If I have one complaint about the movie, it would be around a few all too predictable & cliched backdrops of the characters. Take for instance the very fact that the consultant who takes up the fishing project to begin with is a ‘female’ while the fishing expert (our lead protagonist) is a ‘male’. Or the main character’s unhappy marriage and the female lead’s tragic (almost) end to her boyfriend. Or even how the female lead is forced to choose between the two towards the end.

Fortunately, the above (the whole romantic plot which seemed forced) was not the main story and hence notwithstanding me listing them above, I still was able to overlook them and give the movie a big thumbs up just for the uniqueness of the plot and for the wonderful british humor that is sprinkled throughout the movie. I loved it. Every bit of the dry humor.

Oh, by the way, I have become a fan of Emily Blunt.

Really?

Although I took this screenshot and wanted to share it with a lighter shade, the events in Boston the past week has reduced the humor in this a bit. In addition, this news item I read yesterday made me a bit distraught and angry. While I can’t help but think about those who lost their limbs, arms and loved ones in Boston on April 15, 2013 thanks to two poisoned young minds, there are also people like the couple in the news item above who take their belief system to a level which really warrants the kind of reaction they got from the judge who wants the parents to be in jail. Needless to say, I am on the judge’s side.

Even though the Boston incident and the above PA incident were driven by two different belief systems, to me they are the same. Dirt is Dirt..Doesn’t matter how much you got on your shirt. You got to launder your shirt. Right?  The belief systems are like that.

Who is one to judge another?

Senators who voted NO

This will remain a curse on the country. Good intention alone isn’t enough. Read that as, good intention of almost 90% of the country isn’t enough. 
How else can you explain these senators pissing on even a highly watered down version (no pun intended) of the original legislation?

So be prepared to keep reading similar tragic stories every few months..and also be prepared to see lobbyists and politicians continue to blame mental health, but not do s&*t about preventing some of these from happening. They will continue to sit on their so-called ‘individual freedom couches & preach misconstrued 18th century constitutional ideologies to the rest of us…while the world around them transforms.

His family is there by the finish line…by the sidewalk to cheer him. Because the father deserves it. After all, who else but his family to be there and be his best cheering squad?

And then the explosion.

His 8 year old son dies.

His 6 year old daughter loses a limb.

His wife is severely injured and requires brain surgery.

….

…

And at the very same moment, I was in my own world, complaining of my work and the usual rigmaroles associated with the the tax filing process, what with that day being the tax day.

…

…

Whoever was responsible for cutting that 8 year old boy’s life short and all of the above, was probably smiling somewhere, at that moment.

..

Surely, Humanity has its priorities twisted.

Yes. Yes. There has been a severe lack of motivation from my end to blog. I feel that is a lot to do with my preoccupation with what I am doing at work. This may have been the first time in the last 5 years, I have used work as an excuse for lack of my blogging. Ha. Ha. Don’t know if it is a good reason or not. But certainly not the outcome I welcome no matter what the reason could have been.

Anyways, New year greetings to all who are celebrating it today. On that note, isn’t New year simply a man made occasion to give everyone an opportunity to start things off freshly? I believe in that. We human beings have a heavy dependency on our mental health compared to other animals in the kingdom of earth. So it is important to make sure that our minds are fresh & positive all the time.

New year is one of the many inventions by human beings to try to do exactly that.

So, Happy New year. Here’s to another fresh start…!

மற்றதெல்லாம் மறந்து மயங்கியுன்னை
முகர்ந்துகூட,

நேற்று நடந்ததெல்லாம்
நெற்றிப்பொட்டில் நிற்குமெனில்

பற்றற்றப்
பற்றுபோல் பெற்றின்பம் பெரிதாகா.

—
Translation:
After
affectionately interacting (with you), (I) roamed around
aimlessly,
Only to
come back (to you) to be swooned by your
fragrance.
In
spite of that, if all of yesterday’s happenings would still stick
out in your mind,
then
all the pleasure we derived (from this relationship) becomes
immaterial like detached love. (or loveless
love). –

1. Why is inequality more prevalent in the
   USA?
2. Why is poverty such a hard thing to
   eliminate in the most advanced country in the world?
3. Why do people get defensive (specially who are wealthy
   and higher income families) the moment you talk about more taxes to
   cover the deficit?
4. Why do many Americans in
   general have a general feeling that government is
   anti-business?

I realized something very
basic that answered question 1. At least to me. Having had the
opportunity to raise 2 kids in the country, I have a better
appreciation for some of the good and bad things that the society
& culture have to offer. And that has made me look at
things critically. I feel the society and the culture almost
encourage inequality right from school days. On one end, this may
look like a justifiable thing – Preparing your kids to face the
real world where inequalities exist in all walks of life. But on
the contrary, I think, for this precise reason, what the society
does is absolutely wrong. Take for instance ‘lack of uniforms’ at
schools. Anyways I am digressing. The fact I realized is simple. It
is America’s obsessions with “CONSUMPTION”. Yes. This I feel is the
root cause of the problem. Not Government. Everything else you tend
to attribute to the health of a country’s economy or lack thereof
can be associated with “CONSUMPTION”. Answers to questions 2,3 and
4 can be derived from this basic fact and I am not going to do that
in this post. Now, any of you willing to counter this, you are
welcome to do so. The comments section is open.

If you ever have to be the chief minister of a state or the prime minister of India and you enjoy going on “ego trips”, here is a quick and easy guide for you. All these are based on real life experiences. Thus well proven.

Enjoy the trip.

How to go on an ‘Ego Trip’?