Michael Jackson, one of the most iconic pop singers the world has ever known and will ever know, is no more. He wasn't just a singer or a dancer. He was a PHENOMENON. But one that nobody could explain!
And now that he is gone, that too so suddenly, the media has gone berserk. I always keep thinking everytime the media covers an event/story, that this is it - they really cant stoop lower than this. This is the pits. And just like the phoenix rising from the ashes, they just beat me. Every single time. They just outdo themselves in how low they can stoop and to what depth they can fall to, just to get a nice juicy story.
They just are not able to come to terms with the fact that he died of a cardiac arrest. That it could be as simple as that. I mean why would they when you come to think of it - Pop Superstar dies of cardiac arrest. Period. What next? This kind of news would be fodder for just a couple of days. Nothing exciting about it right. So what do they do? Spice it up. Tadka mar ke. He was doing drugs. His doctor conspired. Maybe he is still alive. The body was his body doubles. Maybe he was murdered. Endless of such theories. I sat in utter disbelief and absolute disgust watching some of the topmost media channels in India (both English and Hindi) playing out such a news item. A popular music 'youth icon' channel had a ticker running at the bottom which was anything but a tribute - it was ridiculing all the things he did wrong in his life - from his drug abuse to him dangling a baby in front of the media. And what are we expected to do - laugh at the things written in this ticker? Take it light? Is this what the youth of today is meant to symbolise? To smirk at someone even in their death? And such a kind of a channel claims to be the 'nerve center' of todays youth? Absolute, utter crap.
All the media wants to just milk his last moments too. Its like such a simple, straight forward death was something disgusting that MJ did for them. Couldnt he have died in a headline-exploding kind of fashion? Like a suicide maybe? Which may have had them churning out of stories for atleast a month? Anyways, they are doing their best to try and come up with as many stories and versions to keep people hooked and engaged.
I just cant overcome the disgust. Its about time that a regulatory authority was set up for our media channels. In their hunger for just about any remotely juicy news bit, they have fallen so low that they probably dont even know the kind of abyss they have fallen into it. It probably doesnt matter to them. They perhaps have gotten way too numb to feel anything. Who cares you are in an abyss? As long as you can provide an 'entertaining' news story.
I am sure this endless speculation about the King of Pops death is going to keep this bunch of circus clowns quiet busy for a while. Some of them have features on his wacko ways and his 'troubled life'. One of the blogs stated that he was never able to love himself. Agreed. Probably thats an accurate assessment. But so what?? Anyone who has ready his brief life story (wikipedia has a good one) would be horrified beyond their gut at what he went through. I am just shell shocked that someone could even get past such a tortured childhood to become someone so iconic. Did he abuse those kids? Maybe he did. Maybe he didnt. And if he did, he certainly certainly was in the wrong. Being insecure and feeling sorry for yourself or being a big star doesn't give you the right to abuse anybody else. But what I want to say is that all this is besides the point now. Now that he is gone, doesnt he deserve to be left alone. To truly REST IN PEACE. Or is that just another term that has become so fancy with the media people to use and print, that the very significance of the phrase itself has been lost on them?
Michael, dont bother about the media circus playing down here. Just be oblivious to it all. For of all the times, it is now, that you truly need to and deserve to REST IN PEACE.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
NEVER STOP TRYING!
How difficult is it to go about achieving something? A little? A lot? I would think very. And the difficulty usually doesn't lie in the physicality of the task to be achieved (or intellectuality in cases where there is no physicality required) but usually in the emotional and mental preparation. The majority of which is due to the different kind of people around us. I know this is beginning to sound really generic - but think about it. Take any task you may have ever wanted to do/achieve. Losing weight. Learning a new game/sport. Picking up a new process at work. Getting married to whom you want to. Cooking. Taking an exam. Buying that shirt/dress you want to. Going to a movie.
Standalone I doubt if any of these tasks really are difficult to achieve. Some are downright easy. Some require some effort. And others like losing weight require a hell lot of effort! The tasks always vary in the nature of their requirement from us as individuals. But what really is common to all of them most of the time is that we hardly take a real true 'individualistic' decision. Losing weight - agreed, we do it for ourselves. But also mostly for someone else. Or if nothing else, from all tat peer pressure and the way society looks at overweight individuals. Learning a new game/sport - you learn it in a batch usually from someone really experienced usually. But why this task becomes difficult is bcos there are others who pick it up quicker. Or the coach expects you to learn it with the flow. But what if you are one of those who take a really long while to 'get it'? Does that mean you should give up learning it jus bcos you cant keep up with the batch or the coach cant really afford to give you extra time? Cooking - we always keep thinking of how this will eventually end up being liked. Is the salt alrite? Is it too spicy? I hope they like it?
My point is this. You need to be really really motivated to get to where you want to. The task itself is never such a barrier or roadblock as much as the people on the way to achieving it are. Now dont get me wrong. This is not to label all humans as inhumans! There would always be those who would stick up for you, support you, counsel you no matter what. The biggest and best amongst these would be your parents. But there would also always be a lot of them who will try and make you believe that you cant really get there. Thats when you need to really kill the urge to retaliate right then and instead maintain a kind of stoic calm. And thats where you would require all the patience and courage in the world. And thats what would be the difficult aspect of the task that you would need to clear.
Most human beings are insecure by nature. And insecure not in every sense or activity. But in those that they themselves dont excel in. Or sometimes they may excel in, but may fear that someone may be 'better' than them. It is really really funny. But even amongst friends this is pretty common. For example - you want to lose that weight. There would be times when they would stand by you. But there would also be equal number of times, when they would be vivid in their description on why its difficult for you to achieve. Or who may taunt you cos you ended up missing your morning walk twenty times out of thirty. They will never ever stand up and appreciate you for the ten days that you did. Or even apart from friends, there would be people(colleagues, neighbours, etc.) who would smirk at how you are always 'wanting' to lose weight. Or are always 'going to launch a succesful business' this time around. Or are still waiting 'for the right person' to get married to.
Think about it - why should you give a damn to these people? Let it be anybody. Friends. Family. Neighbours. Colleagues. ANYBODY. Who understands you better than you yourself? And by taking them seriously, who stands to be vindicated? If you take their comments seriously, it would just hurt you and may make you lose whatever little bit of inner strength may be left in you. And if you give up on the task, it is these kind of people who stand vindicated. And who would come back to you and tell you - "see I told you so".
The thing is we got to figure out for ourselves whose comments are really worth listening to and whose are not. You may not be regular at the task you have set out on. You WILL fall. But what you should never do is to STOP TRYING. B'cos the minute you stop trying, it means giving up and accepting what others have just been saying all along. To which there are two aspects - analyse it realistically and accept that there was truth to what was being said and that this is really not your cup of tea and move on. Or analyse and see if you can really gather strength to still achieve this goal of yours? And even if there is a glimmer of chance that you can still achieve this, then I would say GO FOR IT. It is worth a try atleast.
Standalone I doubt if any of these tasks really are difficult to achieve. Some are downright easy. Some require some effort. And others like losing weight require a hell lot of effort! The tasks always vary in the nature of their requirement from us as individuals. But what really is common to all of them most of the time is that we hardly take a real true 'individualistic' decision. Losing weight - agreed, we do it for ourselves. But also mostly for someone else. Or if nothing else, from all tat peer pressure and the way society looks at overweight individuals. Learning a new game/sport - you learn it in a batch usually from someone really experienced usually. But why this task becomes difficult is bcos there are others who pick it up quicker. Or the coach expects you to learn it with the flow. But what if you are one of those who take a really long while to 'get it'? Does that mean you should give up learning it jus bcos you cant keep up with the batch or the coach cant really afford to give you extra time? Cooking - we always keep thinking of how this will eventually end up being liked. Is the salt alrite? Is it too spicy? I hope they like it?
My point is this. You need to be really really motivated to get to where you want to. The task itself is never such a barrier or roadblock as much as the people on the way to achieving it are. Now dont get me wrong. This is not to label all humans as inhumans! There would always be those who would stick up for you, support you, counsel you no matter what. The biggest and best amongst these would be your parents. But there would also always be a lot of them who will try and make you believe that you cant really get there. Thats when you need to really kill the urge to retaliate right then and instead maintain a kind of stoic calm. And thats where you would require all the patience and courage in the world. And thats what would be the difficult aspect of the task that you would need to clear.
Most human beings are insecure by nature. And insecure not in every sense or activity. But in those that they themselves dont excel in. Or sometimes they may excel in, but may fear that someone may be 'better' than them. It is really really funny. But even amongst friends this is pretty common. For example - you want to lose that weight. There would be times when they would stand by you. But there would also be equal number of times, when they would be vivid in their description on why its difficult for you to achieve. Or who may taunt you cos you ended up missing your morning walk twenty times out of thirty. They will never ever stand up and appreciate you for the ten days that you did. Or even apart from friends, there would be people(colleagues, neighbours, etc.) who would smirk at how you are always 'wanting' to lose weight. Or are always 'going to launch a succesful business' this time around. Or are still waiting 'for the right person' to get married to.
Think about it - why should you give a damn to these people? Let it be anybody. Friends. Family. Neighbours. Colleagues. ANYBODY. Who understands you better than you yourself? And by taking them seriously, who stands to be vindicated? If you take their comments seriously, it would just hurt you and may make you lose whatever little bit of inner strength may be left in you. And if you give up on the task, it is these kind of people who stand vindicated. And who would come back to you and tell you - "see I told you so".
The thing is we got to figure out for ourselves whose comments are really worth listening to and whose are not. You may not be regular at the task you have set out on. You WILL fall. But what you should never do is to STOP TRYING. B'cos the minute you stop trying, it means giving up and accepting what others have just been saying all along. To which there are two aspects - analyse it realistically and accept that there was truth to what was being said and that this is really not your cup of tea and move on. Or analyse and see if you can really gather strength to still achieve this goal of yours? And even if there is a glimmer of chance that you can still achieve this, then I would say GO FOR IT. It is worth a try atleast.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Revolutionary Road
Once in a while, there comes along a movie that probably jolts you out of your existence. That hits you hard. That makes you think. Makes you feel. Makes you forget where you are and sucks you into its world. Thats exactly what 'Revolutionary Road' did to me.
Its not an easy movie to watch. And you have to really like dramatic movies to like this movie. But then whats fascinating is that all its dramatic moments are so rooted in real life, that you dont for a moment think the on goings are dramatic. You just watch event after event unfold in April and Frank Wheeler's lives like you were sitting in their living room watching them.
He is a chauvanist. Trying to be the man he isnt. Whose concept of being a 'man' is conventional in nature. Who is bound by his own insecurities. One who loves her. But lacks the guts to say so.
She is the 'seemingly' picture perfect wife. Composed. Calm. But with a storm brewing beneath. A failed actress. One who fell for the concept of 'a happy countryside life with two kids'. Disillusioned. Searching for answers. Desperate to give her marriage a shot of heroine.
Together they struggle to find who they really are, who they were, what they have become and where do they go from where they are. The answers are not easy to come and change with every changing circumstance. From gloom, depression to serendipity to joy to gloom again, their relationship is as topsy turvy as one usually sees marriages as.
Whats best about this movie is the dialogues. The protogonists just rip through each other with their words leaving their real selves, their souls stark naked. Even as they speak they may be feeling within that they need to stop, that this hurts - both themselves as well as the other - and yet they go on. At one point in time, April says -
"And you know what's so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is however long they've lived without it. No one forgets the truth, Frank, they just get better at lying."
Marvellous. Simply marvellous.
Another one from April Wheeler.
"This is what's unrealistic. It's unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working year after year at a job he can't stand. Coming home to a place he can't stand, to a wife who's equally unable to stand the same things. And you know what the worst part of it is? Our whole existence here is based on this great premise that we're special. They we're superior to the whole thing. But we're not. We're just like everyone else! We bought into the same, ridiculous delusion."
Thats the best thing about Revolutionary Road. On the surface, its the story of a couple whose marriage is on the rocks and on the verge of crumbling. But beneath it all, it is just as much about the individual. The simmering aspirations that each one of us have. The way each of us crave to be with the people we love and yet find it difficult to let go of the person we are within, of our own ideas, our own definition of living. Of what we thought life would be at a point in time and what it turned out or is turning out into. April in fact is unable to come to terms with the fact that this kind of hope that life is going to be wonderful was in fact an illusion she had been imagining all along. How many of us have not felt that kind of thing at some point in time or the other? This is what April says - again it just hits you hard - like a slap in the face.
"For years I thought we've shared this secret that we would be wonderful in the world. I don't know exactly how, but just the possibility kept me hoping. How pathetic is that? So stupid. To put all your hopes in a promise that was never made."
Most of us if we see the movie, would identify atleast at some level with Frank's character. I am talking about the bit of going to a job that we really cant stand most of the time. Frank hates his job. And there is another wonderfully ringing true experience in the movie. After having that talk with April when they decide to move on, Frank goes back to job the next day and finishes his task on hand. As it turns out later, he exceeds so well at this last task and does such a good job on it, that he lands himself a much better profile and pay package. The very though of 'freedom around the corner', the very thought of knowing that he was going to quit the very place he so hated, made him perform superlatively. Cos now he had nothing to fear. The thing is that most of have the potential to excel. But the minute we are dragged into or do something we really dont like, we dont excel at it. Or atleast most of them dont. The day you actually feel free, or truly happy from withing, you actually realise a lot of latent potential. I have seen this ring true in so many cases of people I have known.
Watch this movie as a slice of life. You may or may not agree with the characters. The plot. The story line. Some dialogues. The way it ends. But you would be sure left thinking about some aspect of the movie or other. That I guarantee you.
Its not an easy movie to watch. And you have to really like dramatic movies to like this movie. But then whats fascinating is that all its dramatic moments are so rooted in real life, that you dont for a moment think the on goings are dramatic. You just watch event after event unfold in April and Frank Wheeler's lives like you were sitting in their living room watching them.
He is a chauvanist. Trying to be the man he isnt. Whose concept of being a 'man' is conventional in nature. Who is bound by his own insecurities. One who loves her. But lacks the guts to say so.
She is the 'seemingly' picture perfect wife. Composed. Calm. But with a storm brewing beneath. A failed actress. One who fell for the concept of 'a happy countryside life with two kids'. Disillusioned. Searching for answers. Desperate to give her marriage a shot of heroine.
Together they struggle to find who they really are, who they were, what they have become and where do they go from where they are. The answers are not easy to come and change with every changing circumstance. From gloom, depression to serendipity to joy to gloom again, their relationship is as topsy turvy as one usually sees marriages as.
Whats best about this movie is the dialogues. The protogonists just rip through each other with their words leaving their real selves, their souls stark naked. Even as they speak they may be feeling within that they need to stop, that this hurts - both themselves as well as the other - and yet they go on. At one point in time, April says -
"And you know what's so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is however long they've lived without it. No one forgets the truth, Frank, they just get better at lying."
Marvellous. Simply marvellous.
Another one from April Wheeler.
"This is what's unrealistic. It's unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working year after year at a job he can't stand. Coming home to a place he can't stand, to a wife who's equally unable to stand the same things. And you know what the worst part of it is? Our whole existence here is based on this great premise that we're special. They we're superior to the whole thing. But we're not. We're just like everyone else! We bought into the same, ridiculous delusion."
Thats the best thing about Revolutionary Road. On the surface, its the story of a couple whose marriage is on the rocks and on the verge of crumbling. But beneath it all, it is just as much about the individual. The simmering aspirations that each one of us have. The way each of us crave to be with the people we love and yet find it difficult to let go of the person we are within, of our own ideas, our own definition of living. Of what we thought life would be at a point in time and what it turned out or is turning out into. April in fact is unable to come to terms with the fact that this kind of hope that life is going to be wonderful was in fact an illusion she had been imagining all along. How many of us have not felt that kind of thing at some point in time or the other? This is what April says - again it just hits you hard - like a slap in the face.
"For years I thought we've shared this secret that we would be wonderful in the world. I don't know exactly how, but just the possibility kept me hoping. How pathetic is that? So stupid. To put all your hopes in a promise that was never made."
Most of us if we see the movie, would identify atleast at some level with Frank's character. I am talking about the bit of going to a job that we really cant stand most of the time. Frank hates his job. And there is another wonderfully ringing true experience in the movie. After having that talk with April when they decide to move on, Frank goes back to job the next day and finishes his task on hand. As it turns out later, he exceeds so well at this last task and does such a good job on it, that he lands himself a much better profile and pay package. The very though of 'freedom around the corner', the very thought of knowing that he was going to quit the very place he so hated, made him perform superlatively. Cos now he had nothing to fear. The thing is that most of have the potential to excel. But the minute we are dragged into or do something we really dont like, we dont excel at it. Or atleast most of them dont. The day you actually feel free, or truly happy from withing, you actually realise a lot of latent potential. I have seen this ring true in so many cases of people I have known.
Watch this movie as a slice of life. You may or may not agree with the characters. The plot. The story line. Some dialogues. The way it ends. But you would be sure left thinking about some aspect of the movie or other. That I guarantee you.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Musings Over A Hot Cup Of Tea...
Its been a pretty ordinary day. And in a way I am glad. Have really not been able to enjoy a quiet nice weekend for a while now. So I did exactly that today. Read a book, arranged stuff that was strewn around my home, joined a gym (finally!!!), spoke to some friends, saw some TV and caught a nice lil' nap in between. Sometimes the mundane is what is interesting.
I am an absolute tea lover. A Crazy one. Not the kinds who has about fifteen cups a day. Nope. In fact I have only about two and on absolutely select few days three. But I am the kind of tea lover who dreams about it when I dont get it. Who cooks up various occassions and situations that would call for a tea. Who loves having random conversations while having a cup of tea in the hand. Who looks for the flimsiest of excuses to persuade others to join him for a cup. And whose thinking starts getting better after that cup of tea. I have tended to notice that some of the best thoughts usually come about in two situations - (a) when one is in the loo and (b) while having tea (coffee for some). Now I really didnt want my blog url to read 'musingswhilesittingoverapotofcrap' ;) And the rest I hope will be worthy of history!
My profile name reads Howard Roark. Now anyone familiar with Ayn Rand would know instantly that that is in fact the name of the protagonist of probably her most popular and accomplished work 'The Fountainhead'. It was a book that absolutely bowled me over when I first read it. It was a really lengthy read. But absolutely worth it. The protagonist is someone who believes that there is nothing wrong in putting ones desire first and then looking after the needs of others. Though the society usually looks at anyone who does things for personal benefit a little scathingly, for Howard Roark it doesnt matter. He chooses his own path to reach where he wants to in life. Does not listen to people around him at all. And his character is juxtaposed against several others who take a conventional path or who give in to a life dedicated to serving the society or others who are after power. Its an absolute must read for anyone who likes reading intelligent fiction. A book that makes you think. So is that the reason I chose this name? 'Cos I loved this character or somewhere relate to him or want to be like him or am probably already him? Nope. None of that. I just like the name :) Its a character that I wont easily forget probably 'cos I rate the book so highly. But the sound of the name is pretty good and kinda neutral. So I chose that name.
There are pros and then there are cons to anything. By choosing to remain anonymous, I may be missing out on a few things like getting the reactions of people I know pretty well and who may read my blog. But thats the whole idea. Like discussed in my last post, I really dont want whoever may be reading my blog (whether known or unknown to me) to know it is me here 'cos it may then influence what I write and how I write. The minute I know someone known to me who knows its my blog is reading this, it would just put a constraint on the way I would write here. And I say this after experiencing the exact same thing when I had blogged the last time around. Its something usually authors face too. It is believed that most of the 'first book' of any author is usually part autobiographical. I have seen many deny that. But I think there is some truth to that. Any fiction book that an author usually writes would undeniably have certain experiences of the author input across various pages. And if not personal experiences, then definitely how the author would usually react/behave in certain situations. 'Cos at the end of the day the way a fiction book progresses is nothing but the way an author chooses his characters reaction and situations.
I guess I have rambled enough for a night. Need to hit the bed now 'cos my eyes are getting all droopy!
I am an absolute tea lover. A Crazy one. Not the kinds who has about fifteen cups a day. Nope. In fact I have only about two and on absolutely select few days three. But I am the kind of tea lover who dreams about it when I dont get it. Who cooks up various occassions and situations that would call for a tea. Who loves having random conversations while having a cup of tea in the hand. Who looks for the flimsiest of excuses to persuade others to join him for a cup. And whose thinking starts getting better after that cup of tea. I have tended to notice that some of the best thoughts usually come about in two situations - (a) when one is in the loo and (b) while having tea (coffee for some). Now I really didnt want my blog url to read 'musingswhilesittingoverapotofcrap' ;) And the rest I hope will be worthy of history!
My profile name reads Howard Roark. Now anyone familiar with Ayn Rand would know instantly that that is in fact the name of the protagonist of probably her most popular and accomplished work 'The Fountainhead'. It was a book that absolutely bowled me over when I first read it. It was a really lengthy read. But absolutely worth it. The protagonist is someone who believes that there is nothing wrong in putting ones desire first and then looking after the needs of others. Though the society usually looks at anyone who does things for personal benefit a little scathingly, for Howard Roark it doesnt matter. He chooses his own path to reach where he wants to in life. Does not listen to people around him at all. And his character is juxtaposed against several others who take a conventional path or who give in to a life dedicated to serving the society or others who are after power. Its an absolute must read for anyone who likes reading intelligent fiction. A book that makes you think. So is that the reason I chose this name? 'Cos I loved this character or somewhere relate to him or want to be like him or am probably already him? Nope. None of that. I just like the name :) Its a character that I wont easily forget probably 'cos I rate the book so highly. But the sound of the name is pretty good and kinda neutral. So I chose that name.
There are pros and then there are cons to anything. By choosing to remain anonymous, I may be missing out on a few things like getting the reactions of people I know pretty well and who may read my blog. But thats the whole idea. Like discussed in my last post, I really dont want whoever may be reading my blog (whether known or unknown to me) to know it is me here 'cos it may then influence what I write and how I write. The minute I know someone known to me who knows its my blog is reading this, it would just put a constraint on the way I would write here. And I say this after experiencing the exact same thing when I had blogged the last time around. Its something usually authors face too. It is believed that most of the 'first book' of any author is usually part autobiographical. I have seen many deny that. But I think there is some truth to that. Any fiction book that an author usually writes would undeniably have certain experiences of the author input across various pages. And if not personal experiences, then definitely how the author would usually react/behave in certain situations. 'Cos at the end of the day the way a fiction book progresses is nothing but the way an author chooses his characters reaction and situations.
I guess I have rambled enough for a night. Need to hit the bed now 'cos my eyes are getting all droopy!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A New Year, A New Resolution....
Happy New Year!!!!
Its a new year and with that come new resolutions. And resolutions as we all know by now are just one of those things you need to make so that the year seems to have some goal, some sense of direction which you eventually lose sight of within a month ;)
But you really can't escape these resolutions, can you? There is just something about the 1st day of a year that fills you with a sense of blinded optimism which in turn spurs one to 'decide' that the time has come to make a change! Come to think of it, may be I am being too cynical considering its only just the third day of the year!
Which brings me to my resolution for the year. There had to be one, else I wouldn't be rambling for so long :) Well, my resolution is to blog regularly. There are many resolutions in fact, but this one is the most 'publishable' :) No seriously. I have been trying to blog on and off for a couple of years now. Its one of those things I am always 'wanting to do' but have never really been able to push myself that hard. This is perhaps my fourth attempt. The one before this in fact did survive for a while. But then someone cracked it that it was my blog and in no time people I knew were reading it. Which is a thought that I somehow dont really gel with! There is a sense of anonymity that makes part of blogging fun. If I knew that someone I knew was reading this knowing me as I am, it would ruin my writing style. For the next time around, I would be all conscious that someone I know who knows this blog is mine is gonna be reading this post and then most of my time would go in appropriately wording things or probably not writing a few things, thus tossing my 'Captain Cook free-flow' thought process!
Anyways for now this is a new start to a new blog. And one that will hopefully continue for a long long while!
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