Zinda Hoon Yaar..Kaafi Hain

Sometimes, a song conveys what you are feeling at the very moment. 

Amit Trivedi's new song "Zinda" from the upcoming movie Lootera is one such song. 

Have been listening to Lootera and Raanjhanaa on loop recently. Pretty good songs in it. Also, the song Ambarsariya from Fukrey is beautiful.

Innovation

INNOVATION - One word which does manage to irritate me when I hear it being bandied by all and sundry in our industry.

The myth of innovation is that it starts with entrepreneurs, but it really starts with people having fun. The Wright brothers weren't trying to build an airline, they were saying, "Holy shit, do you think we could fly?" The first kids who made snowboards, they just glued skis together and said, "Let’s try this!" With the web, none of us thought there was money in it. People said, "This document came from halfway around the world. How awesome is that!"

                                    - Tim O’Reilly

A couple of good links on innovation.

http://blogs.hbr.org/taylor/2012/05/please_can_we_all_just_stop_innovating.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304791704577418250902309914.html

Quote

Read some beautiful lines wrote by the recently deceased Roger Ebert.

   “‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs,” he wrote, at the end of his memoirs. “No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

Quote

Read this on twitter and think it is very apt.

It is true; almost every one is a stranger; we should realize it. Even the few we see frequently, so frequently that from this frequency we draw the right to call them friends, even these become strangers again and again. Life changes, and they change with life, every one in his own way, every one in a different way, for life is multiform and things are multivalent. How life is going to treat us, we cannot say; where it is going to hit us is unknown. Only the effects of the change become apparent; but then it is too late, since the process of the change cannot be reversed, not with the other person nor with ourselves.

- J.H. van den Berg
The Changing Nature of Man, 1961

Shaliesh Kapoor in his post talks about a new trend in movie going where youngsters are using it as just another hangout place.

Quite an interesting point of view and which I agree too.

Do read his post at http://shaileshkapoor.com/2012/07/01/watching-a-movie-no-just-hanging-out/

Chetan Bhagat's New Book

Chetan Bhagat's new book "Revolution 2020" is a breezy read as always.

I can never make one thing out. Are Bollywood films based on his books or his books based on Bollywood films?

Well, at least his template for the books stay consistent as displayed by Chutney Case in the The Chetan Bhagat Plot Generator.

Linkalogy

One of my friend Sourabh Jain blogs over at http://sourabhkavi.blogspot.com/. Do hop over and read.

East Cost in US has been badly hit by the snow over the past 2 days. Some links to the sites hosting the photos are given below.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/27/2729116/blizzard-buries-east-coast-states.html

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/12/27/captured-east-coast-snow-storm/2603/

http://www.boston.com/community/photos/raw/onassignment/2010/122610_snow/#/item-6935

The personal experience of this blizzard was pretty interesting with the 3 of us being first time snow drivers and all that. It took us 2 hours to reach our apartment from our friends place which normally would take 10 minutes. It involved a lot of shovelling, pushing the car, driving on the wrong lane, taking longer routes, stopping in the middle of the road and all that. Much fun was had and thankfully everyone was safe.

Larry David's column in the NY Times regarding the tax cut.

Sid blogs about the control BCCI exerts over media outlets in India over at his blog.

How to choose a digital camera.

Writing

I started this blog a few years back but I hardly post anything. Its not that there are no subjects on which I can write on but I hardly feel the motivation to devote 30-60 minutes everyday to actually write something.

Also, my writing is pretty average so I do not want to subject my few friends to torture who read this blog on a regular basis.

When I started this blog, I thought I will write about varied subjects and I will write them regularly. But whenever I think of writing, the words do not seem to flow. Also, limited grammar and a limited vocab do not help towards the cause of writing. I used to write what I think is poetry too but it used to be so bad that I laugh at them myself whenever I turn the pages.

Actually, I am not sure why I am suddenly rambling about writing.

The above ramblings are totally incoherent and I cannot even blame alcohol for it.

Travelogues

One of the new blogs which I have been following recently is of Deepak Iyer.

He is a fellow who loves trekking; so that is one thing that makes me read his blogs. He had been to Peru and Mexico in the last few months.

One can read his experience of Peru over here and his Mexico escapades over here. Do read them.

I recently missed going to Ecuador with Abhilash but surely, I would follow one advice which Deepak gives about travelling which is to travel alone.
I have travelled alone a far bit in India but have never done that outside India. So, this is one experience which I want to have as soon as possible. Hopefully, I plan something for the coming summer.