My Great American Adventure - The Beginning

Now that I've been in the USA for a week, I thought I'd quickly write about my great adventure :) But I've got the feeling that this is gonna be a LONG email. Please read at leisure.

My route to the USA - Blore => HongKong Airport => Los Angeles

The flight was fun (in some trans-dimensional parallel universe way) :D But think about it - I was travelling ahead through time (HK is about 4 hours ahead of India) and then I was gonna travel back in time (LA is about 12 hours behind India). The best part? I was gonna do it all in 1 day!! How cool is that?
Anyway. I landed in the Hongkong Airport. Next Step: Look for a celerity to take pics with :D Nah! I'm just kidding. But what I was doing was looking for a phone to call home. Thats when I spotted them :) So I walk up to them, all hesitant, while Ranbir Kapoor checks me out to see if I'm some crazy fan (Come on!! I mean I'm already grinning from ear to ear & he's probably thinking "Oh NO! Not here also!! Gimme a rest!"). Then this booming voice calls out "Don't be afraid. Come on over. We're not gonna eat you". I very nearly fainted when I realised who it was :) *sigh* Arjun Rampal *sigh* Can this get better? Actually it could have if Kat was there too. Lol. Then the below scene followed -
Entourage person: Do you want a picture?
Me: Yes. That'll be great.
Entourage person: Do you want to be in the picture?
Me: err..
Arjun Rampal: Of course she does
Me: err.. that'll be great?
(Arjun Rampal moves to give me place next to him, while the entourage person gets ready of the pic & i go to be seated right between RK & AR)
Me: So where you guys headed?
Ranbir Kapoor: No where. We're gonna be chilling here
Me (thinking): Yeah right dude. You're sitting in the Transit lounge
(Entourage person takes the picture)
Arjun Rampal: Hey you might wanna check that picture
Me: Huh?
Arjun Rampal: He's half blind. So you might wanna do a double check. (then he doubles up with laughter)
Me: Ok (Grinning away and checking the pic.)
Me: It looks great. Thank you.
Arjun Rampal: Sure (smiling); Ranbir Kapoor nods & Manoj bajpai still doesnt say anything
Entourage person: You should be glad its a sunday
Me: Huh?
Entourage person: I would've charged for the pic if it were any other day
(everyone doubles up with laughter)
Me: Ok. Thank you. Have a good trip. Bye
Everyone's still laughing and nod their acknowledgment.

i'll post the picture really soon

Reviewed: Twilight Saga (Books 1 & 2)

Twilight - The Saga, written by first-time writer Stephenie Meyer, is an unusual vampire-romance written for the now-grown-up Sweet Valley High Addicts.

Book 1 - Twilight

This is definitely my favorite book of the entire saga. The story goes that Bella (our heroine), an “unusual, accident-prone” girl moves to the town of Forks. She meets with Edward (the hero) in a class where they’re partnered. Soon she’s unable to get over the mysterious, spellbindingly beautiful Cullen family. By the middle of the book, they profess undying love for each other. Then comes Conflict in the form of James (a tracker vampire) who wants to hunt Bella for the sport. Hero saves heroine and they live happily ever after.
What I really like about the book, is the way it has been written. The language is simple and everyday and the fact that she uses first person (Bella’s point of view) to narrate this story gains extra marks from me. The imagery she evokes is wonderful vivid and dreamy. The characterization is also well done with Bella as the whiny normal human & Edward as this unimaginably beautiful, multitalented vampire. The author also takes a stab at changing vampire myth - burning when out in the sun etc.
This puts most romance books to shame. For me, Edward now joins the league of Rhett Butler & Heath Boscastle.
Bottom-line: This put a smile on my face :) Good for easy, light reading

Book 2 - New Moon

Continuing from the first book, Bella’s love for Edward continues to grow. Only this time around, he decides its time for him to leave and get FAR away from her because of the all trouble she seems to attract because of him. Broken hearted Bella, becomes a zombie, and Jacob Black (introduced in Book 1), along with her dad, decides to help snap her out of it. Jacob’s also got problems of his own - 1. He’s in love with Bella, 2. Sam is forming a weird cult thing that is taking his friends. Soon he realizes that he’s a werewolf and with it, that all the stories/ legends he was told are true - this means that Jacob & Edward are mortal enemies. Towards the end of the book, Edward reappears - he’s on his way to commit suicide because he believes that he cannot exist in a world that has no Bella (who he thinks has died). So Heroine saves Hero and Jacob’s heartbroken but still trying.
Hmmm.. The book didn’t up to the expectations that the predecessor raised. Jacob’s growth as a character is what leaves a mark. He’s warm, funny, strong and expected to be everything that Edward is not. This book, I think, does for Jacob what the first book did for Edward. After reading this one, readers will probably be entrenched firmly in 1 of 2 camps - Edward or Jacob.
Bottom-line: Read at the risk of falling in love with Jacob and finding out that Edward is kinda human and fallible.

And so he proposed

10 months can be a very long time especially if all you have to be together is a phone connection and 10000 miles inbetween.

10 months before this, given the setting we were in – a wedding - we spoke about getting married and decided it seemed like a good idea. Ever since, we kinda dealt with it like a business transaction – thinking through pros & cons of our actions, analyzing reactions, predicting situations, coaching/coercing the elders into thinking our way and the like.

Soon we were falling in love, with a voice. Sad to say, but there was a slight mental disconnect between the face and the voice. We had to meet. Even if it was jus to see whether there really was “chemistry”. It is a little scary when you think about it – what do you say when you finally connect the voice to the face? What if you don’t like the face anymore? Should that matter? What if it doesn’t work out after that the time and effort spent on Project: Wedding?

He came over the weekend. The first day felt a little weird because we were almost strangers.

And then when we finally had sometime to ourselves, he went down on one knee and said “I’m sorry that I didn’t woo you like you deserve but I hope I can make up for it with the rest of forever. Will you marry me?”

And so instead of the traditional solitaire, I got a beautiful Satya Paul saree ☺

I’m soo happy. Now we are to be engaged in Jan

Reviewed: Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Starring: Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Upen Patel

Guest Appearance: Salman Khan, Lord Jesus

Directed by: Rajkumar Santoshi

Verdict: D+

I don't know where to begin my review of the much touted superhit movie :( We saw the movie at Fame Lido, a now non-functional mall.

Quick run through of story: Small-town, 9 class fail, Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) is president of Happy Club. Happy Club's mission to keep everyone happy, leads to disastrous consequences. That when he meets Jenny (Katrina Kaif) and falls in love with her immediately. Needless to say, the bum turns to a new-leaf - hardworking and devoted to his lady love's happiness. Villainy strikes in the form of Jenny's "love interest" Rahul (Upen Patel) who is powerful politician's son. As with most movies, at the shaadi mandap, Jenny realizes she is in love with Prem and not Rahul.

What I hate about the movie:

Terribly contrived flick with next to no comedy or romance. It seemed like Ranbir forgot how to act. I still had to think really hard to figure out his 9 avatars through the movie. Katrina's acting skills have not improved much either. Upen's constantly constipated expressions compete with his need to deliver dialogue as stereotypical gay person. Salman's 15 sec of fame doesn't do much for him or the story line The songs have been fit in without any purpose or connection. The humour leaves much to be desired. The print promos were unbelivably misleading - I thought I was gonna watch a movie along the lines of Hum-Tum - a little animation/ comic-book transitions etc

What I like about the movie:

The wardrobe is young and hip AND totally wearable. The score is decent (if you don't think about them with context to the movie). Jesus's role as the Saviour :D The posters are wonderfully comic book styled (although there is NO connection with the movie)

Bottomline: There is no ajab or ghazab in this prem kahani. Watch at your own risk.

Reviewd: Love Aaj Kal

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

Directed by: Imtiaz Ali

Verdict: Watch on DVD

It’s a story of love lost and love found – Now and Then. And as with all movies, this one too had its highs and lows.

The movie opens with Jai (Saif) & Meera’s (Deepika) whirl-wind romance (in London) – some kissing, some touching and some naach-gaana. Soon, for reasons of practicality and with the promise of being BFFs, they logically decide to part ways – their careers are taking them different ways (and to different parts of the world).

Here’s where Veer Paaji (Rishi Kapoor) steps in as the friendly neighbourhood Indian and tells Jai of his courtship in the yesteryears. And so begins the other story – Veer falls in love with Harleen Kaur (Giselle), only to find that her family is moving to Kolkatta. Unable to come to terms with the miles that separate them, he goes to see her. And ultimately steals her away when it is found that she is betrothed to somebody else (against her wishes).

The plot of both stories are the more-or-less the same – Boy meet girl, They fall in love, Villain 1 – Distance, Villain 2 – Possibility of girl’s marriage to another. The difference in the two stories comes when comparing modern romance (that has its basis mostly on practicality) and historical romance (where heart came before mind). I think what I didn’t like about the modern romance was how shallow it seemed, with the round-about, indirect way the realization hits both of them. I mean, who is the world realizes one day after the wedding, that the other guy is the ONE! I suppose the handkerchief quotient also went down quite a bit, because most of the movie was said from the boy’s point of view.

The songs seem like they have mostly jus’ been put in because it HAD to be there. Saif’s inability to dance absolutely kills the song-dance routines. Deepika’s wardrobe is fresh, down-to-earth and wearable fashion- a far cry from the traditional dinchak-ness of bollywood. Although Rahul Khanna is gorgeous as always, I wonder why he had to be cast in the bit-role of Meera’s rebound boyfriend/husband. New comer Giselle does a good job as Harleen Kaur and Saif as (young) Veer Paaji is interesting.

Pieces of 8

Pieces of 8, originally uploaded by Ryan Brenizer.

Honey, I hope you're reading this :) It is EXACTLY what i've been looking for :)

There is a flower, a little flower. . .

There is a flower, a little flower. . ., originally uploaded by mjmatt {lazy days}.

. . .with silver crest and golden eye,
that welcomes every changing hour,
and weathers every sky.

- James Montgomery, A Field Flower