Gotta watch

Beowulf.

I’m REALLY looking forward to watching this movie. I planned on buying a copy of the book (in Old English!). I remember holding the book in my hands at Mildland’s, Hauz Khas and thinking very carefully before deciding… later.

I want to see this movie because:

• It’s being directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Back To The Future trilogy, Forrest Gump, Castaway)
• Stars Anthony Hopkins (2nd fav. actor) and Angelina Jolie (*drool)
• Media going nuts about some supposedly “ground-breaking usage of CGI”.
• But most importantly… Written by Neil Gaiman (Best Current Sci-Fi Author, in my humble opinion) and Roger Avery (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction!!!)

Releasing Nov. 16 (Please come to India… please? pretty please?)

DIE FUCKERS!

 Me? I’m the king of the twentieth century. I’m the bogeyman. The villain. The black sheep of the family.

A Momentary Lapse In Reason

Why do I like Radiohead so much? I’m going to rant using ONLY Radiohead song lines.

Don’t get any big ideas,they’re not gonna happen… Now that you’ve found it, it’s gone…Now that you feel it, you don’t…You’ve gone off the rails…

I’d tell all my friends but they’d never believe me…They’d think that I’d finally lost it completely…I’d show them the stars and the meaning of life…They’d shut me away…But I’d be alright, alright.

When I am king, you will be first against the wall…With your opinion which is of no consequence at all…What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but no android)…What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but no android)

The para that plays through my mind most often. You guys seen that look I give? The “I’m confused and disgusted” look? This is what’s playing in my head then:

That’s it, sir…You’re leaving…The crackle of pigskin…The dust and the screaming…The yuppies networking…The panic, the vomit…The panic, the vomit…God loves his children, God loves his children, yeah!

And either way you turn…I’ll be there…Open up your skull…I’ll be there
Climbing up the walls

drag him out the window
dragging out your dead
singing i miss you
snakes and ladders
flip the lid
out pops the cracker
smacks you in the head
knifes you in the neck
kicks you in the teeth
steel toe caps
takes all your credit cards
step up get the gunge
get the eggs
get the flan in the face
the flan in the face
the flan in the face
dance you fucker dance you fucker
don’t you dare
don’t you dare
don’t you flan in the face
take it with the love its given
take it with a pinch of salt
take it to the taxman
let me back let me back
i promise to be good
don’t look in the mirror
at the face you don’t recognize
help me call the doctor
put me inside
put me inside
put me inside
put me inside
put me inside

i keep the wolf from the door
but he calls me up
calls me on the phone
tells me all the ways that he’s gonna mess me up
steal all my children
if i don’t pay the ransom
but i’ll never see him again
if i squeal to the cops

walking like a giant crane and
with my x ray eyes i strip you naked (Harish: No, I don’t)
in a tight little world and are you on the list?
stepford wives who are we to complain?
investments and dealers investments and dealers
cold wives and mistresses.
cold wives and sunday papers.
city boys in 1st class
don’t know we’re born
just know someone else is gonna come and clean it up
born and raised for the job
oh I wish you’d get up
go over get up go over and turn this tape off.

i keep the wolf from the door
but he calls me up
calls me on the phone
tells me all the ways that hes gonna mess me up
steal all my children
if i don’t pay the ransom
but i’ll never see him again
if i squeal to the cops

AND… SOMETHING NON-RADIOHEAD TO FINISH:

REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER!

It’s coming near…

I’ve finally lost it? Thanks for the talk, Ashwin.

Oh. And a reply.

Can’t say it pissed me off, but I was confus… screw it, YEAH! It pissed me off! I MUST clear my good name.

Take jokes, people! (OR Maybe I’m missing one?)

Alright. I DO NOT

1. Mentally strip women naked when I see them. That’s bloody disgusting and I’m not capable of it, despite my imagination.
2. Talk incessantly about certain anatomical features. Surprisingly, most people around me do. If I do, it acts as the setup/punchline for a joke. That’s it!
3. I may be honest and frank and may swear openly and say stuff that’s in appropriate, but that’s because I believe that what guys can hear, girls can hear too.
4. The most inappropriate thing I’ve ever done is offering the organiser of the event I won at LSR lunch with the very prize money I won. I have lived an extraordinarily staid life w.r.t social interaction and I’m sick and tired of people automatically assuming I’m a bloody lecherous pervert.

Phew!

Songs that I can relate to

You know your life sucks when you start relating it to song lyrics.

How come I end up where I started
How come I end up where I went wrong
Won’t take my eyes off the ball again
You reel me out then you cut the string

You used to be alright
What happened?
Did the cat get your tongue
Did your string come undone
One by one
One by one
It comes to us all
It’s as soft as your pillow

You used to be alright
What happened?
Etcetera etcetera
Facts for whatever
Fifteen steps
Then a shear drop
  ~ Radiohead (‘In Rainbows’. 2007)

these two sides of my brain
need to have a meeting
can’t think of anything to do
my left brain knows that… (something something)

~ The White Stripes

Livin’ a lie!

TIMMAH! LIVIN’ A LIE! 

I have eight nine assignments to submit on wednesday and haven’t even started on ONE!

Help!

Visited Abhi after some time and played FIFA ‘08! It’s alright, good graphics and nice player likeness, but stick to Pro Evo for gameplay.

AND…

Happy Bad Hindi Joke Day? If the semi-Bhojpuri/semi-Haryanvi one Shashank (1st year Eco – Ramjas) told us at Hauz Khas wasn’t bad enough (punchline: ”Tohra toh nahi khula, lekin, sassura, hamra toh toot gayo“), I had to hear this one:

Qs. Whose mom has the worst time concieving?

 Ans. Sunny Deol. Why? “Main nikla… O’ Gaddi leke…“

Yes. I’m a cruel person. Evil-thy-name-is™

Night Riders…

Play the addictive (k)night rider theme

Chaosverse. It’s not just the affinity of physics geeks to use abuse the word chaos. It’s bleeding accurate, it is! Like I said guv’nor! Sorry about that. Been in a late victorian vagabond mood for some time now.

It began innocently enough. A little journey into Delhi to save money on petrol (to the uninitiated, petrol is more expensive in Noida than Delhi). Ashwin decided he wanted to drive down the DND Express Flyover (a 18-km express road that looks like an Indy track more than a city street). The problem was, we were in Sarita Vihar. So, we decided to go to Ashram and catch the flyway (as it’s known) from there. We then decided to go to IIT. Then AIIMS. Back up Aurobindo Marg to Hauz Khas (Hey there!). AIIMS again. Prithviraj Road. Aurangzeb Road. Tughlaq Road. Rashtrapathi Bhavan. The Parliament House. India Gate. A round around India Gate. Pragati Maidan. Old Fort. Indraprastha. Akshardham. Mayur Vihar. Noida. Sec-49.

Back home at 2.30 A.M. the gate’s shut and Akhil’s fast asleep. We don’t dare wake the house up. The Radisson Hotel’s 24-hr coffee shop! Is closed because it’s a tuesday (Noida’s sector-18 market is closed on tuesdays.) So is the Mosaic, the only other 24-hr coffee shop in Noida. Back on the DND. Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and to Comesum, the ONLY 24-hr restuarant in Delhi and the most happening place for homosexuals and prostitution. Stayed there till 6 A.M. and I think a guy (wearing a pink shirt, mascara and a fake blush-inducing powder all over him) was checking me out. Must be into S’n'M.

Left Comesum and drove down the DND (again!) as I enjoyed watching the sun rise over the city of Delhi while we were freezing (Winter hath arriveth). Reached home at 6.30 and hid under blankets.

We drank approximately 4-5 litres of coffee and I didn’t get to ride the bike enough.

Note: Came 2nd in Panache 2007 at DCE. We were in the lead until a buzzer+crossword round on IT and Corporate qs resulted in Double D taking an unassialable lead.  

Mon Madness…

Mrs. Miggins: Bonjour, Monsiuer
Blackadder: Excuse me.
Mrs. Miggins: It’s French.
Blackadder: So is eating frogs, cruelty to geese and urinating on the streets.

As part of our university’s regulations, we are all to study a foreign language. I’m the ONLY guy in my class doing Deutsch. There are a few chaps who took Espanyol and the rest are au francais.

After reading about men who are mad and listening to the french word for “I” being repeated all around me, as everyone in class was preparing for a french test… I was in no mood to attend German. So, I went and sat in the overcrowded LT along with them frenchies. I also gave the test.

There’s a very famous episode of the cult 5 p.m. cartoon, Dexter’s Lab. Dexter tries to cram overnight for a french test but the machine that’s supposed to be teaching him french while he sleeps, jams. He wakes up and all he can say is “Omlette du fromage“. Well… I answered (as roll no. 19023. How’s Manipal?) There were some classic answers such as… (terrible french, of course!)

• C’est Omlette du Fromage, futre vous!
• Q’est appelle Omlette du Fromage?
• Je adore Omlette du Fromage
• Je detiste vous
• Je detiste Francais
• (Q. Introduce yourself in French) Viva la Zizou! Viva la Zizou!
• C’est Madness
• C’EST SPARTA!

A message to the condescending shrieking bitch that’s the Francais Professor… you have been Uber-pwnd.

And winter!!! Winter is almost here!!!

Planning to head to the Himalayas during the four days or so we’re getting off due to diwali.

124 hits yesterday!

And… madman?

“School Romances”

Whoa! Wait a minute! Don’t even start. See the pretty quotes? There you go!

It just came to my attention that there are two people who I’ve known for a year and whom I can dare call my good friends (can I?) who’ve used the particular term, “the love of my life” to describe a a certain individual with whom they’re infatuated. The remarkable aspect of this seemingly meaningless coincidence is the fact that they hail from the same high school, the Air Force Bal Bharti School (AFBBS), Lodi Road, New Delhi. Now, the Question de la journée is… Why? I may be wrong, but is that school a center of hopeless romantics or do people inadvertently become romantic, thanks to the school’s lovely environs and proximity to the highly romantic cultural centers of New Delhi quali India Habitat Center, India International Center et cetera.

I ‘m really not the right authority on school romance. Ask anyone from Clarence High to St. Andrew’s to Bethany High to KV and the answer will be the same; Harish was a lot (pain-in-the-ass, quizzer, debater, obsessive compulsive “taker of pangas“, scapegoat and occasionally, a prefect) but a juvenile Romeo, he was and is not. But, I am aware of the terms used in my school life to describe thou’s lovers, and such heavy duty stuff as “love of my life” and “one true love” seems to be the prerogative of AFBBS alone.

Exempli Gratia: In Bethany High, one had “a girl” or one was “seeing someone” or “going around with XYZ and Harsh Jalan (hope he reads this! bloody stud bugger!!)”. In KV one had a “GF” or had “patao-ed a ladki” (I HATE that school!). I’m unaware of the terms used at St. Andrew’s or Clarence (Andrew-ites and Clarencians, kindly enlighten in the comments section). I think in Mother’s Intl., one also “has a girl/chick”. In fact, I think “having a girl” is the most common term in schools everywhere. So, why AFBBS-ites, do you use the kind of lingo that befits Meg Ryan in her many romantic comedies than real life? ‘Tis confusing…

Working title: In Lucknow Alternative title: Two cellphones, No pockets…

Am with the folks in Lucknow. Again… had a lot to say which I muttered to myself as I walked to the cyber cafe and now can’t type anything. I am seriously going to get myself a portable recorder.

Met my relatives after a long time. I’m the “grey sheep” of the family acc. to my mom. The comment doing the rounds was that I cut my hair and look ’somewhat presentable’ now. <sarcasm>Great!</sarcasm>

Die Batra Wird (TBB in Deutsch) and thou are coming up with lines to fill in the blanks of the T-shirt below (diwali gift, anyone?)

Will post them ideas later. Give some of your own.

I’m strangely at peace with myself. The relaxing early morning train journey (I was in quite a luxurious train) sort of cleared my head up. I met my parents and am far more open to staying here, for a few days, than I was back in July. The reasons for my reluctance back then were quite obvious, of course. I wanted to stay in Bangalore. I still want to stay in Bangalore. So what keeps me back in Delhi? Some say a vibrant social life, but Bangalore’s is better. And besides, travel is a royal pain here. I have made good friends here, but have friends there too. I guess there is no reason why I’m here. I’m just here. So, to anyone I know personally… I’m in Delhi just because of YOU!

Am I happy? I don’t know. I’m active. And that’s rare. As a consequence, I did some weird stuff today morning. I read 50 pages of a book that I didn’t touch ever since I borrowed it from the British Council library 3 weeks ago! Of course, it’s a 1,165-page book so another 1,115 to go! I made my special extra-strong extra-sweet are you insane??™ coffee. I saw Discovery Travel and Living and came to the conclusion that lifestyle channels crush the spirit of the viewer by making them realize what an amazing life it is that they’re missing. I am not able to sit down. I played football with cushions and shadow boxed. I jumped around and did a semi-dance, half-jig, quarter madman hop.

I turned the TV off and listened to the sounds of my surroudings. Housewives gossiping before their 2-year-old kid starts to cry and their mother-in-law nagging them (no wonder girls are strange and freaky and behave in ways that seem completely incomprehensible (to me). If that’s the life they have to look forward to… might as well utilize all their free will right now!). Went outside and saw primary school kids come home. I’m not scared of them, suddenly. It dawned on me that I too was once like them and the unspoken ”I’m scared of you, you’re scared of me. Let’s leave like that” agreement with them was lost. I forgot all about Noida and college and life as an “adult” or indeed, as a teenager! I wasn’t tempted to have a go at my Dad’s whiskey collection (drinking is BAD, right?). Memories of childhood rushed back and were gone equally as fast. I was on the fourth floor of St. Andrew’s looking at the HUGE ground and laughing to myself. I was hiding from the PT teacher at Clarence in the one place he’s never going to check… the literature section of the library. I was in Bethany, pulling the “I’m in the basketball team, give me those chips” trick on a guy in the basketball team by telling him, “You’re in the basketball team, give me those chips” and walking away confident that by the time he figures out what I did I’ll be in class. Strange, jes?

Also started some heavy-duty (by my standards) fashionista behavior. Gave myself a strange shave (“soul patch” with a thin Salvador Dali-esque moustache that doesn’t quite reach the end of the lip). Decided to cut my hair. Then decided not to. Decided that I LIKE the fact that my entire wardrobe is either black, blue or red. Decided to wear only black and red from now on.

Went to the market with 20 bucks in my pocket. Something I would never do in Noida (can’t go out without a min. 100 rupees). Had 5-rupee street food and a 3-rupee bunta (a drink that’ll cure your gastroentisis and induce jaundice).

I don’t know what it is… I feel different. Like I’ve come to terms with my paranoid neuroticism. As if I shouldn’t be embarassed of myself and my contradictions. Most strangely, though, I’ve realized that there are some people who I genuinely care about and I AM capable of emotions. Now whether that’s a good thing or not is something I’ve not figured out.

P.S: This post hasn’t come out very well because I lost my train of thought by the time I reached the cyber cafe and the keyboard I’m typing at is shit and caused me to make a gazillion typos and I’m hitting it so hard that my fingers hurt.

P.P.S: Ye in Agra… found a place yet?