Meme

First off, thanks to for the idea.

Here's how it works: drop a comment on this post and I'll recommend a movie for you, something I think you might like.

The girl who died

Parvathyamma's daughter died the other day. No one knows what the real problem was, though Parvathyamma says it was pneumonia. She and her husband had taken the kid to a nearby hospital; the doctors there refused to take her in and asked them to try St Johns. By the time they reached St Johns in the rain, it was too late.

This is a strange tale, this daughter's. I don't know her name - I don't think Parvathyamma ever called her by name when she was alive. Parvathyamma used to tell her various employers that the kid wasn't really hers, she was dark, she was someone else's, she was unwanted. I wonder how she feels now, after the child's death. The lady appears to be all right though, continuing to sweep and swab floors as before.

I don't know how I feel about this. Sad? Yes. Sad in many ways - for the child, for the parents, for her siblings and also sad for the girl-child in general. It's a tough life.

Two!

Of Batman, a Birthday and a Book

Batman Begins. Boy, does he! One of the best comic book adaptations I've seen, this is THE Batman film. Why didn't they make this earlier? Die, Joel Schumacher, die!

***

Rachu is two today. Bought her a tricycle. She sits coyly on the side, like Victorian ladies on horseback.

Man, does time fly.

***

Started on Cloud Atlas a few days back. Begins well, but it's only been ten pages so far. I stepped out after the first two, to meet an old friend, Stephen King's The Dead Zone. This was my first King, read perhaps twenty years back: a tattered copy from the Eloor Library. I remember being impressed by the ending, which was 'Johnny Smith stood up'. A cliffhanger ending, which I love. I went on to become a King maniac and wound up buying almost all the books written by him.

Had the shock of my life when I completed re-reading it yesterday. The one I read long back was not the actual ending. The book goes on for a few more pages to wrap up - and it's no cliffhanger. Is this what they call irony, doctor?

Rewhews

There are reviews and there are reviews. Sometimes there are even more reviews. Hence the need for a totally different view on movies, a view that you wouldn't believe.

Presenting Rewhews! Movie reviews like never before!

Lal's list

Kodu aliya kai! I think he thew in Mughal-e-Azam just to round it off to ten and keep the dilli-walas happy.

Wild and wacky Tim Burton movie. Or rather, a Tim Burton movie. Albert Finney is excellent in the title role, as is most of the supporting cast. I thought it was a good feel-good movie, didn't really care too much about the special effects.

Like the first, rollicking good fun. There's never a boring moment, everything works and fits in beautifully. Too bad it had to end.

Horns of a whatchamacallit<font size="-2">*</font>

So this ex-i2er, a former colleague, is after me to join this startup, see? I get to do my own thing, run development out of India with offices in Chennai and in Bangalore, manage P&L for the unit, define processes, weather storms - you get the idea.

The catch? Apart from the risks associated with any startup, there is a fairly big problem. The office is within the PESIT campus, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of Mysore. 25 km from my house, or in Bangalore terms, almost two hours away. One way.

I need to decide pretty soon - in a day or two at most. My friend says this would only be for six months and they will move office once they have enough cash to afford a different place. I'm not sure what to make of that. Six months could turn out to be more, especially since they are getting a good deal at PESIT.

I've been running this over my mind for more than a week now and haven't come to a firm decision yet. One day it's yay, another nay. Oh, well. Watch this space for details.

PS: A lot of LJers I know are from PESIT, no doubt proving the Philistine Prophecy and that This Was Meant To Be.

Opening notes

I was listening to Jadoo Teri Nazar on Radio City the other day, while driving to work. Got me thinking about opening notes - this song had one of the best "openings" I've ever heard (for lack of a better word) . A few others I could think of:

- Pehla Nasha
- Meri Sapnon Ki Rani
- Sweet Child of Mine

I'm not counting the likes of Chaiyya Chaiyya and Money for Nothing - the opening notes are famous because of the song, they don't stand by themselves really. IMO, anyway.