Dog Tales

Am not much of a dog lover, but here are two stories that warmed my heart... and I am sure it will do so to you too!

 

I wish they had featured the puppy here! Isn't it just so awesome to have your puppy with you, when you are alone and lost, assured he isn't leaving your side, and then being able to return home to the warm embrace of the rescuers and your family? I also wonder what was going through the puppy's mind!



Here's a story I find very hard to believe - except that it came in the TOI, and it wasn't April 1 when it was featured. Is this photo even real? Training dogs is understandable, of course - but hey, look at this classroom! And then expecting Delhi's strays to wear the cops uniform? Wow.. would be so cool if it were indeed true!

Baby Liz

Movie Review: Entertainment

A bloke realizes he has become the rich heir of a 3000 crore fortune - but there is just one major hurdle. His estranged father has willed all the fortune to his dog named Entertainment. So he sets off on a mission to get rid of the dog..

Of course, there are other claimants to the throne, a few side kicks, there is a girl he is in love with, and her greedy father, and so on and so forth.

Doesn't really matter.

But Entertainment isn't really bad. Watch it for the dog. Watch it for some good humor, especially the weaving for Bollywood movie titles in everyday speech. And for the very hot Tamannah Bhatia, who lights up the screen even when she is out of it. And of course, there is Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Mithunda and Johnny Lever.

Yes, keep the brains at home.

Movie Review: Into The Storm

A small US town bears the brunt of an unprecedented ganging up of super tornadoes, and you find yourself right in the thick of the action, experiencing it through the eyes of a band of storm chasers. While the story is nothing to write home about, and the action is pretty predictable, the movie is watchable for some very good SFX. Of course, only if you catch it in a good theatre.

Macro Photography

Did some macro photography recently, with screw on macro lenses I got for my Canon. Fascinating to see nature at close range!

Khadakwaasla Dam

Last month, we made a day trip to Splendor Country, on the backwaters of the Khadakwaasla Dam, which supplies water to Pune. The dam's gates had been opened to discharge the water, and it was a splendid site in the late evening, with the sun just going down.

In spite of a very poor beginning to the season, with around 80% deficiency by mid August, the rains quickly caught up, and Pune now has over 25% surplus for the year, with all dams 100% full. In Aug, some of the dams were below live storage.

Chicken Paan

Checked out this dish at Malaka Street the other day - chicken in beetle leaves. Interesting combination of flavors, but the beetle was over-powering and pungent, and needed toning down.

Sea Link - Is This Even Real?

Another amazing shot of my favorite bridge in the world!

PS: not my pic, got this on Whatsapp; owner unknown.

Beautiful House

I shot this really pretty bungalow through a car window - can you guess where this could be? Mumbai - on Carter Road.

Getting Back to Blogging

Been a while since I really blogged - except for a couple of "make up" bursts in the recent past. Lot's has been happening actually - Ganapati in Goa, a trip to Ahmedabad, and of course, lots of movies. Stared some studies on auras, and tried learning a bit od Dutch (admittedly, a level of magnitude more complicated than Spanish, which now seems like a walk in one of Madrid's parks!). Modi has also amazed me with his strategies and use of technology to reach out to the 1.2 billion Indians.

So while I  plan a burst over this weekend to make up for the silence, I also take a silent pledge to get back to being a regular blogger.

Now if this were FB, I would ask you to Like my post :)

Diez Días En España: Ten Days In Spain

My small book on my recent Spain trip is now out on Kindle :)

I have covered Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Seville, Granada, Barcelona and Costa Brava, and also included a chapter on Lisbon. I have a bunch of my fav photos, some personal experiences, and a host of tricks and tips to help you make the most of your vacation, including a chapter on good-to-know Spanish.

Here's the link on the Kindle marketplace: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LRCU9JM

The Indian marketplace is: http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00LRCU9JM

A print version is on the way, and I must say, I am very happy - just something I always wanted to do, and I hope my readers enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

Movie Review: Lai Bhaari (Marathi)

When Chennai Express released, our challenge was to keep the buzz going in the second weekend, making sure CExp pulled in more crowds than Akshay's Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara. CExp succeeded, elbowing it out of many theatres, and pulling in more moolah than OUATIMD.

Interestingly, this weekend, Salman's much-awaited release Kick has had to fight hard for screens and
 audiences with another movie - and no, it does not have another Khan. It's Ritesh Deskmukh's Lai Bhaari, which is breaking pretty much all box office records for a Marathi movie.

Penned by Kick's director, Sajid Nadiadwaala, and featuring a cameo by none other than Sallu Bhai, Lai Bhaari is running to packed halls even a week after it's release.

Lai Bhaari has a predictable story, spiced with a couple of very sharp and interesting twists. A typical masala movie, including an 80s era Bollywood maa and some strong divine intervention (it's all about Lord Vitthal, remember!). However, for a Marathi movie, the treatment is pretty high standard - the camera work and cinematography, especially the coverage of the Wari yatra, is super. The songs are picturized well, with Ganesh Acharya bringing a distinct Bollywood flavor. A combination of Marathi, Hindi and English present an interesting bundle of croony numbers.

Ritesh is good - he looks good, dances smart, emotes well, and fights a sober version of Rohit Shetty's gravity defying action. The surprise packages are the two female characters - the pouty and hot Aditi Pohankar, and the very spunky Radhika Apte. And to add that little extra dash of spice, Genelia makes a tiny special appearance. Oh, did I mention a very cute 5 min cameo by Sallu Bhai?

Definitely an option this weekend!

ps: The English subtitles makes this movie very palatable, even if your knowledge of Marathi is like my Spanish!

Movie Review: Kick

100% Entertainment 100% Kick 100% Salman Khan.

What works: Kick is an out and out Salman movie - with his memorable one-liners, his cute expressions, dabangg action, and even a number crooned by the Bhai himself. The stunts are decent, a little over the top, but don't compare to the slickness of Don 2 or Dhoom 3. Poland looks great.

Jacqueline Fernandes is eye candy if you are not ogling the very fit Randeep Hooda, who plays a smart cop, Nargis does an item number too. The songs aren't great, but they do stay with you. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a pretty decent villain, and almost steals the limelight from Sallu in a couple of scenes.

The story is not much to write about - but that doesn't really matter. It's entertainment all the way, anyway!

While Salman's Being Human initiative is very noble, the movie, like Jai Ho, tends to get on your nerves a little bit with its "in your face" attempt to tug at your heart. A more subtle messaging would real work better!

If you are a Salman fan, then you don't need a review! If you are not, then a word of advice - leave reason and questions aside, and just go enjoy this one.

Movie Review: Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (3D)

The poster of the movie shows an angry ape riding a horse, a machine gun held aloft menacingly, a burning golden gate bridge in the background.

That was enough to get me into the theatre. That was the only thing I got from the theatre.

Yawn. Apes learn to talk, apes make love and have babies, apes fall sick, apes attack the few men still alive. The reasonable men and apes try and make peace, but it all falls apart. War erupts. Both sides take casualties. Both survive and retreat.

Make sure there is an opportunity to set them against each other in yawn, yet another sequel in the future.

Yawn.

Oh yes. The 3D. Yawn. Yawn.

Movie Review: The Fault In Our Stars

One of the best romance movies I have ever seen, TFIOS will make you cry and make you smile, it will touch you, it will inspire you, it will make you think days and months after you have seen it. It's one-liners will make you tweet, and update your status - but they will stay with you long after, in your heart, and continue to remind you that we only so much time, and it's up to us to make the most of it.

Hazel and Gus meet and fall in love at a cancer support group. Hazel has weak lungs, and needs to carry an oxygen tank at all times, while pushing her luck and her life under an experimental treatment regime, which seems to be holding up, for now, against her disease. Gus is a survivor, having lost a leg to cancer. Two teenagers who share humor, a love for life, and an undying fighting spirit. But life isn't all rosy. Things don't always get back to normal. It's not like it happens in the movies. Deal with it.

Shailene Woodley impressed me in The Spectacular Now. In TFIOS, you will fall in love with her. Brilliant performance. Ansel Elgort as Gus is impressive too. Willem Dafoe plays the eccentric Peter Van Houten, in a short but memorable role.

This is a movie not to be missed. Watch it with your friends and loved ones. And imbibe some life lessons. It can only enrich you.

Movie Review: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya

1995 - DDLJ. My first movie date with my then-girlfriend now-wife. I can remember pretty much remember every scene, every dialogue. And even today, when the movie comes on TV, I can't change channels.

2014 - HSKD. Been less than 2 weeks since I saw it. I can't remember the story, forget the dialogues. I can't remember a single number. For a movie projected as the DDLJ of the new generation, I think that speaks volumes.

SRK vs Varun. Kajol vs Alia. Amrish Puri vs Ashutosh Rana. Europe vs Delhi.

I think it is sacrilege to even hint of comparisons.

That said, it's not a bad movie. Not at all. For Varun's jokes and Alia's spunk, go ahead and enjoy!

Mumbai Metro

Last week, it was our turn on the Mumbai Metro. Just like the Monorail, here is another example that even in our crowded and poor cities, world class, affordable infrastructure can work! Clean, efficient, and comfortable - if such transport facilities can come up across our large cities, it will really take cars off the road, and encourage professionals and students to use more and more public transport...

An escalator at the metro station

Plenty of security

Interesting signages bring a smile to the face

Clean, comfortable, air-conditioned cabins with lots of standing space and a few seats

In addition to showing stations, the signage also shows which side the platform coming up is! A throwback to the flip flop sides on suburban train lines!

Free wifi in the trains and stations  from YOU Braodband. Wow.

A metro pulls into the station

Passing over the WEH

The turnstiles work off plastic tokens

Parking Technology Overkill?

At the Infiniti Mall in Malad, Mumbai, these sensors track individual parking slots. A very expensive method - but is it really needed? Definitely an overkill, unless you want to direct drivers to specific slots...

On the other hand, Phoenix in Pune uses a much simpler but much more cost effective method - it simply counts cars going in and going out! :)

Hey Bhagwaan

Bird Habitat in Mumbai

In the middle of a concrete jungle, this forlorn tree, dry and leafless in the Mumbai monsoon, provides a haven for the many crows in the city..

Magic in Greece

Got these pics on Whatsapp - can't verify authenticity, but this is supposed to be somewhere in Greece. The clear water makes the boats look like they are floating in the air. If this place is for real, it's where I want to be!

Mumbai Sea Link Magic

Two amazing pics of my most favorite structure in the world - the Mumbai Sea Link. Thanks to my friends for sharing these amazing photos.

The Mumbai Monorail

Way back in June, I had the opportunity to catch a ride on the Mumbai Monorail, almost 5 months after it was thrown open to the public. The only other time I had experienced a monorail was in Seattle, almost a decade back.

Just one word sums the experience: wow.

Yes, we are a poor country. Yes, we are over-populated. And yes, looking out through the monorail, you do see shanties and slums.

But the monorail and the stations were squeaking clean - I tried hard to find a scrap of paper, and believe me, I couldn't. Not one. No spit on the walls. No foul smells from urinating passengers in the nooks and corners. Security was tight - just like at the airports. Paper tickets replaced by reusable tokens operating the turnstiles. Air conditioned comfort, station indications, great signages, working lifts and escalators. Everything you would expect in a world class city. And more.

Here are some pics...

The monorail station - clean and airy

Electronic signboards with the ever-present and smart Mumbai Monorail logo

Emergency communication ports

The travel token

A blue monorail pulls into the station - the sister train is pink

Clean, air-conditioned and breezy coaches have a sophisticated look

Useful signages within the coach too

The monorail track looks out over the equally impressive Eastern Freeway

View of the driver's controls - it's amazing looking out over his shoulder at the incoming track

Automated ticket vending machines at the station

Kavya

Heard a beautiful story the other day from my friend... and I am still mesmerized by the concept. I don't want to write the story here... because, who knows, one day we might end up making a movie out of it!

We live our lives thinking we are the center of the world.. everything around us, revolves around us. It's always about is.

What if we realize one day, we are just a character in someone else's dream? And what if "our host" is just about to wake up?

Planet Cricket

Created this wonderful "planet" from the simple picture below. Softwares like Tiny Planet FX Pro on Android can easily create these gems. The best candidate photos are those with around 30% plain at the bottom, minimal features in the middle and some good detailing against a plain sky in the top 30%. City skylines are absolutely wonderful candidates.

Doggavation

We were laughing our heads off watching this dog scratch his back using the rope tied around the petrol pump... He went from one end to the other, getting a wonderful high!

Movie Review: Ek Villain

Positives: Ritesh Deshmukh acts well in a role very different from what he is used to. Sidharth and Shraddha look great. Some of the songs are very catchy, especially Galiyaan, which is hauntingly beautiful. And Goa looks beautiful, as always!

Negatives: A predictable story that could have been really taken to the next level. Remo Fernandes as the don is poor.

Definitely worth a watch!

Movie Review: Humshakals

The movie has been ripped apart by critics and reviewers, and I guess it does deserve some of the criticism for the mindless and juvenile attempt it is at comedy. At the same time, while it is a poor movie, it is not a -3 stars as many would lead us to believe. Maybe 1 star :)

Should you watch it? Absolutely, especially if you have nothing to do.

Movie Review: Transformers: Age Of Extinction (3D)

The Autobots are now personas non grata, hunted down by the CIA, backed by a decision from the upper echelons of power that humans do not need aliens for protection. When a broke inventor in the American countryside runs into the "hibernating" Optimus Prime, the CIA and the bounty hunter Decepticons gun for them. The clash between the machines and the humans, with an underlying sinister plot to "mine" the autobots for their valuable metals, finally reaches its explosive climax in the gorgeous canyons and dingy apartments of Hong Kong.

On the positive side, the 3D is pretty good, and some of the locations and the photography is beautiful. On the flip side, the movie stretches far too long, the obsession over the transforming Autobots and Decepticons gets far too indulging, and you desperately hope for a quick end!

My recommendation - watch it on BluRay, and make liberal use of the FF button!

How To Make The Right Decision

Came across these simple seven strategies for taking decisions...
1. Decide on a research strategy
2. Limit your options
3. Accept "good enough"
4. Don't fear the consequences
5. Go with your gut instinct
6. Have someone else choose
7. Don't question your decision anymore

Another interesting approach. Live three days as if you have taken your decision. Then another three with an alternate decision. See how you felt!

Why No Appointment?

For some reason, most docs in Pune do not accept appointments... you simply have to show up and spend an hour waiting for your turn. Just don't get it... is it about showing people how busy you are,  or a general lack of respect for people's time?

Clean Catty

Guess what my cat just did? She took my very precious Pull & Bear tshirt with a very soft netted feel, wetted a large part of it with her spit and then proceeded to nicely rub and clean her neck and face with it. Unbelievable.  Simply unbelievable.

Movie Review: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (3D)

The "sentinels" developed by the surviving "bad" humans are winning the war against the mutants. Having derived tremendous knowledge about the mutants from Mystique's DNA after her capture, humans have perfected these soldiers who know exactly how to fight the mutant super powers.

There is only one way to avoid annihilation.

Send Logan (Hugh Jackman) fifty years into the past, and stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Dr Trask and the resulting chain of events that led to the deployment of the sentinels, and the deadly human-mutant war.

Typical X-Men movie with some high class SFX, and thankfully, pretty effective 3D that's an enhancement to the experience...

Would love to see JL spend more time out of that silly Mystique costume, though!

Movie Review: Maleficent (3D)

Maleficent is a beautiful take on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, with amazing special effects. While I am not a fan of Angelina Jolie's super defined cheek bones (for a moment I thought it was SFX), she puts in an impressive performance as Maleficent, and Elle Fanning is perfect as Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty!

My only grouse - the 3D. Unnecessary, and a hindrance to really enjoying the movie.

Movie Review: In The Blood

ITB is the story of a tough girl on a foreign island on her honeymoon, when her husband mysteriously disappears, putting her on a course that will pit her against the island's corrupt police and a platoon of gangsters.

The only reason to watch the movie - the lead, Gina Carano, who has a strange attractiveness about her.

Daddy's Day Breakfast

Got this amazing Father's Day special breakfast from my daughter today, with a dash of FIFA :)

Finally, An Android

I am not a gadget freak... after more than a decade with Nokia feature phones, I had finally moved to my first smartphone with one of the first Windows mobile devices, an HTC HD7, four years back. And I was pretty happy with it until one day, I tried to reinstall Whatsapp, and realized it had been taken off the marketplace! 36 hours later, I had purchased my first Android, the super-impressive Samsung Galaxy S5.

This isn't a phone review, and I am definitely not comparing against other phones of the generation - but this is what I love about my S5:

1) It's super fast - and especially when it comes to two key applications that were terribly slow on my HD7 - Whatsapp and Camera.

2) Stunningly beautiful 16 MP camera, with dozens of exciting modes

3) Water proof - can take up to 30 mins in water

4) While the stock plastic backs aren't exciting (and black-blue is the only one tolerable), the original leather flip cover I got free with the phone is beautiful, and really compliments the steel edges, giving a very premium look.

5) Absolutely stunning display

6) A very, sweet "assistant" you can converse with when you are bored!

7) Wonderful speech recognition

8) Very useful and smooth "car mode"

9) Lots of features that make the phone very easy to use: air view for emails and messages, gesture scrolling for pics, palm swipe for screen capture, auto-call when phone is taken to the ear, video pause when you look away or put up your palm, so on and so forth...

10) In built pedometer, pulse measurement

and most importantly for me

11) Complete integration with MS Exchange, including emails, calendar and to do list

FIFA Fever

Haven't been much of a football fan, but I have been seeing some of the matches this time, and it's been pretty enjoyable.

This goal by the Flying Dutchman against the team I am rooting for, Spain, opened the flood gates resulting in a 5 - 1 drubbing...

Mesmerizing!

Movie Review: Her

Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is a middle aged man who makes his living writing soulful letters for other people in LA. Heartbroken and lonely, and undergoing a painful divorce, he bonds with a new, advanced operating system, whose personalized, humanoid avatar Samantha immediately connects with him. Samantha is smart, sensitive and funny, and as days go by, he finds himself falling madly in love with her.

And as she gets to know him and the world better, through the omnipresent camera that he diligently places in his pocket, and the ear piece that allows him to talk to her, she finds she has feelings of her own. She falls in love, she worries about him, she misses him when he is asleep, and she longs to have him touch her.

 

They make out.

 

One day, Samantha, in a desperate bid to feel touched and loved by Theodore, tries to hook him up with another girl, through which she wants to live out their hitherto virtual fantasies. It doesn't work out, but Samantha and Theodore quickly reconcile to their unique situation. Life seems perfect.

 

Until, one painful day, Theodore realizes Samantha isn't his alone. She is simultaneously talking to 1800 other people, 640 of whom she is madly in love with...

 

With a power packed performance by Joaquin, "Her" is also supported beautifully by Amy Adams, the hot Olivia Wilde and the very pretty Rooney Mara. But, for me, the star of the movie, undoubtedly, with her sexy, seductive voice, and her caring, gentle, understanding nature, spiked with shades of craziness and jealousy, is Scarlett  Johansson, the voice of Samantha.

 

Spike Jonze excels with his direction and screenplay, the camera work is brilliant and the movie enthralls you every second. This is a movie you cannot miss; for its brilliance and the relevance to our screwed up world!

 

Movie Review: Edge Of Tomorrow

The world has been attacked by aliens who are threatening to run over London, after having captured most of France. The Americans and other western powers pool together their military might for one mighty offensive, having just tasted their first victory against the aliens.

It's the day before the planned landing in France, and the very unwilling "military spokesman" Major William Cage finds himself forced into a combat role. The next day, unprepared and scared, he is dropped into the kill zone along with the rest of his squad, and dies within mins in the fiery counter attack from the enemy. But not before he luckily manages to kill one special alien. And then, strangely, Cage himself waking up in the day before. He soon realizes that he’s somehow trapped in a strange time loop, and every time he dies in battle, he finds himself waking up the day before.

Along with decorated soldier, Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who is another one to have found herself in the time warp, before a blood transfusion robs her of the power, Cage painfully unravels the mystery, trying new strategies, and dying in the process, before waking up again, just to die again. And it goes on...

The movie is quick paced, and laden with smart visual effects that try and make the best use of the 3D. While there are repetitions because of the time loops, they aren’t monotonous and handled pretty smartly, with the segments of the past used sparingly and to good effect, keeping the narrative strong all the time. 

Tom Cruise is fantastic, and looks young and fit, and his progression from the unwilling soldier thrust into battle to the guy who knows the world's destiny is in his hands, is impressive. Emily Blunt is hot, and perfectly fit for Rita's role.

I wish it wasn't in 3D, and the end could have been less dramatic, but overall, this is one of the better sci-fi movies in a long time.

Movie Review: Holiday

An army intelligence officer comes home to amchi Mumbai on a short break from the border, and is faced with an army of "sleeper cells", hell bent on destroying havoc in the country. Never off duty, and with scant regard for the law of the land, our Major Bakshi almost single handedly takes on the terrorists (with a little help from his batch mates), as his side kick police officer friend desperately tries to keep up. And in the midst of all this chaos, our army officer also finds time to romance with a girl who favorite pastime is boxing.

AK sizzles in his hand to hand combat scenes, when he is not playing amateurish cat and mouse games with the terrorists. Holiday definitely takes a big vacation from authenticity, and throws all attempts at professionalism out of the window, much like the cameo played by the master of this genre, Govinda, who fumbles and stumbles through his performance. Sonakshi disappoints again in a role that leaves you wondering - who was that amazing actor in Lootera?

Holiday apparently made 41 Cr on its opening weekend, but for me, there were at least a dozen ways I could have spent my weekend better!

Amchi Metro

Mumbaikars got their first brush with the Metro today, when CM Chavan flagged off the first train between Versova and Ghatkopar, a distance of just over 11 km. The journey, which takes around 90 mins by road, is expected to take just about 20 mins now.

Photo courtesy: Mint

With the monorail a few months back, and a host of new east-west flyovers coming into operation recently, Mumbaikars definitely have good days coming up!

Black Sheep Bistro

Checked out this new place in Panaji earlier this week... the Black Sheep Bistro. Pretty good food - reminded me of the awesome Spanish food I had so started to miss!

Here's a mouth watering prawn and baby squid platter.

The staff is awesome, and the owner and his wife pay you very special attention, and are even eager to drum up something special you need, if it's not on the menu!

Stardom - It Runs In The Family

My brother in law recently shot a bunch of videos for the Rotary Club in Panaji - and we all got our first break on the silver screen :)

With a personal camcorder, tripod, and some innovative shooting equipment, the shoot was a big success. Wait till you see the results - I am sure you are gonna love it! :)

My School In Goa

The church and school where I got my primary education - Lady Remedies High School, Nerul, Goa. Studied here until 1995, when I completed my 5th and joined Progress High School in Panaji for my 6th.

Fond memories, including my first crush :)

Modimania In Frankfurt

Towel Art!

At the Country Inn in Candolim, Goa, this cute doggie was waiting for us on the bed!

Jeep

Saw this pretty well decked up and modified jeep the other day in Aundh - check out the huge tires!