Everyone must be undergoing various stages of Onam hangover these days, I guess. So I will skip the details of the Onam sadhyas I had. But one thing I have to say. Boy was I lucky this year…four sadhyas and more to come. Due to non-availability of auditoriums, schools, the onam celebrations of many cultural organizations are still pending. I have one next Friday…as I commented “njan ippol thanne football pole aayi..!”
I watched “Nerariyan CBI” yesterday. A so..so film. I will give five out of ten, just for the twist at the end, the priest role by Jagathi,for Cochin Haneefa and Bindu Panicker. Annoying things were the white flashes of strobe light the director uses too much,the discussions on supernatural etc which bores you a little (you will understand when you watch the movie ). And the most annoying of all…the extensive use of advertisement...and the characters are made to say dialogues which promote the products….I couldn’t digest that. ( eg. Mamootty saying “athu (theyila) podiyude gunama!”(AVT), “916 gold”(kalyan jewelers), “njan indicom subscriber aanu” etc.) Then the unnecessary dialogues/scenes like “sir how to overcome fear?” and a few dialogues on that. Irrelevant and will bore you. I did hear people talking in the theater, a sure sign that they were all distracted and had lost interest. And how come in a CBI office there are no other employees? Jagathy as usual “kalakki” with his “catholic achan” role.
How to find out whether the rest of the crowd are bored with the movie as you are? …try a few coughs…if you hear others joining you in coughing…be sure there are people in the movie hall, who are also equally bored . Applicable to “kathi prasangam”s also.
Opera 8.5 browser is out. And its FREE. It’s the fastest browser.Faster than firefox in rendering webpages.
The kuwait ministry banned the latest India Today. Now i am intrigued..! I checked India-Today website.Now i know why it is banned in Kuwait.
I am planning to send weblink of this post by Silverine to all my friends... contemporary "Sholay". That was a good one,Silverine.
Take care all of you..
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Happy Onam...!
Wishing you and all your near and dear ones a very happy Onam.May you all have a happy,peaceful and prosperous year ahead.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Up The Irons...!!!
I am a die-hard fan of Iron Maiden, the British Heavy Metal band. (My other fav are Judas Priest and Manowar!). On Aug 20, Iron Maiden,the headliners of Ozzfest 2005,while performing was terrorized by some stupid,egoistic fans of Ozzy Osbourne,apparently at the behest of Sharon Osbourne. Iron Maiden was pelted with eggs,beer bottle caps,ice,etc. The lead singer Bruce Dickinson was even spit upon by an Ozzy fan. The PA system was switched off thrice while the band was playing.And the power was pulled out too. What a nice way to settle scores,eh? Iron Maiden didn’t walk away,like bands usually tend to do, but fought and gave it back to them.They played the full set of 60 mins.(5 mins more than the allotted slot). No wonder they are still on the top in this era of new metal,rap metal(what the heck is that?) and all other acts which strut around in the name of rock(grrrrr).And to add to that,Sharon came onstage after Iron Maiden left and passed comments on Bruce, after praising other members of the Maiden band and their crew,but was booed off.She also had to face “Maiden…Bruce” chants from the fans.I liked that.
I do like Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.After all he is the "Prince of Darkness","Godfather of Heavy Metal".But this sad episode should not have happened.Maybe he was not aware of his wife's plans. The whole episode sure did leave a bad taste.Read more about it here and here
Sharon Osbourne has done nastier things earlier too.Anybody remember what she did to Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath’s ex-guitarist)?
The above muttering was for die hard classic heavy metal fans.Well on to other things. One of my friends,is in Canada for her Masters degree.Good luck to you, my dear dear friend.And thanks for everything. May you be blessed abundantly! And oh, knowing you was my blessing!
In one post on her weblog Sonia, wrote about a taxi driver in Dubai,who was playing the car radio and irritating her. While in Jordan I saw a sticker,by the ministry, in the taxi cabs."Passengers' Bill of Rights".The third right was “No playing of radio,cassette recorder in an annoying way ”.One more reason to love Jordan! But then Jordan has both native Christians and Muslims.
I flew back to Kuwait on 5th. Back to the daily grind.I haven’t watched any movies on MBC2 after my return.Too busy to sit in front of telly and watch a whole movie.This kind of answers my question in my earlier post.
Been listening to Pink Floyd for the past few days. And more Iron Maiden too.
Onam...well Happy Onam to all you out there.Have a great day and take care.
I do like Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.After all he is the "Prince of Darkness","Godfather of Heavy Metal".But this sad episode should not have happened.Maybe he was not aware of his wife's plans. The whole episode sure did leave a bad taste.Read more about it here and here
Sharon Osbourne has done nastier things earlier too.Anybody remember what she did to Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath’s ex-guitarist)?
The above muttering was for die hard classic heavy metal fans.Well on to other things. One of my friends,is in Canada for her Masters degree.Good luck to you, my dear dear friend.And thanks for everything. May you be blessed abundantly! And oh, knowing you was my blessing!
In one post on her weblog Sonia, wrote about a taxi driver in Dubai,who was playing the car radio and irritating her. While in Jordan I saw a sticker,by the ministry, in the taxi cabs."Passengers' Bill of Rights".The third right was “No playing of radio,cassette recorder in an annoying way ”.One more reason to love Jordan! But then Jordan has both native Christians and Muslims.
I flew back to Kuwait on 5th. Back to the daily grind.I haven’t watched any movies on MBC2 after my return.Too busy to sit in front of telly and watch a whole movie.This kind of answers my question in my earlier post.
Been listening to Pink Floyd for the past few days. And more Iron Maiden too.
Onam...well Happy Onam to all you out there.Have a great day and take care.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
A Walk To Remember...!
Oops! Was showing a friend how to blog and I goofed.The earlier post got reposted again.
Almost a month since my last blog.I am in Amman,Jordan now (again!).Some emergency occured which called for my urgent presence here.And I flew in a few days back but I dont know when I will fly back to Kuwait.All the flights to Kuwait are overbooked.Its that time of the year...End of summer vacation time!! I had to change hotel also.I hate it.And add to that my stomach was upset with something I ate..must be the fruits. I sure did wash them under running water :-(
Hey,how is that I get to see some good movies while I am in Amman? And that too on MBC2. I have this channel in Kuwait.But I never get to see any good ones while I am in Kuwait.Yesterday I saw "A Walk To Remember".One more to the list of movies which touched me.Reminded me of Love Story (Erich Segal fame). Mandy Moore and Shane West are the lead pair.This simple romance movie had depth,was fast paced enough and had me immersed..totally.The film was adapted from Nicholas Sparks book of the same name.And another film which I liked (and own the DVD too) "Message in a Bottle" was also adapted from Nicholas Sparks novel. A walk to remember is prescribed for hopeless romantics like me :-) Oh by the way the film had Darryl Hannah too (anyone remember "Splash"?)To start hunting for the DVD and the book.
The other movies I got to watch was "3000 Miles to Graceland"( have Courtney Cox of "friends" fame with Kevin Costner and Kurt Rusell) "California Suite".And special mention for "The Big Hit". Somebody please send me the next month's MBC2 cinema list,so that I can plan my next Jordan trip.
Friends from Kuwait called.The movie "Bharathchandran IPS" is being shown there in
Kuwait.Its a super hit in Kerala (that's what I was told!).I badly wanted to see this one after wasting my time and money on "Udayon" and "Rappakal".Will have to get the pirated VCD ...oops!
This is a good opportunity to see Jordan since I have ample time in hand,but the friend who could have arranged it all is away in Lebanon honeymooning! So have to do with the rounds of Amman.Maybe next time I will go sightseeing Jerash,Dead Sea and all.
And similar to my early experiences with local people in Jordan,this time too the word "hindi" did the magic.I get into a cab.Give the destination to the driver.Silence for a 5 to 10 mins.Then usually at the second traffic signal the driver asks
"American?"
Me (thinking "you blind or what?"): "No Indian"
Driver: "Hindi?"
Me:"yes"
And that does it.He starts talking in broken English about India,mostly about hindi films, and this time one guy even sang a Hindi film song, which unfortunately I didn't know.But he insisted that it was from a Hindi film starring Amithab Bachan.I relented.(Didn't want to get beaten up,do we?)And from then onwards the ride is good.ummm I am proud to be an Indian.And thanks to Amitabh Bachan too!! But I still have to pay as per the taxi fare meter.
Time to go and check the MBC2 movie listing for today!
Almost a month since my last blog.I am in Amman,Jordan now (again!).Some emergency occured which called for my urgent presence here.And I flew in a few days back but I dont know when I will fly back to Kuwait.All the flights to Kuwait are overbooked.Its that time of the year...End of summer vacation time!! I had to change hotel also.I hate it.And add to that my stomach was upset with something I ate..must be the fruits. I sure did wash them under running water :-(
Hey,how is that I get to see some good movies while I am in Amman? And that too on MBC2. I have this channel in Kuwait.But I never get to see any good ones while I am in Kuwait.Yesterday I saw "A Walk To Remember".One more to the list of movies which touched me.Reminded me of Love Story (Erich Segal fame). Mandy Moore and Shane West are the lead pair.This simple romance movie had depth,was fast paced enough and had me immersed..totally.The film was adapted from Nicholas Sparks book of the same name.And another film which I liked (and own the DVD too) "Message in a Bottle" was also adapted from Nicholas Sparks novel. A walk to remember is prescribed for hopeless romantics like me :-) Oh by the way the film had Darryl Hannah too (anyone remember "Splash"?)To start hunting for the DVD and the book.
The other movies I got to watch was "3000 Miles to Graceland"( have Courtney Cox of "friends" fame with Kevin Costner and Kurt Rusell) "California Suite".And special mention for "The Big Hit". Somebody please send me the next month's MBC2 cinema list,so that I can plan my next Jordan trip.
Friends from Kuwait called.The movie "Bharathchandran IPS" is being shown there in
Kuwait.Its a super hit in Kerala (that's what I was told!).I badly wanted to see this one after wasting my time and money on "Udayon" and "Rappakal".Will have to get the pirated VCD ...oops!
This is a good opportunity to see Jordan since I have ample time in hand,but the friend who could have arranged it all is away in Lebanon honeymooning! So have to do with the rounds of Amman.Maybe next time I will go sightseeing Jerash,Dead Sea and all.
And similar to my early experiences with local people in Jordan,this time too the word "hindi" did the magic.I get into a cab.Give the destination to the driver.Silence for a 5 to 10 mins.Then usually at the second traffic signal the driver asks
"American?"
Me (thinking "you blind or what?"): "No Indian"
Driver: "Hindi?"
Me:"yes"
And that does it.He starts talking in broken English about India,mostly about hindi films, and this time one guy even sang a Hindi film song, which unfortunately I didn't know.But he insisted that it was from a Hindi film starring Amithab Bachan.I relented.(Didn't want to get beaten up,do we?)And from then onwards the ride is good.ummm I am proud to be an Indian.And thanks to Amitabh Bachan too!! But I still have to pay as per the taxi fare meter.
Time to go and check the MBC2 movie listing for today!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Happy to be back...!
"Happy to be back" - Commander Eileen Collins,STS-114 crew
Congratulations! Welcome back to Planet Earth.We were all anxiously waiting for your safe return.
I salute them for their bravery and for their professionalism!
Congratulations! Welcome back to Planet Earth.We were all anxiously waiting for your safe return.
I salute them for their bravery and for their professionalism!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Back to blogging...!
That was some writer's block..phew! Guess almost everyone goes through such a phase.There maybe reasons and excuses ranging from sheer laziness to technical problems(for me those two apply!).My residence telephone line was down from February.It got repaired only two days back.Mind you this happened in Kuwait.Numerous complaints at various levels and repeated visits to the telephone exchange didn't help.In the end we had to use "wasta" (more about this "wasta" later!).India is far far better.There are forums there where you can register your complaints and escalate if still nothing happens.I have never heard anyone going through such a situation in India.Come on guys six months to rectify a telephone connection problem!!!Tsk...Tsk...
And so much has happened after my last blog.The most important event. I got married. The marriage was kept a small function.I wanted to make it a grand one,but my friends advised me against that. (mookkattum kazhichittu "pazhathinu uppilla" ennu parayunnavara nammude aalukal-- this dialogue by one of my friends convinced me agianst splurging on the wedding! The rough translation of that dialogue is" the people fill up their stomach at the reception and then complain that the bananas lacked salt") Only intimate friends and relatives were invited.Still there were around 150 who attended and wished us well. And surprisingly the church ceremony got over in 20 mins.I am an Orthodox Christian.Our Sunday Mass and Marriage ceremonies are notorious (if i can use that word) for the time it takes to get finished. So for those Orthodox Christians who dread standing for one and half hours for the ceremony,my advise .. make it a second marriage! :-)) Me and my wife, we are taking each day as it comes.I hope I will always keep that lovely smile on my wife's face. So wish us luck. And the pics are at http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/connectany/Wedding/ and use "shibuv" as password. And maybe you will let me know which snap you liked the best matter wise and composition wise.
Firefox 1.0.6 and Thunderbird 1.0.6 is out. Its a stability update release for both the mozilla products. That was for those who hate IE and Outlook Express.(and Microsoft!).Talking about Microsoft,they now say that Gator (remember?) is not a major spyware...because Gator was bought out by Microsoft!(Gator had changed the name before the buyout!)
And bombs in London and Egypt.The guys who did it and those who tried to have a second wave,they are all cowards.They know that at a face to face showdown they will never convince people with their"jihad" ideology.So they use terror tactics.Cowards aren't they! And look at the way they ran when their bombs didn't explode. And today Indian Home Minister told the Rajya Sabha "Government has received information that some individuals, vital scientific installations and some national monuments were under terrorist threat".(Read that at www. expressindia.com) God help us all!
I was in Trivandrum for fifteen days.Had high hopes of getting wet in the rain.But during those fifteen days it never rained heavily.I miss the rains! Did I say that I love rains? I love walking in the rain just for the heck of it! ..getting drenched..and then taking a hot bath...and later sit down with a hot cup of tea, watching the rains..the cold winds changing the way the rain falls...and i can go on watching the rains...And i miss my Kerala and the rains!
I bought the CD of "Yeshuve Karunamayane" by V.J.Traven from Trivandrum.I love those songs.Not the traditional music we expect from the christian songs.Different music! More like rock songs! Lots of guitar! :-)) Someone told me he was ex-member of a rock group in Kochi.(Maybe that expalins the "rock music" feeling i got when i listened to the CD. With a little fusion music also?).Anyway that CD is continuously playing in my CD player.I am not a hardcore christian or a born again.I loved the music and the simple lyrics.I first heard those songs while traveling in my brother's car.Couldn't but buy the CD.He has also released one more album "Ente Esuvin Ormmakkayi".Bring out more of them Mr.Traven!
Talking about music CDs. Had dificulty finding a decent music store in Trivandrum where i could shop for audio cds.Especially hard rock audio cds.No luck. By the way there is a site for Trivandrumites.check out http://trivandrum.cjb.net/ And there is a discussion about music stores in one forum.
I salute Lance Armstrong!
Kuwiat is too hot.Though official records say the range is between 45 to 49 degrees,it must be way above that.
Take care my friends.May this world be a better place for us all!
And so much has happened after my last blog.The most important event. I got married. The marriage was kept a small function.I wanted to make it a grand one,but my friends advised me against that. (mookkattum kazhichittu "pazhathinu uppilla" ennu parayunnavara nammude aalukal-- this dialogue by one of my friends convinced me agianst splurging on the wedding! The rough translation of that dialogue is" the people fill up their stomach at the reception and then complain that the bananas lacked salt") Only intimate friends and relatives were invited.Still there were around 150 who attended and wished us well. And surprisingly the church ceremony got over in 20 mins.I am an Orthodox Christian.Our Sunday Mass and Marriage ceremonies are notorious (if i can use that word) for the time it takes to get finished. So for those Orthodox Christians who dread standing for one and half hours for the ceremony,my advise .. make it a second marriage! :-)) Me and my wife, we are taking each day as it comes.I hope I will always keep that lovely smile on my wife's face. So wish us luck. And the pics are at http://photobucket.com/albums/v412/connectany/Wedding/ and use "shibuv" as password. And maybe you will let me know which snap you liked the best matter wise and composition wise.
Firefox 1.0.6 and Thunderbird 1.0.6 is out. Its a stability update release for both the mozilla products. That was for those who hate IE and Outlook Express.(and Microsoft!).Talking about Microsoft,they now say that Gator (remember?) is not a major spyware...because Gator was bought out by Microsoft!(Gator had changed the name before the buyout!)
And bombs in London and Egypt.The guys who did it and those who tried to have a second wave,they are all cowards.They know that at a face to face showdown they will never convince people with their"jihad" ideology.So they use terror tactics.Cowards aren't they! And look at the way they ran when their bombs didn't explode. And today Indian Home Minister told the Rajya Sabha "Government has received information that some individuals, vital scientific installations and some national monuments were under terrorist threat".(Read that at www. expressindia.com) God help us all!
I was in Trivandrum for fifteen days.Had high hopes of getting wet in the rain.But during those fifteen days it never rained heavily.I miss the rains! Did I say that I love rains? I love walking in the rain just for the heck of it! ..getting drenched..and then taking a hot bath...and later sit down with a hot cup of tea, watching the rains..the cold winds changing the way the rain falls...and i can go on watching the rains...And i miss my Kerala and the rains!
I bought the CD of "Yeshuve Karunamayane" by V.J.Traven from Trivandrum.I love those songs.Not the traditional music we expect from the christian songs.Different music! More like rock songs! Lots of guitar! :-)) Someone told me he was ex-member of a rock group in Kochi.(Maybe that expalins the "rock music" feeling i got when i listened to the CD. With a little fusion music also?).Anyway that CD is continuously playing in my CD player.I am not a hardcore christian or a born again.I loved the music and the simple lyrics.I first heard those songs while traveling in my brother's car.Couldn't but buy the CD.He has also released one more album "Ente Esuvin Ormmakkayi".Bring out more of them Mr.Traven!
Talking about music CDs. Had dificulty finding a decent music store in Trivandrum where i could shop for audio cds.Especially hard rock audio cds.No luck. By the way there is a site for Trivandrumites.check out http://trivandrum.cjb.net/ And there is a discussion about music stores in one forum.
I salute Lance Armstrong!
Kuwiat is too hot.Though official records say the range is between 45 to 49 degrees,it must be way above that.
Take care my friends.May this world be a better place for us all!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Sad memories we like to remember...!
Well its blues time for me. Been watching Tina Turner DVD "All the Best" yesterday.I love listening to her songs.I love her voice and the rendition and you can feel the energy she exudes in her live shows. During the interview for "All The Best", she talks about "..sad memories people like to remember.." That sure did set methinking about my past..and boy does it still hurt?
...I always thought our love was strong enough
One you could hold on to...ohhh
..oooh, I feel the shame
but I'll never know the reason why
the rug was pulled so gently from under my feet
I only know that something good has died
between you and me, oh it's just a memory
..You never see it coming
I will never be the same again!
Time to move on with my life now
Leaving the past all behind
I can make my own decisions
It was only a matter of time
Sometimes I look back in anger
Thinking about all the pain
But I know that I'm stronger without you
And that I'll never need you again
..Tears will leave no stain
Time will ease the pain
For every light that fades
Something beautiful remains
We're travelers here, spirits passing through
And the love we give, is all that will endure
Hey now, what we had is gone
But I still remember you
Just like a rose after the rain
Something beautiful remains
..Hey now, though we are apart
You're here forever in my dreams
Hey now, love is lost and gained
And you wonder sometimes how we carry on
When you've lost the love you knew
But it's alright, it's alright
To your own heart be true
And then I heard a country song on the radio...goes like this...
Yeah, I got to work on time again this morning
This old job is all that I got to live
And no one even noticed I'd been crying
At least I don't have whisky on my breath.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna make it
'Cause God won't make a mountain I can't climb
It's getting better all the time
....God, I hope your happy
Girl, I wish you well
I just might get over you
You can never tell.
I always thought that I'd do something crazy
If ever saw you out with someone else
But when the moment came last night
I couldn't say a word, I stood there in the dark all by myself.
Yeah, I could have said a million things
All I did was keep it locked inside
It's getting better all the time
Its almost one month since my last post. Bloggers block? The past days have been good to me.Thank God for that. Been reading about the Sakthi Kapoor episode...Now all other Bollywood gods and angels are talking and behaving as if, there was only one guy who had anything to do with "casting couch" and now that he is exposed there is no more "casting couch". Hypocrites..! The only sane voices i heard was from Mahesh Butt and Mandira Bedi.At least they did admit that there is "casting couch". Oh! they caught Aman Verma too...Now what will the television stars union do?
I 've been trying to study for my CISA exams..have to find time for reading the text books. The family I share the apartment with is celebrating their son's first birthday tomorrow.Have to buy a gift for the cute little boy.
Have great days all of you...and for me its weekend in few hours from now....take care all of you!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Saturday, February 19, 2005
There is pleasure in the pathless woods
I am flying back to Kuwait tonight. I was here in Amman for five days.I will be back in Amman for the next project. I love this place...and the people too…I felt like I was in my native country...more like in Bangalore…
On Thursday I went sight seeing with a few friends…To the downtown area, which nestles between hills….Hashemite Square…The Roman Amphitheatre (built by Antoninus Pius – one of the five good Roman Emperors)…and faraway on the mountain, The Temple of Hercules (built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius –also numbered among “five good Roman Emperors- author of “Meditations”,Stoic philosopher) …I did take some photos. It was evening and I have to see whether it will come out fine. It never came to my mind that Jordan was a part of ancient Greek then later Roman Empire… It was only when my friend told “we are going to see the Roman Amphitheater”, that I suddenly recalled my History lessons! And I was standing there, where long time back the roman soldiers used to march, Roman and Greek nobles used to walk or were carried by slaves.…That was an awesome feeling…! By the way Amman was called Philadelphia during Roman rule.
Had Jordanian native meal, mansaf. rice with lamb and garnished with almonds.Tasty. The day before I went to a chinese restaurant.I was the only customer.But the food was OK. Should remeber that they add tax to the menu price.I did see a few Indian restaurants,but didn't try out any.Why should I go all the way to Jordan,to have Indain food?
I couldn’t go to Petra, Jaresh and Dead Sea. I will surely visit those places during my next trip. Petra is almost 300 kms from Amman.
Traveling alone is always boring for me. Luckily I had made a few friends during my last visit to Amman. And I didn’t get “sloshed” this time too :-(
And I saw a few movies on the telly. Bridges of Madison County starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.That was an awesome movie. Really did touch me. I could perfectly relate to the characters, the love, the pain and the dilemma. Let’s say that, drawing parallel to my life helped me relate to that movie. My role would have been Francesca’s husband, but in my case, my wife left me. (That sure does put me in bad light!).Back to the movie .Francesca’s story, read by her grownup children, touches them too and they take stock of their life and start working on their marriage. That was great! The film was directed by Clint Eastwood. Both Meryl and Clint acted so well that I got so involved in the movie. Yes, it is always better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!
“In a world full of ambiguity, a certainty like this comes but once in a lifetime” - Clint Eastwood to Meryl Streep in Bridges of Madison County.
The second movie was “Breaking Up”. Still didn’t get why Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek had to breakup. And in the end when they both meet after a year or so, they regret what they threw away. But they cannot undo what they have done. An O.K. film.
It’s so easy to put an end to a relationship.Just walk away.That’s it.But think about the amount of work you put to start a relationship,sustain the relation…
Have to buy chocolates for my colleagues and friends.Have to finish one more film roll.
And here is the part of the poem,by Lord Byron, used in the movie Bridges Of Madison County:
On Thursday I went sight seeing with a few friends…To the downtown area, which nestles between hills….Hashemite Square…The Roman Amphitheatre (built by Antoninus Pius – one of the five good Roman Emperors)…and faraway on the mountain, The Temple of Hercules (built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius –also numbered among “five good Roman Emperors- author of “Meditations”,Stoic philosopher) …I did take some photos. It was evening and I have to see whether it will come out fine. It never came to my mind that Jordan was a part of ancient Greek then later Roman Empire… It was only when my friend told “we are going to see the Roman Amphitheater”, that I suddenly recalled my History lessons! And I was standing there, where long time back the roman soldiers used to march, Roman and Greek nobles used to walk or were carried by slaves.…That was an awesome feeling…! By the way Amman was called Philadelphia during Roman rule.
Had Jordanian native meal, mansaf. rice with lamb and garnished with almonds.Tasty. The day before I went to a chinese restaurant.I was the only customer.But the food was OK. Should remeber that they add tax to the menu price.I did see a few Indian restaurants,but didn't try out any.Why should I go all the way to Jordan,to have Indain food?
I couldn’t go to Petra, Jaresh and Dead Sea. I will surely visit those places during my next trip. Petra is almost 300 kms from Amman.
Traveling alone is always boring for me. Luckily I had made a few friends during my last visit to Amman. And I didn’t get “sloshed” this time too :-(
And I saw a few movies on the telly. Bridges of Madison County starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.That was an awesome movie. Really did touch me. I could perfectly relate to the characters, the love, the pain and the dilemma. Let’s say that, drawing parallel to my life helped me relate to that movie. My role would have been Francesca’s husband, but in my case, my wife left me. (That sure does put me in bad light!).Back to the movie .Francesca’s story, read by her grownup children, touches them too and they take stock of their life and start working on their marriage. That was great! The film was directed by Clint Eastwood. Both Meryl and Clint acted so well that I got so involved in the movie. Yes, it is always better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!
“In a world full of ambiguity, a certainty like this comes but once in a lifetime” - Clint Eastwood to Meryl Streep in Bridges of Madison County.
The second movie was “Breaking Up”. Still didn’t get why Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek had to breakup. And in the end when they both meet after a year or so, they regret what they threw away. But they cannot undo what they have done. An O.K. film.
It’s so easy to put an end to a relationship.Just walk away.That’s it.But think about the amount of work you put to start a relationship,sustain the relation…
Have to buy chocolates for my colleagues and friends.Have to finish one more film roll.
And here is the part of the poem,by Lord Byron, used in the movie Bridges Of Madison County:
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Amman,Jordan
I am in Amman,Jordan.This is my second visit to this beautiful country.And the people are
nice too..And when they come to know that I am an Indian,they become more friendly.They talk about Hindi cinema,Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi,Amitabh Bachan...and Amjad Khan.
I landed here two days back,on Valentine's Day.The immigration had a little problem with my
name spelled differently in Arabic.It was cleared up.Unfortunately the hotel I booked into had no airport pickup.I took a white cab outside the airport to Amman,which is almost 15kms distant from the airport.These white cabs run on fixed rates.Airport to Amman is 16 Jordanian
Dinars(JD).After checking in at the hotel,was too tired for anything else other than a quick
shower and sleep.
Moving around the city is not a problem at all.Yellow cabs are plenty and you pay the fare
according to the taximeter.Last week it was snowing here.I missed it.Hope it will snow while
i am here.The last time i was here in Jordan,I forgot to carry my camera along.This time i
hope to take some pics,if time permits.
The weather is cold here.Today is day 3 in Amman.Yesterday night i ventured out to explore
the city,with two friends.I didn't go to any watering holes..maybe today or tomorrow.....I
am having chicken shawarma for lunch and for supper.Though i must say they are very
tasty,one gets fed up with the same food.By the way, the place i take chicken shawarma is
"Daiya" restaurant,at Abdoun circle.Always crowded.I guess there are other items on the
menu,but my absolute zilch knowledge of Arabic makes me hesitate to order.Maybe i should
take a risk.I haven't yet tasted the Jordanian native cuisine.Tomorrow is kept aside for
that.Yesterday,though, i did have "Kunafa"- a sweet which is made of white cheese-very
sweet.
Let us see what tonight brings to me....
nice too..And when they come to know that I am an Indian,they become more friendly.They talk about Hindi cinema,Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi,Amitabh Bachan...and Amjad Khan.
I landed here two days back,on Valentine's Day.The immigration had a little problem with my
name spelled differently in Arabic.It was cleared up.Unfortunately the hotel I booked into had no airport pickup.I took a white cab outside the airport to Amman,which is almost 15kms distant from the airport.These white cabs run on fixed rates.Airport to Amman is 16 Jordanian
Dinars(JD).After checking in at the hotel,was too tired for anything else other than a quick
shower and sleep.
Moving around the city is not a problem at all.Yellow cabs are plenty and you pay the fare
according to the taximeter.Last week it was snowing here.I missed it.Hope it will snow while
i am here.The last time i was here in Jordan,I forgot to carry my camera along.This time i
hope to take some pics,if time permits.
The weather is cold here.Today is day 3 in Amman.Yesterday night i ventured out to explore
the city,with two friends.I didn't go to any watering holes..maybe today or tomorrow.....I
am having chicken shawarma for lunch and for supper.Though i must say they are very
tasty,one gets fed up with the same food.By the way, the place i take chicken shawarma is
"Daiya" restaurant,at Abdoun circle.Always crowded.I guess there are other items on the
menu,but my absolute zilch knowledge of Arabic makes me hesitate to order.Maybe i should
take a risk.I haven't yet tasted the Jordanian native cuisine.Tomorrow is kept aside for
that.Yesterday,though, i did have "Kunafa"- a sweet which is made of white cheese-very
sweet.
Let us see what tonight brings to me....
Friday, February 11, 2005
400 channels and nothing on!
Keeping a weblog,or for that matter, any journal updated daily is not an easy task.Especially on weekdays.And today is Friday..weekend here in Kuwait. Tomorrow is a holiday too...
Its cold here in Kuwait...must be 5 centigrades..was 7 yesterday morning.They were warning us about "supercold weekend".Yesterday I hooked up the satellite TV connection.Almost 400 channels..all autoscanned by the digital receiver.Question is when do i get time to watch all these..? I'm so tired after office, the only thing that is on mind then will be to have supper and then sleep. But i guess the TV will be on as a background noise throughout...I am so used to background noise (even now while i'm wrtiting this Whitesnake is belting out.."Guilty Of Love"!) I am sort of addicted to this kind of background noise...I concentrate more on a task when i have music (Rock and heavy metal for me :-) ! And many of you out there are also addicted, right?
Went for a movie yesterday "Udayanu Thaaram" (Udayan is the (film)star- a rough translation of the title..) Yes, i am a Mallu (Mallu,or Malayalee - native of Kerala,India for those uninitiated!) working in Kuwait..The movie is rated 8/10 by me..But i found the movie dragging somewhere in middle..And Sreenivasan (as always!)stole the show..versatile actor..and he wrote the script too...My fav dialogue..Mohanlal to Sreenivas "Mekuppinum oru paridhiyille?" - Even makeup has its limit(to change a short dark old to a handsome young heartthrob!)
And my room is a mess..books..clothes..cds..papers all strewn around..I am an expert at procrastination..especially when it comes to taking care of myself...Been thinking of cleaning up the room for so many weeks...maybe i will do it today...I wasn't like this..is it because you get lazy when you grow old...but what did that guy mean when he said old habits die hard?
Monday is Valentine's Day! Brings back so many sweet memories!! And at the same time brings tears to my eyes...let me flick these from Whitesnake..
But for now, let me get into that "mushy" feeling...helping me in that is Whitesnake again with..."so when the sun goes down..i'll be there looking over your shoulder...the deeper the love,the stronger the emotion.." Guess today is "Whitesnake" day for me.!
Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day! Take care of your loved ones...! God bless you all!
Its cold here in Kuwait...must be 5 centigrades..was 7 yesterday morning.They were warning us about "supercold weekend".Yesterday I hooked up the satellite TV connection.Almost 400 channels..all autoscanned by the digital receiver.Question is when do i get time to watch all these..? I'm so tired after office, the only thing that is on mind then will be to have supper and then sleep. But i guess the TV will be on as a background noise throughout...I am so used to background noise (even now while i'm wrtiting this Whitesnake is belting out.."Guilty Of Love"!) I am sort of addicted to this kind of background noise...I concentrate more on a task when i have music (Rock and heavy metal for me :-) ! And many of you out there are also addicted, right?
Went for a movie yesterday "Udayanu Thaaram" (Udayan is the (film)star- a rough translation of the title..) Yes, i am a Mallu (Mallu,or Malayalee - native of Kerala,India for those uninitiated!) working in Kuwait..The movie is rated 8/10 by me..But i found the movie dragging somewhere in middle..And Sreenivasan (as always!)stole the show..versatile actor..and he wrote the script too...My fav dialogue..Mohanlal to Sreenivas "Mekuppinum oru paridhiyille?" - Even makeup has its limit(to change a short dark old to a handsome young heartthrob!)
And my room is a mess..books..clothes..cds..papers all strewn around..I am an expert at procrastination..especially when it comes to taking care of myself...Been thinking of cleaning up the room for so many weeks...maybe i will do it today...I wasn't like this..is it because you get lazy when you grow old...but what did that guy mean when he said old habits die hard?
Monday is Valentine's Day! Brings back so many sweet memories!! And at the same time brings tears to my eyes...let me flick these from Whitesnake..
I used to be the man for you,
Did everything you wanted me to,
So, tell me, baby,
What did I do wrong...
Some things are better left unsaid,
But, all I do is cry instead,
Now, I've cried me a river,
Thinking how it used to be...
There've been too many tears falling,
And there've been too many hearts
Breaking in two.
Remember what we had together,
Believing it would last forever.
So, tell me, baby,
Where did I go wrong...
Everything I had was yours,
More than I have ever given before,
But for now, let me get into that "mushy" feeling...helping me in that is Whitesnake again with..."so when the sun goes down..i'll be there looking over your shoulder...the deeper the love,the stronger the emotion.." Guess today is "Whitesnake" day for me.!
Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day! Take care of your loved ones...! God bless you all!
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Let there be a blog...!
Here it is..! My blog! After much consideration, I decided to unleash this one on unsuspecting fellow beings! God save you all!
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