Why online recommendations don't work - II
Why onl
Fame - The Article
Moved.
Faster Pussycats
Pictured above: The roving skater chicks of NYC. Their vigilante justice is swift and... sexy. They roam the mean streets of the city looking for jaywalkers and handbag snatchers, preferably Prada or Vuitton.
A fun thing to do in NY: Stand in front of the WTC PATH Station and mislead tourists. The WTC PATH station lies right below the street level of Ground Zero. The throngs of camera-laden visitors to the site are easily confused by the imposing entrance to the PATH station. On any given weekend, any person emerging from the station is bound to be questioned by tourists if there's anything worthwhile 'down there'. There is really nothing down there -- just a bunch of paintings by kids. I guess that's something.
Freefall
I skydived (skydove?) for the first time yesterday. The rush when I just walked off the airplane into nothing and realized what gravitational acceleration actually meant was incredible. The experience would have been even sweeter had I actually pulled the cord myself and steered some more.
Still, jumping off a propeller plane with a 220-lb hungarian man strapped to your back and realizing all you have is 12000 feet of thin air between you and the ground is quite exhilarating. I would definitely do it again, if only to prepare myself to do a solo.
Still, jumping off a propeller plane with a 220-lb hungarian man strapped to your back and realizing all you have is 12000 feet of thin air between you and the ground is quite exhilarating. I would definitely do it again, if only to prepare myself to do a solo.
Hysteria - Trifecta
It is said that the female gender is ten times more likely to suffer mental disorders than the male. So much so that the word 'hysteria' was coined from the same root as the word 'hysterectomy'. A few filmmakers, perpetually fascinated with the female gender and its enigma, try to explore and depict this in their movies.
There are three films I can think of that center around this subject.
* Through a glass darkly - Part of Bergman's Faith trilogy, the film shows Karin is going mad and is completely aware of it. Given to Bergman's trademark dialogues (and monologues), Karin muses on the futility of faith when she can see herself sliding into madness.
* Turkish Delight - Rutger Hauer's first starring role. The film's protagonist might be an exuberant sculptor in love with an equally exuberant woman, but the film focuses more on the woman when the joie-de-vivre of both gradually turns into despair.
* Betty Blue - A french film that comes pretty close to being the quintessential film in the 'woman gone crazy' genre -- if there is such a genre. Again, the woman's liveliness is only the crest of her manic-depressive cycle, so the man in love gets a fair helping of both phases.
Apart from the depressing subject matter, all three movies are a pleasure to watch. 'Through a glass...' for Nyquist's black-and-white cinematography, and the other two for their share of unashamed nudity. 'Betty Blue', with its brilliant summertime colors and eccentric characters, is quite a visual treat on High-Def.
There are three films I can think of that center around this subject.
* Through a glass darkly - Part of Bergman's Faith trilogy, the film shows Karin is going mad and is completely aware of it. Given to Bergman's trademark dialogues (and monologues), Karin muses on the futility of faith when she can see herself sliding into madness.
* Turkish Delight - Rutger Hauer's first starring role. The film's protagonist might be an exuberant sculptor in love with an equally exuberant woman, but the film focuses more on the woman when the joie-de-vivre of both gradually turns into despair.
* Betty Blue - A french film that comes pretty close to being the quintessential film in the 'woman gone crazy' genre -- if there is such a genre. Again, the woman's liveliness is only the crest of her manic-depressive cycle, so the man in love gets a fair helping of both phases.
Apart from the depressing subject matter, all three movies are a pleasure to watch. 'Through a glass...' for Nyquist's black-and-white cinematography, and the other two for their share of unashamed nudity. 'Betty Blue', with its brilliant summertime colors and eccentric characters, is quite a visual treat on High-Def.
Pulse
There are two nightmares I had as a child that I still remember. They both came during a fevered sleep.
S. was our housemaid and she came and washed clothes and cleaned the house everyday. In one of my nightmares, S. was washing our clothes on a big stone placed in the center of a concrete platform. The platform was designed to drain water from the washing into a small gutter. As S. was beating my mother's sarees on ths stone , a strange thing happened; the colors of the saree began to fade and run into the gutter. And along with it, S.
Imagine a three-dimensional person turned into a two-dimensional palette of red, purple and black, and dissolving into oblivion. This was my own 'Scream' and scream I did, when I woke up in the middle of the night.
A few weeks ago, I watched a movie that came close to representing what existential horror was. After watching 'Pulse' I was left with an incredible sadness, one that lingered for some days before dissipating.
There were no weird-eyed freaks or girls of the Japanese horror genre in this movie. It was more of a meditation on loneliness combined with a backstory based on the supernatural. What does my dream have to do with Pulse? It seems that the difference between existing and not-existing is just one of dimensions - three to two, and then you're gone.
S. was our housemaid and she came and washed clothes and cleaned the house everyday. In one of my nightmares, S. was washing our clothes on a big stone placed in the center of a concrete platform. The platform was designed to drain water from the washing into a small gutter. As S. was beating my mother's sarees on ths stone , a strange thing happened; the colors of the saree began to fade and run into the gutter. And along with it, S.
Imagine a three-dimensional person turned into a two-dimensional palette of red, purple and black, and dissolving into oblivion. This was my own 'Scream' and scream I did, when I woke up in the middle of the night.
A few weeks ago, I watched a movie that came close to representing what existential horror was. After watching 'Pulse' I was left with an incredible sadness, one that lingered for some days before dissipating.
There were no weird-eyed freaks or girls of the Japanese horror genre in this movie. It was more of a meditation on loneliness combined with a backstory based on the supernatural. What does my dream have to do with Pulse? It seems that the difference between existing and not-existing is just one of dimensions - three to two, and then you're gone.
