Entertainment - redefined (comic) awards 2007

Nominee 1: The cast of Indian cricket team. Need I say more?

Nominee 2: Apocalypto - the movie. I felt cheated... the trailer was in English; the movie was in a mixture of ancient Mayan language and blood. Just intrigued me about inspiration: John Rambo and "Jaguar Paw" have very similar jungle survival skills!

Nominee 3: 300 - the movie. All the controversy about the accuracy of portrayal of historical characters got me interested. But... come on! Who analyzes comic books / cartoons? This is just that... it was a scene by scene copy of the comic book of the same name!

And the winner is '300'. It was an inspired movie! The movie Gladiator had a major influence - even the crop fields shot was inspired by it. Then Troy was a major influence too - I think the ships were same (just a doubt). I felt sorry for the poor captain! He was a captain of Achilles troops too! No promotion in all these years! The disfigured characters of the Persian army seemed to come straight after the shooting of "Lord of the Rings" (remember the Trolls?). Another intriguing thought: The Spartans left for Thermopylae with a shield, spear and sword! Did the Spartans always travel like that? Even when I go for a day trek, I take some food and water with me! Then, I am no Spartan! When I was ten, I did not fight a wolf, which, by the way, looked more like Hagrid's (of Harry Potter) pet than a real wolf!

Anyway... doesn't matter... it is just a comic book, now a movie!

Holi hai!

I was kind of frustrated that I couldn’t go to Kerala this weekend as planned - turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This weekend was a good one.

This Friday, I got to meet a friend who is as passionate about travel as me, plus some. We made some initial itinerary planning for a trip. I also got myself a new pair of sunglasses. Late night on Friday, there was the smallest big party at home. Small in size, only three of us; big in spirit, both figuratively and literally!

Saturday was a typical lazy weekend day. Lazed around, read books, watched some football on TV. In the evening, hanged out with Samarth and Sushant at a place called ‘Take 5’. Their Long Island Iced Tea is about the most potent I have ever had! The food is good too! Late at night, Arun’s parents reached Bangalore.

Sunday was Holi-day! Celebrated Holi, in its true spirit, after several years. Several friends came over to celebrate at home, and we took turns to soak everyone! There was hardly a square inch area spared on anyone! The supplies from the kitchen was steady too – the ‘pakodas’ and ‘gujiyas’, all thanks to Aunty (Arun’s mom). Then went with Sushant to his friend’s place for the second round! A nice lunch afterwards and a game of ‘antakshari’ with new friends was just the perfect way to bring the Holi celebrations to an end. The bath lasted for over 30 minutes, and I can still see traces of the colors applied on me! Will take a couple of industrial strength cleaning agent wash to get them off, I guess! I don’t mind… after all the fun I had!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend too. Happy Holi to all of you!