You should have acted

They’re already here

The Elder Scrolls told of their return

Their defeat was merely a delay

From the time after Oblivion opened

When the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood

But no one wanted to believe

Believe they even existed

And when the truth finally dawns…

…it dawns in fire

But, there’s one they fear

In their tongue he’s Dovahkiin

Dragon born

FUS RO DAH!

(Prepare to evacuate social life in 3..2..1…)

1. Look out for myself more, instead of looking out for others. You (I) know what I mean. Fuck yeah! It may have made me into more of a douche, but hopefully it will result in a more successful douche.
2. Lose weight. Lots of it. No excuses. Need to follow up on this one. I have 5 more months to go.
3. Study for GMAT and give it. No excuses. Started with a bang. Lost track midway when I got assigned 2 projects AND the Jakarta demo -.- “
4. Save a sizable amount of money by the end of 2011. Almost there $_$
5. Invest my 2010 savings (in progress). Change of plans. Gonna hold onto the cash.
6. Drink less? Aur kitna less? A LOT lesser than last year.
7. Go to Japan again. Not going to happen
8. Buy a DSLR before going to Japan. Either #4 or #6+#7 is gonna happen. Yes, #4 is going to happen.
9. Further expand my music collection. Hello Grooveshark Fuck Grooveshark.
10. Go out more/be more sociable. I’ve been a complete slob in 2010. Not happening as much as I’d hoped for initially.
11. Have atleast one fling this year ;P (historically speaking, this happens every alternate year). No time, bitches!
12. Get a driver’s license. So that I can drive in Japan (screw driving in Singapore). Sadly, Japan won’t happen this year. No point driving in Singaopore.
13. Get the fuck out of Hougang! AWWWWWWWW YEEEAHHHHHH!!
14. Develop my old negatives. Yes, I must .

Never thought I’d make a blog entry about cricket. But I guess you can’t change what’s in your blood, right?
Don’t get me wrong, I used to love the sport as a kid. Gully cricket,chhat cricket, parking lot cricket, book cricket, garden cricket,maidaan cricket,cricket gear stowed away in the  trunk of our car on long family trips wala cricket,having actual fights with gali ke gunde over the cricket pitch wala cricket…you name it, I’ve been there.

Every Indian has a photo like this

But a part of that passion died after the match fixing scandals of 2000. Cricket wasn’t an honest man’s sport anymore. It became something more sinister to me. As the years passed, I started caring lesser and lesser for anything ‘cricketesque’ (bar for Sachin, the white knight of India, who will always be an idol for each and every one of us).

Two World Cups passed, India performed horribly. But come 2011, something changed.

So before I knew it, I found myself at Boat Quay, at one of the shittiest pubs I’ve ever been in Singapore, drinking some of the shittiest beer I’ve ever drank in my life and shouting my fucking lungs sore for the epic India vs. Pakistan semi-final match. Tables were banged, hands were bruised,beer glasses dropped/karate chopped, high fives were given out to strangers and Pakistan was sent home amidst the incessant shouting and cheering.

After India vs Pak 2011

Three days later, we were at the same pub, drinking the same shitty beer, watching India vs Sri Lanka for the World Cup finals. The atmosphere was electric.

Each ball was cheered; Every umpire decision met with a roar; Every ‘chuck’ of Malinga with a loud ‘FUCK YOU’ and middle fingers raised in the air. But as Sehwag and Sachin fell, a silence descended on the crowd. I was personally very hurt to see Sachin leave his home ground without scoring a century, especially since this was his final World Cup. What a fitting innings that would’ve been.

But this wasn’t the Indian cricket team I used to know back in 2000…the batting order did not fall like a house of cards after Sachin’s departure…

In fact, we had only just begun. The Indian TEAM played as a team should…steadying the pace and inching towards the target. Each run was met with wild cheers and mosh pits were formed outside the pub (which made it totally unsafe to smoke…). Beer glasses were broken and fights broke out (big surprise). Indian flags were hung at places that would make PAP raise their eyebrows. And then, as fate would have it…a six from the captain brought India home in style.

The pub erupted.

India had won the 2011 World Cup. Indian players shed tears of joy. We weren’t there to see them in person, but their emotions were felt by fellow Indians just the same, even in a tiny ass island thousands of miles away.

This victory was for a billion people.

It was a victory for a nation that has proved time and again that it will not be held back.

For me though, it was a victory for the man who has inspired billions of people for the past 20 years. We love you Sachin…this one was for you.

:')

…well as the time passes, we see more worrying　facts, appalling images, and horrifying accidents, and really don’t know how much the extent of damage will be….
tomorrow offices will be open, another dimension of damage, influence to the already weak economy, we don’t know..

so far, in tokyo, on the surface, it looks normal, but as you said, people flock to the supermarkets and instant noodles, candles, etc are disappearing from the shelves, toilet paper is becoming a bit scarce. bread is difficult to get now. it is a matter of logistics / traffic problem, and some factories are not operating, but in tokyo the problem is not something directly affect survival.

Now it is quite warm now, cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom. but I, as well as others perhaps, feel that I am separated from the season, from the spring that is otherwise most joyful season.

I hope you are well. visit japan again, after things return to normal.
take care of yourself.
thanks again for your concern.

It’s truly disturbing to see Japan in a state like this . If you would like to make any donations, please do so here:

Donate through Red Cross for the Japan Quake

No One Killed Jessica

+ points

° It had an amazing premise to begin with.

° The police dude was friggin amazing!

° The movie had a pretty decent score.

° Everything was awesome…right up till the court room scene.

- points

° The horrifyingly BAD courtroom scene. I was gagging at the awful dialogues and the terrible acting! Was the director fucking high or something to let drivel like that pass off as believable courtroom drama?!!! Weren’t the courtroom scenes and the failure of India’s judicial system meant to be a crucial element in this film??! I think my brain refused to take the film seriously from that point on.

° The subtle art of making people look cool while they swear was completely lost on Rani Mukherjee. It was as if the director was pointing a gun to her head and forcing her to awkwardly swear at every moment’s notice. The plane scene was enough to convince us that her character was that of a hard ass reporter. You didn’t need to try and fucking force it down our Goddamn throats at every possible opportunity. We fucking get it, ok?!

° Vidya Balan’s character was too cold and with little to no dialogues. Which worked at some times but seemed forced at others.

Bottom line: You can’t make a movie about real life events, add shitty acting and masala and expect people to take it seriously. Raj Kumar Gupta, whose previous film was the brilliant Aamir, could’ve done SO much more with the subject matter and talented cast, but instead churned out a piece of turd.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Dhobi Ghat

+ points

° Brilliant acting from Prateik Babbar. Nay…’brilliant’ does not do justice to one of the best performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching in cinema. It was sublime,subtle,real, innocent,down to earth and larger than life, all at the same time.

° A good performace from Monica Dogra.

°  The beautiful cinematography.

° The amazing photographs that truly capture what this movie is about : Mumbai…”my muse, my whore, my beloved”.

° The music was really beautiful and suited the theme of the movie quite well.

- points

° Aamir Khan’s role seemed more of an afterthought. I wonder how Kiran Rao directed him for this movie. Ok…Aamir…now stare. Haan, good. Now, sad stare. Now, fascinated stare! Now…watery eyed stare. Awkward English dialogue. Ok, no more talking….stare at painting!

° The ending didn’t ‘tie things up’ as well as you would expect from a movie with parallel storylines. It wasn’t bad, but you’re left expecting for more.

Bottom line: Every once in a while (read blue moon), Bollywood produces art instead of a commercial popcorn movie. Movies that are larger than the characters or stories within them. Dhobi Ghat is exactly that. It is a slice of real life, a slice of the ruthless,beautiful and phantasmagoric city of Mumbai. The pace of the movie is deliberately slow, so that you can absorb as much of Mumbai as you can. And seeing that India is not a big fan of slow paced films, Dhobi Ghat is bound to be a box office disaster. Such a shame.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Hereafter

+ points

° Very interesting “reading” scenes.

° Fantastic tsunami scene that sets very high expectations for the movie.

- points

° Fantastic tsunami scene that fasely sets very high expectations for the movie.

° Horrifyingly slow pace that serves absolutely no purpose.

° Horrible acting from the twin kids.

° The music in the movie was so terrible and falsely pretentious that I felt like stabbing my ears to make it stop!

° Stone cold boring acting from all the actors!

° Whenever you make a movie with parallel storylines, they must converge at some point. For directors like Guy Ritchie, this convergence is a crucial element of the film. In Hereafter, it’s more of an afterthought, thanks to the weak script.

Bottom line: Clint Eastwood has finally gone senile.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Smile.

.

Click here for more…

1. Look out for myself more, instead of looking out for others. You (I) know what I mean.
2. Lose weight. Lots of it. No excuses.
3. Study for GMAT and give it. No excuses.
4. Save a sizable amount of money by the end of 2011.
5. Invest my 2010 savings (in progress).
6. Drink less? Aur kitna less?
7. Go to Japan again.
8. Buy a DSLR before going to Japan. Either #4 or #6+#7 is gonna happen.
9. Further expand my music collection. Hello Grooveshark
10. Go out more/be more sociable. I’ve been a complete slob in 2010.
11. Have atleast one fling this year ;P (historically speaking, this happens every alternate year).
12. Get a driver’s license. So that I can drive in Japan (screw driving in Singapore).
13. Get the fuck out of Hougang!
14. Develop my old negatives.

2010 was a year of….dullness.

Nothing truly inspired happened this year. There were no concerts. No flings. No “first times” for anything (except for gambling). No trips to Japan.

There were however brief trips to Genting and Cambodia. The Cambodia one was more ‘interesting’. Other than that, there wasn’t much going out at all. Everyone seems to have caught the laziness bug. I blame mine on my current house in Hougang. Oh how I hate that place.

Work wise, it was far more interesting. That statement itself shows how much this year sucked balls. The very few good things that did happen outside the office were Mass Effect 2 (a game), Kafka on the Shore (a book) and Inception (a movie).

A game, a book and a movie. The year of the tiger was also the year of loserdom.

On a personal level, I grew more nonchalant, among other things. Nothing fazes me much nowadays. Even my mum says that I’ve become very laid back and aloof. Well, that’s good I guess. What’s the point of worrying over small things? It’s best to let that which does not matter, slide.

So there you go. I won’t even bother trying to type something meaningful or deep. I won’t make any resolutions (pseudo or otherwise) whilst I’m in this rotten funk. 2010 was a dull year. And 2011 is going to be different.

TM: Hello Sir, is this Mr. Ranajay Das?

Me: Yes?

TM: Good evening Mr. Das, I’m yak yak calling from yak yak. Could I perhaps interest you in yak yak yak…?

Me: Erm…ok.

TM: Thank you sir….we are yak yak yak yak yak yak yak…

Brain: Fuck you very much Citibank for passing my contact details around like a communal crack pipe.

TM: …so that’s why sir, our yak yak yak yak does yak yak yak that other yak yak yaks don’t do.

Me: Uh huh.

TM: So sir, are you interested?

Me: Umm…thanks, but I’m not interested.

TM: Butwhysir??

Me: Erm…I already have yak yak yak.

TM: But sir…our yak yak yak yak yak yak…

Brain: Kill me now.

TM: …so that’s why sir, our yak yak yak yak does yak yak yak that other yak yak yaks don’t do.

Me: Thanks but I’m really not interested.

TM: Butwhysir?? Our yak yak yak does yak yak yak….

Me: *Groan*

• The Not So Polite Approach

TM: Hello Sir, is this Mr. Ranajay Das?

Me: Yes?

TM: Good evening Mr. Das, I’m yak yak calling from yak yak. Could I perhaps interest you in yak yak yak…?

(quietly put phone on the table)

Phone: Yak yak yak yak yak yak….

Me: *click* *click* …oh cool, Mass Effect 3 launch trailer!!

Phone: yakyak? yakyakyak??

(quietly pick up phone)

Me: Uh huh.

TM: So sir, are you interested?

Me: No.

TM: Butwhysir?

*click*

• The Humorous Approach

TM: Hello Sir, is this Mr. Ranajay Das?

Me: Yes?

TM: Good evening Mr. Das, I’m yak yak calling from yak yak. Could I perhaps interest you in yak yak yak…?

Me: I’m busy right now…could you call me later?

TM: Sure sir. What would be a good time to call you?

Me: Never!

*click*

*Silent evil laugh*

Alternatively: *snap fingers and say “Booyah!”*

• The Best Approach

TM: Hello Sir, is this Mr. Ranajay Das?

Me: No.

*click*

• The Epic Approach (yet to be tried. Maybe on a weekend)

This will be the first time I’m going home in 2 and a half years. So there needs to be a “plan” to make it more epic. So here’re some of the things I had in mind:

• Take my dog for a walk on the roof of our building. I used to love going there…before someone jumped off of it. I hate you. You ruined a place I’ve loved for 15 years…now it just creeps me out.
• Explain to my whole family why I’m “out of touch”
• Eat a LOT of mom’s homemade (read delicious) food
• Go with my dad and sister to eat Dosa for breakfast (like old times )
• Order in Tandoori chicken (WIN!)
• Buy a lot of clothes
• Buy new spectacles (these ones are falling apart)
• Stop smoking?
• Sleep in
• Get closure?
• Drive around town
• Go for morning walks in the blistering cold (that remains to be seen)
• Eat hot jalebis and poha for breakfast
• If my old bicycle is still there…ride it to school (which is atleast 20 km away)
• Meet up with old friends? No. This trip is gonna be for my family only.
• Maybe…follow my dad to attend his lectures
• Bring some old photos back to Singapore
• Take many photos of my dog. He hates it. And I love irritating him.
• Have a beer with my dad on NYE (I really hope NYE is spent at a TATA party
• Go to Nakhrali Dhani!

Oh, and if you want anything back from India, lemme know (although 50% probability of that not happening applies).