Yahoo........

This post is for a great news which I got last week. More details about the news in the coming week, after I take a few necessary steps.


Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Finally....

After procrastinating for 6 months, I’ve finally given my bike for its much required service, today. Over the past few weeks, it had shown signs of extreme wear and tear. There were noises coming from various parts, pickup was non-existent, there were layers and layers of dust and dirt on all parts except for the seat and tank.

I must say that even after its pathetic condition, I could still start my bike within a single kick, and too without using the choke or giving the accelerator. The engine is still in a good condition.

Over the course of 6 months, I had lost the use of the rear brake in my bike, due to which I was using only the front brake. This is quite dangerous, since it can cause the bike to skid. I’ve skid and lost my balance twice, but thanks to my long legs, I was able to keep them down before my bike lost total control, and gain my balance. Had my legs been short, I would definitely have landed on the road, and without a helmet, it could have been serious.

Now that’s all a thing of the past. Today evening, my bike will be returned after service, as good as new, will all its parts in perfect condition.

I am also planning to change my New Year resolution, the third resolution now reads as “I shall give my bike for service every two months.” The earlier resolution about blogging now stands null and void.

I had written a post on 4th of Nov 2005, wherein I was cursing myself for being lazy. I had even planned to give my bike for service the next day!!!

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Looks like the makers of the latest Aamir Khan starrer Rang De Basanti is out on another promotional stunt. I am getting fed up with the kind of stunts that’s coming out to promote movies.

Sometimes the promoters of the movie, themselves stage protests and file cases against the movie, so that there is a lot of public hype about the movie and people flock to watch the movie. The best example I can think of is the one surrounding the Manisha Koirala starring Ek Chotti Si Love Story. The case regarding the body double of Manisha was staged to create a flutter amongst the public that there are a lot of “things” to be seen in the movie.

Coming back to Rang De Basanti, the latest controversy that the Indian Air Force is against some part of the movie, has been making headlines in many news sites and newspapers. From various reports on this controversy, I now know that Madhavan is an Air Force Pilot, who flies a MIG-21.

The report also said that Madhavan dies in a crash, when he was flying with the Defense Minister. Reminds me of one of the flights taken by the previous defense minister, George Fernandes, to prove that MIG’s are safe to fly on.

Now, thanks to these reports, I know a major part of the story. After the disastrous Mangal Pandey, I was hoping that Rang De Basanti would have had a better performance and story from Aamir Khan, but I have lost interest in the movie now. Shall wait till I get further reports from my friends before going to watch it.

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Finished reading The Day of the Jackal yesterday. Some hundred odd pages were remaining, which I managed to read by 1am. When the book is interesting and when you are nearing its climax, you don’t feel like doing anything without completing it. I was even thinking of skipping dinner, but at 10:30pm, hunger got the better of me, and I had to take a break from reading the novel.

The Day of the Jackal is one of the best novels I have read so far. A superb spy thriller, which kept me on my toes till the last page. The climax, which was over in a single chapter, was just too good, and it was fate, which saw to it that the good prevailed over the bad.

A terrorist outfit in France, during the early 60’s plot to assassinate the French President, Charles de Gaulle. They hire an unknown assassin, known only by his code name Jackal to do the work. He is a professional and prefers to work alone. Once the meeting between the terrorists and Jackal is complete and the money to do the job is transferred, the Jackal sets out on his mission – To kill one of the most well protected President in the world.

The novel is divided into three parts. Anatomy of a Plot, deals with the terrorists getting in touch the Jackal, and finalizing the deal. It also follows the Jackal who plans the assassination to the minutest detail. In the next part Anatomy of a Manhunt, the French authorities have got winds of the assassination attempt, and they appoint another professional, this time a detective Claude Lebel, to trace the killer and neutralize him. In this part, the Jackal is able to stay a step ahead of the police, thanks to informers within the French.

The final part, Anatomy of a Kill, deals with the assassination attempt on the French president.

Even thought the reader is told in the very beginning of the novel that the French President escaped all assassination attempts and died peacefully at his home, the reader does not loose his interest in the novel. Fredrick Forsyth manages to hold the reader and take him on a suspense filled ride across France.

New Year Resolutions - 1 Down; 2 more to Go

Five Days, that’s the maximum that I could control myself. So after five days of controlling myself, here I am blogging again, breaking one of the three resolutions I took. I'm sure that the other two resolutions will not suffer the same fate; after all blogging is not injurious to health!!!

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I watched Bluffmaster, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Nana Patekar and Bomman Irani on Saturday. It had a very different storyline, and was a welcome change from the romantic family movies which have started to become a real bore. I liked the movie for the way the story was handled, the acting and the climax was ultimate. Although the climax reminds you of the Michael Douglas, Sean Penn movie – The Game, but all the other details of the movie are real different.

The songs were different, “Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu”, sung by Abhishek Bachchan was really good. Except for a small part in the second half, there was never a dull moment in the story. Nana Patekar is a class apart in the movie, his dialogues and the way he delivers them had the entire hall rolling with laughter. Definitely a good watch. Abhishek Bachchan is growing as an actor, with every movie, he’s steadily increasing his fan following. He’s definitely the next Big B of Indian cinema. Priyanka Chopra looks gorgeous, but her character is definitely out of fairy tales. If there’s a girl like the character played out by Priyanka Chopra anywhere out there in the world, please contact me, I would love to marry you!!!

Surprisingly, the movie has not been doing good except in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Maybe its difficult for most of the people to imagine a petty thief roaming in a car, dining in 5 star restaurants and staying in a super luxury flats.

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These days I have been observing ads from Suzuki Motorcycles in The Hindu. I am not able to remember the lines of the print ad, but it shows a Hayabusa cruising along the scenic beauty of Kerala’s backwaters. I checked out the site mentioned in the ad, and in the bottom center of the site, they have given a photo marquee, showcasing photos of the Hayabusa. I somehow get a feeling that Suzuki is soon going to launch Hayabusa in India. It’s just a hunch, maybe I’m wrong, but if it’s true, I would definitely like to save enough to buy the bike of my dreams, no matter what the cost is.

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I see the end of my boring days at home. Over the past 6 months, I’ve had trouble killing time after I reach back home from work. It had always been books and Radio Mirchi or Suryan FM to keep me company. This are set to change from today.

Gokul’s planning to get a TV. This is part of his long term planning before he steps into marital bliss. After a visit to a few TV showrooms in Anna Nagar, we decided on this latest offering from Sony. It has a 21 inch screen and boasts of quality sound, thanks to the woofer system. It costs a bit more than similar models from LG or Samsung, but I feel it’s worth every penny.

This would definitely change the way I kill time at home. FM channels would be the most to suffer my lack of attention, and I sincerely hope I do not reduce the time I spend on reading books. Currently I am reading “The Day of the Jackal” by Fredrick Forsyth. An amazing book, which I am unable to put down. Just 100 odd pages remaining and it’s a real good one, will definitely rank as one of the best novels I’ve read till now.

On Saturday, I went to one of the shopping malls near my house. I had never been there over the past 6 months. Since I had a lot of time to kill, I ventured out of my house and loitered in the mall. While loitering, I came across a lending library there, and after going through the collection of books there, I enrolled myself and borrowed “Hour Game” by David Baldacci. There are a number of books in the library which I have always wanted to read, but did not get a chance to. Moreover this is a cheaper way of reading the books rather than buying them.

It needs to be seen as to how much the new TV will affect this plan of mine.

Happy New Year 2006

New Year is the time to take resolutions. Over the years, I have realized that there is no use of a resolution, since I've never been able to keep it. So, slowly I began to stop taking resolutions. This year is quiet different. I have taken a resolution - To get away from addictions.

I've quit smoking from 26th Nov, 2005. Had just 11 puffs after that. The New Year resolution is to quit is completely.

The next resolution is to give up drinking for the year. On new year's eve, I had planned to celebrate with my college mates. After the celebrations, I was totally drunk. I had a heavy hangover the next day, which happened to be the first day of the year. I spent most of my time sleeping at home. My stomach was upset, so all the good dishes my mom had prepared was wasted, and at the end of the day, I kept thinking to myself as to why I got drunk so much.

Hence, I resolved not to drink this year. I might start drinking next year, but will always be in control of myself, shall never get totally drunk.

The next resolution is regarding blogging. There has been numerous occations where I have caught myself blogging to increase my page visits. I've purposely blogged so that they are put up in someother blog, which would increase the number of people visiting my blog.

The worst thing is that I have started to imagine every event in my life, every movie, every album, every book, every advertisement and every news article as a post in my blog. I need to get over this.

I've decided to take a small break from blogging. Will be back soon.

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year. May all your dreams and wishes come true this year.