To Kill a Mockingbird

You ask a book lover to name one book and chances are he will not be able to do it. But I am doing it - So I am probably not a book lover. It is my all time favourite book. Just the other day, I was watching Gregory Peck playing his Oscar winning role as Atticus Finch, a lawyer who takes up the case of a black man charged of raping a white in 1930's America. And there is a place in the book/movie when he is asked why he took the case and he replies - "Else i wouldn't have been able to hold my head up". That is Dignity i guess - a virtue that he embodies. Not me - not yet atleast.

What happened is this: I was put in a situation where I had the oppurtunity of pocketing some dollars by getting some fake bills. This collegue of mine was going to produce them and he offered me some of the dough - And I was like - yeah! there is my ski boot - there is my digicam - there is my Vegas trip. And comfortable travel in a car to and from office in this cold weather to... yes - boot.

And before i knew it, Greed had me by the guts - Yup, the stomach area is the seat of greed. Also of jealousy. On the flip side, it also is the seat of joy and generosity. Ancient Indian Knowledge - don't you have any doubts about it.

So, since the mind was fantasizing over the fun I would have with the Things That Me Go Ummm..., it had conviniently ignored a catch. Something that would have made me slavish to somebody i didn't have to. Well, that it a hyperbole perhaps - 'bound' is about right.

But i was not seeing all this. Not yet. What woke me up to this was again money - i would have had to pay now and get more back later. And luckily - I managed to tell that person to 'Go your own way'.

Of course I am not even close to Atticus Finch and all that he embodies but i am beginning to see why they call these things 'values'.

docu-tainment or movie-mentary?

So, like - what was i thinking about? Some people might find it exciting to be with young, nubile, excited s just bursting into the teenage years, strutting their stuff for all the world to letch at. Remember Kevin Spacey in 'American Beauty' ?

Only there was like a thousand of them at the Pepsi Centre, Denver and the only people my age were their daddies. You could feel estrogen in the air - no kidding. The occasion - Avril Lavigne - Live in concert. The oldest guy in the band had just turned 21. Yes, a couple of her songs *are* good - but a little forthought would have told most of the audience would have looked up 'complicated'. Suffice to say that i felt out of place.

It was better in the morning when i was watching college s play soccer. Somehow a playground is just that - a level playing ground - age/sex no bar.

A place that i did feel at home was the Starz Film Center where they were playing 'Lighting in a Bottle' - a docu-tainment of the Blues - studded by the greatest ever songs by some of the greatest ever musicians. This was just before the concert. And little did i now that the last song was going to be so prophetic - 'Sweet Six....teen'

A (small) tale of two cities

The day after we booked ourselves into our rooms, it snowed in Broomfield, Colorado.
It was a gentle, soft welcome. Not cold. By next morn, it was white all around. It was as if the white of the mountains had gotten away from its normal domain and spread itself everywhere. Like when you flood fill a figure with a colour but there is a small gap and the colour overflows? (I can’t help it – limited non-techie experience :)

Broomfield itself is very clean. Great roads, big shopping malls, restaurants. There is even a colourful shuttle that runs all around the shopping area – for free. It all gives a very movie-set/comic-book effect to life here. But not because it is gay and all - just that it is not very real.

Now, Boulder seems to be quite the American town to me. Yeah, my only gyaan is from movies and books - but so what!? it did look like cary grant would walk out of any of those buildings in a suit and a hat :)
More people. lots of people cycling. lots of student junta around the Univ. area (duh!)
More trees! Is that what’s giving me the feeling of reality as opposed to Broomfield?

i walked around a lot but didn't have time for the famous Pearl St. mall. that's b'coz i caught the cult movie-mentary _What the bleep do we know_ - about Quantum physics and thoughts and our brain and so many important things.
it's not *great* movie making but when the content is so bleeping good, the form can be ignored a little :).
Which, incidentally, was the case with a girl i met at Boulder bus station. Not many girls make so much sense in life. Or was it because I was so overjoyed by the movie? she seemed so content that I didn't even ask her for an email id. don't know – maybe I should have been Bolder? (ha ha ha)

On the way back, i had to walk for more than an hour because the bus dropped me way off. It was dark and although there were lights, the fact that there was hardly a human made it slightly scary for me. So, i was scared when i heard a "Hi" from nowhere. turned out to be a drunk Mexican who knew only "Hi" in English. My 'Non-comprendez' were not enough for him to let go. Finally, I just ran. And guess where i landed for dinner - Yup a mexican place.

quiet please, thank you

When i code, i wanna surf
when i surf, i wanna blog,
when i blog, i wanna eat
when i eat, i wanna drink
when i drink, i wanna play guitar
when i play guitar, i wanna watch tv
when i watch tv, i wanna shag
when i shag, i wanna sleep
.....sshh