happy bday to me!!!

yay!!! finally out of teens!! am I supposed to rejoice?

" Here's to life which is a reason unto itself " - Kira petrovna in "We the Living"

Half-blood? Prince?

Having got the book on 16th night itself, and finished it by the next afternoon, I was left to wonder for some time if I had not by mistake read one of those fanfiction stories and not the Rowling stuff, and only yesterday did I find out that it was infact the book.

Well, I can say that I am glad not to have bought the book for a whopping 700 bucks. I guess, one could say that the book as a stand alone is pretty bad, but may be it was necessary to maintain the continuity.

Coming of age of the characters and the change in guard is a bit too abrupt. Only last year harry and the others were just children hardly able to comprehend the subtleties of the war and at the end of this year we have harry trying to take on the lead role in the resistance( that too with not much increase in his skills- atleast not overt). Hermione's character was bit too subdued in this book, and Malfoy suddenly shows streaks of brilliance that one wouldnt have thought possible of him,(especially with getting better of harry and dumbledore)

One thing though, it has me convinced that snape despite being a slytherin to the core will actually help Harry in his endeavours. Sonia falerio 's reaction reinforced my belief that maybe the book was rushed a bit. Here's < /a> an interesting prediction on the seventh book.

War of the worlds

A movie adapted from a science fiction novel by H.G.Wells(one of the first sci-fi writers I believe). I would have done well to read the book first and then watch the movie, but it happens that though the movie is well made and might do justice to the book, it was a little weak in the plot one feels. Most of the time is spent in showing the catastrophe and how it affects people. I guess the plot in itself was a bit too weak to spin off a movie, but one worth watching for those who like special effects that look real.

And though it held the grip on the audience for the human drama involved for better part of the movie, the end was a bit too bollywood type with a happy-happy ending.(Perhaps I am a bit too cynical in my outlook, but with the reconciliation of the family in the once again neat house in a clean street made me wonder for a moment if they had all died and this was a meeting in heaven.)

--
shrek

An year before I was born

1984- a book written in 1949 by George Orwell is a sad-almost nightmarish commentary on what the world would be if socialism prevailed.

The animal farm and 1984 both in essence talk about the communism and the impracticability of it, or rather the horrors that it engenders. Former is a book of how the pigs once having taken over the farm alter anything and everything including the tenets on which they rebelled to suit their needs, finally become the same as the humans who once owned the farm. The latter though, is a dark commentary with only the rarest hints of humour on a world where humans arent human anymore, being human is lunacy, and as he puts it -" one who controls the present controls the past","Freedom is slavery", "Ignorance is strength" and " War is peace".

A story of how these seemingly paradoxical principles come to be accepted by all, including a maverick who recognises things for what they are, of how he is broken down in the end, and how "The Party" makes the people believe in all the lies that they manufacture.
One of the most introspective and deeply philosophical parts of the book though is the part when the protagonist reads the book "Oligarchical Collectivism" that talks about the power balance and class struggle.

Acclaimed as the master piece by George Orwell, this is a book one should definitely read.

If this book was a foreboding book about totalitarianism and the menace it can be, "A brave new world" by "Aldous huxley" set in a similar vein commenting about loosing the human identity in a mechanical yet hierarchial world is also a great read.

--
shrek

The hardest Part.....

is waiting :-SS

--shrek

And the hardest part
Was letting go, not taking part
was the hardest part
And the strangest thing
was waiting for that bell to ring
It was the strangest start

I could feel it go down
Bittersweet I could taste in my mouth
Silver line in the cloud
Oh and I wish that I could work it out

And the hardest part
was letting go, not taking part
You really broke my heart, oh
And I tried to sing
But I couldn't think of anything
And that was the hardest part of all

I could feel it go down
You left the sweetest taste in my mouth
The silver line in the cloud
Oh and I, oh and I, I wonder what it's all about
I wonder what it's all about

Everything I know is wrong
Everything I do, it just comes undone
And everything is torn apart
And thats the hardest part, that's the hardest part
Yeah that's the hardest part, that's the hardest part

-ColdPlay

Life in the fast lane

Things to do in case all else fails:
1) Start a career in the movies.
2) Start a pop band
3) Start an anger management class
4) Join politics
5) Grow a beard, go for spoken -hindi/(regional language) classes and start sermonizing

-shrek

Of what was to be and is..

This was supposed to be a frustrated rant but heck!, why waste the first chance I got in the week to write a blog on just a rant.
Events that I missed writing about and would have loved to- French Grand Prix, Wimbledon Finals, Olympic bid, and at the top spot on the list would be shared by live 8 concert on the weekend and the ODI between Australia and England with the new rules in place.
Had a nice relaxing weekend at my uncle's place when I just whiled away the time in front of the idiot box and probably made up for all the TV that I hadn't watched in my last three years. (only computer in the hostel- no TV) .
Come monday and I get a scare that the results of my work for the past two months aren't what they are supposed to be and that I may have to stay for a little longer. So, I slog from 9 to 9 three days straight, trying to see if there's a bug in my code, and finally go to my guide yesterday with validation of the results that I got, he oh so casually remarks- "My Bad! the results you were getting were correct for this implementation, and the instability observed was for a different implementation."
Hence, I write a script, run it and leave the office at 9:30 last night, to come back and find that it still hasn't finished. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it will turn out alright, (note to self- need to finish the report of the work, otherwise will have to stay back over the weekend *sigh*)

Idle mind ...

You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.

"And The Vampire was all that remained on
the blood drowned creation. She attempted to
regrow life from the dead. But as she was
about to give the breath of life, she was
consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the
cycle began again."

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek)
and Isis (Egyptian).
The Vampire is associated with the concept of
death, the number 9, and the element of fire.
Her sign is the eclipsed moon.


As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic
individual. You may be a little idealistic,
but you are very grounded and down to earth.
You realize that not everything lasts, but you
savor every minute of the good times. While
you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you
have strong ties with people that will never be
broken. Vampires are the best friends to have
because they are sensible.


Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla




Nice test this, found on dreams and donuts, usually am not much into quizzes, but somehow liked this. Especially, since it was quite similar to how I see myself as.

Green carpet

Wimbledon, considered the most prestigious of the four grand slams has always been a spectacle to watch. The rallies here might be over quickly (Unlike in Roland Garros) but they still have the charm that draws you back to it wherever you might be.

This year too, it has produced some great matches. On a Saturday, when Alonso in a renault once again qualified the fastest, and Schumacher the fourth quickest, and England came back from a lose-all situationat 33-5 (chasing 198) to tie the match and share the Natwest Trophy with the Australians, Wimbledon threw up the longest singles' duel in women's championship in the open era. Lindsay Davenport was always in the front and Venus had to keep clawing back at her lead. Finally though Venus just nosed ahead to win 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 9-7, in a thrilling encounter that lasted over 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Roddick dispatched off Thomas Johannson to set up a clash against Roger Federer.
Dazzling performance by the qualifiers' pair of Wesley Moodie and Stephen Huss saw them beat the first seeds in the semi-finals and the second seeded pair of Bryans in the final to clinch the title.

All this aside, during the telecast we caught Jimmy connors on air for some time. This legend who with 110 titles holds the record for most singles titles, expressed something which might have been nagging at the back of the tennis followers all over the world. Earlier, there was variety, there was a different style of play trademark of every player, but now it seems as if most of the players are alike in many respects. This( he cited) is what perhaps makes Federer the king as he can mix up the game much better than any other- also the reason why though his record with Hewitt stands at 9-8 in 17 meets, Hewitt hasnt managed to defeat Federer in their last seven meetings.

shrek