"filthy, little brat!"scene More Polanski

Polanski is tensed.
He believes everyone around him is conspiring.
He believes even the shop owner across is in the gang.
He believes the glasses in ground floor are being mended so that he can jump into it.
His nerves are all heavily strung up.
He believes everyone in the apartment is trying to kill him.
Even the good looking Stella is in the plot.
Everyone's trying to change him into the previous Tenant .
They all want him to die like the previous tenant.
Something still is looking at him from the bathroom across his window.
They are all goddamn murderers or that's what he believes.
In midst of all these he goes and relaxes in a park where the following happens.

I honestly couldn't make up my mind about where this "filthy,little brat"fits in the story(dark humour,huh?),but it's really an amusing scene and i in way enjoyed it when it comes in the movie.

Never ever stay in an apartment!!

That's what i decided after seeing Roman Polanski's apartment trilogy which consists of Repulsion,
Rosemary's Baby and
The Tenant.
Of these i saw Rosemary's baby first.I honestly don't know how i came know about this movie.No,sundar had nothing to do with me coming to know about the movie and he definitely has nothing to do with rosemary's baby,though all his childhood sweetheart stories always begins with a certain rosemary.Somehow i got the movie and watched it.At the very beginning they show it as a Polanski movie.All i knew about Polanski was that he took The Pianist,a war biography or something like that, which gave Brody(remember the useless guy in King Kong) an Oscar which he accepted quite controversially(The wet kiss with Halle berry).Well,i didn't know it was a horror movie so i was very much taken aback when i saw this movie.The movie thrilled me to bone,so it was no wonder i decided to watch all the movies in the apartment trilogy.A couple,Rosemary and her husband come to reside in a new apartment and slowly Rosemary learns that no one is whom they seem to be,not even his husband.They all seem be hell-bent on laying their hands on her baby.The lady Cassavete,the neighbour seems like she has descended directly from hell.Well she is as creepy as that.And it has a least expected climax.My only complaint about the movie being they never show the baby's face after arousing so much interest about it.
Next in line was Repulsion,which,to be honest,initially disappointed me.For the first 40 minutes,the movie moves like a battered and bruised snail,the scenes looked like as they were almost getting repeated.Then the movie picks up speed after it and becomes typically Polanski-dark,scary,creepy and intensely psychological.It's about a lonely,sexually repressed,yet beautiful woman who makes her apartment a hell.

The last in the trilogy and my personal favourite is The Tenant where Polanski directs himself.It has one of the brilliant climaxes i have ever seen.As the movie moves on we pretty much come to know how the movie is going to end,but that is exactly where Polanski shows his class.Even if you don't see any of the trilogy movie,i must strongly recommend you see this one for its film-making at it's best.This one has a very good theme music,i didn't notice if others had or not.

Commiting suicide by jumping out of window,the tenants being disturbed by sounds,the previous tenant die rather suspiciously,dark thoughts,paranoia,madness,strange dark humour are the re-occurent themes that you find in the trilogy.
And finally a warning,if you are a fan of these slasher flicks which have lot of gore and have decapitated heads swimming around,skeletons falling on people and blood coming out of every possible opening ,well this isn't your cup of tea(or is it Tannis root!!!).The word is psychological horror.

Even the trailers are typically Polanski,they tell you nothing about the movie just make you want to watch them.
Well Polanski succeeds in making me scared of apartments,i don't think i can stay in an apartment in future.Finally all i have to say is this horror genre seems to be largely neglected by the Indian film-makers except a few like Ramu,who tried without any grand success.All i hope is films in horror genre should make a comeback in our cinema and yes make life little creepy.

Deadlock-ed

A friend of mine sent me this classic example for explaining what a deadlock is-
Boss to secretary-"we'll go abroad for a week for a meeting,make arrangements".
Secretary calls her husband and says-"I and my boss are going for a meeting abroad for a week,you look after yourself".
Husband calls secret lover and says-"My wife's going abroad for a week,so let's spend the week together".
The secret lover calls the small boy for whom she takes tuition and says-"i have work for a week,so you need no come to class during this week".
Small boy to his dear grandpa-"grandpa,i do not have class this week because the teacher's busy,so let's spend the time together".

The grandpa(who's the boss)calls the secretary and says-"meeting is cancelled.I'm spending the week with my grandson".
The secretary calls her husband says-"trip cancelled.I'm coming back home".
The husband calls his secret lover and says-"you can't come home this week,my wife's trip is cancelled".
The secret lover calls the little boy and says-"this week you have your classes as usual".
The little boy calls his grandpa-"sorry grandpa,my teacher says this week i have to attend classes".
Grandpa(boss) calls his secretary an says-"Don't worry.arrange for the meeting this week,we'll go".

If someone had taught deadlock in this way in college,i guess i would even wake from an irreversible coma to explain it.
And some cricket-
It appears MCC has approved Pietersen's changing from right to left hand batting(without informing the bowler)at the time the ball is delivered as legal arguing that the bowler does not inform the batsman if he's going to bowl a slower ball or an off-cutter to the batsman.
Also now to the cricket news from the other part of the world,though the Aussies did manage to dismiss Chanderpaul(there was no doubt as to who would win the match),it seems they had been shaken by a resurgent West Indian team.The series might have been an indicator showing the decline of hegemony of the Aussies in cricket which coincides with the rise of West Indies,however little the rise might be.

Can the Aussies?

Will the Aussies be able to dismiss chanderpaul today as West Indies chase seemingly impossible total.Chanderpaul has been dismissed only twice in the series,of which one was when he had been injured and was looking for runs.And today the Aussies are having a go at him once more today.A victory for West Indies looks highly unlikely,but a much more impossible event will be dismissing Chanderpaul.The Aussies more likely would concentrate on dismissing the other batsmen and with some luck they might just manage to do the impossible,that is get the Man himself.

Is left right for Pietersen?

Kevin Pietersen's reverse swept to hit 2 sixes off medium pacer Scott Styris.He just didn't reverse sweep it,just as the ball was being delivered he turned to the other side to become a left-hand batsman and hit the ball to towering sixes on both occasions.This type of hitting is already present in baseball and is known as switch hitting.Maybe the fact that Andy Flower,the guy who scored most of his runs against the spinners by playing sweep and reverse sweep,is the assistant coach must have given him the confidence to play this shot.This shot has stirred up a controversy with cricket pundits decrying the shot and advocating that bowlers should also be given such freedom.Pietersen has argued that it was an innovation on his part and batsmen should be given the freedom to score runs in any way,as long as it is legal.

Supposing the changes are brought in,they will be-
1.The bowler will come running in and at the time of delivery will bowl from either of the two hands.
2.The bowler can also run in middle(that is directly behind the umpire)and bowl from any of two-Over the wicket or around the wicket,the decision being taken at the last moment.Though i can't see where the non-striker will be standing if this is allowed,maybe directly opposite to the place where a runner stands for an injured batsman while the crease has to be extended that long.
3.The option 2 causes a problem as any run out at non-striker's end cannot be given by the on-field umpire so it would be better if the non-striker stands in the umpire's position thus effectively removing the umpire at non-striker's end.
4.Now the non-striker obstructs the view of the batsman,so it would be better if the non-striker is also removed.Anyway what's the use of him,all he does is increase the probability of getting out and anyway at a time only one can bat.


Also Kevin Pietersen should be given an OBE for his innovations(that is introducing the baseball shot into international cricket) and bowlers should be wary of his future inventions like the following-


Instead of running after hitting,we can use the unicycle to score a run.

My Birth date

Yesterday was (mama) mano's birthday,had a great time there.Incidentally it wasn't his birthday alone,his sister shares the birthday with him.No,they aren't twins,he is younger to his sister by exactly 4 years.It must have felt great to share a birthday,particularly when they are close to you.I was compelled to try and remember if there was anyone with whom i shared my birthday,i couldn't find anyone.After some research,these are the few people who were born on the same day as me(of course,different years).
Alistair MacLean(April 28, 1922 - February 2, 1987)-I was in fact very surprised and in a way happy to find his name.This author wrote about the seas in a way such that anyone who read it simply couldn't help but falling in love with sea.I simply worshiped him and still do,once even wrote an exam to join navy(though i cleared it,i was discouraged from joining it.Unfortunately he died the year i was born.
Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926)-A one book wonder,though the book is a masterpiece.It's the kind of book that should be made compulsory in schools and colleges.Atticus Finch is the kind of person who should followed as a role model.
Eugene Merle Shoemaker(or Gene Shoemaker) (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997)-no,he doesn't mak shoes,he was a scientist.He is the only person to have been buried on moon.A comet was named after him,which crashed into Jupiter in 1994,which was one of the few names i remember from what i learnt when i aspired to become a scientist in school days.Everytime i see Michael Schumacher along with some other person in a connect question with some unidentified person in a quiz,my mind veers off to this guy.
Saddam Hussein(April 28, 1937-December 30, 2006)-you know him,i don't have to explain.The man had guts,but not brains.
Oskar Schindler(28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974)-Schindler's list explains everything.
Lee Falk (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999)-Phantom and Mandrake creater.
Ferruccio Lamborghini (April 28, 1916 – February 20, 1993)-The guy's company would still be making tractors if Enzo Ferrari had been careful with his words.I came across Lamborghini cars from the pictures from the car aficionado,a certain RAJENDRAkumar.

Jay Leno(born April 28, 1950)-Aravind's favorite Tv show was of that of Leno's.
A quote of Leno-" Don't forget Mother's Day. Or as they call it in Beverly Hills, Dad's Third Wife Day. "
I'm not a sexist,but couldn't find woman of any significant being born on this day,the two people i found were Penélope Cruz andJessica Alba.

There's another very close person with whom i might have shared my birthday.That's my dad,the difference being just a day.He was born April 29,28 years before my birth date.

Just give me the Reader's Digest Condensed version

John S. Zinsser Jr., 84,died recently of a heart attack.I can see you squinting your eyes trying to remember if you know him.Honestly,i too didn't till today.He was the chief in editor of the Reader's Digest condensed editions during the 1950s.It was under his tenure that the condensing the editions of well-written books and presenting it to the public gained prominence.He was instrumental in distributing books which in spite of having been well-written with good plots would have largely been missed by the public.These editions came as a collection of 3-6 books and after 1997,they were called the select editions. In spite of being condensed which would be scorned by the "serious readers",special efforts were undertaken so as to keep the basic facts and aesthetics from the original books.

I remember couple of years ago when i had finished reading "Mother" by Maxim Gorky and was trying to read other serious stuffs like "The Brothers Karamazmov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky,i got stuck in a terrible Reader's block.I was finding it difficult to lay hands even on to any kind of book.It was then i came across John Case's "The Murder Artist" in one of the Select Editions of Reader's Digest.It certainly wasn't serious stuff, it was the kind of book i would have ignored.However at that time i was desperately trying to get out of this block,so like any other book i tried reading it and guess what,i finished it one go.It was one of the better books in the thriller genre that i have read so far.Though i haven't read the many of the books of the following select editions,i must say i owe a belated thank you to Mr.Zinsser,who made it all possible for me and others.And "Thank You" is just "the Reader's Digest Condensed version" of what we would like to say to you.

The Butterfly Effect

Saw this ludicrously illogical movie today.Still it isn't exactly a big yawn,there is a kind of suspense throughout the whole movie as Ashton Kutcher,the hero repeatedly goes back to his stressful childhood days,the period when he suffers a blackout and doesn't remember what happens at that time, by simply reading his journals(diaries) and tries to alter the future and each and every time his plans go haywire and he ends up worser than what he was previously.So i too decided to to undergo a kind of butterfly effect.I looked upon my diaries,it was more like an yearly analysis,so skipped it and instead took a old copy of India Today and decided i'll open a random page and whatever is in that page will cause the butterfly effect.The page turned out to be about education at IIT's(so rib-tickling,me-IIT,isn't it?) .And this is how the altered future shapes up)-
I accepted my parents decision to try the IIT exam(previously i had a blackout at this time and don't know exactly what happened,all i know is i didn't write the exam at first) and somehow i ticked everything and cleared screening test(those days two exams-screening and main were there).Spurred by this and with lots of luck i cleared the main exam too.Then i joined IIT madras.This is where the dreams turn to nightmare(it has to be like the movie,so),i somehow couldn't withstand the pressure of studying with the best minds in country and i ended flunking every subject.I took up all the wrong habits to bust this stress,the favourite being taking a banana,throwing away the mid-section and baking the banana peels and trying to smoke the bananadine.Smoking bananas that's what the term is called.Naturally that didn't give me any high or relief.Frustrated by this i try to do a felo de se by jumping from the building after smoking my last banana,(now for some drama)unfortunately some friend of mine comes and while trying to save me falls and kills himself for which i was charged.Then i come running down take up my journal which is another India Today and try to open up another page trying to escape into another worser nightmare,something which is known as MIT(oh the chennai one)....

My butterfly effect may not be exceptional,but from what i have heard about its sequel,it must be way better than the butterfly effect2.

The book in which there's no first chapter!!

"The curious incident of dog in the night time" by Mark Haddon, is the book in which there's no first chapter, in fact the chapters are numbered with prime numbers only. I came across this book when i was trying to buy a book for my friend at landmark. The book definitely is an eye-catcher with its uncommon name and naturally i too got attracted. The summary at the back didn't promise much,it was about a little guy who tries to investigate the murder of the neighbor's dog and finds out unpleasant truths and also the murderer. I opened the book to skim through and saw the book begins with chapter 2, and then there is no chapter 4 and so on, there was a irregularity about the numbering of chapters.Somehow this aberration lured me into reading this book.
This is a book about a small autistic child,Christopher Boone,who finds his neighbor's dog killed and decides to investigate along the lines of his favorite hero Sherlock Holmes.He investigates people in the neighborhood and his investigations leads him to the truth behind his mother's death. It's a murder mystery of different kind. It's one of those books where we understand more about the situation than the protagonist.The thing i found fascinating in this book was the characterization of Christopher. He's gifted at Mathematics,provides numerous examples of his abilities throughout the book like counting to 2 to the power of 45 when he gets angry or the time when he explains the Monty Hall problem.He knows every prime number till some 7057.He knows capitals of all countries in the world,has a photographic memory.
Also he doesn't like talking to strangers and doesn't even allow anyone to touch him;at one time he even hits his father when he tries to touch him.He finds it difficult to recognize people's moods from their expressions.He surrounds himself with his own rules-he decides what kind of day it is going to be for him by looking at the color and number of cars on the road.It is his abilities and his limitations that gives a suspense to the plot even though we know more than what he does. And it's not just another children's book,it'll be attractive to grownups too.This book should be in everyone's reading list.And now i am searching for his other less famous book"A spot of bother".

Rambling on science

A few days ago I found out that tea shop conversations can be so enlightening. People discuss the topics you least expect them to and they seem so knowledgeable at it. This occurred when one of my friends took me to a tea shop near tambaram. There were many others who seemed to be drinking tea, while a couple of them, it appeared were there only for reading newspapers. These two looked like they hardly know each other, but somehow they were wiling to share their world-shattering ideas. One of them, a slightly older guy said-“These Martian probes should be stopped, they shouldn’t be allowed anymore” looking at the news about a space probe landing on Mars. He then added “It’s such a complete waste of public money”

The other guy nodded affirmatively and said “Yes and that too when we know all about Mars, we know no life can possibly exist there” Then he added as an afterthought” Though it seems dry ice exists there”
The first guy then said” you know, we people on earth have so much nuclear weapons that we have to live in constant fear. It is said there are so many weapons that world can be destroyed many times over, there isn’t even a safe disposal for them, so what I suggest is we should take all the sleeping weapons on earth and bombard them on Mars and convert all ice into water, maybe that might support life. Even if nothing happens, we’ll be disposed of the dangerous weapons”. He looked around triumphantly as though he had addressed a gathering, though the only guy to whom he had addressed nodded his head rather unconvincingly and changed the topic by saying “These politicians are so foolish and irresponsible, it’s all their fault”. Then the topic veered off to politics and I guessed they discussed nineteen to dozen about politicians from all parts of world. I looked at my friend, he seemed to be in a different world quietly satisfied with the tea which he had just finished drinking and then we moved out of the shop, thinking about the whole preposterous idea.

Beauty ain't so beauty really

This is the snake river somewhere in U.S,i guess,but there was a time when we believed it was the great amazon. We refers to me and my friend-let's call him K. K is a psychologist coupled with a philosopher.He used to dabble a lot in body languages and things like that,until he started drawing too many inferences from each and every posture,sometimes they were so contradictory or unrelated that he left it(that is making predictions using body languages) for his own good.

Now to the Amazon story,i was having this picture as wallpaper in my system,when he saw it and asked me,rather seriously with a supercilious smile that accompanies people who know something that others don't -dei do u think that's beautiful?
yes,of course.why what do you think?i asked knowing that this was going to lead to one of his philosophical thinkings.
He said,with the supercilious smile growing in size-u know these places which look so beautiful from long distances,they aren't so beautiful,these rivers will be filled with so much dirt and industrial wastes that that would make your neighborhood sewage bearable and harmless.These rivers are only harming people and animals that depend on it.They support dangerous species of all almost-useless animals and insects which would lay eggs on your eyeballs if you keep it open for a longer time(i have heard of this line before,i think ..Higgins??).They are actually one of the worst places to be in.(And he says all this in spite of never traveling out of Tamil Nadu).I silently accepted whatever he said,there seemed to be a logic in it.

Then i was relating this to some other friend who doesn't wish to be named,he too listened silently and then drew his own conclusion which was-
Hmm...u know Girls too are like that,when you see deep inside them,they are also like those rivers.He refused to elaborate any further and the topic was left out.He suddenly realized it was ludicrously parochial to call a particular section that way,however true it might seem to be and especially when everyone and everything that's beautiful(or not so beautiful)is deceptive like that and this philosophy was buried until i saw this picture again with a "snake river " name under it.
So much for philosophy...