Friday, February 29, 2008

Ways of the world

Ways of the world. What does that mean? People say I’m too naïve to gauge real intentions behind people’s actions. I think I know what they mean. If someone is being cunning and bad towards me, I don’t think I’m a Forrest Gump not to understand it; what they mean by my naivety is that I may not react to the cunningness the way one is supposed to. All along I’m quite sure of their intentions and I usually just back off. But there are times when I react. The anger is boundless then, and not a very good thing for me. The anger destroys my peace. But I’ve experienced that keeping it inside is even worse. There are people who don’t deserve to be treated with my respect when they wrong me. They deserve hell then, and I give it out to them.

So, does that make me a very worldly, smart bloke? Does being angry and showing off arrogance and outrage signify a man’s coming off age? How does one handle bad company? I should give an eye for an eye, may be. But what if I don’t really care about it? If I’ve been mistreated, can’t I just forget about it? That would be nice now, wouldn’t it? But I usually don’t forget it...

Forgiveness is a virtue often taken as a man’s weakness, but it is that quality in one which will make matters so easy to resolve. At the same time, a tough and sharp mind will make sure you are not in a position where you have to compromise your position for the benefit of someone else

And as I have pondered over this with my friends, I realized everyone has a problem with it, either one way or the other. They snap too quickly, or they just keep it inside and let it seethe

Confront or avoid? Sustain or shoot it out? Maintain or manipulate?

Sunday, February 17, 2008



Creepy, cryptic, haunting, crisp, jangling, stream-of-consciousness, southern, college, alien, mumbled, arpeggio, post punk, jittery, random, deep...shallow...in between...and so on... words aren't enough to describe R.E.M.'s music. I can't pinpoint the reason why I like them; it's just that it appeals so rightly to my ears...this is THE music for me...it has a personality, a free spirited one; it's like a light and warm summer day, which just wraps around you so naturally. It is difficult to open the songs and look at each element separately. Many a mortals have tried that and failed gloriously! Well you don't need to dissect the songs. They are so open already! Take it the way you want to be. Like Peter Buck said, they are the doors to another world- open them, and see if you like what you find. If not, you are not forced to stay...




When I was young and full of grace and spirited
A rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honour not to tell
I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need
There's the key, your adventure for today
What do you do between the horns of the day?

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honour, on your honour
Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make practice
Practice makes perfect
Perfect is a fault and fault lines change

I believe my humour's wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and full of grace and spirited
A rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honour, on your honour
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humour's wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting
I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

"I Believe" from 'Lifes Rich Pageant'

Monday, February 4, 2008

"You can't stop what's coming"

The movie is called ‘No Country for Old Men'. Weird title. For me, it's the most gripping story I have seen unfolding on screen since The Usual Suspects. The acting is brilliant. The script is crisp, tight, one major reason to compare it with Suspects. Coens were never so good. But it’s the cinematography that is the jewel of this crown.

The movie presents the themes of death, fate and the changing times. It presents the incomprehensible nature of mindless violence, especially the inability of the law to even understand it.

I’ve used the word ‘presents’ because there is no comment made in the movie on these issues. It does not dissect the topic by making its characters preach. That is left to us. One might look at it just as an intense thriller, without looking at all these themes I mentioned. But doing so would greatly undermine the source material, the novel by the same name by Cormac McCarthy.

The movie is not the typical good vs. evil drama. Why, by the end if it, one is not so sure if being on either side is enough to survive.

It also examines the randomness of death, represented by the cold blooded assassin (Javier Berdem). He is always dressed in black and not a muscle on his face flinches when he puts someone down. But it is not that he is unbeatable. An equal conviction from the opposite side is what is required. Barring one character, no one seems to possess it.

The movie is about a man (Josh Brolin) who stumbles upon a lot of cash while he is hunting in Texan outback, at a place where a drug deal has gone bad. He runs with the cash, and is chased by people who want the cash back. One of them is our psycho- killer. A Sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) and his deputy are the third group of people, going through the crime scenes and trying to put the pieces together.

This is a landscape driven film, shot in Texas and New Mexico, Very nice cinematography, I can’t praise it enough.

It’s not to be missed.

Ellis: Whatcha got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.