Monthly Archives: March 2007

Sleep attack

I know I had been depraved of sleep since over a week, as I usually ended up working till 4am and then woke up by the noise at 7, still trying to sleep but not able to do so. But this was not the first time it was happening with me, and I’m quite used to it.

But what happened yesterday night was really a first time for me. I had been working away at my computer as usual. It must’ve been around 1 am, and I was feeling unusually sleepy. I had already washed my face and taken a short walk on the terrace earlier, all to no avail.

And the next thing I knew , I suddenly woke up with a start, after hitting my head on the desk rather violently. It was 5am. I permitted myself a short laugh, and then went back to sleep, in the much more comfortable confines of my bed 😀

Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)

Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece. One of the greatest movies of all time.
Shichinin no Samurai is based in sixteenth century Japan which is in the throes of a civil war. Taking advantage of the prevailing anarchy, bandits plunder villages, taking away their food and women. A group of seven samurai come together to defend one such village.
The plot is simple, but the way it has been executed is great. It has a variety of interesting characters, all portrayed beautifully. And even though the movie is about three and a half hours long, there is no boring moment.

One lucky guy!

After Mr Wichai (Tao), aged 24, from Samut Songkram province, who earns his living by dealing in old goods, got married to gorgeous
twins Ms Sirintara and Ms Thipawan 22, he vouched his sincerest ‘equal love’ for both of them!

Mr Wichai, just yesterday, 23 March, got married in a pompous ceremony to both twins simultaneously.

On being interviewed by the Thai Rath reporters, Mr Wichai declared wholeheartedly, that he didn’t see much problem in having to perform tiresome marital duties with two wives.

In the engagement ceremony before the wedding, Mr Wichai successfully offered a dowry of eight baht of gold and 80,000 baht EACH for his lovely darlings.

Both families celebrated the marriage with joy and were said to be delighted for the threesome.

Mr Wichai told the press that he had been best of friends with his neighbouring twins since they were children.

“When I grew older, I would walk past their house each morning and try to decide for myself which one I fancied more, but it
was darned impossible – I adored BOTH of them – I just couldn’t decide, which one of them to chat up….!”
He went on to say, ‘For three continuous years all three of us would go on dates together, until there was one day when I couldn’t stand the frustration any longer and told them, “I love you and want to marry you BOTH”‘

The fortunate Mr Wichai, instead of getting a slap in the face, was overjoyed when both girls admitted to having sworn all along,
that they wished to marry the same man!

“It wasn’t easy at first, what with the neighbours gossiping, but our family sympathized, understood, and fully supported
our mutual love for the one man” the twins said.

Mr Wichai arranged for his brides to live with him, in his family house after the wedding, and his mother has already proudly prepared TWO rooms for the newly-weds.

Our reporters were just gagging to hear the response to this mouth-watering question:-
“And…. what are the sleeping arrangements Mr Wichai”? to which he replied modestly with a beaming smile

“Absolutely no problems! For the first three nights of the week, I will sleep with Ms Thipawan and the next three will be spent with Ms Sirintara. As for every Saturday, the three of us will sleep together”

Ms Sirintara finally told the press,
“When my twin and I worked as assistant nurses, we promised each other that we would never leave each other’s side, and that our future husband would have to either take us both, or leave us.
Anyway, Mr Wichai is the perfect man – he neither smokes nor drinks!”

300

I first heard of 300 online, found it interesting, and forgot about it.
Then, during one of my frequent trips to the movies, managed to see the trailer for the movie version, and got hooked to it.
300 is based on events that happened around The Battle of Thermopylae, fought in 480 BC between Persia and Greek states led by Sparta. It is a remarkable event in history, as the vastly outnumbered Greeks inflicted very heavy damages on the Persians, with the casualty ratio is estimated at between 1:15 to 1:50. That means, for every dead Greek, between 15-50 Persians died. And it could’ve been still higher, had not the traitor Ephialtes helped the Persians.
The Persians of course won the war, but their morale took a heavy beating, while it was a huge morale booster for the Greeks. In two later battles, Battle of Salamis (naval) and Battle of Plataea, they suffered heavy defeats, thus marking an end to their conquest.
The graphic novel itself, is intense. It will get you so engrossed, that you’ll hear the battlecries and feel the characters come out alive. We’ve already seen Frank Miller’s genius before. This is even better. All graphics are two page spreads, and they’re all fabulous. In fact, the movie is said to have used the same scenes from the novel in several frames. The use of dialogue is minimal, with maximum effect. And the Spartan sense of humour is simply great!

The Good Shepherd

A movie which tells the story of the formative years of CIA through the eyes of one man.
Edward Wilson is invited to join the counter intelligence wing of the OSS (a predecessor of CIA) when the USA decides to join the war. He goes on to become a vital part of the agency. But the family life suffers.
This movie does not portray spying glamourously, like James Bond or others of the kind. It is a cold, thinking person’s movie. The director assumes the audience to be intelligent.

A new place

Wading through resisting waters
I came upon this place
No longer did I need to strain my feet
No longer worry over concealed dangers
I raised a foot, and then another
The earth felt soft, a welcome change
The breeze beckoned me to go further
The flowers were vibrant, the leaves were greener
This new place which I just found
Had a virgin calm spread all over
I could see all, standing here
Ones still wading through the waters
I could talk to, and hear them
And tried guiding them to this new place
Where it was much easier to walk