tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43258478496646209542024-03-29T18:47:19.339+08:00Rifle Range BoyA site about growing up in Penang, Malaysia in the 70s, the blogger's thought, unique (weird) sense of humour and train of thoughts on current events! A dreamer, occasional running junkie with an unshakable TV addiction living in his own hermit-like safe cocoon! Like an ant perched upon a dry leaf being led by the whirling currents of water on rainy day and trying to make sense of the twirling world around it,trying to make sense of things around him...rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.comBlogger2951125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-83143558189525742112024-03-29T00:20:00.002+08:002024-03-29T00:25:33.275+08:00Death can be a satire?<p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><u><b>A Case of Exploding Mangoes</b></u></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><u><b>Author: Mohammed Hanif</b></u></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7BHJwltkP1MUH7j4Vjbr1u2tpYAXsxIrF9ubC1ZxbEZCinVZReBj8so0YxxF453zbkf4HjjUSIvmGha2IORRPkp6VnXYmjYNA5O3GogiROo8dRVWAM2z_-TqrcYPpyOus9QtF_IKOZFpvw5Dw0EkzcZr4d0j08OvKgNwbczwnbKHpKtlJJVpLDp4XHg/s1080/fcccaeba-43dc-4079-825a-1a4f2918d73a.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="701" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7BHJwltkP1MUH7j4Vjbr1u2tpYAXsxIrF9ubC1ZxbEZCinVZReBj8so0YxxF453zbkf4HjjUSIvmGha2IORRPkp6VnXYmjYNA5O3GogiROo8dRVWAM2z_-TqrcYPpyOus9QtF_IKOZFpvw5Dw0EkzcZr4d0j08OvKgNwbczwnbKHpKtlJJVpLDp4XHg/s320/fcccaeba-43dc-4079-825a-1a4f2918d73a.JPG" width="208" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">On 17th August 1988, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan was killed in an aircraft crash. Perishing together with him on the Hercules C-130 military aircraft were the President’s close assistant Akhtar Abdur Rehman, American diplomat Arnold Lewis Raphel and 27 others. <br /><br />In the rest of the world, a country owns an army. In Pakistan, however, its Army own the country. In 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto elevated ul-Haq to a full general. One year later, he deposed Bhutto and declared martial law. Bhutto was hanged for treason. <br /><br />Ul-Haq’s 11-year tenure as the Supremo saw him announce Pakistan as a nuclear nation, aided Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and secured himself as a prominent Islamist leader. In a way, he was instrumental in making Pakistan a theocratic country and the rise of global Islamic terrorism.<br /><br />The crash was extensively investigated by many quarters, but nothing was conclusive. The possible theories range from aircraft failure, as the C-130 was notoriously famous for faulty equipment, to sabotage by Americans, Soviets, Mossad, the Pakistani Army, and even Bhutto’s dependents. <br /><br />Mohamad Hanif, the author of this book and the head of BBC Urdu service, was consumed by the crash. The interviews he conducted did not reveal much. The aircraft did carry mangoes. A rope was found among the debris. Someone suggested the possibility of explosives in mango seeds and the usage of poisonous gas to incapacitate the pilots as the craft plunged head down suddenly. <br /><br />In most countries, too, something so sombre, like the death of a leader, is not sneered upon. This rule may not apply to Pakistan. Because of the restriction of freedom of speech, Pakistanis have volumes of jokes about their leaders. Every other day, even its immediate neighbour finds pleasure in mocking Pakistan. So, it is not surprising to read the humorous narration of the moments before Zia-ul-Haq’s demise in this light-hearted satire. <br /><br />Even though the exact cause of the crash is not explained and the real perpetrators of the accident are not told, it seems like everyone had a burning desire to see the President die - the Pakistani Army, a Trade Union leader, the curse of the imprisoned blind gang-rape victim or a disgruntled soldier whose father was killed by Zia. A crow, possibly intoxicated by the nectar of the sweet Pakistani mango, may have a hand in it, too. The aircraft also carried such a heavy load of mangoes, so aromatic that it filled the whole vessel that the air conditioning need not be switched on. VX gas filled the machine when it was switched on later, and we know what happened next.<br /><br /><i><b>(Dedicated to RK, a Pakistani-Hindu from the Sindh Province, who paints a rather rosy image of his Motherland contrary to the perception of the rest of the world.</b></i>)</span><div><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan25.3959687 68.357776-2.9142651361788445 33.201526 53.70620253617885 103.514026tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-65199011491188018022024-03-27T00:00:00.009+08:002024-03-27T22:15:31.533+08:00What is love, anyway?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>One Day (2024)<br /></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Miniseries E1-14.</u></b></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-wIJM3BI4fYtkC7sCptxq5hUoFIPe7mqKAtIOhyphenhyphenuKvn1RGLGWQvqkvwyUhvFP-ryOv9mw93DfECiITM3fqRtvPjfdmCTEOmUl_iRwe8_LrpVIhTwm9msTTBEuv8a67qzH9wtzV6fdYLz61vrqhytD8TMwPG_7B4OkO4a-cwzYxTtW3y7_Y7w3sBI0lQ/s374/This_is_a_poster_for_the_One_Day_(TV_Series)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-wIJM3BI4fYtkC7sCptxq5hUoFIPe7mqKAtIOhyphenhyphenuKvn1RGLGWQvqkvwyUhvFP-ryOv9mw93DfECiITM3fqRtvPjfdmCTEOmUl_iRwe8_LrpVIhTwm9msTTBEuv8a67qzH9wtzV6fdYLz61vrqhytD8TMwPG_7B4OkO4a-cwzYxTtW3y7_Y7w3sBI0lQ/s320/This_is_a_poster_for_the_One_Day_(TV_Series)%20(1).jpg" width="228" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">“Hey, why are you watching this,” asked my daughter. “This is for youngsters like me.”</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">“I know. I just wanted to know how things have changed since the last time I heard about that good-natured four-letter word called love.” I replied. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Just what is this thing called love? Is it a contract as flimsy as one drawn on water or a covenant written in stars that only the might of Time can erase? When one confesses or as much as loves someone with his heart and soul, what do we really mean? Is it a promise to preserve my seeds for the continuity of progeny? Is the place for love in the heart or mind too small to be shared by others? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Suppose there are other variants of love, i.e. brotherly love, patriotism (love for the nation), gluttony (love for food), various fetishes (model planes, stamps, cars, etc.), and filial piety. Why can’t there be platonic love between a male or female (or preferred gender)? Is the concept of ‘friends-with-benefits’ even acceptable? Is sex so sacrosanct that it can only be sanctioned by the forces of Nature that make the Universe exist, or is it a merely biological process to ensure the continuity of species?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Does society want to put a name on the people who have to carry the burden (responsibility) of upbringing the product of a conjugal union? Even the Universe is playing Devil’s Advocate by putting pleasure in the place meant for work, i.e. continuity of species!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Based on a novel by David Nicholls from 2009, it was made into a feature film in 2011, starring Anne Hathaway in the lead role. Netflix made a limited series of the story, garnering critical acclaim. Set in the UK, pandering to the demand of the time, a brown actress is cast in the lead role. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWI9fmYF0Bhg4qriqplTKcoomYU7_T73cPYRkxGV1OnygODiA7BkBExMCqAYfycdejipkvX-T1n5mPpeh-7QjnR47Uzq4EEFBTsG5c5tOtuaSflsGVbObxReoezci-I7OvbQEAJAQ1wgKY_wCgFRR06NrKz-BXo_VPLRfyiw-ZmqSNgK5q4x81KhyJlh8/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWI9fmYF0Bhg4qriqplTKcoomYU7_T73cPYRkxGV1OnygODiA7BkBExMCqAYfycdejipkvX-T1n5mPpeh-7QjnR47Uzq4EEFBTsG5c5tOtuaSflsGVbObxReoezci-I7OvbQEAJAQ1wgKY_wCgFRR06NrKz-BXo_VPLRfyiw-ZmqSNgK5q4x81KhyJlh8/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">A misfit pair gets together at a graduation night party at the University of Edinburgh. Even though every graduate wants to bed somebody to make the night a night to remember, Emma, from the middle class, and Dexter, from the privileged class, just end up chatting the night away, talking about their future plans and such. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">They part ways the morning after but promise to stay in touch. They meet each other periodically. The show shows the ups and downs that they go through over the years. Each episode starts on the 15th of July every year, starting with the graduation ball that day in 1988. Over the years, their lives tangents off away from each other, finding their mojos, threading the good times and bad. They keep in touch, nevertheless. Their fondness for each other remains. Something that had been platonic had turned romantic. The question is, when? Did it happen in Edinburgh? Was it the culmination of the experiences taught at the School of Hard Knocks? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Which is the hay that broke the camel’s back? When does love happen? Can we love more than one at a time? Is it a one-or-none law? Is it a promissory note to limit conjugal liaisons to avoid unnecessary baggage thereof? </span></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Leeds, UK53.8007554 -1.549077425.490521563821154 -36.7053274 82.110989236178852 33.6071726tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-84843085117798974542024-03-25T00:28:00.001+08:002024-03-25T14:59:11.753+08:00It's Christmas time!<div style="text-align: left;"><u><b><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Merry Christmas (Hindi/Tamil versions; 2024)<br />Director: Sriram Raghavan</span></b></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdl3Xfm-b7CrDILZ2Pge8l0uzK3SxEP8QHCsmWGz2n5JhphXCtImXR5SDq2uWZqoK494e_sCpBJ2q9_hFDUS64D09pa34W_d1vCdF6z0DASUUAev3DKcE90sDaKUfZnAxqdcjsXFX303OjKyGC2xn3D-Krslr595IvY3D34gTtQhrpGTph5b2Vo2-k0EU/s354/Merry_Christmas_film_poster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdl3Xfm-b7CrDILZ2Pge8l0uzK3SxEP8QHCsmWGz2n5JhphXCtImXR5SDq2uWZqoK494e_sCpBJ2q9_hFDUS64D09pa34W_d1vCdF6z0DASUUAev3DKcE90sDaKUfZnAxqdcjsXFX303OjKyGC2xn3D-Krslr595IvY3D34gTtQhrpGTph5b2Vo2-k0EU/s320/Merry_Christmas_film_poster.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">This film has it all: a little Hitchcockian, a tinge of noir, and a hefty dose of female fatale. Set in the urban setting of Bombay at Christmas, the storytellers thought it was all right to cast modern-thinking characters with modern values as protagonists. Otherwise, it would not be believable that a seemingly single mother would send flirting vibes and respond to the advances of a random hunk at the movie theatre. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">That is what happened in this movie. It is Christmas Eve. While everyone is in a celebratory mood, a recently released murderer, Albert, returns to his mother's home. As old memories haunt him, he goes out for a stroll. He meets Maria, who is wandering around with her young daughter, first at a restaurant and then at the cinema hall. They strike up a conversation, and she walks her home. After having a nightcap and leaving the sleeping child at home, they go for another walkabout. Upon their return, they discover Maria's husband slouched on a settee, dead, after apparently shooting himself. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Albert, as a recently released convict, is sceptical about being involved in a death investigation. She instructs Maria to inform the police while he wipes out evidence of his presence at her apartment. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Hours later, curious about the turns of events, Albert returns to Maria's apartment. There is no hullabaloo of a crime scene. Instead, he finds her in the company of another gentleman, going up to her place. He follows them to find <i>no</i> dead body there!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi1b_2ARMfvfXH3ffBceLPdJ0qXFlNkFXWGO4R8tmWOTU3376DbI4Z2ylfy37k1R53-BixDqGTaiVjAvdh6iHiUDvkeHGNfyKE3LAbzAQ4AJTUubNSBXt1JMGM7UiAW9RxD6HgWY_n51cz2PCGbc6CKN6DhsuCEyuOrMW46nbwje129d1fbsLgUJKE5o/s265/download.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="190" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi1b_2ARMfvfXH3ffBceLPdJ0qXFlNkFXWGO4R8tmWOTU3376DbI4Z2ylfy37k1R53-BixDqGTaiVjAvdh6iHiUDvkeHGNfyKE3LAbzAQ4AJTUubNSBXt1JMGM7UiAW9RxD6HgWY_n51cz2PCGbc6CKN6DhsuCEyuOrMW46nbwje129d1fbsLgUJKE5o/s1600/download.jpeg" width="190" /></a></div>The rest of the movie is predictable, not because it is poorly done but because we have seen it all too many times in various combinations. The original story is from a 1962 French movie, Paris Pick-Up @ Le Monte-charge. The French version was more precise, shorter and straight to the point. In the Indian versions, however, there are additional characters. One cannot help but wonder whether other little nuggets are inserted between scenes to imply anything. I, for one, was left wondering whether the purpose of Albert's uncle naming his home-brewed moonshine 'Yadhoom' (Scandivanian for 'reason of existence'; why we love for) carried any obscure philosophical connotation to the whole story. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Nevertheless, it is a refreshing movie with a retro 1970s feel, fuelled by a liberal display of neon lights to give it its noir background. Kudos to Vijay Sethupathi, Katrina Kaif and Sanjay Kapoor (in the Hindi version) for their commendable performances. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In the authentic Hitchcockian way, it ends with a twist.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXze0HFkJGy2t3aPdndo3D-zjkfEgqKYZw-xGTGIeUWHx-8DgcxaEe12fEBCpHaSjXwvhYptTW5CHGw9yOMy2aNeelHb7TCFRo-0k6mKzLgNCDzYCoFDtFQ8JqjJeausgn_KULyQ5OBoqhVnZQi2ckykk__FJGEPuQcPJo14KGov5wmlczZcZiDWd4Nsg/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXze0HFkJGy2t3aPdndo3D-zjkfEgqKYZw-xGTGIeUWHx-8DgcxaEe12fEBCpHaSjXwvhYptTW5CHGw9yOMy2aNeelHb7TCFRo-0k6mKzLgNCDzYCoFDtFQ8JqjJeausgn_KULyQ5OBoqhVnZQi2ckykk__FJGEPuQcPJo14KGov5wmlczZcZiDWd4Nsg/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: #fafafa; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0759837 72.8776559-9.2342501361788472 37.721405899999993 47.386217536178847 108.0339059tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-13753604867416962332024-03-23T00:00:00.005+08:002024-03-23T14:54:33.036+08:00A case quite bizarre<b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Indrani Mukerjea: Buried Truth (2024)<br />Docu-series, 4 episodes.</span></u></b><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xjLn3Oak3Qsurbp5j_5dbQ9POnMroMmKSlqgtty_kcDnk8gHwzO4yzlAkBWsp4freI_nQ4uFwkBXpbwphGHTyilivM_bz66Q3A_w40g85RYfzraCNUG7wZeSP5Lr_xJujm_UHetmiSRSUXy0FjVQAjA5pRtBqWNQS0_xqqjTXll80JGAOXInpHEqm18/s1200/CE.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xjLn3Oak3Qsurbp5j_5dbQ9POnMroMmKSlqgtty_kcDnk8gHwzO4yzlAkBWsp4freI_nQ4uFwkBXpbwphGHTyilivM_bz66Q3A_w40g85RYfzraCNUG7wZeSP5Lr_xJujm_UHetmiSRSUXy0FjVQAjA5pRtBqWNQS0_xqqjTXll80JGAOXInpHEqm18/s320/CE.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">From the land of the Veda and the Arthashashtra comes an intriguing case of a missing person, which has remained unresolved to date. In the land that believes that every nasty action has a compelling reaction with the belief that no evil deed will not go unpunished in this birth or next, perhaps punishment could only be meted out in the next life. </span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In 2008, The Wall Street Journal hailed Indrani Mukerjea as one of the 50 ladies to watch, and India conferred her with the award 'Uttar Ratna' for her outstanding work in the art, media, and broadcasting sector. By 2015, she had her hands full fending off money laundering charges and fighting a murder charge.
</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Her past is blurry for a start. Born Pori Dora, her actual birthdate is queried. In her early teenage years in Guwahati, Assam, she accused her father of sexually molesting her. She went off to Shillong, Meghalaya, for studies, where she met her first husband, Siddharta Das, with whom she had two kids, Sheena and Mikhail. She soon left her kids with her parents to move to Kolkata in 1990. In Kolkata, she married her second husband, Sanjeev Khanna, to have her third child, Vidhie. Vidhie is the main narrator in the documentary. Somewhere along the way, there is even a mention that Sheena could be the product of Indrani's father's despicable act.
</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In 2001, Indrani moved to Mumbai, where she met Peter Mukerjea. Her recruitment company became a hit, and she dabbled in the media industry. Together with Peter, they climbed the corporate ladder to become prominent figures in Indian media. She was the CEO of a media mogul.
</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Her daughter, Sheena, appeared in the Mukerjea fold in 2006. Indrani introduced her to her new family as her sister! Sheena also got herself embroiled in the Mumbai corporate rat race. She apparently had a relationship with Peter's son from a previous marriage. Indrani's side was resistant to this relationship.
</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz7FD0JixcJg5Npuc19bIc7S-Fl0KoOTeTVZ7ubaO5nnbgSSGetTMo0PPRwBSVQoXL8KUeGIgL8XFeeAQBbQcrp_8Ilq5n2MV5xtk-sRQU086pbcOIUJ2G5DC8E47nuEtGDvsOGpqHl96hh-0y1OT7zu7kIJuaxEOPXPqkbYLXeQogogJrErVDc1bw68/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz7FD0JixcJg5Npuc19bIc7S-Fl0KoOTeTVZ7ubaO5nnbgSSGetTMo0PPRwBSVQoXL8KUeGIgL8XFeeAQBbQcrp_8Ilq5n2MV5xtk-sRQU086pbcOIUJ2G5DC8E47nuEtGDvsOGpqHl96hh-0y1OT7zu7kIJuaxEOPXPqkbYLXeQogogJrErVDc1bw68/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">By 2009, Indrani was pretty much out of the media limelight as her corporate rule went south with accusations of appropriation and money laundering. She left India to live in the UK.
</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In 2012, Sheena disappeared without a trace. Everybody assumed Sheena had run away from her fiance and had probably gone incognito. Three years later, Indrani was arrested for the murder. Indrani's driver admitted to having helped her to kill and bury Sheena. The driver let her to the remains, but DNA evidence from the body was rejected for technical reasons. The case was twisted, and Indrani, Peter, and the driver got out on bail. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The docu-series is so twisted. It smells of sensationalism and trial by the media. Nobody shows sensitivity to the deceased or the family in the programme. I guess it does not matter as the accused is family (the mother killing her firstborn). The family gave the green light to tell their side of the story, having been in the media, knowing how well media can spin the truth, of which Indrani had been part and that the case is still ongoing; Indrani and the family should know better. Perhaps they are just garnering public sentiments before the case gets mentioned again.</span></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Guwahati, Assam, India26.1157917 91.7085933-2.1944421361788464 56.552343300000004 54.426025536178841 126.8648433tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-64776104958821058312024-03-21T00:00:00.017+08:002024-03-21T14:44:07.301+08:00Divine offering?<!--Google Tag Manager-->
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<p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e3AUWFgumnBzqmzPmpznDhFJ1LM26eMfOSZsyapNIL5mSsCS8AqoAHfNi2v_ELKfLCU2lsPpxtVGAzWHOxXNu5I3TdEosavZpu8foBsV78Krrh5UAYxZz4y6CAoHNSy2xijdkZS6Aaz8gBrZk_1j38ZFXibj8xKjTpWaD83V-2fQDZmjNIOA2MPVafA/s769/IMG_9521.WEBP" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="769" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1e3AUWFgumnBzqmzPmpznDhFJ1LM26eMfOSZsyapNIL5mSsCS8AqoAHfNi2v_ELKfLCU2lsPpxtVGAzWHOxXNu5I3TdEosavZpu8foBsV78Krrh5UAYxZz4y6CAoHNSy2xijdkZS6Aaz8gBrZk_1j38ZFXibj8xKjTpWaD83V-2fQDZmjNIOA2MPVafA/s320/IMG_9521.WEBP" width="320" /></span></a></div><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span>Extending food offerings to anyone and everyone has always been an honourable thing. It is also part of desert culture to break bread with a stranger one meets during one's long, weary travels. The frequent famines that famished the often battle-riddled land of Bharat made freshly made simple cooking God-sent. <br /><br />The art of cooking for the masses arose not only from the indulgence of the Moghul Emperors, who made culinary skills an art form to die for but from the chefs preparing them for their hunger-stricken subjects. <br /><br />Hunger pangs are real. It is not the irritation one gets after missing his cafè latte or the agony of waiting for his double burger. The homeless people in the city of London, waiting in line patiently for their fizzling hot <i>dhall</i>, <i>chawal</i>, and <i>saag</i>, could give us a first-hand experience of what sleeping with an empty stomach feels like. The real McCoy here is the twitch they feel in their belly as the piping hot masala chai aroma fills the air. </span><br /><span><br /><span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXJb-Om0mPfH6jVfysNvgoTRlnki2T2vLkfLkfPps46tod7JYRTokrUHhJ9Al0lq-iRSLHFc0MdbGKJS2I97osmWo_u4EplSUMUzSdqZcLDSKOLtYzH0PsR9J0OvRE8fxb2NHWTJ6bzO81AMnfSxcHIYQagJHGKRceYaVp4fnEGPzgcGMdet2VMFGLJg/s320/98f4e417-3d4f-41c1-ace4-6ebc3938f6ee.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></span><span>Now, in this age and age, the age-old interpretation of malnutrition is no longer confined to the one who is emancipated, skin and bones, but one where malnourishment goes the other extreme. One is overfed, too big to carry his own baggage, and stricken with various metabolic diseases of overindulgence. From a nation that generally ate two meals a day to one that eats at slight provocation, is the act of annathanam/ <i>bhog</i> still relevant? Is it still a good deed or merely akin to feeding a recalcitrant alcoholic more arrack?<br /><br />Is food still the essence of life? (“<i>Annam para Brahma swarupam</i>”)<br /><br />Donors sometimes do it to show their piety and gain bragging rights to aggrandise their stature in society. Others do it to wash away their private misdeeds, knowingly or unwittingly. Some do it with ulterior motives, hoping to get abundant returns in kind. <br /><br />Then, there will be groups that draw numbers to fulfil personal political ambitions. The bond of eating together goes beyond the act of fulfilling gastronomic desires. This may explain why dating couples plan elaborate dinner plans to impress each other. People become law-abiding when it comes to food. Just see the rows of obedient customers queuing for hours to get their <i>nasi kandar</i> fix. Anyone can initiate a Pavlovian response through food. The way to a man's (or woman's) heart is through the stomach. </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJVK5KPflC2sz7SxgVIZFVVH7R6He2yWhOPqco5VNYTlRWCzwDs4oE-eFBFbUrsow3tyQRZeOiXDHENnHQ37DoWq5ImmzApQD6cJtU7wj-hKcRMWLAd2i4hKfkCoAlh8Az4jo2K3xp2sJK6yVFdq0P9C4VF4L5FnsrLQYpXT6BhsQj3FrvBHbbQfbSco/s1600/photo%20(9).JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJVK5KPflC2sz7SxgVIZFVVH7R6He2yWhOPqco5VNYTlRWCzwDs4oE-eFBFbUrsow3tyQRZeOiXDHENnHQ37DoWq5ImmzApQD6cJtU7wj-hKcRMWLAd2i4hKfkCoAlh8Az4jo2K3xp2sJK6yVFdq0P9C4VF4L5FnsrLQYpXT6BhsQj3FrvBHbbQfbSco/s320/photo%20(9).JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">It is not all saffron and ghee in the land of Annapoorana. The recipients of these offerings blessed by the divine forces are sometimes not worthy of the heavenly gifts. They do not practise the adages of 'waste not, want not', 'eat to live, not live to eat' and treat 'food as medicine'. They overindulge and have no qualms about assigning the free-gotten meals to the bins, either because they took too much because it is free or because their incisors crave the animalistic tearing of meaty meals. <br /><br />True, we live in a world of abundance and contradictions. Development and industrialisation saw our race scale the highest skies and deepest mountains, but a section of the population would still be lost in the rat race. Community-based social projects like these, either on spiritual or secular backgrounds, will go a long way to help out the needy.</span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2sqgLCrTVAuVT3zLnajCiiwOfaQgOkSirbulX2vSSxdpHBJQodHkcUXqXyTf2NtEL19HjdHkvQMELr3dHwrq0DUZSxJULbBtIp2bMZr4VMl7oofqgVmexUsLBDUikftw-cEHJLlxefOhxjvkkoAMprdWnUtgOcTJRoApKKFAZnBaKp4nvkLNiZ8KevgU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2sqgLCrTVAuVT3zLnajCiiwOfaQgOkSirbulX2vSSxdpHBJQodHkcUXqXyTf2NtEL19HjdHkvQMELr3dHwrq0DUZSxJULbBtIp2bMZr4VMl7oofqgVmexUsLBDUikftw-cEHJLlxefOhxjvkkoAMprdWnUtgOcTJRoApKKFAZnBaKp4nvkLNiZ8KevgU" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><div style="background-color: #fafafa; 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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>12th Fail (2023)<br /></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvVLG3g5jT5PfXM_fceQYhun6B9HN77p1LQ4gdy7LyKmlwBgol2jL7ez-KPJe2owWRODYU544tLoG4pOTu9z1jVj9OW0F0R_qQxwy4KtaS2Vehli-Qi3Z0X9_AP8buU6A1rENEPasYcZTuUzoPHQBkpKTF7J4VOqPluSC3GL0KS2Lgtuvfoy1IJD6Wbc/s700/12th%20fail.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="700" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvVLG3g5jT5PfXM_fceQYhun6B9HN77p1LQ4gdy7LyKmlwBgol2jL7ez-KPJe2owWRODYU544tLoG4pOTu9z1jVj9OW0F0R_qQxwy4KtaS2Vehli-Qi3Z0X9_AP8buU6A1rENEPasYcZTuUzoPHQBkpKTF7J4VOqPluSC3GL0KS2Lgtuvfoy1IJD6Wbc/s320/12th%20fail.png" width="320" /></a></p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">I remember my parents, more expressively my mother, going through the same emotions as the elders in this family. They believed unabashedly that education was the only weapon they could use to break the shackles of poverty and hopelessness. Towards this end, they sacrificed their luxuries, comforts in life, and pride to show off to their peers what they had that their parents did not have.<br /><br />I remember seeing the same expressions in my mother's eyes every time her plans were derailed by inevitable mistakes or inactions. She soldiered on, thinking everything would be solved once her children graduated. Rightly or wrongly, in her mind, a sound education was her panacea to all difficulties in life. With that single-minded determination, no mountain was too high to scale, and no river was too deep to sail. To the economically challenged, education is a more assured and level playing field way to prosper.<br /><br />This biopic is based on an unbelievably true story of a student in Chamboli, MP, who failed his 12th Standard but went on later to win the coveted UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) examinations to become an IPS officer. He overcame abject poverty and the many obstacles to shine in the end. Coming from an area known more for dacoity rather than anything, the teachers in the school collectively volunteered the answers to their students to improve their scoring and, hopefully, a better life. Bad luck to Manoj Kumar Sharma. The year he sat for his 12th Standard examinations, an honest DSP was posted to his district. He stopped the whole examination as blatant copying was going on. So everybody in the school failed the 12th Standard that year. The DSP later became the motivating factor for living an honest life. Manoj passed the 12th Standard the following year and went on to Gwalior, aiming to be DSP like his hero.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BaPCE8GPS_XNxWa3RBM_KejAkSm98wrXysN0Dm4WpMXXfdSFLmUUIfk2JW6ucC4GquBRxHcouwNq0d2JHENfbtwIv-wmlBJGh6VUB2nrhCv1ZM9-oYiCHaX64-xoyZ7gHuoXzFc6k-TzGT-M1AkHKOuFJDb1OVSOIUtPHIwp7nGUGm-ljSuQ6PllXdI/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BaPCE8GPS_XNxWa3RBM_KejAkSm98wrXysN0Dm4WpMXXfdSFLmUUIfk2JW6ucC4GquBRxHcouwNq0d2JHENfbtwIv-wmlBJGh6VUB2nrhCv1ZM9-oYiCHaX64-xoyZ7gHuoXzFc6k-TzGT-M1AkHKOuFJDb1OVSOIUtPHIwp7nGUGm-ljSuQ6PllXdI/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">His life in Gwalior was no bed of roses. Robbed of his luggage, pocket money and cancellation of the state government-sponsored public service examinations, he was left hungry and homeless.</span><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">His life took a turn again when he met Pandey. Together, they head to Delhi to try to sit for the Union Public Service Commission examinations to aim to become an IPS officer.<br /><br />The rest of the story is an account of his adventures, including the ups and downs of his journey to finally be bequeathed the prized post of an Indian Police services officer.<br /><br />Sailing through his journey, almost side by side, was his later wife, Shraddha, who became a Deputy Collector of the IRS. Currently, she is the managing director of the Maharashtra Tourism Board, and Manoj Sharma is the additional commissioner of the Mumbai Police.</span><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Chamboli, Kitwe, Zambia-12.8612116 28.226347-41.171445436178843 -6.9299029999999995 15.449022236178845 63.382597000000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-55029658678129329562024-03-17T11:58:00.003+08:002024-03-17T20:26:30.191+08:00Unsolved murder mystery<div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Auto Focus (2002)</span></u></b></div><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Director: Paul Schrader</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNfgMY8A9kfI26W-puGrAARGSN3LHdgx7-L-kQ0VfByBGNEd7--1rICrt5CuDQsGSSvU7e7YeaL2fODWWhg8D-KeBn6bY9J19f97TvGO5w4Lj2cfwTljqqp3LlXv3yghSz-gjhHDHP_OEbvUq1NFBSGk_3DMmi1RpEnSAn_y5D4rkAlhms24m_kFpfqmc" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="259" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNfgMY8A9kfI26W-puGrAARGSN3LHdgx7-L-kQ0VfByBGNEd7--1rICrt5CuDQsGSSvU7e7YeaL2fODWWhg8D-KeBn6bY9J19f97TvGO5w4Lj2cfwTljqqp3LlXv3yghSz-gjhHDHP_OEbvUq1NFBSGk_3DMmi1RpEnSAn_y5D4rkAlhms24m_kFpfqmc" width="161" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Hogan's Heroes used to be a regular feature on RTM's slot for late-night comedy. It did not leave much of an impression on our minds as it dwelled with something quite uninspiring, in our minds at least. It was about a wise-cracking American General and his staff who were imprisoned in a German POW camp during WW2. They tried to outwit their captors, spy upon them and sabotage their every move. It went on for six seasons. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The main character, Robert Crane, or rather his death, appeared in one of the crime podcasts. Initially a family man and a church-going Catholic, he got the acquaintance of John Henry Carpenter. Carpenter was an electronic techie who introduced Crane to the then-nascent home videos in the 1965s or so.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">As the film puts it, both developed a symbiotic relationship. Crane, through his good looks and contact with showbiz, got in contact with girls, and Carpenter would set the recording devices to record their sexual acts. Over the years, the sheer number of tapes in their collection hit the roof. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7_QpXi0fw3BiacTdN_SWto3ANTo4QjsHrwygx57J2oCXE200hRj-bVXUWUzRr6FtUOZUyUrXzGwX1cHsIARsuqjxlPPouU2nlbmDmCFANrS5nvvLgCb3rZA51YpYZXQnjByVLh2TAaCjoikUYfiIxMFio7wVqj6zqceV2KQ5vuFNzkvjddbSnVfO3b8/s1471/hogan%20Heroes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1471" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7_QpXi0fw3BiacTdN_SWto3ANTo4QjsHrwygx57J2oCXE200hRj-bVXUWUzRr6FtUOZUyUrXzGwX1cHsIARsuqjxlPPouU2nlbmDmCFANrS5nvvLgCb3rZA51YpYZXQnjByVLh2TAaCjoikUYfiIxMFio7wVqj6zqceV2KQ5vuFNzkvjddbSnVfO3b8/s320/hogan%20Heroes.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>Crane's offers dwindled after Hogan's Heroes. Money troubles crept in. His wife divorced him. He married his co-star, with whom he was already in a relationship. He moved around performing at dinner parties whilst feeding his sex addiction. Carpenter was his partner in crime, helping out in imprinting their trysts on tape.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Crane was found dead, bludgeoned to death and strangled with an electrical cord. Even though Carpenter was high on the suspect list, his crime was never proven. It is believed that they had a falling.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Man's (and women's) curiosity about the forbidden probably started from their stay at the Garden of Eden. Voyeurism must have ensued moments after their banishment from there when Adam became curious about Eve's appendages. As more offspring sprung, rules had to be laid, adding curiosity to the young minds. The subtle art of voyeurism found its place in society. What started as yellow literature in print and illustration has morphed to capture more minds through CCTVs, tapes and now hand-held devices. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Apparently, there is no shame in viewing it on the sly. Due to its ease of access, everyone is watching it anyway. But God forbid if someone is caught consuming or assumes the role of performer, willingly or otherwise, the whole shebang of shaming and victimisation befalls upon them. It is now perfectly healthy to have a wedded couple in their birthday suits as part of their wedding photoshoot package. YOLO.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg3Zrh7k2GIjcOKScwYohtui0i6saZBYx6orXdvwft8fyimNa7a91jt1KpJRY8eKS9o1elhc4wu_K2fqZBSfx1RRsqFU05ewRK78TYcurYwWsInAhnbCDVZ1UABVJBg_AzOzK8lqJ-aeQvVHlss1T-qi-Ck7wR1N0RyS7qX4fTNbXal5isjKZpnIZM1E/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg3Zrh7k2GIjcOKScwYohtui0i6saZBYx6orXdvwft8fyimNa7a91jt1KpJRY8eKS9o1elhc4wu_K2fqZBSfx1RRsqFU05ewRK78TYcurYwWsInAhnbCDVZ1UABVJBg_AzOzK8lqJ-aeQvVHlss1T-qi-Ck7wR1N0RyS7qX4fTNbXal5isjKZpnIZM1E/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Scottsdale, AZ, USA33.4948764 -111.92167345.1846425638211571 -147.0779234 61.805110236178848 -76.7654234tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-87538648130400144772024-03-15T00:00:00.002+08:002024-03-15T15:11:41.878+08:00The Elusive Utopia<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgM1eHeOceUk2pUlas6xpEQSS58xYxwp8Mt4JtxxOulOpLvNMcED_zqfhxJYlbsEgLsrU2Gvk5RAuMEKW8CfJ04gR02O4woxQWsX4ASdRAUQFpvQX9FvtVU2eLsFGNdSHwh_DtwzuotpXE6Cz9K48SR6e7aw8N7a_ed9GgN_yrQz8lsT3jdRc2LrkbwSw" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="347" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgM1eHeOceUk2pUlas6xpEQSS58xYxwp8Mt4JtxxOulOpLvNMcED_zqfhxJYlbsEgLsrU2Gvk5RAuMEKW8CfJ04gR02O4woxQWsX4ASdRAUQFpvQX9FvtVU2eLsFGNdSHwh_DtwzuotpXE6Cz9K48SR6e7aw8N7a_ed9GgN_yrQz8lsT3jdRc2LrkbwSw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>© Borderless Journal</b></td></tr></tbody></table>When I was growing up, the radio was the musical score constantly playing in the background. Blaring between Tamil movie songs and radio dramas were news of the hour and current issue discussions. The things that got imprinted on my impressionable mind as I was transforming from a teenager to a young adult were about violence, wars and bombings. I remember about the war in Vietnam as it was close to home. For every peace talk and the end of war announcement, there would pop up another bombing and a barrage of casualties. My simple mind wondered when the war would end, but it never did. It went on for so long that they had a Tamil film in 1970 named Vietnam Veedu (House of Vietnam), referring to a household forever in family feuds and turmoil....</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKKQQsYp29oJwaaexBC5LUW0x4K-vs8VxRfxku4vDhGiOLgKPv8ptFpJB7GKGXYuvKpPcTw4W98wk0FhVdbFX2igbeGJsEDPdEBoqWTAdckTzEn5n1yiBa-DJO9p49NkK6Yog8kAeEMElaHrafy6wnR-EnZJdUb-3Xs9u6p7u3Dg939rx6mt6aJp8P6U/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKKQQsYp29oJwaaexBC5LUW0x4K-vs8VxRfxku4vDhGiOLgKPv8ptFpJB7GKGXYuvKpPcTw4W98wk0FhVdbFX2igbeGJsEDPdEBoqWTAdckTzEn5n1yiBa-DJO9p49NkK6Yog8kAeEMElaHrafy6wnR-EnZJdUb-3Xs9u6p7u3Dg939rx6mt6aJp8P6U/s16000/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" /></a></div><div><p><a href="https://borderlessjournal.com/2024/03/14/the-elusive-utopia/">https://borderlessjournal.com/2024/03/14/the-elusive-utopia/</a></p></div>
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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Singapore1.352083 103.819836-26.958150836178845 68.663586 29.662316836178846 138.976086tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-19912844721379165902024-03-14T00:24:00.003+08:002024-03-15T21:14:49.523+08:00A peek into the life of...<p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Fire Bird</u></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Author: Perumal Murugan</u></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>(translated from Tamil by Janani Kannan)</u></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WmcT_8MW5dKIClH9ikqtU0NpUQZf1HmksLVfKC8FlTbA-HJ7Q2zFbxapGXezQ1PxpT_7p7axAwouC5lAIJekDCyfZkXmqdROtnQ4kL3sRRq-zdJfUqs2NUu6oE6J9tqZrWFN-76x65AcU0mu-oxCVpSqvQkKUbwTRLPyTq1p3ASE4aZnEkDBJMze_dw/s3350/IMG_9471.heic" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3350" data-original-width="2058" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WmcT_8MW5dKIClH9ikqtU0NpUQZf1HmksLVfKC8FlTbA-HJ7Q2zFbxapGXezQ1PxpT_7p7axAwouC5lAIJekDCyfZkXmqdROtnQ4kL3sRRq-zdJfUqs2NUu6oE6J9tqZrWFN-76x65AcU0mu-oxCVpSqvQkKUbwTRLPyTq1p3ASE4aZnEkDBJMze_dw/s320/IMG_9471.heic" width="197" /></a></div><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;">In my opinion, this is how a novel should be written. From a mundane job of riding on the bullock cart, traversing the country roads, looking for suitable land to start farming and hence to prosper his young family, he manages to tell the whole shebang of his family politics and the people and politics of the land he was passing through to scout.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><div><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;"><span>Kuppan decides to take a long ride to the edge of the state with his faithful handyman, Muthu, in search of land to buy after a family feud. Being the youngest male child, he got the short end of the stick. His elder brothers decided that their father's land had to be divided. Perumal tells how the division of ancestral land works. Even the parents were given a measly piece of land. Kuppan, the timid one in the family who grew in awe of his brothers, did not fight back as it was not his colour to clash head-on despite his wife's constant nagging.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;">Through flashbacks and soliloquies, the readers learn tiny titbits about farming,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> traditional inheritance practices in some Tamil communities and that the whole of South India is not a monolith. Each part of the state has its peculiarities. Through his master storytelling, Perumal brings his viewer into the depth of its interiors to share Kuppan's sometimes hair-raising quest to start the right footing for his young family.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: PT Sans; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCW6sUW0WUKqhM5MezifCB2z0nG537wlJcvmg629YzZwoUJz6T8szbE4V1HEokoN_Sm-xH_BLI5uAuoHd0VV8Q3CQAPSg5B5eSBSIvCVPYWhuNU9scjXjIoqhiSqrQtO_uK3L98CQqly2qUbx6xPJogFePzv5E9ZVnelJZidZkRmypJ8ObAAzpP5Wv2Lc/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="margin-left: 1em; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India9.9252007 78.1197754-18.385033136178848 42.963525399999995 38.235434536178843 113.2760254tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-61314075834282950722024-03-12T06:53:00.001+08:002024-03-14T07:16:25.887+08:00Not all so chirpy!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Love Me or Leave Me (1955)<br /></u></b><b><u>Director: Charles Vidor</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C7ytaq7cAoFTO5tx5wziya8jeXHqx6HOETpAYzvHuUTmt1TQKcyFZofUp4jXwLtW94Lp7OWJIAgtBYxM5ltuWzTA4VOdT5eMpLRhbixuQPUYdX_kmGcsh_-B3h7VoRxbdCcfHPglbKHnq33aUOJK18jxTZDEh2SJ0nzU1OVI07iJGASpZu6nqPIvIbM/s897/Cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C7ytaq7cAoFTO5tx5wziya8jeXHqx6HOETpAYzvHuUTmt1TQKcyFZofUp4jXwLtW94Lp7OWJIAgtBYxM5ltuWzTA4VOdT5eMpLRhbixuQPUYdX_kmGcsh_-B3h7VoRxbdCcfHPglbKHnq33aUOJK18jxTZDEh2SJ0nzU1OVI07iJGASpZu6nqPIvIbM/s320/Cover.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The world remembers Doris Day as the chirpy, bright, toothy blonde who would brighten up anyone's morning. The pose that strikes most people is her rendition of the song 'Que Sera Sera' in Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'. However, in real life, hers was not all sunshine and blue skies.<br /><br />Growing up from 10 with her single mother, after her father walked on them, Doris Day wanted to be a dancer. After a car accident and a broken leg, she had to abandon her dream. During convalescence, she taught herself to sing. Seeing much potential, her mother sent her to singing classes. Doris soon got singing gigs on the radio and at dinners.<br /><br />At 20, she delivered her only child. Her husband turned out to be a violent schizophrenic who committed suicide. She had four marriages altogether. Her third husband got her deeply into debt. Her son went on to become a famous record producer and almost signed up Marilyn Manson, the eccentric killer.<br /><br />In this movie, Doris Day plays the role of Ruth Etting, a famous singer of the swinging twenties. Etting's life story is equally stormy. Starting as a dancing girl, with the help of a mobster, Snyder, she gained fame and fortune as a singer at the prestigious Ziegfeld Follies. She acted in a few short talkies. Even though Etting's love interest is her pianist, she marries Synder out of fear. Synder's frequent anger outbursts and paranoia finally led him to shoot the pianist. <br /><br />Etting later divorces Snyder and leaves the music scene</span>.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LFQAjT2kF2s" width="320" youtube-src-id="LFQAjT2kF2s"></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyzBvtAVIVSsRnnAM9EVKyWNvnYpZOXmbkaSfGAzQgTUCR30HY_gq9nPUbkjrp0_VdqxPfhs4-i8H9P-V1AznXxFO6z76b0tvX_yuwxhlxXHJlpOszPOynLlK-2XHXLbcwANF6UteMo1OTxSGY-l-dfgO6EREuQgEaABpfD44sI9YOLrAL5hYuw9FpCA/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyzBvtAVIVSsRnnAM9EVKyWNvnYpZOXmbkaSfGAzQgTUCR30HY_gq9nPUbkjrp0_VdqxPfhs4-i8H9P-V1AznXxFO6z76b0tvX_yuwxhlxXHJlpOszPOynLlK-2XHXLbcwANF6UteMo1OTxSGY-l-dfgO6EREuQgEaABpfD44sI9YOLrAL5hYuw9FpCA/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><div><div style="background-color: #fafafa; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia5.5314839 102.1984589-27.567502290503391 67.0422089 38.630470090503387 137.3547089tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-10280426802283718342024-03-10T00:00:00.001+08:002024-03-14T07:15:35.489+08:00The Monsterverse that lurks beneath us<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Monarch Legend of Monsters (2023)<br /></u><u>Miniseries S1, E1-10.</u></b></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXKmErEsQkDqybHwTxMDYu-lLK97p0sKpyPHZph6d9vA6iIM_BRAAi3QPgCMMjxArXwV0Ca5_vOyBudZz-cATI09mzSqN1ramwqSIDe5blE_DYUvqIIEjfoC8L4oeqTeV9GyLzYqdfwrvdNahBnndxJfZ7Alyzr7_9hPGtP0kyHLXbc-7CG50iyrf3t8/s386/Monarch_Legacy_of_Monsters_poster%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXKmErEsQkDqybHwTxMDYu-lLK97p0sKpyPHZph6d9vA6iIM_BRAAi3QPgCMMjxArXwV0Ca5_vOyBudZz-cATI09mzSqN1ramwqSIDe5blE_DYUvqIIEjfoC8L4oeqTeV9GyLzYqdfwrvdNahBnndxJfZ7Alyzr7_9hPGtP0kyHLXbc-7CG50iyrf3t8/s320/Monarch_Legacy_of_Monsters_poster%20(1).jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">There was a time in our childhood when gigantic creatures roamed the streets of Tokyo, and superheroes like Ultraman and Golda manifested to save the day. The storyline was predictable. A benign creature, having been exposed to the effects of the A-bombs, undergoes mutation but stays underground. A freak event would bring it to the surface. The beast then would go on a rampage. Just when there is no hope, the Japanese superhero appears to save the day. Yay!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Looks like much has changed since I last viewed them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Godzilla and contemporaries, MUTOs, massive unidentified terrestrial organisms from Japan, have gone mainstream. A narrative has been created to link many seismic events worldwide over the years to these monsters' activities. It is called the Monsterverse. For example, the H-bomb detonation at Bikini Atoll was not a military exercise. It was meant to neutralise one of these monsters, but it had got away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The story timeline flip-flops from 1952 through 1982 to 2015. A little background knowledge about King Kong, his encounter with Godzilla in 2014, and Skull Island would help. Otherwise, the film would be a confusing mishmash of incoherent storytelling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The miniseries tells about Monarch, a secret global organisation that supposedly tries to track MUTOs, predict their appearance and prevent human casualties. Many endeavours thus far over the years have proved futile. These creatures go underground through unique portals beneath the Earth's surface. There is an alternate living space beneath Earth where time moves slowly. One month spent there could be equivalent to 50 years on Earth! It creates a lot of confusion when one of the characters falls into a portal but returns later.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqtVNGAsLAtSBzXZrk-IurPRP8UcxYOYA9wUreXB2Cqc76zvVlk8oZPGLMBYaFL6tEHksbf0d_LtNof8IPceKZa9KqITsYXREzhoQqlwvtBg-k2O15q4wtaHZS3zIcZbRYtdEMPuL3Cf4H-ONx9zMtzc6VMfD0gHXFMtrYv4fqRbbLSt4sz2J7Mk8utE/s1200/Snake_Plissken.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1200" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqtVNGAsLAtSBzXZrk-IurPRP8UcxYOYA9wUreXB2Cqc76zvVlk8oZPGLMBYaFL6tEHksbf0d_LtNof8IPceKZa9KqITsYXREzhoQqlwvtBg-k2O15q4wtaHZS3zIcZbRYtdEMPuL3Cf4H-ONx9zMtzc6VMfD0gHXFMtrYv4fqRbbLSt4sz2J7Mk8utE/s320/Snake_Plissken.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Snake Plissken</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The miniseries tells the story of a pair of half-siblings who discover each other when they receive news that their father is dead. They discover that their father led a double life with two families and a secret expedition with international ramifications. The saga spans three generations and is a whirlpool of twists and adventures.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The exciting idea employed in the miniseries is using a father-son combination to tell a character's story at different times. Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell act out this role.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Interestingly, Malaysians were first exposed to Kurt Russell in the Western TV series Quest (1976). Here, Russell, kidnapped by Cheyenne, met his long-lost brother to team up to track down their sister. Later, he was famous as the eye patch-donning tough guy Snake Plissken in Escape from New York (1981). </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs5IiUHVrin7R2zw9bJ5zSdAUj4Tj7TcPHgKIrNgC-9u-uIIS5_VVDJ3g1HRPhstK7kg0XGcaAlAJBxAmYCJ56a8O0Cnn6xhA90nv9ITO5ogZEnffROpj-ePg2AJVieXrnGL51ikerzNkqN-rbHlKGNg-fWNuiF9rNg0ML3kvFCz98pKQTw9bT8Gq2wU/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs5IiUHVrin7R2zw9bJ5zSdAUj4Tj7TcPHgKIrNgC-9u-uIIS5_VVDJ3g1HRPhstK7kg0XGcaAlAJBxAmYCJ56a8O0Cnn6xhA90nv9ITO5ogZEnffROpj-ePg2AJVieXrnGL51ikerzNkqN-rbHlKGNg-fWNuiF9rNg0ML3kvFCz98pKQTw9bT8Gq2wU/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><p></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo, Japan35.6764225 139.6500273.0784277938988254 104.493777 68.274417206101177 174.806277tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-87981429408158887442024-03-07T00:00:00.002+08:002024-03-08T07:18:40.024+08:00Syukur, our schools have no random shootings!<b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Tiger Stripes (2023)<br />Written and Directed by Amanda Nell Eu</span></u></b><br /><br /><div><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnV1v0USTmi9cAULwNFSaBkVkN5IPmYXiueMihyCoLpoLdl25evYGNWFcX2dlksButcwxLTbzhBlwpWBtqxoFhjcf5HkY0mqIufgz3RGoUOzZKa6YYm17ZCXc4Qt1p6FXa8UWS4I6jSFj1mbBxWBWdUlApEulV-UgygLlrAGTtYHg8UEZQjjeYTHD0Yg4/s1200/GEHVguna4AAxmIV.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnV1v0USTmi9cAULwNFSaBkVkN5IPmYXiueMihyCoLpoLdl25evYGNWFcX2dlksButcwxLTbzhBlwpWBtqxoFhjcf5HkY0mqIufgz3RGoUOzZKa6YYm17ZCXc4Qt1p6FXa8UWS4I6jSFj1mbBxWBWdUlApEulV-UgygLlrAGTtYHg8UEZQjjeYTHD0Yg4/s320/GEHVguna4AAxmIV.jpeg" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">This movie reminds me of P Ramlee's not-so-famous film, 'Sitora Harimau Jadian'. Sitora was 1964 Malaya's answer to the European folklore of werewolves. Instead of werewolves, he created a story about a were-tiger. Made in black and white with a limited budget for the make-up department, it failed both in awe and in its gore aspects.<br /><br />'Tiger Stripes', on the other hand, is not much of a scary movie. It is more of a social commentary. It highlights bullying in schools, the confusing hormones-laden pubertal era, the uninspiring methods of teaching, and maybe many more. <br /><br />International viewers will wonder why girls in that all-girls school suddenly go haywire, shrieking and falling down simultaneously with jerky hand and body movements like a person possessed. Yes, the film also showcases the problem of mass hysteria, a peculiar phenomenon that is seen in many all-female Malaysian schools and hostels.<br /><br />Another glaring thing shown here is the dismal standard of English taught in Malaysian schools. Imagine 13-year-olds still struggling with grammar and tenses. That is not fiction, but very much a common site in many schools in the interior parts of the country and also in the poorer section of towns. My sister, who used to mark public examination papers, would be testimony to this. She could not believe what was written (or not written) on exam papers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHwamZ08xGPLpnQgWtbS8FxTutsTzmFnPOgZZBRjTkymW7v6V43nS06dUvP87PQ8VtqjywgHo93Kwpf6uRB0vP85SPDfWd8oPNcBzonSG4cUwGph_T4NrCSDXQ8NXaxYUnf-8PqkbsM5npj1Ue0xCgM9dWGyd6COHlKmnFkhcYnx59kjxEbCS4wbqKrU/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHwamZ08xGPLpnQgWtbS8FxTutsTzmFnPOgZZBRjTkymW7v6V43nS06dUvP87PQ8VtqjywgHo93Kwpf6uRB0vP85SPDfWd8oPNcBzonSG4cUwGph_T4NrCSDXQ8NXaxYUnf-8PqkbsM5npj1Ue0xCgM9dWGyd6COHlKmnFkhcYnx59kjxEbCS4wbqKrU/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">My beloved secondary school headmaster used to advocate that 'academic excellence is no substitute to poverty of character'. It may be true when academic achievements are par excellence. One can explore other avenues to mould a holistic student who can withstand the challenges of adult life. Here, what I see is another wrapped hollow package. The country values the presentation, not its content, quantity not quality, and racial aspirations, not national development.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48850490">Mass hysteria</a> is a poorly understood collective psychogenic illness. It is not even listed in the DSM, the manual of all psychiatric and psychological ailments. South East Asia is labelled as the world capital for this illness. Many medical experts failed to identify a single cause for this condition. Stress has been suggested as the prominent cause. Most of the time, faith healers are called in, as is seen in this movie, with comical outcomes. In 2015, a local university in the state of Pahang came out with an anti-hysteria kit that was sold at a whopping RM 8,750. This kit, created after years of research, could allegedly ward off evil spirits. For that sum, the kit came with just chopsticks, salt, lime, vinegar, pepper spray and formic acid.<br /><br /><b><i>(P.S. Syukur (thank God), our schools have no random shootings!)</i></b></span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia5.8287062999999986 102.55423-27.200452146978549 67.39798 38.857864746978549 137.71048000000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-84059523057652489722024-03-04T07:05:00.002+08:002024-03-04T21:43:50.039+08:00Till death do us part?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvkFAM-kZHc5GL0d6JSOVTQ1LnUm27gy0qbtqhW4iUoQgZ_lo1FKAqGy7f1-m_Iw3KbP_GV_er1FEKDLuGH76jf2jICNCEuTCQhTbS_2awB-vqnv3Oy8gPXEp79naghIo7paHhRrWKxH6BfFJjzFABVktr8vnLN4YdwWqrD1g-9ux5BT92GePK5kxr-I/s1200/till%20death.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvkFAM-kZHc5GL0d6JSOVTQ1LnUm27gy0qbtqhW4iUoQgZ_lo1FKAqGy7f1-m_Iw3KbP_GV_er1FEKDLuGH76jf2jICNCEuTCQhTbS_2awB-vqnv3Oy8gPXEp79naghIo7paHhRrWKxH6BfFJjzFABVktr8vnLN4YdwWqrD1g-9ux5BT92GePK5kxr-I/s320/till%20death.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Over the past few years, a couple of my childhood friends had the misfortune of having lost their spouses to cancer. One of them fought the deadly disease tooth and nail, but unfortunately, after three long years, the disease got the better of her. He lost the good fight. My devastated friend went awol for an entire year, deciding that solitaire was the best remedy for a broken heart. The societal expectation for the grieved to open up his emotions and replay them like a broken record was not for him. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">One year after her demise, at 60, he introduced his new other half to the world. Conversations and felicitations on his plunge revealed that it was a necessary indulgence for him. Even though his children were married and he was a grandfather three times over, he felt the need for intimate touch and passion. He is a happy man. The memory of his old wife is very much alive, and he will cherish them till the end of time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Another friend with a couple of late teenage, young adult daughters, lost his wife after a long tiring battle with ovarian malignancy. Still reeling from the loss, he was still not out of the woods yet when I spoke to him six months after her demise. He still felt her presence around the house, and his mind kept playing, reminiscing the good times, playing back obscure events in their wedded bliss to miss her more. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">I slowly introduced the idea of finding a replacement to fill the void; he asserted that he was pretty sure. At that juncture, he only wanted to spend the rest of his years living in dear memory of his duly departed. He feels complete without a need to build a new one. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Rsw9SrL3Koyt_54Uq9DDV1uExuhvPm6cjnGTKQwCtxC4P3sxKJurcR6jlbGGaX8q5zqEbppvEe7I7fHQoMvk5GR14qFYou7qLw8FsSijxoimn2sG4ocq0MK9-tEF51V_3jU2RVN0KhmJ4agdMpr8is3Y5bgaFuESVcTIaADAIQ5K4icnP7TfRQBtvYI/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Rsw9SrL3Koyt_54Uq9DDV1uExuhvPm6cjnGTKQwCtxC4P3sxKJurcR6jlbGGaX8q5zqEbppvEe7I7fHQoMvk5GR14qFYou7qLw8FsSijxoimn2sG4ocq0MK9-tEF51V_3jU2RVN0KhmJ4agdMpr8is3Y5bgaFuESVcTIaADAIQ5K4icnP7TfRQBtvYI/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Out of curiosity, I enquired from another dear childhood buddy whose wife is hearty, healthy, and kicking. Heaven forbids, if his partner were to die, what would he do? Is remarriage on the plate? Without batting an eyelid, he said he would envisage himself taking a new partner. It is not as much for physical gratification but for social interaction and communication. He felt that was necessary for healthy mental health. </span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Yet, when posed with a similar question, another pessimistic realist friend viewed his one stint in matrimony as enough to last his whole lifetime. Gone are the days when intimacy and husband-wife interaction played a pivotal role in his daily life. He had started enjoying the company of he and himself, exploring new frontiers to expand his knowledge and experience. He guesses that his wife is in the same boat, too. 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com2Tahiti, French Polynesia-17.6509195 -149.4260421-45.961153336178846 175.4177079 10.659314336178845 -114.26979209999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-50542127572929301852024-03-02T00:00:00.005+08:002024-03-04T06:41:12.287+08:003 for the party of 2?<b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Past Lives (Korean/English; 2023)</span></u></b><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Director: Celine Song</span></u></b></div><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT2sV1tRuQPOlgwfUeS-kAkl44z4d2YGvl3LQAaK8FeYF0y3ZXb2LbQj5ZYhh1h-IJQJjAzam89-rWbZxBANFcEtZX6qblcHUqqlUU5M8wlh34FFb4woPUz_H01uVMK5URjQvIKvH-G0ZZkqS4AJaws3mbzprp_XMLnd86ABIGEaQOy1pnnk4488mcTIw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjT2sV1tRuQPOlgwfUeS-kAkl44z4d2YGvl3LQAaK8FeYF0y3ZXb2LbQj5ZYhh1h-IJQJjAzam89-rWbZxBANFcEtZX6qblcHUqqlUU5M8wlh34FFb4woPUz_H01uVMK5URjQvIKvH-G0ZZkqS4AJaws3mbzprp_XMLnd86ABIGEaQOy1pnnk4488mcTIw" width="180" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">One thing that created the rift between two men who dared to venture into the crypt of our mind and try to explain why we act and react the way we do remains unresolved. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Sigmund Freud posited, in simpler terms, that our learnt experiences, together with unresolved pervasive sexual desires, are the main reasons for actions, inaction and maladies. His mentee, Karl Jung, thought some external events and forces might manifest as meaningful coincidences.</span><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The question is whether we have only one life, just here and now and then we die, or we come here again and again. The film is selling the Korean Buddhist idea of 'In Yun'. We are all somehow connected cosmologically through reincarnation. When we meet people and feel we know them, we may do. There may be some unsettled business that needed to be settled, left from our previous encounters, god knows when. This could be our umpteenth trans-birth meet. Or it could be a ruse to get into each other's pants. </span><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The Mahabharata is full of these stories of paying back the evil deeds of past lives. King Shantanu's first wife, the mighty Ganga, drowned seven of her newborns. The eight escaped. Her justification was that her eight children were the eight elements that acquired a curse from a sage for coveting a cow in their previous lives. Like that, every action and reaction in this epic has its roots in the past.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">As it turns out, in the film, a thirty-something Korean girl whose family had migrated to North America has a chance to meet her childhood friend. The last time they met, they were twelve-year-old classmates who shared something of a puppy love. After migrating to Canada, the girl, No Young, changed her name to Nora and started life anew in her newfound home. The boy, Hae Sung, stayed and progressed in his own way. Out of sight, but not really out of mind. The lost touch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJYQ3ZWNjN7mHmb7jMtafEc-uIPxFDmEW97Eh-gGR6i1aY9hPHIJy6i70bSWh5s5pE4m-fEjBcq1CYh-ndvDOU2aNoSxx8Q64ALXuE9mQDE4VXFv9qe_D2GrHvBh5dJhoXpUs9pVi9IwYAhraYIDZJe0BXwp5Ulk9uX8UhneOrIQg_PKG4jFpLDrVdBE/s1138/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%207.15.46%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1138" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJYQ3ZWNjN7mHmb7jMtafEc-uIPxFDmEW97Eh-gGR6i1aY9hPHIJy6i70bSWh5s5pE4m-fEjBcq1CYh-ndvDOU2aNoSxx8Q64ALXuE9mQDE4VXFv9qe_D2GrHvBh5dJhoXpUs9pVi9IwYAhraYIDZJe0BXwp5Ulk9uX8UhneOrIQg_PKG4jFpLDrVdBE/s320/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%207.15.46%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">3 for the party of 2?</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">With the help of social media, they reconnected twelve years later. Life took its course; Nora got married, Hae Sung went to study in China, got into a relationship and failed. Another twelve years later, Hae Sung announced his arrival in the USA. This created an awkward situation between the three in the party of two. Nora's white husband worries she might return to her first love. Nora fears rekindling the old relationship, and Hae Sung is probably a forlorn romantic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The story is about how they resolve an issue that is a non-issue. After being tied down in a relationship, it is human nature to wonder how life would be if we had taken a different path. That is when we should slap ourselves awake, douse water on our faces and remind ourselves that whichever path we take, the journey and the outcome are invariably the same. The paths may vary, but both would be filled with ups, downs, joy, heartbreaks, achievements and letdowns. Just eat what we have, enjoy the flavour served and stop wondering what another flavour would have tasted. The end result, we know.</span></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgORaiUDEq5YI56d_Lpmi7b85kd8OloxYBpQNfeE531rpoNGa_HHQsAEYArReHeAEKgezPbJKwR7wPOzlWtfT0k0pDuybHDKMr1ypICFNsHBgmmJ8EXgKv598UiODx9I4at6_4igNenRevOuA7prdgAHXwiIi3KtOVK6XkUhNji2WBhX6HMsHMuYu9Zs/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgORaiUDEq5YI56d_Lpmi7b85kd8OloxYBpQNfeE531rpoNGa_HHQsAEYArReHeAEKgezPbJKwR7wPOzlWtfT0k0pDuybHDKMr1ypICFNsHBgmmJ8EXgKv598UiODx9I4at6_4igNenRevOuA7prdgAHXwiIi3KtOVK6XkUhNji2WBhX6HMsHMuYu9Zs/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></div><div><div><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com1Incheon, South Korea37.4562557 126.70520624.9516837070580593 91.5489562 69.960827692941933 161.86145620000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-42080365400683850812024-02-29T00:00:00.001+08:002024-03-04T06:40:10.900+08:00Control is key!<b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">La Luna (2023)</span></u></b><div><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Director: </u></b><b><u>M. Raihan Halim</u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIGagiqZAylvQ0CYv6HjQ9453Yizvg7IPpOQVedtMf_U8vm512mb7OlgBrNVuiBnq8VQQHdPsXzTE8AyctJZB9kzRlaqrwd8Ag7CyEBYTCDnuOxd1kSHLEEwb_v-XSFcyDwM2jqsvK-nFScZp4ZRXNIKCrSX2ibxeQOXJpNhN_sQiQmxiAgaNUjC1FGvA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="780" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIGagiqZAylvQ0CYv6HjQ9453Yizvg7IPpOQVedtMf_U8vm512mb7OlgBrNVuiBnq8VQQHdPsXzTE8AyctJZB9kzRlaqrwd8Ag7CyEBYTCDnuOxd1kSHLEEwb_v-XSFcyDwM2jqsvK-nFScZp4ZRXNIKCrSX2ibxeQOXJpNhN_sQiQmxiAgaNUjC1FGvA" width="192" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">It is not just confined to one religion; it so happens that Islam is the reference in this film. Leaders of any religion, way of life, or cult take it upon themselves to be the de facto spokesperson on how the religion should be practised. They want to have the final say as if they had an audience with the Almighty, who whispered the secrets of life in their ears. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">To the young and restless, they give the impression that their lifelong purpose in life is to screw up everybody's happiness. Just to show who is the boss. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Take this example. Occasionally, at the temple I sometimes frequent, there will be public service announcements of some good news or achievements. Naturally, the congregation would display their pleasure and admiration by clapping. That was the most natural thing for us humans to do. "But no!" said one elder, who raised his hands angrily to stop them from clapping. Strangely, a few minutes later, everyone was seen ecstatic, clapping and chanting to chants of 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna'. Nobody seems to know that there is such a rule and the rationale for having one when I ask around. After all, how does clapping in felicitations differ from the one during the recital of hymns? Finally, a very senior attendee just said that it was traditional. Period.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The lesson from this example is that people put rules and regulations in place because they can and want to. It is all about control and showing who is the boss.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje4aml4yB01aTiUP-VGYcX4Ex1DCfraw1O0B1s7jUh6CGCKI2Slb3SsPLTMnOw8n0wC2idB-Ex17pg-osqTAefaGaCZGUeJm5zWR-Ly5Al20GoQ1noyHPajnK3IRi8oF7iwgi-sEUg7XPzsaZUpGywhWYj_2PwpAM0YuG0drImClvyrxJvjxOUbU_0Q-c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje4aml4yB01aTiUP-VGYcX4Ex1DCfraw1O0B1s7jUh6CGCKI2Slb3SsPLTMnOw8n0wC2idB-Ex17pg-osqTAefaGaCZGUeJm5zWR-Ly5Al20GoQ1noyHPajnK3IRi8oF7iwgi-sEUg7XPzsaZUpGywhWYj_2PwpAM0YuG0drImClvyrxJvjxOUbU_0Q-c" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">This film got many of the religious people hot under the garbs. This comedy questions our blind faith and how leaders use it for selfish needs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Kampong Bras Basah is a closely knitted village overseen by the conservative local holy man. He determines what is preached in the Friday prayers and micromanages peoples' affairs. Troubles come knocking when a plucky young lady starts her lingerie business in the village. Even though initially the villagers looked at the shop with scorn, they eventually flocked to the shop when one of the couples in the village showed remarkable improvement in their intimate relationships. The holy man digs up his sleeves to shut down the business. The storyline includes hints of spousal abuse, women empowerment, and the need to stand your ground and not blindly follow rules. 4/5.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-rItKOqo60wfznDExDFl3obSXj77qOld5bzgRxSkV7W4soan4Reb-vR_QE3kxvSZyGiddtkw_gTMOG7-H8tMnf82QOxqsgtnF4i-S84oMwE7kRCOpRBOfUiheOmjp6kRcSd36ivJcK6tiFcLo7j1L3pd_DLy_CRNaVX28p4hyphenhyphenmNNTta-ABYkk4EOnts/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-rItKOqo60wfznDExDFl3obSXj77qOld5bzgRxSkV7W4soan4Reb-vR_QE3kxvSZyGiddtkw_gTMOG7-H8tMnf82QOxqsgtnF4i-S84oMwE7kRCOpRBOfUiheOmjp6kRcSd36ivJcK6tiFcLo7j1L3pd_DLy_CRNaVX28p4hyphenhyphenmNNTta-ABYkk4EOnts/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></div><div><div style="background-color: #fafafa; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com1Bras Basah, Singapore1.2984821 103.8540512-27.011751736178844 68.6978012 29.608715936178847 139.01030120000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-11801149999885461872024-02-26T07:15:00.003+08:002024-02-28T14:33:11.147+08:00Who is a good man?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Affair (Miniseries); 2014-19.<br /></u></b><b><u>Season 1-5 (53 episodes)</u></b></span></div><div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxBT52lVKDybPUBiBPFSTja32-2w-a03oZ4c15YnASm5xQ-G3V7bBAM4WkmPQGgaH7pcPGpOAbLJ0IAm7EnbClSTm0PlSOQD4-AQQfLQX8erli8INFV7aA3k357aEdI5U8tZtmzhudGfUkIcid9T3IgLkHDRDVl802DU75X1Jn4XSxyhOzKBNftMgon_U" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxBT52lVKDybPUBiBPFSTja32-2w-a03oZ4c15YnASm5xQ-G3V7bBAM4WkmPQGgaH7pcPGpOAbLJ0IAm7EnbClSTm0PlSOQD4-AQQfLQX8erli8INFV7aA3k357aEdI5U8tZtmzhudGfUkIcid9T3IgLkHDRDVl802DU75X1Jn4XSxyhOzKBNftMgon_U=w235-h320" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Some men justify their polyamorous activities by saying that it is the norm. They assert that monogamy is an artificial construct that society conjures to determine ownership, responsibility and financial commitments in exchange for pleasures and the encumbrances emanating. <br /><br />Society has constructed a cookbook recipe of how society should be lived - a monogamous one, sex within the confines of marriage and condemnation of fornication. <br /><br />In defence, Casanovas insist their actions be in sync with the demands of Nature. The male seedlings are produced in abundance with the sole purpose of choosing the best of the offspring. Hence, they are just helping Nature sow their seed far and wide, aiding the production of the best species to flourish. There must be a reason why oestrus cycles are glaringly absent in our species. With such effective health awareness, screening, treatment and contraception at their disposal, they look at unplanned, unwanted outcomes as the risks of doing business. Anyway, societies have ways to ensure any baby is cared for, and there are many ways to sort out problems that arise. <br /><br />But they all forget the psychological component associated with this seemingly transactional union. What started as a thrill to venture into tasting the forbidden fruit will turn into a compulsion and addiction and a habit hard to break. It soon becomes an indulgence that demands time, money and sacrifices. The forbidden fruit has its way of tying one down. <br /><br />God forbid, by omission or commission, the union would bear fruit or the emotional entanglements that can go as far as bringing down kingdoms. It is said that there is always behind any man's success and the corresponding 'other' woman behind his fall. An affair is usually found there rearing its head!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Rtz5kB1LFKNiBCEB5ijjlzr5Yb_H8DGJYh_vePH16YxmA9TyZTy41YIn2Wn-dyA7tIv1LACDYp2l-HteOrqwI10QZnA-LZ3Jd9yBjlY8wfHqIkoOVxXGeXUebrKVO7Lnu0n3zDSZ3UqIUAjGc2rcoFoUVl32RjH2lAclz8dp4e5bqtf7iAf6T1HgCvE/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Rtz5kB1LFKNiBCEB5ijjlzr5Yb_H8DGJYh_vePH16YxmA9TyZTy41YIn2Wn-dyA7tIv1LACDYp2l-HteOrqwI10QZnA-LZ3Jd9yBjlY8wfHqIkoOVxXGeXUebrKVO7Lnu0n3zDSZ3UqIUAjGc2rcoFoUVl32RjH2lAclz8dp4e5bqtf7iAf6T1HgCvE/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">As the miniseries went over 50 hours of storyline, it had to cover a plethora of topics, including friendship, infidelity, the challenging world of parenting and teaching, gender dysphoria, the diabolical difference in the education systems between the East and West coasts of the USA and more. The unnecessary exposure of flesh and bed scenes is slotted between scenes to pique viewers' interests.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Another novel theory suggested in the storyline is about transgenerational trauma. All the characters in the drama are miserable. They either made wrong life choices or had such low self-restraint that they repeatedly found themselves in trouble. Instead of taking the blame for all their follies, they take the path where they can blame their genes. Apparently, because of the trauma inflicted upon them by their parents or life itself, these epigenetic factors somehow altered their genetic material to make them feel miserable and indulge in destructive habits and even suicide.<br /><br />Using the metaphor of the California forest fires where people were told to move to escape to safety, the story tells us we all have to move. Do we have to move in order to live, from affairs to affairs, to have a full life?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">P.<i>S. There used to be a senior colleague who was forever with the different drop-dead gorgeous women. He was brazen about his whole affairs, displaying his 'trophy collection' in full view of colleagues, friends and relatives without considering its consequences. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><i>Puritans would look with an air of disapproval behind him, of course, admonishing his theatrics, what's more with a pubescent kid at home. Secretly, many of them would cringe in agony thinking, if only they had the testicular fortitude to do the same without giving a minute's thought to others' thoughts of the whole exercise. 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com5Malibu, CA, USA34.0380585 -118.69234385.7278246638211527 -153.8485938 62.348292336178844 -83.5360938tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-30953819206672923272024-02-24T01:01:00.002+08:002024-02-24T22:24:03.383+08:00Huzzah!<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><u>The Great (2020)<br /></u><u>Miniseries Seasons 1 -3.</u></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29IPms8Vj2niau1_twrBZSUcg-_vsvo5jGTq7bHQTCJ4W8qvWt3-0-5GkOe_BFPjJ4v1mqwFfxZUGq-8GbsGtumH9zY0WK5UXbIYOTkdS5POhB5a8ZfTsNQEudqw4iLjnH9_MP-W9EP8JyjVSTxTQTK0PWrPzIR2AuCWdJAg8Mjg_VrYZWYHzdUXwuMk/s300/download%20(2).jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29IPms8Vj2niau1_twrBZSUcg-_vsvo5jGTq7bHQTCJ4W8qvWt3-0-5GkOe_BFPjJ4v1mqwFfxZUGq-8GbsGtumH9zY0WK5UXbIYOTkdS5POhB5a8ZfTsNQEudqw4iLjnH9_MP-W9EP8JyjVSTxTQTK0PWrPzIR2AuCWdJAg8Mjg_VrYZWYHzdUXwuMk/s1600/download%20(2).jpeg" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">There may be better places to learn about Catherine the Great, her supposed greatness and Russian history than this miniseries. With the liberal use of the creative licence and the need to lure viewers to the miniseries, the moviemakers have taken the liberty to mix and match events haphazardly. There is plenty of exhibition of flesh in different stages of undressing. <br /><br />A European history student may cringe at how historical figures are interchangeable at will here. <br /><br />For the records, Catherine II was not Russian but Sophia of Prussian origin. She was not of aristocratic breed. Sophia was married off to Peter III at the age of 17. She embraced Orthodox Christianity, learned Russian, and was immersed in its culture.<br /><br />Unlike what is depicted in the series, Peter III was not Peter I's son but his grandson. Peter I (Peter The Great) was the one who established the Russian Empire. After Peter the Great's unceremonious demise, his second wife, Catherine I, took the helm. The rule was chaotic, and civil unrest was the order. Catherine I's rule was short. So was her grandson's, a teenage Peter II's.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEym-Zeb_s6WmeikIIvy_761Ndj0_OVdAESLzL52V_Fzx4eZVMBJ8of9gmF7RBQJP30xHadG1M2N7s8bc4WG0dtOZXNhICsuUkJJplqTRpiz3UiY982oOa8LGlIa-5kYMACk7awhJIV6IYaHRg15ma0P3NMDksA6063lu6QA1hBucMhBETXNuzpYc82BM/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEym-Zeb_s6WmeikIIvy_761Ndj0_OVdAESLzL52V_Fzx4eZVMBJ8of9gmF7RBQJP30xHadG1M2N7s8bc4WG0dtOZXNhICsuUkJJplqTRpiz3UiY982oOa8LGlIa-5kYMACk7awhJIV6IYaHRg15ma0P3NMDksA6063lu6QA1hBucMhBETXNuzpYc82BM/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Peter III, Catherine I's other grandson, only ruled for six months before his wife, Sophia, who assumed the name Catherine II, arm-twisted him in a coup and put him under house arrest. This is far different from what is supposed in the show, where they have a love-hate lovey-dovey relationship with various expressions of carnal passion.<br /><br />Soon after his incarceration, Peter III died under mysterious circumstances. The official cause of death was something as ridiculous as 'haemorrhoid colic'. There was a running joke amongst diplomats who wanted to avoid a Russian posting. They would cite fear of death as they already had piles!<br /><br />Funny. After her death, Peter III was supposed to have inherited the throne from Queen Elizabeth I, his maternal aunt. What do you know? She is seen here giving motherly advice on royal etiquette, marital advice, and even ideas on how to rule the Empire.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br />Catherine II and the whole of the Russian Empire are known to be promiscuous and to be indulged in much sexual debauchery. And the miniseries maximised it to tilt. Sex sells. Catherine II is known to have had multiple lovers, just like any male emperor would have, for political reasons.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Another interesting observation in this miniseries is the character named Pugachev. Here, he assumes the role of Peter III's bodydouble to confuse possible assassins. From my understanding, the closest he came to Peter III was broadcasting to the serfs that he was indeed Catherine II's estranged husband. Pugachev started a rebellion with the support of the serfs. It did not succeed, of course.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Catherine II's CV shows that she introduced smallpox vaccination to Russians, even before Edward Jenner made inoculating cowpox exudates to stimulate immunity against smallpox. She had picked this up from the Persians, who learned from the Hindus.</span><br style="font-family: Garamond;" /><br style="font-family: Garamond;" /><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Despite its historical inaccuracies, the miniseries was a humorously entertaining one, though. With witty, well-written script with wordplay and innuendoes, it was a delight to watch if one does not mind the Russian aristocracy speaking polished English! Be prepared for many F-bombs and toilet humour. As per the disclaimer, the producers have forewarned us that it is an occasionally true story. Huzzah!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="293" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitoxYzueO8I-TAUDYKwk9UeQ_ADB_pL-5oIEfJHv53RCyO6pOJKCBspF6q0F0B5JogJXW6Mo6mjbFtUZrtN-hZaTTi6IAOtFGi-KRCsEzkd3cRQ7coefg2Cs4j3gI6SH7Usxu3gzIEFDt-Ko9m_T3Dctp4NjstnK6Y9x5VW92ALjDpIjv-ZX0LfD2F8l8" width="320" /></div></span><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0St Petersburg, Russia59.9310584 30.360909731.620824563821152 -4.7953402999999994 88.24129223617885 65.517159700000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-57386330968031990372024-02-21T16:51:00.001+08:002024-02-23T06:57:09.939+08:00Things we may have to unlearn!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8YO-VEIYQa66y8Q55T6yTWqvFhc3rdUG2a3pLmphpNkU-hmtb70mkHPmtGBYA2nnUmtCB0Wc2nI2cTtQUsSvRIyt2XlcHZMYTx-Y18LBf4aUcUwvc04sFBKKgmRxNxDwdqF6gFjzhxLKgOuesX0XsZGC7T1QCVjXqACteqlOgrWcCuxkNH7IXuioGBo4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8YO-VEIYQa66y8Q55T6yTWqvFhc3rdUG2a3pLmphpNkU-hmtb70mkHPmtGBYA2nnUmtCB0Wc2nI2cTtQUsSvRIyt2XlcHZMYTx-Y18LBf4aUcUwvc04sFBKKgmRxNxDwdqF6gFjzhxLKgOuesX0XsZGC7T1QCVjXqACteqlOgrWcCuxkNH7IXuioGBo4" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Malu apa bossku?
Apparently, all the things I may have learnt from childhood may be wrong after all. Sometimes, I wonder whether I thought the wrong thing or may have been hoodwinked to believe obviously wrong things. Perhaps values changed while we were napping.
I always assumed that when one loses any of his properties via public auction, he is said to have lost not only his wealth but also his dignity. The mark of a true man is his ability to acquire wealth and provide for his dependents; his inability to retain his finances is a colossal failure. At a time when pride was everything, abscondment and suicide were standard outlets.
My legal eagle friends remain nonchalant about their clients or opponents declaring themselves bankrupt or their properties auctioned off. To them, that is a cost of doing business. Overlooking the inconveniences of bankruptcy, it remains a legitimate 'get out of jail' sort of card. Nothing Earth-shattering, they say, and definitely no shame.
I remember a time in my childhood when two policemen came knocking at one of my neighbours' doors. The next thing I saw was my neighbour being escorted out with his hands at the back, handcuffed. My neighbour's mother was wailing, and the other neighbours on the flat floor were busy concocting their own theories of what had transpired before the arrest. Forget that they all had not an iota of clue of what the accused was in for. That left an indelible impression on the young me of how a clash with authorities would affect the people around me.
Then came an epiphany. Great world leaders immortalised in our history books spent a big chunk of their lives behind bars. Gandhi was practically behind bars all through the Second World War. Mandela spent 27 years in solitary confinement on Robben Island and other prisons.
<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxS_8St42enUvhWFnEuseKgF6nAHJXvR3f7TPcQMalMwuscfo02zRI4Dd9SLs4F7BWVNYS3bZBA1aRaZaNtMXkr6pTy-6k5-EhGGCj4ETxGcdY-RQZUvKwFPBdkIHLBF7JAjxiCwczoCOC2pasX_HDU5YPGoVtPP9qlERfdO_V-lkMvUrLpmZACM8APak/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxS_8St42enUvhWFnEuseKgF6nAHJXvR3f7TPcQMalMwuscfo02zRI4Dd9SLs4F7BWVNYS3bZBA1aRaZaNtMXkr6pTy-6k5-EhGGCj4ETxGcdY-RQZUvKwFPBdkIHLBF7JAjxiCwczoCOC2pasX_HDU5YPGoVtPP9qlERfdO_V-lkMvUrLpmZACM8APak/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></span><div><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In my mind, that is how I thought ex-PM Najib's supporters looked at him when all the legal minds of the country decided that he was guilty of hoodwinking the people's money for whatever reasons. His supporters viewed him as a saviour wronged in a hostile environment when he claimed what was rightfully his.
It did not matter that the leader took full responsibility for the duties shouldered upon him in the line of national duty or, like the ship's captain, was the last person to leave a sinking ship. In their eyes, he is a sacrificial lamb of a system supposed to protect him. Whichever way one sees it, their statement just becomes more and more pervasive. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">"No, no," reassured the ex-PM's supporters. They insist he was just a pawn in an intricate political ploy to discredit him. "There is no reason to be ashamed, my boss!" (Malu apa Boss ku?) </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">I was nurtured to believe that education is a sure way to succeed. Hence, as children, we were told that nothing was more important in life than sitting down and absorbing everything in the books to regurgitate at the appropriate times.
Then, it dawned upon me. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Every bit of exposure maketh a boy a complete being. As I learnt from Steve Jobs's autobiography, everything one learns is useful somewhere in one's life. There were many roads to Rome.
What is the truth? </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysy1bn5xpw9N7_i35wN7lOSzi2nSMGa0wFKPZBn1reNZNx5UIcf1mecLDFOllcpHhyhWhbWZi7UV51B7iYbq0yeNJH1NQxG9jchNdsW1jA64GE64iQJclP2-4nKEe2-Znf_N2kaug9-6aUQXASyPkBEqtOX3XLr_1M0olPt9-Ka_rthHxyLrV-0TCgbE/s1280/shakuni%20temple.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysy1bn5xpw9N7_i35wN7lOSzi2nSMGa0wFKPZBn1reNZNx5UIcf1mecLDFOllcpHhyhWhbWZi7UV51B7iYbq0yeNJH1NQxG9jchNdsW1jA64GE64iQJclP2-4nKEe2-Znf_N2kaug9-6aUQXASyPkBEqtOX3XLr_1M0olPt9-Ka_rthHxyLrV-0TCgbE/w320-h180/shakuni%20temple.jpeg" title="Shakuni's temple in Kerala. Homage to his determination to seek revenge against the greatest empire of the land. Allegedly attained moksha here." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Shakuni's temple in Kerala. Homage to his</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b>determination to seek revenge against the</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b>greatest empire of the land. Allegedly attained</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b>moksha here.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, the world tells us that we were taken for a ride. All the so-called history taught to us was fraud by the voice of the victors who wanted to paint a favourable view of themselves. The truth was multifaceted. Only until the lion tells his side of the story will every tale glorify the hunter. </span></span></span><div> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">
To put the cherry on the icing on my cake of confusion, lately, a scholar completely shattered the image of Shakuni, a character in Mahabharata. My understanding is that Shakuni was the villain of the whole tale. He allegedly had a special dice that helped him to cheat the Pandavas of their kingdom and humiliate their wife, Kunti. He walked with a limp that inspired a distasteful proverb in Tamil, which suggested that all handicapped people have evil in their hearts. </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><br />Now, they say that it is the Pandavas who instigated the situation. By nature, Shakuni was a skilled gamer. He had an abnormal gait but an able body with no handicap of any kind. <span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Shakuni did not have a limp or had no trouble walking, running or even scaling high mountains. </span>What he had was unbridled loyalty to his sister, Gandhari, and far-sightedness. Gandhari's father, with his kingdom in Afghanistan, had learned from his soothsayers that his daughter had a curse. Her astrological chart suggested her husband would die soon after marriage. So, the family got her married to a goat, which was quickly slaughtered to break the curse. Gandhari was then married off to the blind king of Hastinapura, Dhritrashtra. After discovering that Gandhari was technically a widow, Dhriashtra's father and brother sieged Gandhari's father's kingdom. They imprisoned the male members, who subsequently succumbed to their torture. The family was parsimonious with their food supply to ensure the youngest, Shakuni, thrived through the ordeal to avenge the Pandavas on a later date. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Shakuni later comes to live with his sister to protect her. The rest of what happened afterwards is left to our interpretation.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">
<i>P.S. The aunties I was exposed to in my childhood did not filter much of what they thought of others. My mother was no different. They called a spade a spade and had no qualms about speaking their mind. Being politically correct was an alien concept. I have often heard my mother cursing people behind their backs for wronging her. She even cursed a handicapped lady who congenitally had an underdeveloped right leg as being as evil as Shakuni. That is when I heard her often mentioned in Tamil, implying that a limping person has a dirty heart!</i></span></span></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Pavithreswaram, Kerala, India9.0241031 76.6894046-19.286130736178848 41.5331546 37.334336936178843 111.8456546tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-53860042727363780152024-02-19T06:34:00.001+08:002024-02-19T21:48:23.418+08:00Sticking to the same narrative?<div style="text-align: left;"><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><u style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">American Fiction (2023)</span></span></u></strong></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><u style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Screenplay & Direction: Cord Jefferson</span></span></u></strong></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><strong><u><span data-preserver-spaces="true"><br /></span></u></strong></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; clear: right; color: #0e101a; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaDl6Jn0d60oREABH1NNy-MOBLBcafXtYKhb-sl3kcQUc0_kfySyiSl_z8nSdbDh7tIMqUVOSIfs_cSVqrsiYCG3UoQaZEjezJGH3-ZrLfCAcHXmgtg5nys7OsR2L9vWRMILtTJwngk4leyW0FQm_vqzE-CZNzoVCereNMqKTFVSjG03Ree9YFqtKgr8/s320/american-fiction-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></p><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">It seems that we have not changed much since our days as cavemen. Imagine living exposed in a world so hostile we would have tried to understand the unusual things around us. We continued compartmentalising the living and non-living things amongst us even when we became hunter-gatherers, farmers or city dwellers. By compartmentalising everyone in boxes, we thought we had our defences up to remind us which one of them was friends and which were potentially harmful. Gone are club-carrying or sabre-rattling days, but these classifications helped somewhat.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">The Chinese viewed anyone non-Huns as barbaric. So did the Greeks, Persians and Arabs. During the mercantile era, the dark-skinned were labelled as God-sanctioned slaves. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">In the USA, post-Civil War America assumed that the emancipated slaves were ill-prepared to fit into modern society. They expected them to remain the subservient ones. They were prevented from getting into mainstream business, education and even usage of common public amnesties. In their own stride, the Blacks did prosper. Records showed the presence of significant numbers of black entrepreneurs and millionaires all through the late 19th century. There were pockets of prosperous descendants of slaves. Such a vicinity was Tulsa in Oklahoma. Like the Osage Nation, there were abundant automobile-owning, well-suited professionals there. Tulsa was fondly called ‘The Black Wall Street’ because of the burgeoning business activity there. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxdHqbbXX9wlAmQcM-xxkuq5Gu70so96mf-bnYjU4Q50q2cEp8X0tl93Hb1csGah2zyvbsCZL_d6qbBetOp57D0Wgsn-Xint9FrUAhgTg9kWeR2FjInKhBMpomtpHm9yaOy71FjxMz85-SEPIP7YXqyaT1XkSmvl6jzZC-sX3N7RAJmOQ-4oKARpGPzk/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxdHqbbXX9wlAmQcM-xxkuq5Gu70so96mf-bnYjU4Q50q2cEp8X0tl93Hb1csGah2zyvbsCZL_d6qbBetOp57D0Wgsn-Xint9FrUAhgTg9kWeR2FjInKhBMpomtpHm9yaOy71FjxMz85-SEPIP7YXqyaT1XkSmvl6jzZC-sX3N7RAJmOQ-4oKARpGPzk/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: large;">Resentment was building up there. They could not fathom a subjugated community doing well. So when a white shop assistant cried foul when a black man allegedly pulled her hand. There were many versions of what transpired there, from a lover’s quarrel to miscommunication. Before the due legal process could take its course, the mob decided that he should be lynched and the black residents needed to be torched. It resulted in much property damage and about 600 lives lost. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">It is a cognitive dissonance. The majority wants to continually stereotypically paint the marginalised as the downtrodden, irreparable group of people forever trapped in the loop of melancholy, tragedy and hopelessness. They assume the marginalised groups will be stuck in the muck forever without recourse for improvement. Well, there is news for them. Collectively, many have leapfrogged from their Sisyphus-like struggles and bootstrapped themselves to prosperity. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">But the world is stuck in its own ways. By adhering to their old narratives, the non-marginalised ones give a pat to themselves, thinking that they are serving the marginalised by bringing their plight to the fore. The truth is that that is a fiction, The American Fiction. The liberals believe that representation among minorities is only valid if the narrative follows a preset traditional stereotype. Any deviation from this would nullify the voice of the majority. The reality is that the world has changed, but not the thinking of some. </span></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="142" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm=w200-h51" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAUCAMAAAC6V+0/AAAAOVBMVEUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD///+8yHYvAAAAEnRSTlMAAgEDBAUJBwYzCw0UChARDghnBteEAAAAhElEQVR4XnWRSxJDIQgEEx1Axd/L/Q8bKCuuyOzsohHxdZLS25LSOV2ULQdflgEiIDu9KqiIFILXXpeEx2ChXwdnKNxUGxc4dZbNfXjPufkp5H0Nwtymq/dltUIweNy9qmXt08EgydDZ6+dT+9Qh9AeGenhROFI0fPjMaCHx6uIlh9/xBSJuB3l0A/6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC") 9 fill / 9px stretch; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Tulsa, OK, USA36.1539816 -95.9927750000000097.8437477638211561 -131.149025 64.464215436178847 -60.836525000000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-19115443764857963532024-02-17T00:00:00.003+08:002024-02-18T16:17:13.886+08:00In defence of Shakuni...<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Shakuni, Master of the Game (2019)<br /></u></b></span><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Author: Ashutosh Nadkar</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDvgsJUoBV6pOVWkZDI2kIYGMUdM59VsYaHJ7u910nW98RxtyQCBQxYbXCUbDI0beydTiE5K2ZBir9VUSZ0ixChz3fuBxky8au2pr50ysO6jthO2JpNdv_DVQuvChnXebadhqvYzKpwvbHTB9nvYri6LAHILRfkRhLOeZ3q70Kj5Y2KQnjLcgeafEIoc/s499/IMG_9408.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDvgsJUoBV6pOVWkZDI2kIYGMUdM59VsYaHJ7u910nW98RxtyQCBQxYbXCUbDI0beydTiE5K2ZBir9VUSZ0ixChz3fuBxky8au2pr50ysO6jthO2JpNdv_DVQuvChnXebadhqvYzKpwvbHTB9nvYri6LAHILRfkRhLOeZ3q70Kj5Y2KQnjLcgeafEIoc/s320/IMG_9408.JPG" width="203" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">That is the essence behind the Mahābhārata. It is not supposed to give a 2-dimensional view of things. It should make us realise that good and evil are a spectrum. One man's good deed can be to another's detriment. One man's version of the truth is another's untruth. I suppose, in the same way, Shakuni, the archetypical villain of the epic saga, could have his version of what actually transpired in his lifetime. He would have his version of what happened between the two noble families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">This book goes on to tell exactly that; Shakuni's actions, reactions and justifications of all the things that he allegedly connived in eventually leading up to one of the bloodiest wars in history amongst brothers, cousins and uncles.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Shakuni gives the lowdowns and dirty secrets of the family his beloved sister was married to. He claimed he was not handicapped as per common misconception. He was an able body who could easily run, walk and scale mountains. It was just that he walked with a slightly abnormal but functional gait. There was no need for military training in the peaceful country of Gandahar, so thought his father, the King. Hence, he need not be trained militarily. The army was not even equipped as well as its neighbours. Due to the extreme weather found in this region, people here spend more time indoors. Hence, Shakuni became a whiz in board games and handling the dice.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">So when Bhishma, the feared patriarch from Hastinapur, came his mighty army to its border, the King of Gandahar got scared. Bhisma's soldiers outnumbered even the country's total population. Bhisma came with a marriage proposal for the blind King of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, to Gandhari, the beautiful princess of Gandahar. Left with Hobson's choice between causing suffering to his people and simply marrying off quietly, the King and the Princess chose the latter. Prince Shakuni was livid but felt helpless. He told himself that he would live to fight another day with his own devices.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Shakuni left his family in Gandahar to live in Hastinapur to choose the opportune time for revenge which did not involve military prowess.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Shakuni's stay in Hastinapur saw the Pandavas and the Kauravas scrambling to produce their first male heir, hoping to usurp the throne. King Pandu of the Pandavas probably had erectile dysfunction and faced fertility issues. King Dhritarasthra of the Kauravas impregnated his wife, but unfortunately, even after two years of gestation, she just delivered a lump of flesh.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, Pandu and his wife Kunti took a retreat to the jungles. Miraculously, Kunti conceived and delivered successively to Yudhistra, Bhima, Arjuna and twins Nakula and Sahadeva. Rumours went around the kingdom that Pandu did not complete the job. Pandu's uncle, his mother's sage son from another husband, Vyasa, the author of Mahābhārata, inseminated with his seeds. Perhaps the Prime Minister also had a hand in conceiving the offspring, the eldest of the Pandava sons, Yudhistra and the Lord of the Wind in Bhima. This practice was totally legitimate under the niyoga system to treat childlessness. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The blob of flesh from Gandhari was treated ayurvedically by scientist-philosopher-poet Vyasa to 101 live babies. Believe it or not, this is what some fundamentalists refer to as the first in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The first-born of the Kauravas was Duryodhana and a clear favourite of Shakuni. Shakuni had placed a lot of hope to outrun Bhishma and his clan.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">On the Pandavas' side, Kuru's Prime Minister, Vidura, gravitated towards aggrandising the brothers. It became apparent after the military training with Dronacharya. That became the tinder box that eventually led to the Kurukshetra War. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaJpvcIL-4zrD6jy11CpWW3Lp1rdi2z2hUeIMqQMS9GHwm7ZLpP9VDMhGjf-UGaRu-5aTkg7bKyjl2L0UL37w447vfT7JaMN4L_Mbygn1S0PSTn_kLSHrG5FmFihDTJoFD4tJiwuj_od_A07FEG6dSgC4iQ7QsN9mRjQsUfovkJIrZ9vKXX9iXv34XtSQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="2304" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaJpvcIL-4zrD6jy11CpWW3Lp1rdi2z2hUeIMqQMS9GHwm7ZLpP9VDMhGjf-UGaRu-5aTkg7bKyjl2L0UL37w447vfT7JaMN4L_Mbygn1S0PSTn_kLSHrG5FmFihDTJoFD4tJiwuj_od_A07FEG6dSgC4iQ7QsN9mRjQsUfovkJIrZ9vKXX9iXv34XtSQ" width="320" /></span></b></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">Kurukshetra War</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Shakuni also noticed Drona's dark side. He refused to pupil in Karna because of his caste. When a tribal person, Akhilavya, learned the art of archery through an effigy of him, Drona actually demanded his right thumb as tuition fees, thus rendering him useless as an archer. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">The legendary backgammon game that spurred the Pandavas was played fairly and squarely. There were no special gaff dice made from Shakuni's father's bones. In fact, in the first game, through his marvellous skills, Shakuni made Duryodhana lose badly just to catch the Pandavas unawares later on. The fear of losing in the second game got Yudhistra </span><span style="font-family: Garamond;">carried away, betting his brothers, throne, and wife. The 12-year exile and a year of living incognito were agreed upon as fair and square. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Things got out of hand when Shakuni managed to identify the Pandavas during the final year of their punishment. Their cover was blown. Shakuni never meant for the Kurus and Pandavas to go for each other's jugular and turn into maniacal hunters, breaking all rules of a Kshatriya. He felt a tinge of regret.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Shakuni, as a good uncle to the Kauravas, donned military fatigues finally and partook in the Kurukshetra war, only to be slain on the final day. He </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i>[P.S. Duryodhana was named Suyodhana, meaning good warrior, at birth. Because of his unusual birth, he was cast as bad, evil, or bad omen, hence, the prefix 'dur', meaning evil -Evil Warrior.]</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i>[P.P.S. I remember my history teacher, Mrs Lai, commenting during history class when she was covering the Mahabharata War. In the same as Shakuni commented, she said, "How would you expect a fair war when God take sides?" What she said made much sense then, but I am wiser. There is more to what the eyes see. That, precisely, is the essence of life. Things are neither black nor white. They come in shades of grey.]</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><i>[P.P.P.S. In Shakuni's eyes, Bhishma cannot be as noble as he is revered to be if he is to be judged by his actions. Besides arm-twisting a helpless princess from a docile kingdom like Gangadhar to marry his blind nephew, he is reputed to have kidnapped princesses Amba, Ambilika and Ambalika from their swayambara for his weakling half-brother, Vichitravirya, against Kshatriya dharma.]</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEplaRZAzJxXbOXeOXwHuyhdlTObfhVHq09itzjHspnUK8uNf9Spr6Za9P4Yvzgk3Q6fBDRloHJesWU-AGZY79fCD6y4Klnh9U7fQ4oZ6FH8vaXIvf2Unn9xZrjzBCXOdefPyezjp6gnhyphenhyphen-7QdDI18pOA8Q_-vnLZneOHCsRDeM7rjlUvUgFk1Umi5xq4/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEplaRZAzJxXbOXeOXwHuyhdlTObfhVHq09itzjHspnUK8uNf9Spr6Za9P4Yvzgk3Q6fBDRloHJesWU-AGZY79fCD6y4Klnh9U7fQ4oZ6FH8vaXIvf2Unn9xZrjzBCXOdefPyezjp6gnhyphenhyphen-7QdDI18pOA8Q_-vnLZneOHCsRDeM7rjlUvUgFk1Umi5xq4/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com2Kurukshetra, Haryana, India29.9695121 76.8782821.6592782638211538 41.722032 58.279745936178841 112.034532tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-12264793796684663872024-02-15T00:00:00.000+08:002024-02-15T00:00:00.132+08:00Death by shared psychosis?<div style="text-align: left;"><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Great Indian Suicide (Tamil, Telegu; 2023)<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Director: Viplove Koneti</span></span></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 28px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht7Oh3pbRtbyntOmK2fJ1SmvAomY8VNabsxcRXDilefqbm-iMLQVQFHE0ovyYecs1P6f52wRK-2OZossarJz7s0JyZc7r0pLcnJzg6sxzf3CRLS0xWAnl581vcdArcjdDDQHjiy3J2HLyNtGhPW0X1zDdNfM7EKKeOehy-tgGZ9Se6327v1VLSfJp5Zjk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht7Oh3pbRtbyntOmK2fJ1SmvAomY8VNabsxcRXDilefqbm-iMLQVQFHE0ovyYecs1P6f52wRK-2OZossarJz7s0JyZc7r0pLcnJzg6sxzf3CRLS0xWAnl581vcdArcjdDDQHjiy3J2HLyNtGhPW0X1zDdNfM7EKKeOehy-tgGZ9Se6327v1VLSfJp5Zjk" width="180" /></a></div></div><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In the junior years of my training, I had the chance to manage patients who were brought in after suicide attempts. The drug of choice in that demographic was paraquat, a deathly organophosphate herbicide which worked well at keeping weed at bay. Unfortunately, it also proved to be lethal to humans. A tablespoon of the deathly liquid proved lethal. Even if stomach washout and chelation were instituted early, once urinary paraquat was positive, death is inevitable. Within 14 to 21 days, slow death would ensue with organ failure, specifically lung fibrosis. More amount of remorse, regret or prayers could change back time. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span class="s2"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The population that thronged that hospital were plantation workers and had easy access to paraquat. Many of the victims were Indians, and the title of this movie brought the memory of that time of my career. Many of the parasuicides were for feeble reasons, to gain sympathy, to attract attention, to display undying love, for being jilted, scoring bad marks or even after being disciplined by parents. Unfortunately, their choice of drug proved wrong. They mostly, unfortunately, succumbed to the poison. At that time, I thought the Indian movies were to blame as many movies of the 80s included suicide as a selling point. They must have got their inspiration from the saga of Romeo and Juliet, the exemplar of pure, genuine, innocent love!</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span class="s2"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">This movie turned out to be nothing like that. It seems to have been inspired by cases of mass suicide like Branch Davidian and the Waco incident, as well as the Jonestown massacre in Guyana, but with a twist. The components of a femme fatale and sibling killers (spoiler alert) are present.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span class="s2"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">A coffee shop owner is visited by a young lady offering her biscuit cookies to be sold in the shop. The owner, a young man who grew up in an orphanage, slowly falls for the girl. One thing led to another, and the girl dropped a bombshell. Her family plans to have mass suicide, as prescribed by their family holy man, to reunite with her dead uncle. Our hero marries the girl, goes to her family house, and tries to get to the root of the seemingly bizarre logic that her family seems to hold steadfast to. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><i><b>P.S. The movie is based on the Burari deaths in Delhi in 2018. Ten family members, including an 80-year-old grandmother, died in a ritualistic mass suicide. The deaths were determined to be motivated by shared psychosis. Read all about it <a href="https://www.riflerangeboy.com/2021/11/drinking-kool-aid.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></i></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_6ESnXcvZc6D8dqQ6nCqiN9rFgIlK1a8SBSNU-REOIDLiOCs6N2x54TfA72RJwRtdkN_qMcDIuBw8VRRzPnfafoh7GUpf6x-Y8Zd16ZWJy_cFLJPYw3iW7TG2zEbyldclxGB_Hw8S2zolfzdc7ZNRb47Yt8auMuwpMoOZpi0ZqmtRr9S14L_0k0H3uw/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="color: #009eb8; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3.1068447 101.7259197-25.203389136178846 66.5696697 31.417078536178845 136.88216970000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-47800619188087445812024-02-13T00:00:00.003+08:002024-02-13T16:53:03.457+08:00An open file?<p><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">The Stranger (Miniseries, S1,E1-8; 2020)</span></u></b></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0qm1-90WotGh9BeaAKxVzZYF0lSt0GNMwNZB-32bco7N-A7cXwVeXffGw77Pptbaioykv9untqX0bhAvzsU_Fl3It-3o2rIGlnDTG2YxLKqsJjCh2ZgnMplVY1x9Q8cTYT3jk0jiswv9gP_Aki8BUGkoIL5h8yphJiK8L2T_A1jrFLtWBRDM1h0q0ys/s300/download.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0qm1-90WotGh9BeaAKxVzZYF0lSt0GNMwNZB-32bco7N-A7cXwVeXffGw77Pptbaioykv9untqX0bhAvzsU_Fl3It-3o2rIGlnDTG2YxLKqsJjCh2ZgnMplVY1x9Q8cTYT3jk0jiswv9gP_Aki8BUGkoIL5h8yphJiK8L2T_A1jrFLtWBRDM1h0q0ys/s1600/download.jpeg" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">A cleric politician in the Malaysian Parliament once called for the ruling country to impose stricter control on what children can access on their digital devices. He said that he currently kept on receiving X-rated messages on his phone and went on to rant about how easy it is to access porn online. He went on to say he shuddered to think what the inquisitive minds be up to. <br /><br />Another politician from the opposite side saw this as a low-hanging fruit and decided to capitalise on it for brownie points. He seized the moment. The second politician tried to educate the first one that what appears on our digital devices is determined by our usage. The algorithm suggests what we should watch based on our previous consumption. In other words, the first politician must be an avid consumer of smut to be inundated with so many invitations to adult sites.</span><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRgertf4El80KUjAPrv7Hk4wpng4UJX0AztFz0f148TTE-PwUcFcVVd6rttPraQ5Q7MaNW0OauLrO3spIS9bzVGHd7EcF1iQv2rA2IVa6wq3hmY2oV47xXUd-32rOVFVH0h2FO10wg-0JA6V3EFTXRn4k4DBtDOpUb1c7f8R-i_ylvrhgOv4hUge3q9g/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Garamond; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRgertf4El80KUjAPrv7Hk4wpng4UJX0AztFz0f148TTE-PwUcFcVVd6rttPraQ5Q7MaNW0OauLrO3spIS9bzVGHd7EcF1iQv2rA2IVa6wq3hmY2oV47xXUd-32rOVFVH0h2FO10wg-0JA6V3EFTXRn4k4DBtDOpUb1c7f8R-i_ylvrhgOv4hUge3q9g/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">That is it. We think we know everything about the person sitting beside us or under the same roof. Wait for a rude awakening. The person you think you know may actually be a total stranger, managing an alternative life in an alternative universe with an alternative identity!<br /><br />It may be true that it is pretty easy to lead a double life in this time and age. With so much emphasis and demand for privacy, even among close family members, one can get away with planning, executing and getting away with even murder. Everything is hidden under the cloak of secrecy and the Data Protection Act. So we think!<br /><br />That is, until someone with the know-how, the access to and data of information, sounds and visuals. That, too, will depend on whose hands these data fall on. Fall into rogue hands, and it could be a source of a lucrative income to them.<br /><br />This miniseries tells an exciting story involving three seemingly unrelated incidents. A schoolboy is found unconscious in the woods. A well-liked schoolteacher goes missing. She is later accused of mishandling her school football team's finances. And periodically, a stranger appears in places that would least expect her to be, to pass sensitive, deep secrets to people. 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Yorkshire, UK53.9590858 -1.079240326.116637184355749 -36.2354903 81.801534415644241 34.0770097tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-34138097114186323162024-02-11T00:00:00.018+08:002024-02-12T22:20:28.204+08:00Real courage is in living!<div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Sajini Shinde ka Viral Video (Sajni Shinde's Viral Video, Hindi; 2023)<br /></span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Written & Directed by: </span><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;">Mikhil Musale</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZOeHsXDkuuiEmM0FdCdA83ID-VvUjU8Uv2Tkgi7BNe8ptRefm1k3_Tx177hEmp02fQQQ1-nRPEaigctmOjO2TbIyIa_K1ROnhplMiQBoEzTf5LbaI9tG3qDuuIhAxCbgN5mm7VfzgV7LJEGBbaoh-8Be9y6DyMGtoJo5dHjIral_Or-LP_TdwBF9dTY/s354/Sajini_Shinde_Ka_Viral_Video_film_poster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZOeHsXDkuuiEmM0FdCdA83ID-VvUjU8Uv2Tkgi7BNe8ptRefm1k3_Tx177hEmp02fQQQ1-nRPEaigctmOjO2TbIyIa_K1ROnhplMiQBoEzTf5LbaI9tG3qDuuIhAxCbgN5mm7VfzgV7LJEGBbaoh-8Be9y6DyMGtoJo5dHjIral_Or-LP_TdwBF9dTY/s320/Sajini_Shinde_Ka_Viral_Video_film_poster.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>People who profess that humanity is very much alive have not been trolled on social media before. Just because they are behind the cloak of anonymity, perhaps with a fictitious name or a fake account, they have the fortitude to bait users into a vicious argument with the intent of causing hurt to an intended person or parties. It is a cyberbullying. The problem is sometimes it is self-made. We put too much information on our social media; sometimes, we need to think. Not everyone out there is going to laugh with us with our goofiness. Many create mountains out of molehills. And not everyone is going to handle criticism kindly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Pew Research Center reported in a 2022 survey that 46 % of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 have experienced some form of cyberbullying, which may include trolling. Amongst adults, what goes online is scrutinised by others and made a big deal, and soon, netizens will deem it inappropriate. Soon, the unthinking public, with the might of numbers, like sheep, would demand punitive actions without applying rational thinking or mindfulness.</span><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Adult behaviour outside working hours is no longer his private affair but is scrutinised with a fine-toothed comb to be judged and given exemplary punishments. Only some have the tenacity to withstand all these pressures. Before due process is complete, netizens ripe with cancel culture go full-throttle to crucify the accused. First, people exhibit their pictures to share their joy. Next, these same pictures bring them misery. How ironic.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnA_PcmpzpwUN6SIRLjIdacCoCtKFstBIbneDE99FATVULIpmUfw1-2GmACZv5O6w2Lmf4Oy2tN7eZc9iRROLXiTfDZ9J1BWz9Rd8FGBL-etgjW2cwV-YI5o-b5xyAF_qoxaYbuOPM3357KEBH0f-zfgxg4U5jYOoKPs5GyF2nHpb1MlKgCFhYbo7Ol8/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnA_PcmpzpwUN6SIRLjIdacCoCtKFstBIbneDE99FATVULIpmUfw1-2GmACZv5O6w2Lmf4Oy2tN7eZc9iRROLXiTfDZ9J1BWz9Rd8FGBL-etgjW2cwV-YI5o-b5xyAF_qoxaYbuOPM3357KEBH0f-zfgxg4U5jYOoKPs5GyF2nHpb1MlKgCFhYbo7Ol8/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">In this movie, a teacher had her partying picture online. It was her birthday, her friends got her inebriated, and she started dancing on the bar top. Her picture was taken by someone who inadvertently made it online and went viral. The administrators of her school, parents of her students, her parents and her fiance were livid. It was out of character. The school board wants to terminate her services. Then, she goes missing after writing a suicide note online. </span></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Life is a challenge. It just became more complicated with connectivity. It was meant to make people more informed with information at their fingertips. 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Pune, Maharashtra, India18.5204303 73.8567437-9.7898035361788445 38.700493699999996 46.830664136178846 109.0129937tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-80622342873707783142024-02-09T00:00:00.002+08:002024-02-12T11:52:03.887+08:00Wealth bequeath power for generations to come!<p><span style="font-family: Lobster; font-size: large;"><b><u>Fool Me Once (Miniseries, S01 E01-08; 2023)</u></b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKVt3uB8Hn7WNitXQn_AF-AjCNUx5RKS9YtOqRs_3Tb-5-OmAy2sT4KtPphy8NPSPBtKnxMKOQ7wbs7GTAfN5ltbe_4GM0gBW_HqpgMxf89wP9egMtkNHIs25KNjX3a96wln0uff6AIr0xcn-HVa8Mg_68j_sJNTUXk9qGOKiqFuCWwE8pkdsJvY9Bikg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKVt3uB8Hn7WNitXQn_AF-AjCNUx5RKS9YtOqRs_3Tb-5-OmAy2sT4KtPphy8NPSPBtKnxMKOQ7wbs7GTAfN5ltbe_4GM0gBW_HqpgMxf89wP9egMtkNHIs25KNjX3a96wln0uff6AIr0xcn-HVa8Mg_68j_sJNTUXk9qGOKiqFuCWwE8pkdsJvY9Bikg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br />The thing that piqued my interest is the apparent class difference that happens in the UK. It is common knowledge that European societies were separated based on their professions. Pretty soon, the professions were imprinted on their surnames. Weavers became Webbers and Webster, clerks to Clarke, shoemakers to Schumachers, scholars to Scully, tillers to Tyler, and the various Smiths and Taylors.<br /><br />Specific surnames denoted aristocracy and privileged them to move around the royal family and stand a chance to pick a bone strewn by the monarch. Hanging around with the right crowd ensured prosperity and opportunities to venture out to exotic lands and further fatten the family coffers. <br /><br />Talking about making an overseas trip and coming back rich, besides the Pirates of the Caribbean, we have, from the East, Robert Clive. Robert Clive owes much of his existence to India, and he had appropriated the word India into his name. Clive of India had amassed so much from political wrangling and military conniving. He started employment in the East India Company as an office clerk and, through his expert manoeuvring, overthrew one of the wealthiest rulers in India to bring home £25miilion in today's money. His status was raised to a Baron for his efforts in bringing in foreign exchange. His family was set for generations to come.<br /><br />When the imperialist powers moved their mercantile prowess to the East, they tried to pigeonhole their subjects into similar divisions. They found this kind of 'divide and rule' helpful as it also created animosity amongst its subjects. The imperialists laughed all the way to their ship and their motherlands. Years later, from their lootings, they emerged as first-world nations, smelling of roses. Their subjects, even generations later, stay stinking as basket cases. They not only still had to look up to their former colonial masters but also be dependent on them for items of precise engineering.<br /></span><div><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMizogOBBUf4D2O9r6wNmu8jI6lX6UoSdJ_ZQclKf9HP_EJp_puOk95FsB3PPFEZRe_3dtjhESlgyFezMtZejgul6MLspNp7ClSV_ghND6TqVdCKRGxZmLr3B4T2QQ3VT3FMETvkADa0gz5H5Wi_YZMuMoeNMGbQEycIxWqNT1_EsvOKTLvNpCUeylsG0/w150-h200/IMG_9277.JPG" width="150" /></span></span></p><div style="margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">That was what went through my mind when I viewed this miniseries. It is set in an obscenely colossal manor in the UK as the family comes to terms with the brutal murder of one of its sons. Things take a turn when a nannycam picks up the deceased on camera playing with his daughter. <br /><br />Pandora's box opens many family secrets, under-table dealings, family dirty linen and shady family businesses involving Big Pharma and poor third-world nations.<br /><br />Expect a Sivaji's 1964' Puthiya Paravai' kind of ending in this one!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="background-color: #fafafa; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #009eb8; display: inline; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: currentcolor; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Garamond; 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Oxford, UK51.7520209 -1.257726323.441787063821153 -36.4139763 80.062254736178843 33.8985237tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4325847849664620954.post-32929217598183832002024-02-07T00:00:00.002+08:002024-02-09T03:16:36.512+08:00The annual pilgrimage<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemj0_2wP-8P-bQHS_BBA8MBJm9skSrMr1n1XbJoKIju6mE0bvCJn6RpjmBFFkyyWnrANr93q3QH4jhoc-SNHn5MTRrvLexfy_IzVzqPhMNs1jx6xo4Re1OKLlaNEVNNJRUt0__MvXNBMxT_I4OOf4v5GDVk-i8ianbXqdL-_ok-QwL1kM-8DretPsJr8/s1280/bea88855-e76a-42ee-bd63-3e25069187ba.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1028" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhemj0_2wP-8P-bQHS_BBA8MBJm9skSrMr1n1XbJoKIju6mE0bvCJn6RpjmBFFkyyWnrANr93q3QH4jhoc-SNHn5MTRrvLexfy_IzVzqPhMNs1jx6xo4Re1OKLlaNEVNNJRUt0__MvXNBMxT_I4OOf4v5GDVk-i8ianbXqdL-_ok-QwL1kM-8DretPsJr8/s320/bea88855-e76a-42ee-bd63-3e25069187ba.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond;">One thing about Indians in Penang, mainly of Tamil stock, is that they have a solid attachment to Thaipusam celebrations. I remember growing up in Penang around low, middle-class Tamil families; Thaipusam was an important event. For Penangites, Thaipusam meant three trips of prayers. Anything else would mean incomplete worship of Lord Thendayathapani. On the eve of Thaipusam, it was customary to follow the day-long chariot procession that traversed almost the whole town.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">The main event on Thaipusam was a giant fiesta. It was the go-to place to meet up with old friends and long-lost relatives who refused to keep in touch. Climbing the Waterfall hill to pray at the small temple atop is necessary. Watching wave after wave of colourful <i>kavadis</i>. <i>Kavadis</i> came in various sizes with degrees of intricacies, architectures and varying displays of theatrics by the <i>kavadi</i> bearers and their entourage. Music was compulsory. Those days, there was not so much restriction to the songs played over the P.A. system of the numerous refreshment sheds (<i>thaneer panthal</i>). So, it was left to the creativity of shed owners to whip up catchy songs that drew a crowd. Upbeat Tamil movie songs with sultry lines ruled the day.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">To accommodate the hot season that used to hit Penang in January and February (now the weather pattern has taken a toss), kavadis mainly came in two shifts - early morning and late evening. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">If one thought that was all for Thaipusam, they were wrong. After recovering from the two days' merrymaking, the chariot had to return to its original resting place. It was a night-long affair, with the chariot starting in the late evening and moving slowly through town to reach its destination the following morning, making it the fourth day of festivity. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUrCQZ8-Vft2exEQ8hyge248QDwPARTX9X7_8r-b4pNX0k7ZxwHbIbMSlLXgWM8lgJYmdWc_zE5NL0s9-9uLzw3eH9Xr8FtZk5GBYDReqhne5fcx236LQi431GIb-WKxknUTB2Z9EvYjjAQHfq2GpwI1bFjmxzvo34R6cVllvf6LR-mLVNpKXJJLeN8U/s235/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="235" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUrCQZ8-Vft2exEQ8hyge248QDwPARTX9X7_8r-b4pNX0k7ZxwHbIbMSlLXgWM8lgJYmdWc_zE5NL0s9-9uLzw3eH9Xr8FtZk5GBYDReqhne5fcx236LQi431GIb-WKxknUTB2Z9EvYjjAQHfq2GpwI1bFjmxzvo34R6cVllvf6LR-mLVNpKXJJLeN8U/s1600/235x96_top-indivine-post.png" width="235" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Now, there was a local urban legend in Penang about Thaipusam. When someone misses a year's celebration, somehow, the curse of not attending would continue for another two years.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">Now that my mother, a true blue Penangite and an octogenarian, is incapacitated and essentially homebound, she became restless as Thaipusam approached. She reminisced about the good old times when she could just partake in the celebrations back in Penang at the drop of a coin, at her will. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">She smiled the moment she laid eyes on the Batu Caves temple steps, filled with saffron-attired worshippers with hypnotising drums. For her, Thaipusam was done. Of course, she viewed all these from afar in the comfort of a car perched on a flyover overlooking Batu Caves and the iconic Murugan Statue. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;">P.S. At the end of the day, the question that begs to be answered is whether Thaipusam, a religious obligation, has slowly evolved into a cultural revelry and ethnic entitlement.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;"><div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK5mq1EnMzv0q46qX2MuZCXnrJkQQLS8pk4rARNxwI6O0OrTVpWXwT-XXVWy2V6lzKRkyHVG5RfMGtXl__fwwmbNqjC7tna9xP7mmxpj7Et-oupxybrfTHYzOMYIRGYBXL3PBGZDjAE20_udHBGCMQn3ibBZWGC4_lxwCMSyh-rmn78WKm6YQ4mhBm" style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); 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</div>rifle range boyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09088954513354676560noreply@blogger.com0Gombak, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia3.2378844 101.6840385-29.782505809212807 66.527788499999986 36.258274609212805 136.8402885