminisce about their high school days. As UC students, we wouldn’t dare categorize ourselves with those types. Unfortunately, we’ve fallen in love with our ideas so much that we fail to objectively critique them when it is absolutely necessary.

Dr. Sam Vaknin’s “Malignant Self Love” contests that the narcissist actually doesn’t hold any love for himself. Because he lives in an illusionary world, full of illusion and projection, and predictably earns the admiration of his peers because confidence is valued so highly by our insecure culture, he can’t love himself because he rightly does not know who his real self is.

The solution lies in self-deconstruction. While Fight Club espouses self-destruction, and other works like I Heart Huckabees adopt the promise of enlightenment through nihilism and emptiness, it’s the removing of layers that allows for growth. Self-improvement is, in fact, masturbation. Partly because the idea connotes creepy images of Richard Simmons and Tony Robbins, but mainly because it masks underlying problems with supposed and accepted social norms, like Kathy Griffin caking on the makeup and pretending everything is all better.

Through self-examination, you’ll probably feel pretty horrible. It is an exhaustive process, one that requires questioning practically every personal practice and relationship. But when that point of realization comes, that sudden enlightenment, it will all be worth it. Most don’t ever try. Many fall into a state of self-loathing and depression. Those that succeed understand its necessity; the deconstructing of a world based on illusion and skewed priority. Too often, it is horrific. Consistently, it is Zen-like sudden. Usually, it comes from an unexpected slap in the face, usually from someone whose judged through a transparent and insecure appearance. It’s a traumatic experience, but one that can yield dividends and ultimately lead to true self-esteem and awareness.

The War on Drugs can never be won. Hip hop has regressed into paltry, repetitive spoken word over monotonous bass beats. Epic Movie was the nation’s top grossing film last week and America’s Funniest Home Videos is still on the air. This nation, as has the media-saturated contemporary world, has accepted base distraction with open arms. We delude ourselves willingly to avoid having to deal with our own issues. And when we choose to finally face them, we too often half-ass it, preferring to not actually fix anything and just distract ourselves with trifling entertainment and supposed “self-improvement.”

“Only after disaster can we be resurrected,” writes Palahniuk.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author of bestsellers “Blink” and “The Tipping Point,” recently defended Enron in an article for The New Yorker. His argument was inspired by the idea that the warning signs for the company’s unethical practices were right in front of an audience enamored with Enron’s surprising growth. All it took was Jon Weil of the Wall Street Journal, looking at reports accessible to anyone interested, to break the story and expose Enron’s crimes. The same pattern exists with the individual. To improve oneself, it doesn’t take a self-help book, counseling, structure or distracting externalities. A dedicated, consistent approach to self-awareness and, accordingly, self-deconstruction are the answers.

While not exactly the best basis for a life-changing philosophy, “Fight Club” still gets a few things right.

“It’s only after you’ve lost everything,” Tyler says, “that you’re free to do anything.”
Rather, I contest, that it is only after you have realized that improving the self first comes with finding its true entity that you are free to grow. As students of different schools of thought, it is first our responsibility to study ourselves and quit playing the tourist of life."

“It’s only after you’ve lost everything,” Tyler says, “that you’re free to do anything.”

THE END...

OR

THE BEGINNING...

[Chuckles]

been thinking.......

You smiled, you spoke, and I believed
By every word and smile deceived
Another man would hope no more
Nor hope I what I hoped before
But, let not this last wish be in vain
Deceive, Deceive me, once again

- Walter "Savage" Landor

Don't you thing that sometimes life teaches you more lessons than you need to know???

"What doesn't Kill you, Makes you Stronger"

Too many times...

I've just had too much of this axiom "What doesn't Kill you, Makes you Stronger"...

The occasions differ, the essence differed... and so did how I interpreted it... and if ( at all) it made any difference to me... or not...

But still... I guess I'm still to come to terms with this axiom...

Hmmm...

In many cases, dealing with life's problems will indeed help create a stronger person... there are times, however, when this may not be true.

In the course of our existence... some of us have encountered devastating losses... heartbreaking experiences... and tumultuous issues. In the moments facing challenge... when our concentration is focused on overcoming obstacles or coping with loss... I'm not very sure how many of us think / ponder upon the idea of what we can achieve or what it has in its offing. Especially when most of our disappointments are merely the result of discovering or confirming that expectations or assumptions were incorrect.

Challenges in relationships, career, and personal development... constant fight against time... for every new step... calls for time, effort... and money ( in some cases).

I wonder... how many of us study the obstacles and adjust accordingly... how many are willing to take a new path... Hell... how many of us have the option for a new beginning... how many are left to chance for personal discoveries...

How many are ready to cope with their heartbreak (seriously... how many times can one go through this...)... how many have that back up plan... ( for your insurance has just died off... and you are left broke)... how many of us have the chance to correct that decision of a split second... for what has resulted can be corrected / worked around)...

I admit setbacks and challenges cannot beat you, but you can't always use them to make you stronger.

On a much more personal level, how often do we let the little things get in our way?

How many of us train ourselves... to adjust our perception... to manage the minor inconveniences and seemingly devastating small challenges of day to day life... and consider them as training/ stepping stones to overcome bigger challenges that we may (hopefully may never) encounter tomorrow?

To end, I read these lines somewhere :

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know that just to be alive is a grand thing." - Agatha Christie

But my Question is..

Is this enough ...??

[P.S: I'm not trying to be cynical... I've had my shares of ups & downs of my life... I've learnt my lessons from a few and hoping to recover from few... right now, I'm just Questioning the relevance ...]

- 100th one

Wild Wadi

Wild Wadi is situated by the Burj Al Arab and the Jumierah Beach Hotel... access to WW is complimentary for residents of either ones...

The views from the park of both hotels absolutely amazing...

WW is a water park with close to 15-20 rides, only condition children need to be at least 1.1 M to ride... ( there is a separate kid's section as well) ...

To be honest... there are only about 5-6 rides worth going on on ( esp. if u are a thrill seeker)... Otherwise, to me it seemed like a swimming pool with a few slides. WW has sunbeds, but these are usually taken up and are mostly crowded...

Wild Wadi costs AED 195 pp entrance, addtional costs are lockers AED25 , and towels AED 25, so in case you are planning... save some money and bring your own...

Tips
- do load up credit on the wristbands, it allows you to buy food without having to carry your wallet around, and is refundable on unused credit.
- Sun screen a definite Yes

rating: 7/10
close to 6 hrs spent... didn't get bored... there were more factors to it than the rides...

smiles