There are two kinds of people, my friend

Returning from a short long drive on Mysore Road last week, Tejaswi and me (or is it I) got into a discussion. We (Tejaswi and I, not me and I) generally cant seem to agree fully on any subject but we did on this ocassion. Maybe it was the very sweet tea we had at Hotel Sudeep on Mysore Road. So what was the universal truth we agreed on? That regularly updating a blog with something good and original is a very very tough job.

I have been down this path before. And the reason I was AWOL for these many months was for the simple reason that I was not happy with the way the blog was going; which was nowhere. Having said that, I have decided to write one good article every week. Good. Now thats off my chest. How am I feeling? Decidedly un-optimistic. Lets see how it goes.

I randomly chanced upon the music of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly the past week. One song caught my fancy. Its been 4 days, and I havent been able to change tracks yet. Not the track which every one starts whistling before you can say "Clint Eastwood", but something which is titled "The Trio" on my iPod. And this is the track which is the background score for the climax of the movie.

The movie is the last of what is called "The Dollars Trilogy", coming on the heels of "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". The backdrop for the movie is the American Civil War. The three main characters walk through the movie trying to make the best of it by chasing its spoils, with an implicit acceptance of its absurdity. You can read more about the movie here. I am going to speak about the climax.

This was the first Mexican standoff I saw, and to this date, remains the best by far. Why? Because of the cinematography, the score, the characters, and most of all - supreme style. The way Blondie throws his poncho across his shoulder exposing his gun and walks nonchalantly backward, the way Angel Eyes stares at Tuco's holster when he starts to draw it out, the long shot of the three men moving slowly into position (the synchronization with Morricone's score is amazing) with the backdrop of the cemetery, Tuco's fingers fidgeting as the tension slowly gets to him, the unsure glances from Angel Eyes, the way Blondie steadily stares at Angel Eyes all the time puffing away at the cigar, the way Angel Eyes' fingers (minus the tip of the middle finger) inch toward the gun, and retract when he realizes Blondie is watching him, the music relentlessly building up, and then the gunshot of finality. Sheer Movie Magic. Undoubtedly one of the greatest movie climaxes of all time.



Eastwood (in his distinctive drawl): In this world, there are two kinds of people my friend - Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.

Irony

is when you download the latest version of Mozilla using IE

अमेय / Ameya

अमेय
= न मेय: य: स:
= that which cannot be measured, infinite

We have named our son Ameya

One for August

So that the Archives have an entry for August 2007.

"I weel be baak" ala Arnie. Soon.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Wit's End

I caught up with an old friend over the weekend. Shockingly, he has mellowed down in the last couple of years, lost his self-belief, misplaced his one-liners, forgotten to "savvvvvy" everyone, and has been demoted to somewhere near second mate.

Captain Jack always had a plan. There was always a purpose in his madness, which was not immediately obvious to us, the mortals (pun intended) on the screen and in front of it. When he hammed in the caves on the Isla de Muerta, you knew he had a plan. When he sauntered into the mouth of the Kraken with raised eyebrow and crinkled nose, you knew he had a plan. No longer it seems.

The movie suffers from too many characters (characters are added, notable being Chow Yun Fat), poor continuity, way too less special effects (no dead pirates walking underwater, no Kraken breaking boats), and way too much of Knightley and Bloom. Dont mistake me, I have nothing against women with awesome jawlines (I would love one too, jawline I mean :) ), slightly crooked teeth and named Swann, and beautiful men who can kill a rampaging Oliphaunt in less than 10 seconds flat.

But then, they are taking screen-time away from the two strongest characters of the trilogy, Captain Jack and Davy Jones. Both are reduced to hollow shells of what we saw them as in the first two movies. I dont like it, dont like it at all. Davy Jones (Bill Nighy with those expressive eyes) has become Beckett's bellboy, and heeds his beck and call. Captain Jack has been reduced to Plain Sparrow. As he says so thoughtfully (which is atrocious, you dont expect Jack to be capable of quiet reflection), "The world is much the same. Its just that there is a lot less in it".

RIP, Captain Jack Sparrow.

On another note, I am not very happy with the way this blog is going. I was bemoaning to Dilip some days back about the lack of actual content and continuing coherence in my posts. Having said that, I dont have the time to come up with meaningful write-ups, as of now. Until then, the blog shall twitter on. So it has been written, so it shall be done.

I'm sorry JKR!!!

You read it here first!!!

Where's the spark-plug?

Past 11 PM on a Friday. I spent the whole day at home with a bad cold which decided to get worse. And now, to top it all, I cant think of anything to write on.

I hop over to see what my friends have to say. They are suspiciously silent.

I am transported from the cosy confines of home to the vacant emptiness of a rain-swept road at night. The wind is shrieking like a banshee on steroids. The trees are waving their arms around wildly but their feet seem strangely stuck in the damp earth. The moon has risen, casting an eerie pale glow on the green grass. The clouds are forming grotesque shapes of premonition in the ink-black sky. The dogs are howling sensing the presence of something evil. It will soon strike 12. I am late, very very late. I have to reach the village before midnight.

I leave the smooth blackness of the tarred road, and start walking quickly. The path underneath my feet is slippery. I cant get a firm grip in the soft red mud. I am faint with hunger. The red path looks like a crimson river in the moonlight. I have to survive. I start running.

The town square is empty. If I did not know better, I would have said "dead". But I know better. Tonight, the town of the living will feed the dead. Tonight, the tongue craves for the meat of something human. Tonight is the night of Friday the 13th. The Feast is about to begin.

Hopefully will have something to say next time around.