Streaming thoughts

A post that should do justice to the name of the blog - Random Thoughts.

I had read somewhere about automatic writing. This is an attempt at automatic typing. I will probably just let one thought lead to another and put it down as they come along. I really don't know what or how this post is going to pan out. But I'm only going to try and keep typing till the time that my thoughts run out. So far I am only wondering when that will happen.

The first thought that occurred to me while doing this is how easy it is to think while typing. It helps to know how to touch-type as one doesn't have to use one's faculties to hunt-and-peck. These days, in fact, I find it too much of a bother to write on paper. My wrist starts aching when I do that long enough.

Why is there any writing at all? Probably because we don't have access to an electronic instrument at all times yet. Although I seem to be in front of some screen or the other for most of my waking hours - Television, Laptop and iPhone.

Screens are increasingly becoming important in human lives. But thanks to miniaturisation, our field of vision is getting smaller with every new innovation. There was a time when the only entertainment was watching sport in arenas. After that came cinema. Then Television. Then Computers. Finally Mobile phones. The screens got smaller and our scope of vision with them.

Interestingly, the word 'screen' has two meanings. One is the screen that enables us to see projected images or illusions. The other is the screen that obscures reality. Wonder how two opposite meanings somehow found their way to the same word.

That reminds me that I just finished reading Dan Brown's Lost Symbol. Thought it was strictly okay. Too formulaic and pretty boring in places. Quite an anti-climax actually. Makes one think of the phrase, 'much ado about nothing' at the end of it all. Anyway, I believe there will be a movie made of the book to come out by 2012. Hope Tom Hanks is not wasted again.

Tom Hanks is one of the finest actors alive today. Purely because he doesn't act. He just becomes. Some of his best movies according to me - actually all that I've seen:

1. The Terminal
2. Castaway
3. Catch me if you can
4. That thing you do
5. Apollo 13
6. Forrest Gump
7. Sleepless in Seattle
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Philadelphia
10. Road to Perdition

I get a feeling I'm missing some. But Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons were a disaster.

I think I'm running out now. Time to go. But looking back, it's quite nice to see the flow of thought above.

Love-marks

Some time ago I read about fabulous brands that have transcended their status and become 'Love-marks'. So here are a few of my personal ones. I've excluded the non-manufactured brands like Pink Floyd and PG Wodehouse by design. These are actual things that I would talk about, so brands in the slightly stricter sense of the term.

1. Bose. I've three products from Bose and I think I will end up owning at least a couple more soon. I love the clarity and richness of sound. I love the fact that they are so simple to use and that there is so much technology that goes behind them to make them that way.

2. iPhone. I've written enough about this before so I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on this. Amazing design, technology and sex appeal all in just one small product. Surrounded by the aura of Mac and having a cult following of its own. I can't imagine life without it any more.

3. Body Shop. It is the olfactory gratification that really puts these products in a bracket all of their own. Apart from these, I would like to think that all their legends are true. Even their simple, no-nonsense packaging is fabulous and adds a lot of character to their products as compared to the competition.

4. Timberland. I just love these shoes for the weekends. I have the simplest pair of loafers and I don't really use them for trekking or anything like that. But these are the original and that's what I like about them.

5. Thinkpad. Formerly IBM, now Lenovo. The most hardy laptop ever. I used to have one a long time ago and after several Sony Vaios having come and gone - the equivalent of dumb blondes in laptops - I have finally realised who really is marriage material.

I will add more to the list as I think of them.


-- Post From My iPhone

Some sketches of mine

The quintessential hero and his arch nemesis.






-- Post From My iPhone

Time

A couple days ago my parents came to live with us. They have now hopefully permanently shifted their base to our house. We all felt that this was for the best since Dad will be on regular dialysis now and he would be a lot more comfortable staying with us than on their own.

But the woes of living in Mumbai include having a finite space to live in. We do have a comfortable 3 bedroom flat but as always all the cupboard space was fully occupied. So to make place for my parents, a lot of our stuff had to be junked.

The most voluminous things to go were the soft toys of the children along with a lot of their board games and other ancillary kiddie stuff. It did make a lot of space available and anyway the kids had outgrown using these so it made sense to donate all of this.

But this whole interaction made me think about the unavoidable passage of time. Parents getting old and needing care thus moving in. And to make space for that, the moving out of some childhood - never to return. I guess this is the inevitabiliy of age catching up at all the levels.

But at the same time, came the realisation that in a strange way time is really more circular than linear. Though the kids are growing up and getting independent, the parents are growing old and getting dependent. Guess it still is about looking after the ones you love, whatever their age. That will always stay constant, however much time passes through.

-- Post From My iPhone

Two guys

There's a guy I see everyday who stands at the junction of the erstwhile Lokhandwala Circle, an extremely high traffic zone in the middle of the JVPD scheme. He has short salt-and-pepper hair, the kind that one has when one hasn't shaved off the head for a week or so. He has medium height and built. He wears a white kurta and a white dhoti. And he just stands there. Oblivious to the passing traffic and people. A half-smile on his face. At peace with himself and the world.

In March, when I was in Santa Monica for ten days, I had to walk three blocks from my hotel down Wilshire Boulevard to the studio where I had to work. There was a guy I saw everyday who stood at the corner of Wilshire and 2nd. He had really long grey-blonde hair and beard. Dressed in dirty blue jeans and a cardigan, the original colour of which was impossible to know. And he too just stood there. Also oblivious to the passing traffic and people. Eyes half-closed and looking doped. Totally isolated from the world for sure, maybe even from himself.

The guy in Mumbai holds a signboard that reads, "Follow your own faith. Love all humanity".

The guy in Santa Monica held a begging bowl.

Dad is unwell

This morning I got a call from Mom that Dad had to be immediately hospitalized. He has been suffering for years with Diabetes mainly brought on by heredity and stress. The two main factors for probably any woe in the world.

Heredity is something that one is born with. There's no choice about it. In metaphysical terms it would be termed as karma. On the other hand, stress is a choice. It is something that one willingly takes on as a result of circumstance. Again, in metaphysical terms, it would be explained by the concept of free will.

In reality though we always confuse one for the other.

We deny our heredity. We pretend that our reality - the circumstances we find ourselves in - are inconsequential. Though the future repercussions of our actions are screaming loud in our face we choose to ignore them and think we are invincible. In this case, my Dad always knew of his family history of severe Diabetes and yet he chose to have a lifestyle devoid of moderate eating and exercise.

The other contributor is stress. This is something that we love so much that we just cannot do without it. At most times taking stress is worse than useless. We know it deep inside, but we are so caught up in the circumstances that we feel we are just victims of the situation, refusing to believe that there is always a choice. Dad has taken on a lot of stress in his life from every situation and relationship - work, family, kids. The sad part is that all of it has been self-inflicted and lovingly added to the growing collection.

Just some lessons for me to take on board. It may not be too late for me yet. Considering I've got the same genes and the same lifestyle, it is inevitable where I'm headed. So this is one more of those wake up calls that I wrote about in another post. Unpleasant but awakening.


-- Post From My iPhone

Movie Magic

Some scenes which bring out the magic of movies. Strictly in the order of them coming to mind.

1. The opening sequence of Sound of Music. Sweeping aerial shots of the Alps slowly taking in the entire countryside. The music slowly builds up and reaches a crescendo as we fly to Maria singing "The Hills are alive..." We have already experienced (more than seen) how the hills are alive and the whole scene is simply amazing.

2. Mohan takes his first sip of water in India in Swades. Returning from a village where he's been subjected to abject poverty for the first time, the NRI NASA scientist, Mohan Bhargava, realises for the first time what most of India lives like. Till this point in the movie, he only drinks bottled water of Kinley (an American product, obviously) because the Indian water is likely to be too contaminated for him. As the train stops at a halt, a young boy is selling water at 50p to the travellers. Mohan takes the glass and drinks the water symbolising a lot more than just that. He has gone through a life-altering experience and the simple act of drinking the water means so much. Executed to perfection by Sharukh Khan without a single word of dialogue.

3. Tevye's dance with the Fiddler after the captain tells him to expect a pogrom on his daughter's wedding in Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye is in the best of spirits as he has just found an excellent match for Tzeitel. And having drunk away in the village inn, he is returning home. That's when the Christian police captain informs him that there has to be some symbolic Jewish persecution soon. But all this is just the setup. Now a little low, Tevye does his little complaint to God and turns to face the Fiddler. He teases Tevye a bit with a few notes on the fiddle and soon Tevye starts dancing with him on the street again. He has not just accepted his fate, he has embraced it and started finding joy again. One of my all-time favourites.

4. Anna's killing in Parinda. Kishan burns the pyrophobic Anna alive in a closed room for having murdered his brother, Karan and sister-in-law, Paro. Jackie Shroff as Kishan has probably delivered his career best scene with absolutely no dialogue. Masterpiece in editing, writing and direction.

5. Ali and his sister exchanging surreptitious notes while his father is breaking sugar and having an argument with their mother in Children of Heaven. We understand that the family is in economic dire straits from the conversation. But Ali's sister is upset as he has lost the only pair of shoes she has. Ali is desperately trying to convince her to use his shoes and all this happens through an exchange of notes. The scene ends with Ali bribing his sister with a shiny new pencil to buy her silence. Story-telling simplicity like never seen before.

6. The climax of Usual Suspects. Verbal Kint has managed to fool the interrogator right through his grueling encounter. He has continuously made up stories based on the overcrowded notice-board right in front of him. At the end of it all, he leaves the room limping. And then there are intercuts of the inspector gazing at the notice-board and piecing together the lies that he has been fed so far with Verbal walking out of the station slowly overcoming his limp and back to normalcy. One of the best revelations I've ever seen. The movie ends with Verbal saying, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled is to convince people that he doesn't exist. And like this , he's gone." On come the theater lights at the moment, and he really is gone. Fantastic, to say the least.

64 things I can do with my iPhone

1. Send and receive calls.
2. Send and receive SMSes.
3. Maintain an appointment book.
4. Maintain contacts.
5. Take photographs.
6. Store photographs.
7. Check meanings of words.
8. Consult wikipedia.
9. Keep a to-do list.
10. Send and receive emails.
11. Write notes.
12. Use as an alarm clock.
13. Check the local time (and date).
14. Check the time in any international zone.
15. Use as a stopwatch.
16. Use as a timer.
17. Record voice memos.
18. Create, edit and view Word documents.
19. Create, edit and view Excel sheets.
20. View Powerpoint presentations.
21. Upload files.
22. Download and store files.
23. Write a diary.
24. Surf the Internet.
25. Listen to Music.
26. Watch Movies.
27. Get directions on a map.
28. Watch YouTube videos.
29. Get stock updates
30. Check weather in any location.
31. Remember birthdays.
32. Use Facebook.
33. Use LinkedIn.
34. Play the Flute.
35. Download and read virtually any book.
36. Keep logs of activities.
37. Write a blog.
38. Check the straight water levels of paintings and tabletops.
39. Use as a calculator.
40. Get currency conversion rates.
41. Know the exact latitude and longitude coordinates.
42. Use as a compass.
43. Get news headlines.
44. Calculate my BMI.
45. Check my biorhythms.
46. Use as a tap counter.
47. Use as a digital table clock.
48. Calculate tips.
49. Measure.
50. Check moon phases.
51. Use as a flashlight.
52. Use to convert various units.
53. Roll dice.
54. Flip coin.
55. Find services and directions around me.
56. Chat on Yahoo! messenger.
57. Calculate number of days to a date.
58. Check international holidays.
59. Calculate EMIs.
60. Calculate Discounts.
61. Calculate Tip amounts.
62. Generate random numbers in a range.
63. Translate.
64. Play over 50 games.

Wake up call

Every night I set the alarm on my iPhone to wake me up at an ambitious hour. The intentions are noble. Wake up early, hit the gym, read some good books, chant, have breakfast and get into office after all that by 9.

The alarm rings several times. It is only switched off and the slumber continues. The love making to the mattress is too delicious to let go off. As a result it is seldom that I stagger out of bed before 7:30 and guilty as hell for more unkept promises to myself.

What really wakes me though at that time is a crow. This bird religiously comes along in my balcony and starts creating a racket without fail every morning at that time. And he doesn't have a snooze button. The only way out is to get out of bed, open the balcony and shoo him away and then there is no hope of sleeping anymore.






Why is it that it is always the unpleasant things that wake you up and get you on track much more than the planned reminders? There is probably no answer to that apart from a shrug of the shoulders and a "human nature!" remark. So without dwelling into the why of it, it might be a better idea to speculate on the 'what'.

What is really the true nature of all the unpleasant things that happen to us in life? I imagine they are mainly to serve as wake up calls. It might be very well for us to desire a life without any wake up calls at all, but that is a life of slumber. And absolutely nothing can be achieved while sleeping.

Now I look at the crow as a friend. He comes every morning to wake me up and remind me that a new day is here and a lot has to be done. The fact remains that the crow is as noisy and ugly as ever but a change in my attitude towards him has made a world of a difference to my happiness. I only wish now that he would come by earlier. I could do with a couple more hours in my day.

-- Post From My iPhone

Changes of mind or Change of minds?

Here's what I'd written last year.

Macs

Over-rated.

Ok, I admit that I’ve never really used one extensively. But whatever little I have, I didn’t find it so amazingly different from my trusted PC, that I would want one right away. I think what Steve Jobs has managed to do is to create a cult following for Macs through some brilliant marketing. Everyone loves to hate the big guy and would like to have a choice where they don’t HAVE to buy his products. Steve has only offered them that.

There might be some people who believe strongly enough in this to buy the product. No problem with that, but don’t constantly keep telling me how the Mac is superior to the PC. I don’t think it is and I can do without your post-purchase rationalisation, thank you.

I do love the Mac vs PC ads though. That’s just it – brilliant marketing of an ok product.


Coming back to today, how things have changed! Today I'm a year old iPhone user and evangelist. My blackberry has been expelled from my life in mind, body and spirit. There are things that you can do with your iPhone that cannot even be imagined with any other handset. I have realised that before I know it, I have become exactly one of those who I used to so shortsightedly and immaturedly disdain - the community of Apple lovers.

Thanks to the iPhone, I was slowly initiated into the Mac world. Started with iTunes. Then MobileMe. Then Safari. And then the unthinkable happened. I read a book called 'Inside Steve's Brain' by Leander Kahney and today I'm a total convert. Steve Jobs is not only brilliant but he's the closest we can have these days to being a genius inventor and marketeer.

I've already been to the Apple outlet once and salivated. Now I can't wait to take the plunge.

I'm going to do something that does not come easy to me. But for the sake of Steve, I apologise for what I thought earlier and take everything back. Steve, you are the stuff that Ayn Rand's heroes are made of. Keep walking dude!

And for the record, the Mac vs PC ads helped.

Facebook

They say men, when troubled go to caves. While women talk. Recently I too was in my personal cave for a few days. But one thought that kept nagging at the subconscious all the while I was wallowing in the cave was that all my actions at the time were actually craving for attention.

So here's the classic male paradox. When a man is troubled, he won't want to talk about it. Probably that is an admission of a weakness or a deep-rooted feeling of his manhood getting threatened. At the same time we all display a lot of behaviours that simply advertise to the world our inability to cope with the situation we are in. We sulk. We insult. We are short with our loved ones. We are generally angry at the world. And we want to show that. The paradox is that we can't even if want to.

So what has all this got to do with Facebook? During my stint in the cave I found Facebook a fantastic release to vent the feelings without putting my face up there. It even helped that I don't have a mugshot as my profile picture. All my status messages were reflecting my state of mind. And honestly, I was enjoying the attention I was getting from all my friends in their responses. Facebook provided the best solution for the paradox - express and expel while still maintaining a stoic face.

I'm out of the cave now. But I'm glad that there is a safety valve available for use whenever I go in there. Thank you to all those who showed concern on my status messages. Those were the few bright moments in what was otherwise a lousy week.




-- Post From My iPhone