Fitter, Happier

free verse from radiohead (from the album 'OK Computer')

Fitter, happier,
More productive,
Comfortable.
Not drinking too much,
Regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week),
Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries.
At ease,
Eating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats).
A patient, better driver,
A safer car (baby smiling in back seat).
Sleeping well (no bad dreams),
No paranoia.
Careful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole).
Keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then).
Will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in wall),
Favours for favours.
Fond but not in love.
Charity, standing orders.
On Sunday's ring road supermarket.
No killing moths (or putting boiling water on the ants).
Car wash (also on Sundays).
No longer afraid of the dark,
Or midday shadows,
Nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate,
Nothing so childish.
At a better pace,
Slower and more calculated.
No chance of escape.
Now self-employed,
Concerned (but powerless).

An empowered and informed member of society (pragmatism not idealism),
Will not cry in public.
Less chance of illness.
Tires that grip in the wet (shot of baby strapped in back seat).
A good memory.
Still cries at a good film.
Still kisses with saliva.
No longer empty and frantic,
Like a cat,
Tied to a stick,
That's driven into,
Frozen winter shit (the ability to laugh at weakness).
Calm.
Fitter, healthier and more productive.
A pig,
In a cage,
On antibiotics.

I don't know why I posted this. I just did.
It's brilliant.

The grade school they call 'Thapar University'

When I'm supposed to leave, I'll probably miss it like hell. Believe me, I'm as bad as they come at goodbyes.
When I'm supposed to leave, I'll probably be the one who's sitting in the corner, not looking at anyone, because I'm afraid I'll tear up saying goodbye to one more person.
When I'm supposed to leave, I'll probably read this post and I'll laugh, and I'll cry.

But that doesn't mean I can't bitch about it now.

First of all, it's hell to wake up at 7 in the morning in winters, well its hell in the summer too, and go to class at 8. I honestly have no idea why I don't have any course backlogs, the number of classes that I've missed in the morning.
I drive to college, and the crappiest thing about that is the fact that students aren't allowed to park (forget drive) their cars INSIDE the campus. We have a perfectly large, and empty lot next to the parking lot they just constructed near the gates, and the reason why they did not include that empty lot in the parking area they've constructed, and allowed for at least fifty more cars to be parked inside, is beyond me.
It's no secret that there are about forty or fifty people who drive their cars to college everyday, and we park outside the gates, on the side of the road, or that 'parking khudda' we've all seen next to the gate.
What the logic is behind not allowing students to park cars inside, I do not know.
There's the fact that allowing cars inside would maybe result in people going on 'gehris' inside, but there's a very simple solution to this too -
Have a few barricades at the parking, so that no student can drive their car beyond the parking. Voila!
We're all above 18 here, why should we not drive to college? And if we do, why should we park our cars on the side of the road, where its potentially unsafe; and it's a traffic hazard.

RANDOMIZE!!!

What is it with the way people sit in classes?
Girls all together on one side of the room? Or is it just my class that does that?
Hell we never even did that in school!
I promise you, us guys in class aren't all that bad! We won't do anything unsavory.
We promise.

And oh, the girls at TU!
Maybe its just because the sex ratio is messed up, it is an engineering college after all, or maybe it's because engineers make do with anything and everything...I don't know what it is, but wow, every halfway-decent looking girl in this place walks around with her nose so high up in the air, we've begun to recognize chins.
Maybe we guys just build them up into something so extraordinary, for sheer dearth of any real beauty, but the things that pass for 'cute' around here, it's...well, never mind...
The flip side of that coin is that there are so many guys, saali koi value hi nahi hai.

RANDOMIZE!!!

There are far too many people in this college who take themselves wayyy too seriously.

RANDOMIZE!!!

Why is there no fortnightly, or even a monthly student newsletter?
We had one in school, and although I admit, that particular publication wasn't extraordinary either, but at least we had one.
All we have here is 'Thapar and I', which is only published twice a year, if that. And honestly, although I've heard about it, I've never actually physically seen a copy of T&I. If we're going to have to make do with what we have, then the least that should be done is to ensure that every student has a copy of it whenever it comes out.
I know it's all easier said than done, and I'm sitting pretty here, talking about it, doing nothing else.
But I tried in my time; at the end of my first year, I talked to a few teachers about a plan for starting a monthly newsletter. I was met mostly with blank stares and one word - 'Funding?'
Wait, isn't the college that takes about a lakh rupees, bi-annually(!!!), as fees from every new student, supposed to provide funding for such an undertaking. All it would take is money for printing. Let's say 2000 copies every month, at 3 rupees a copy, 12 issues a year. Comes out to seventy two thousand rupees a year. Less than half of what one student pays in a year in this place. There are all sorts of people who would be extremely eager to work on such a project.
But no, why would TU want its students to do something creative?

I realize I could be acting very naive here.
I realize I'm acting like I have all the answers.
But I have some. A lot of us do.
We, we're a generation of geniuses.

This post may have been affected by the fact that I have 'Blink 182' on very high volume in my room right now.

Rise, Rebel, Resist.


If you haven't turned rebel by age twenty, you have no heart; if you haven't turned establishment by age thirty, you've got no brains.
-Kevin Spacey

The Best of 2010: Part 2 - Books

Continuing with "the best of 2010"... part 1 of which was The Best Movies of 2010, part 2 is, the best books that I read in 2010. Mind you, I didn't read too many, probably around 14 or 15, but because I hadn't read more than two the previous year, this is a big deal.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

I rediscovered my passion for books this year, by discovering the website flipkart.com. Almost every book I read the last year was ordered off this website. And again, as it was with the movies, rarely if any book on this list was released in 2010...actually, none of them...but anyway, I read these last year.

So here goes...

5. THE GODS THEMSELVES - ISAAC ASIMOV
Bantam Books
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain...'
Perhaps not for everyone, this science fiction novel had been on my reading list for quite sometime, and when I finally got around to reading this a few months ago, it was certainly worth the wait. Isaac Asimov, the author of the 'I, Robot' collection of short stories is a famous name in sci-fi.
A very intriguing piece of fiction, if you're interested in sci fi, or not. Do try and read it.













4. SURVIVOR - CHUCK PALAHNIUK
Vintage Books
The novel which starts with page number 289 and ends with page number 1. In typical Palahniuk style, the author of 'Fight Club' manages to pull off another bizzare story in a highly gripping, and engaging fashion. Palahniuk, a cult figure, has made quite a name for himself with highly satirical and very dark commentaries on modern life with books such as this one, 'Fight Club', 'Choke' and 'Invisible Monsters' (which I also recently read). Survivor is certainly one of his best works.











3. THE GODFATHER - MARIO PUZO
Random House
Perhaps I have been very late in reading this classic, but my mother forbade me from reading it when I once asked her, some eight years ago. But I finally got around to reading it last year, and although I'd seen the movie, more than once, the book is another experience.


Michael Corleone, and Don Vito, brought to life by Al Pacino and Marlon Brando, have, if possible, even more class in this novel than in the movies.










2. AMERICAN PSYCHO - BRET EASTON ELLIS
Picador
Probably one of the most disturbing books I have ever read in my entire life, American Psycho, based on which a movie of the same name, starring Christian Bale was made, is clearly a modern masterpiece. Bret Easton Ellis is a genius. His extremely violent and graphic, third piece of fiction is a bestseller.
Not at all for everyone, American Psycho is graphic, it is sick, it is disgusting, it is vulgar, it is...brilliant!

The only reason I wouldn't rate this as the best book I read this year honestly, is because, well, the best book I read this year has been on my reading list for the last seven years.








1. THE SILMARILLION - J.R.R. TOLKIEN
Harper Collins
What can I possibly say about this...I dare not even call it a novel...this...mythology. What can I possibly say about this work of genius, that can do it even the slightest bit of justice. I have wanted, well...yearned to read this book for the last seven years, ever since I read the 'The Lord of the Rings'. I have searched through entire libraries for this, but somehow I always found it already issued, or later on...missing. But last year, when I was going through the catalogue on flipkart.com, this was the first book that was on my shopping cart.
A fantasy novel, a creation myth...call it what you will, 'The Silmarillion' is, in many ways even better than 'The Lord of the Rings', if that is indeed possible. From the beginning of the 'world' to the beginning of 'The War of the Ring', 'The Silmarillion' satisfies all that a Tolkien fan could ever dream of.
Probably the most nerdy choice possible for the number one book I read last year, but 'The Silmarillion' is...by far.


Every single book that I've mentioned in this post is amazing...definitely worth reading. And more on my reading list now are 'Island' and 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley, Dennis Lehane's 'Shutter Island', and Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'.

Any other books, you think I should consider reading, please do drop the title in the comments, I'd rather appreciate it.

Have a good start to the year.

"My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone, in fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this there is no catharsis, my punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself; no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing."
-Patrick Bateman

The Best of 2010: Part 1 - Movies

So, 2010 is about to end, a week or two left, and like the last two years, its time for me to compile my 'Best of...' lists.
I've watched a lot of movies, this year as always, listened to a lot of good music, played a lot of games, and another great thing, I've started reading a lot once more; so I've read a lot of books too, this year.

Also, a lot of things on these lists would not necessarily be from 2010, just things that I've watched, listened to, read or otherwise experienced this year.

So let's start off with the movies...
There are a lot of very obvious choices for the top ten (read 'Inception'/'The Social Network' etc.), but some of these are somewhat obscure (maybe not), or surprising choices as well.

Ok, so in part 1, we have,

TOP TEN MOVIES-->

10. HARD CANDY -
Little Red Riding Hood with a twist. Ellen Page stars in this disturbing (at times) thriller about a 14 year old girl who meets up with a 32 year old guy whom she suspects to be a sexual predator.

What follows is a completely intense and very gripping hour of film. The storyline is brilliant, as is the acting. The camera work is in fact the best I've seen in a movie recently, when you think that most of the movie is set in a house, with just two people.










9. MOON -
A one man movie, if you don't count Kevin Spacey as the voice of GERTY, Sam Rockwell pulls off a performance of a lifetime in this sci-fi/mystery film.

Sam Rockwell's character is nearing the end of a three year solitary stint on a mining station on the moon, when suddenly things start getting weird. A very well made movie.













8. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL -
The star-cast itself is enough for this to be on anybody's list of movies that need to be seen, with Kevin Spacey, Russel Crowe and Guy Pearce, not to mention Kim Basinger.

A classic murder mystery, set in LA, with a backdrop of drugs, sex, alcohol and Hollywood. A very slick, intelligent and fun movie.











7. THE GHOST WRITER -
Directed by Roman Polanski, the Ghost Writer is about a ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) hired to write the memoirs of a former British PM, played by Pierce Brosnan.

What he discovers though, investigating into the former politician's life, puts his own life in danger. Some people who I talked to about it found the movie slow, and though it is a little long, its pace is part of its presentation.

With an amazing, and very surprising last scene, this is definitely one of the top ten movies I've seen this year.










6. SHUTTER ISLAND -
Leonardo DiCaprio has made a reputation for himself, starring in what are usually the best movies of the year. This time too, with Shutter Island and Inception, he's done the same.

Directed by Martin Scorcese, Shutter Island delivers chills, excitement and a good measure of dread as it slowly chips away at the viewer's psyche.

Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (which is now on my must-read list), it's been filmed extraordinarily well, creating a very gloomy atmosphere.








5. THE BLIND SIDE-
Based on a true story of Michael Oher, and his adoptive family, the Blind Side was one movie I did not really expect would qualify to be on this list as I began watching it. But as I found out, it's one of the more inspirational, and touching movies out there.

There's great acting by Sandra Bullock and also by Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher.

A definite must watch.










4. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION -
Yes, I understand its a crime that I saw this movie in 2010. The number 1 movie on IMDb's top 250 of all time, and I saw it this year.
Oh well, let's just say there were some misconceptions about this movie's worth in my head.

With Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as lead stars in this story about how two men get to know each other, in a prison, and the unfolding of their lives, and of those around them, over something like twenty years, 'The Shawshank Redemption' definitely deserves the title of one of the greatest movies ever made.

And I was surprised to discover that this has been adapted from something Stephen King wrote.




3. DEV D -
Another movie I saw late.
I'd heard a lot about Dev D, and Abhay Deol's portrayal of the classic character of Devdas. But nothing I'd heard even came close to how I feel about this movie.
It is, in my opinion, quite simply, one of the best movies to come out of Bollywood in a very very long time.

Edgy, dark, sometimes surreal, Anurag Kashyap has created something that I hope is the beginning to a whole new era of Indian cinema.

Abhay Deol is a great actor, as I've discovered recently in 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!' as well. Hope he continues the good work.






2. INCEPTION -
Probably the most hyped movie of this year, it lived up to it.
Christopher Nolan had to do something to raise the bar once more after 'The Dark Knight' and he managed to do it.

Leonardo DiCaprio makes all the right choices.

Inception is a movie I saw in the theater the week it released, and although I knew it then I had just witnessed something special, I knew I needed to see it again to really appreciate it. So I waited for the BluRay to be released so I could watch it in HD at home, and boy was it worth the wait. I've seen it three times now, and every time it gets better.

One amazing movie.





1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK -
From the director of 'Zodiac' and 'Fight Club' - David Fincher, came this year's best movie. 'The Social Network' is about the meteoric rise of the founder of facebook.com, Mark Zuckerberg, and the story of facebook's invention.

Now this movie could have been made any number of ways, but the way it was, turned out to be one of the best movies of recent memory. Admittedly, the story itself is so fascinating, that it would've been hard to make a bad movie out of it, but everything from Jesse Eisenberg's acting to the amazing score by Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails) is flawless.

I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't agree to this, as the choice for the best movie of this year, but I don't know...for me, it is.






Ok, so those are the top ten movies I saw this year. I'd love to hear about your choices, in the comments...do share.

Hope you'll read part 2 of this...coming soon.