The Incarnation..

I have watched a ton of movies over the not very recent past, and loved a bunch of them. But not one among them, for a long time, qualified to deserve a place in my blog page. Avatar does. I got blown away. Any statement below that would be a gross understatement. As a warning, if you haven't seen the movie yet, back off right now. This post will contain spoilers. And if you do plan to watch it, don't let it be any short of a 3D in Imax. I observe many, quite surprisingly, disliked the movie. Whether you chose to save a few bucks to watch it on a plane, I am not sure of. But then, I fail to see why you would reject a nutritious dish served 'desi' style.

Here goes my interpretation of the movie. Yes, indeed it suggests that there is intelligent life embedded with modern technology in their nature, elsewhere in the universe and that it is worthwhile to explore the possibilities (all those cribbing about India wasting millions over a mere Chandrayan failure, kindly shut up!!) but it also hints at ways of tackling the atmosphere, flora and fauna, and above all, natives while convincing us to stay and continue our well established destructive ways of life. Despite all his visionary ideas of floating mountains et al., I seriously was disappointed in his assumptions that extraterrestrial life is so earth like (natives, dinosaurs, birds, pterodactyls, dogs etc), yet I give him total credit for making them look so attractive. At some point, I fell in love with Neytiri and so yearned to grow a tail. So cool.

To me, however, the question is, are we really better off than the ape men if we ever had to start off building civilization right from the scratch. We do boast of pumpkin brains compared to nuts in the ape man's upper compartment, our dependence on technology has crippled us to the extent of deeming vital organs and limbs vestigial. To me, it read out loud, move your a*$ from the stupid couch and go out 'Into the wild'. We are such weaklings without the aid of technology that I would not be surprised if we fail to survive a night out in a park, leave alone the jungle.

Well, he no doubt pin points to the war mongering expeditions corporate driven Uncle Sam's government in bid to exploit a country's resources while saving its own in the reserve. Quite aptly portrayed by the Colonel, you plunder their land, provoke them them to attack you and cry, "They are terrorists!! It is now our war". He raises environmental concerns yet again, raising strong fears by felling the Hometree. Believe me, despite my love for animals (on my plate), I was deeply touched.

Overall, there was not a moment in the movie which did not keep me at the edge of seat (and not because of annoying kids right behind me, as usual), it was a total entertainment. A perfect blend of Jurassic Park, Matrix, Princess Mononoke and a godforsaken Karan Johar flick, I bid for its Oscar claim. As an after effect, I still dream of flying the grand Toruk.

Irreversibility...

If you are highly expectant of this post, I am sorry this is not about thermodynamics. Recently, I have discovered a new enemy - nostalgia. And, it happens to be quite bad ass (Somehow, I love this word and I finally found a reason to use it). The reason being, it strikes me when I least expect it to. More often than not, when I am alone and defenseless. Probably, because I refrain from indulging myself in undergrad-style 'daru parties' where blabbering idiots start off discussing their golden times of the past and end up making phone calls to the absentees of the erstwhile friend groups, and finally topping it off with a session of blackout and/or puke. Okay! At least I am over such things in the past.

Getting back to the topic, for a long time I avoided this enemy because my present kept me busy enough not to revisit the past, and of course, I have not really succeeded in planning my future beyond the next meal. Now, that I have plenty of free time, thanks to my breakthrough research activity, I get to encounter this unwelcome guest often. Nevertheless, when I am reminded of good times at school, with family and while in college, it is sometimes suffocating to realize, yet again, that time is irreversible. Despite making successful attempts to relive those days by means of reunions, you still always know that it is either for better or worse, but never the same.

Many may like to go back, start all over, and tweak happenings to chart a new future of the past. For me, I would be more than just content to live the same life all over again, exactly as it was (Alright! may be just a handful of instances need alteration). After all, the sum total of happenings in my life has led to my present, which by all measures is nothing I can complain about. Phew! All of the above sounded so nostalgic, so not-like-me. I close this post by patting my back at successfully completing a new post within an incredibly short gap. Thanks to all those readers who encourage me write more often.

Arbit..

I finally decide to pen after an extended hiatus. I guess that makes the title quite obvious. All this while, I have involuntarily been either busy or lazy. Surprisingly, never in between. Occasional introspections lead to certain realizations.

Firstly, as I assist a brilliant super-old professor with his e-mailing, uploading documents, and all the trivial stuff even 4 year olds of this day do with great dexterity, I mentally kick myself in the butt every second, regretting why I agreed to do this? Only to be shaken to the truth later that, I am walking straight into a similar situation, albeit a lot sooner. The rate at which technology is advancing and my brain degrading, I don't see why I can't be tagged a 'technology retard' in a few years.

I am afraid, I have been treating myself as a dog increasingly often. So to say, I reward myself for the teeniest accomplishment. I guess my complacency threshold is hitting a rock bottom. It is now so annoyingly ridiculous that I treat myself generously with a 15$ buffet for avoiding a paid meal or 20 minute cardio. Someone, slap me!!

As much as I am enjoying every moment of my single, carefree, indulgent student life with just enough means to take care of me, frequent success stories of my fellow job seekers and recently 'settled down' family guys, more often than not, is making me insecure. Of course to be forgotten a minute later. To all such dear friends : stop getting jobs and please stop sending wedding invitations. You know I am kidding.

In reference to the comment I usually make jokingly "Samaj kya sochega?" and to those who think they give a rat's ass about what people think, I am sorry to say you are a hypocrite, unless, of course, you are a Naga. Well, the explanation is, whether you dress up (that makes you feel confident 'around people'), make money (more than you need, to maintain 'status'), talk like a gentleman ( 'at meetings'), hide your booze and porno ('from folks'), its because you think quite a bit about what people think about you. Well I would agree, the less conscious we are, the better for us.

Finally, to all those who could not see my vidoes on FB, I think shooting a gun is the one of the the coolest things I have done lately. Apart from the fact that I was scared shitless before the first shot, and that the shot gun almost tore my shoulder apart (despite my immense strength), if you have not done it before, just do it! As the winter approaches, achingly slowly, the skis call out my name even louder. Participants needed :P