Nightmares!

I have an over active mind that dreams everyday without fail.... and the showing is just before my bedtime is up. My nightmares rarely do a rerun and contain 'scares' of varying proportions. Sometimes its just a silly reminder of my past that comes back to haunt me. Other times it centers around flesh trade. I dunno why... but this topic bothers me a lot and indeed 'the worse than death' concept is frightening. But that is not what features in most of my nightmares.

I have a 'cap' for my front tooth... my incisor. I broke it when I was in my teens and was made to wear a temporary cap for many years. This idiotic excuse for an incisor was made of hardened paste and I was to be careful while biting food off. Being the careless creature I am I ended up breaking it on numerous occasions...until finally at 18 when my teeth stopped growing (yes teeth it seems grow till then.. or atleast my dentist claims so) I got a permanent cap that is stronger. So as you can imagine, my reoccurring nightmare is breaking my front tooth and having to go without a replacement. Which makes me look a lot more hideous and frightening than you can possibly imagine.

It took me 6 months to get this one fixed...not because its a lengthy process, but cause I am a coward when it comes to visiting the dentist's place. And now that I am living here... and my dentist (the only one I trust not to kill me) who has moved to the UK, nightmares of having to go without my front tooth are haunting me... once again! Sigh! Have given up soo many foods just as a precaution, no biting a whole fruit (Apples, pears anything..first cut them and then eat it like a kid), no makkas, no over heated subs or burgers, no frozen pizzas! I wish I would grow accustomed to these dreams..then may be they will stop haranguing me!

Ironies in Life!

I recently received a forward titled ‘Dilbert’s one liners’. Normally, most forwarded emails are a big bore that are full of advice dished out by those who are incapable of following their own! But this one was different. It was refreshingly witty and had no bogus claims of bestowing great luck if was forwarded to hundred others. Truth that is definitely stranger than fiction was explicitly spelled out with divine simplicity. I have enlisted some of them which tickled me while the rest left me appreciating the author’s mental facilities.

• When everything comes your way you're in the wrong lane.
• The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train.
• Born free, taxed to death.
• Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
• Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
• The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
• In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?
• Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers
• In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it.
• The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
• Someday is not a day of the week
• Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
• Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does Milk.

And my all time FAVORITE

• All the desirable things in life are either illegal, expensive, fattening or in love with someone else

Really... Stop Already!

This is my second "I hate something something" post. As a rule, I try not to vent out my frustration on this cyber space. Everyone has their own customized set of exasperations and I am actively trying not to add to it! But somethings just slip! So kindly pardon my ranting!

What is it with the world of sports? I know there are big bucks in it and all but what fun is there in watching someone else do it all? I do not mind watching these things occasionally but almost everyday? I am getting really tired of this basketball season. And I learned only just now that this season reoccurs every year... unlike the Olympics or world cups! Seriously wasn't tennis & cricket bad enough? Sigh! I was sorely disappointed... I was enduring this season and my only solace was the thought that the NBA would leave my world alone for the next 4 years! Now that this solace has been rudely taken away from me... I am left fuming... feel almost betrayed!

And after days of huffing and scowling, I gave up and joined the enemy. Now I don't detest the game... and it is more like a low throbbing pain that I can learn to live with! Currently, I can identify some of the stars and even sneak a peek when Kobe Bryant is playing or when Pierce and Lebron lock horns with each other. At this rate, this time next year, you might even find me at the bar cheering them on! Sigh... there goes my individuality!

Angels & Demons: A review!

Being a Dan Brown fan, I have tried to keep my bias from affecting this review. Inevitably it has seeped in and you may find traces of my prejudice mingling with my views!

Dan Brown has authored both Da Vinci Code and Angles & Demons (among many others) which have earned him worldwide renown. Both books delving into history of Christianity are controversial and have earned him considerable wrath despite them being declared as fiction. However even this notoriety did not stop the books from evolving as best sellers. Just goes to prove that there is no such thing as bad publicity!

Consequently, the movie Angels & Demons had enormous expectations owing to the Da Vinci Code’s success at the box office. The movie makers have shrewdly used the Da Vinci’s earlier release to their advantage and hence you will see its subtle references (that are rather derogatory) throughout Angels & Demons!

I do agree that to make the movie (Angels & Demons) and form a screenplay, the book definitely needed some editing and parts of it had to be rewritten. However, what annoyed me was the fact that the director/script writer (whoever was responsible for it) did not reveal the final twist to the story. Hence the movie Angels & Demons is actually a diplomatic version of the book.

Angels and Demons explores the world of the highest order in Christianity. The age old spat between science and religion is reexamined under new light. For centuries both idealists with contrasting ideas have waged wars in an attempt to inflict their notions on this world. This story once again narrates the clash between the two self claimed enemies’ - religious leaders and men of science.

The movie begins on a somber note following the Pope’s death. Under the pretext of retribution a powerful covert organization called the Illuminati threatens to destroy the Vatican City - the birth place of Christianity. This clandestine group that does not stop at murder plans to erase every memory of the City and disrupt the papal election that is ongoing in the aftermath of the Pope’s death. The lives of the Vatican citizens and the Swiss guards are at stake as they gather to pick their next leader.

Robert Langdon’s (played by Tom Hanks - the Harvard symbolgist form Da Vinci) expertise in symbology brings him to the Vatican City. His knowledge of the illuminati is put to test as he strives to save the unfortunate kidnapped victims. This movie focuses on the proceedings of the Vatican society and the sacred rituals and customs that follow the Pope’s death. It also features the coveted Vatican archives accessed by few and rumored to hold the greatest and oldest books in history. How accurate these depictions are I do not know. But considering the fact that Brown’s work is mostly fiction, I would assume that he has manipulated some of the facts.

I have always been fascinated by the Vatican City, an independent country located entirely inside Rome!! The idea of it being the smallest country is weird and interesting at the same time! The Vatican City which is the Pope’s residence is also famous otherwise for the Sistine Chapel and the legendary St. Peters Square. In addition to the gripping story, I went to watch this film hoping to catch more than just glimpses of the Vatican and ‘Roma’ with its captivating churches and numerous ruins. I was sorely disappointed as the director has cunningly filmed majority of his scenes inside churches & other buildings while focusing otherwise on Robert Langdon’s (Tom Hanks) hurried pursuits from one church to another. The fact that the director barely captures Rome’s spectacular beauty led me to speculate whether he had created sets of the original venues. A little research with Google told me what I already knew!

Coming back to the movie, I would say it is one of the longest English movies I have seen apart from the Lord of the Ring series. But this movie holds the attention of the audience till the very end. After all Brown who masterminded this chronicle is a brilliant story teller! In fact, I did not even miss the intermission which I sorely longed for when I watched ‘Ghajini’ (no intermission) here in the US.

In my opinion this movie comes real close to being as good as the book, something which very few other movies have achieved. Yet with the final twist intact in the book, it gains more points in contrast to the movie and still wins at my polls! So hurry up and issue that book from our library... all you have to do is read the last few pages to agree with me!