Saturday, March 31, 2007

picture not-yet-perfect

yello,

well, jobless days are here again.For want of something to do (yes, I'm already bored) I've taken to creating public web albums on picasa to "showcase my talents as an amateur photographer" (ahem, ahem). all of them have been taken by yours truly and many thanks to those who lend me their digital cameras to fiddle with. especiaalllll danks to fred for encouragement,patience and Canon powershot a530 (darling man you are)

Check them out and leave comments :)

www.picasaweb.google.com/nyscha.a

Peace

Monday, March 26, 2007

Tagged

Tagged by Fredhttp://theinsanegenius.blogspot.com

1. One thing you are very much afraid of?
Painful and prolonged death

2. Two incidents you can never forget in your life?
Being chased by a dog while riding a cycle
Having dog do his poopie in the sand right in front of me and fred on romantic beach outing one evening

3.Three books you would love reading again and again?
Gone with the wind
The ground beneath her feet
The namesake
Interpreter of maladies


4. Four women who are most beautiful?
4. Nandita Das
3. Beyonce Knowles
2. Smriti Rao – newsreader on ndtv
1. my unborn daughter (if that makes any darn sense!)

5.Five of you favorite food items?
1. fred's brains
2. maggi
3. chaats
4. anything chinese
5. anything ammamma makes

6.Six words you use very often oral/written?
Slightly
Wokay
hmmm...
mmmh…
uh-huh
achicho

7.Seven things you like about yourself?
me*7

8. Eight film personalities who are your all time favorites?
Tom Hanks
Nandita Das
Rahul Bose
Konkona sen-sharma
Nicholas Cage
Will Smith
Hugh Grant
Julia Roberts

9.Nine movies you wont mind watching again and again?
Happy Feet
My best friends wedding
Stepmom
Father of the bride 1 & 2
While you were sleeping
Shrek 1 & 2
Philadelphia



10.Ten songs you would like to listen to everyday?
The Cuppy Cake Song
A Hundred Years - Five For Fighting
Only Time - Enya
Dani California - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
You can sleep while I drive - Trisha Yearwood
Can't help falling in love - Richard Marx
Hallowed be thy name - Iron Maiden
Just the way you are - Billy Joel
Reflections - Christina Aguilera
Lithium-Evanescence


Tagging :Anyone who reads this blog and wants to pick it up! :-)

Saturday, March 17, 2007

The first of (hopefully) many to come...

The first times are always memorable.First step,first friend, first kiss,first job, first kid...

I got my first pay yesterday :)

I've gotten a fair bit of pocket money in the past in the form of internship stipends (which also I was very proud of) and prize money from winning presentations with my partner-in-cahoots, H.
But this pay means a little more to me than the others since it came from doing something that I've had my heart set on for a long, long time. The opportunity seemed to appear out of thin air and even though it initially seemed like I'd have trouble doing it, my wonderfully rebellious set of friends talked me into it :)

I'm not sure what I should do, spend it or save it. I'm torn between the two.

But for now, the neat white envelope addressed to "Nyscha", bearing the company's name and postal address, lies carefully hidden in a safe place, bringing a smile of quiet, feel-good satisfaction to my face.

KK,Sang-thanks! :)

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Ghost rider and the pursuit of happyness

Had the pleasure of having an extremely rare “double movie Sunday” last weekend. Two flicks in the space of 24 hours. There might be people who’ve done more but in Nyscha’s life, 2 movies in a day is definitely talk-worthy and most certainly blog-worthy.

That morning at 11, Fred and I enthusiastically waited in line to see Ghost Rider. We’d been wanting to see it since forever and were finally glad we were getting to see it. But the joy didn’t last too long.

The movie was L-A-M-E. No matter what means the director employed to make it worth a watch, every scene just fell flat one after another right from the start. The movie is about a young stunt-biker, Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for curing his father’s cancer. The devil then returns much later to ask an older Blaze to hunt down Blackheart (devils’ son) and destroy him. To complicate matters, Blaze’s old flame Roxanne turns up and reignites his hots for her.

The actor who played young Blaze seemed rather indifferent to his role. His emoting just didn’t come across. The younger version of Roxanne wore a strange, ill suited short dress that made me groan. Little did I know that the older version (played by Eva Mendes) would turn up in extremely figure-hugging, circulation-restricting clothes later on in the movie. The woman was annoying. She kept twitching and swinging her hips in an exaggerated fashion in a desperate bid to look saucy and enticing. Oh and not to forget her shirts that seemed to have buttons beginning from the upper reaches of the abdomen. She would’ve put our dear Pam Anderson to shame. All in all, every time she came on screen, she made me want to put my fingers through my eyes, all the way to my brain and swirl it around.

Nicholas Cage (Johnny Blaze’s older version) and Sam Elliot (played the caretaker) were the best in my opinion. Cage gets under the skin of the character with ease and one doesn’t have to work too hard to imagine him to be stunt-biker in Texas. I, personally found the parts where he changes into the ghost rider, pretty convincing. Darn good job. Sam Elliot does his bit rather well too. Both bring charisma to their respective characters.

If you’re looking for a convincing storyline, don’t cos there is none. The special effects were decent, though. Every time the bike changed into ghost rider’s machine, I couldn’t help grinning and feeling an odd little boy excitement well up in me. The scene where Blaze discovers that the caretaker is actually his predecessor and cheekily says “Lets ride” was corny but left me grinning from ear to ear.

Talking about dialogues, I’m pretty sure my 5 year old niece can write more sensible stuff. I mean how in the world can stuff like “he may have my soul but he’ll never have my spirit” be included without an intention to make the audience moan and slap their foreheads. Miserable dialogues.

If I were to rate the movie on a scale of 5, I’d grudgingly give it a 2 ; 1 for the special effects which kept me in the hall for 2 hours and 1 for Cage and Elliot’s prowess in acting. And I would banish Eva Mendes from Hollywood altogether. Sheesh.



That evening I came home and watched ‘The pursuit of happyness’ with Amma on dvd.

The movie is brilliant.

Its no candyfloss crap about how the protagonist gets whatever he wants within the space of one frame to another without any obvious effort. The real life story about Christopher Gardner, the movie is down-to-earth and heartbreakingly real.

In the movie, Will Smith plays Christopher Gardner, who is a single father struggling to make ends meet. The man is not dumb or useless. In fact the one aspect of the character that shines through the entire movie is his intelligence and fiercely stubborn will. Not to mention his patience with his rather unhappy wife and his little son played by Smith’s son in reality, Jaden.

Sometimes one finds oneself with all the right capabilities and traits only to find that the right situations to make use of those capabilities eludes one everytime. This movie is about how Christopher Gardner went from being the frustrated salesman of a not-very-popular medical scanner to a stock broker after fighting against odds repeatedly. The key word being repeatedly.

Will Smith’s acting is par excellence. Wearing a constant worried expression on his face, he efficiently plays the part of a father who roams the streets looking for a place to stay for the night while his young son hangs on to his hand and tells jokes that he scarcely realizes his father isn’t listening to. Jaden is a natural. Nobody could have played the part of the child better than him. It was just right. Never under performing, never going over the top either.

There are numerous touching scenes, the most tear-jerking one of which is the part where Gardner and his son spend the night locked up in the bathroom of a station because they’ve nowhere else to go. It shows Smith holding the child close, while tears stream down his face endlessly, when someone bangs on the door from outside. Another one shows Smith holding his son tight in his arms in a church, terribly guilty for having yelled at the child minutes before.

Gardner’s character comes across as an immensely loving and sensitive father, from the scenes where he stubbornly asks his wife to leave the child behind when she leaves, to the part where he tells the child never to let anyone else tell him what to do.

I could cite a million other scenes that I loved in the movie. But its best understood when watched. Wonderful movie and definitely a feather in the hat for first time English movie director Gabriele Muccino who had previously directed Italian movies.

I rate it a 4.5 on 5. Don’t miss it

Sunday, March 11, 2007

The Flintstones




My dearest,

I’ve been relatively idle the last few days and as a consequence my thoughts have been running amok like a crazed chimp on a rampage. This post is a product of one those moments but rather heartfelt all the same.

Your 12-message-long sms had me grinning today in the midst of what was supposedly a solemn ceremony. You’re one of the very few people I’ve met who doesn’t get bored with people just because of familiarity. You’ve no clue what a colossal relief it is considering the fact that I can bore brain-dead people back to life.

What’s also relieving is that you think I’m worth pursuing. Quite literally, because you seem to like following me around the house idly and even end up standing beside me sometimes, looking at my reflection in the mirror while I line my eyes with kohl.

Talking about mirror images, one image of yours comes readily to my mind when I think of you. Location : the Marina Beach. Time : 7pm. We were sitting side by side, a little away from the sea. You held me close, your arm wrapped around my shoulders. My head fit perfectly under your chin. In the course of conversation I looked up at you as you laughed. What I saw that moment I will remember forever. Your laughing countenance against the backdrop of the clear, starry, beautiful night sky. Priceless.

Billy Joel’s “Just the way you are” is playing in the background while I write this. The lyrics remind me of you. Direct and straightforward. No frills. Exactly the way I like it.

I’ve come to love your system of ‘fluid plans’ (I really do!). Going from being a person who had to have every moment in her life scheduled and planned, the trip to being a follower of the ‘fluid plan religion’ has been rather rewarding and enjoyable. Anything’s fun when its with you and your ‘evil laugh’.

Your fondness for animated movies earned major brownie points with me. Especially the fact that you love Shrek 1 & 2. Even though you weren’t really eager to see Happy Feet, you came along just because I wanted to and ended up enjoying it. So much so that days afterwards, when we saw two li’l kids energetically tapping their feet on their way out of the multiplex theatre, you excitedly exclaimed “Happy Feet!” rather spontaneously, much to the pride of their mother.

Clichéd as it may sound, you’ve always been there for me from the moment we knew each other. Your habit of playing guardian to those you’re close to, puzzles me. I’ve no clue how an individual could have so much patience. You were always just a call away, quite literally. Of all the people I’ve ever known, you’re one of the very few who are genuinely interested in knowing loved ones inside out.

With you, I feel certain that even if I close my eyes for a while, you’ll still be there when I open them.

A darling husband, best buddy, faithful supporter, confidante, protector, generous provider, disciplinarian, trustworthy companion, unbiased critic – you’ve played every part to perfection.

I don’t know why it didn’t strike us before that we were more or less what each one of us was looking for.

I love you, Fred Flintstone.

Yours,
Wilma Flintstone




Deep breaths and tightened jaw....

Life is weird.Rather like a jack-in-the-box.You never know what it chooses to startle you with.Good stuff,bad shit.They just keep coming.People you thought knew you and loved you inside out,walk away without a word.People who you thought played a pivotal role in your life,make their exit without looking back a last time.No remorse,they move on.Those whose faces you've never seen,become your best friends over the internet.Ones you considered temporary become your life support system.Some folks you were waiting to get a break from end up leaving you in floods of tears when the time to part has finally arrived.People surprise you constantly.They walk in and outta lives as they please.They love you,make you laugh,make you cry,shatter you,change you,teach you.You cry for the ones you've lost,ache for the ones you miss and hang on,scared and alone,waiting for the next time jack springs outta his damned box.