The Shawshank Redemption

Tribute to the best movie I have ever seen, one of the best ever made.

The first time I saw the movie was way back in about 2001 or 2002 on my brother's recommendation. I liked it then but since i was pretty much a kid back then I didn't really appreciate it much. Next time was some years later when I got the 'full blast' sort of. The most underrated movie ever, it's impossible to describe in a few words really, almost every aspect of the movie is about perfect. The best part of the movie has to be the voice-overs by Morgan Freeman as "Red". Each one is beautiful, each one is perfect.. the choice of words, tone of speaking, everything.. Events in the film are very well spaced out and the ending has to be one of the best ever. So for all the lesser fortunate souls who haven't seen the film, I strongly recommend getting a hold of it. If you doubt my choice, 376,534 other people have voted to make it #1 in IMDb's list of top 250 movies. Go watch it.

Cheers!!

Littering

I had the fortune of visiting the US of A in 2004 ( lucky as in I got to go there when things were a bit better than today of course ). The first thing that struck me in the 1 hour drive from the airport to my Aunt's house was the 'Greenness' of the place.. It was like driving through a sea of lush greenery. [ I need to work on my vocabulary and learn good comparisons and stuff but you get the general picture ] Anyway the other thing about most of the places I visited in my month-long stay was the general cleanliness of it all. Roads, parking lots, public places were unbelievably clean ( everything is relative of course, I have been living in Kolkata all my life.. ) Places like Maumee, Ohio had roads which could have been sat on without your clothes getting dirty. It was sometime around that point where I made a vow never to litter, consciously or unconsciously anywhere and prevent everyone I knew from doing so. This has made me sort of unpopular when I am with my friends in certain situations. While eating a roll for example, I prevent everyone around me from throwing pieces of paper on to the street just because "everyone does so". I can proudly claim to have littered just once since 2004 ( I threw a toothpick in the side of the road in Park Street ). My next aim is to pluck up enough courage to tell random strangers off for littering, the guy who sat next to me in the bus ride home for example. After enjoying a good number of 'tele-bhaja's and muri, he promptly proceeded to wipe his hands using the paper 'thonga' and throw it out on the street when he was done. All I could muster was a disapproving glance at him *sigh*. 

So here's to anyone who reads this.. Stop throwing stuff on the roads, or anywhere for that matter. Stop your friends and family from doing so. Only two things can be gained.. a pretty satisfactory feeling and of course, cleaner surroundings.

As a footnote I would like to add that I bring home stuff if I can't find proper places to dispose of them. Frooti, Appy tetra paks, Monginis paper boxes, bus tickets, etc have all found their way to the waste-basket in my kitchen from various parts of Kolkata.

Weird Dream

OK so this is my first blog entry, ever.. What better way to introduce my weird brain than with this dream I saw recently ( which was big hit with whoever has heard this by the way ).

So I'm in my ground floor of my house ( it's two - storied, we live upstairs, only furniture and stuff downstairs ) minding my own business when this short, overweight, fair, female ninja with a blond ponytail ( oh yes ) comes up to me with what can only be described as an agressive attitude. The courageous guy I am, I run for my life, into one of the bathrooms and try to lock myself in but she's too quick, pounds against the door while I desperately try to keep her from getting in ( the sort of scene you get to see in any cheap thriller, except with the gender reversed ). Suddenly the 'struggle' stops and I see a knife being passed to me under the door and she says "Take that one, I have an extra" !! Uhhh okkkk .. I take it and we start fighting .. a sudden blackout .. I am standing in the dining room, 4 such knives in my hand, she has none and is begging for mercy but I decide to kill her, which I do.. Now what?? .. I have a dead body and no way to dispose of it... So I do the only logical thing, flush her down the toilet, but she gets stuck.. END OF DREAM..

Judge me if you want, I have absolutely no idea where all this came from.. Didn't see any sort of movie the night before, I'm not scared of short fat ninjas or knives for that matter.. Anyway beats me, more weirdness later..

I'm off to sleep now.