MOVIE MANIA - Hollywood style.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE watching movies? Almost as much as I LOVE reading books. And writing them :) Movies, after all, are just another medium of storytelling.

I can honestly watch any and all movies...well most of them. I mean the flick has to really, really bad for me to go OMG! What a waste of my time! That should clue you in to my story-lovin' crazy-ass. 

So, here's what moved me this month. Note, that all three movies I mention are book to movie adaptations. (Coincidence? Hm.)

THOR: The Dark World.

What is it about bad boys or gods or actors? (Not bad bad but baaad, you know?)

I mean...Thor is like a Good God! I mean literally a good god of Asgard and I literally exclaimed "Good God!" at every move he made on screen...especially when he was all puppy-eyed and missing-my-girl shirtless (Adorable and sexy and...never mind.) 

Cause he's not what held me in thrall of the movie. Good God aside, I was all about my fangirl crush on Loki, the anti-god. (Huh? bad god?) Whatever. I mean who cares whether Thor had to save Earth and Jane and Asgard and the Universe...I certainly didn't. IMO, Loki can have it all and get more screen time. Seriously, it doesn't get any more Marvel-ous than looking at Loki move.

Good God. Bad God. I don't care. God, I want me some of Tom Hiddleston now!

Catching Fire: 

Is it weird that my daughter and I love the same books? (A cool case of the apple not falling far from the tree.) Last September, two months before the Hunger Games came out, she made me read the book. I loved it so much that I finished it in 2 days and in another 4 days, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. 

Honestly, Hunger Games the book impressed me far more than the movie, although I loved the movie too. But Catching Fire the movie, for whatever reason - the success of Hunger Games, the movie; the series' popularity, the movie budget increasing and spiffy new CGI added, the new director, screenwriter, the new cast additions (Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair was purrrfect in a way that defies perfection. He caught my attention in Snow White and the Huntsman) - whatever the reason, Catching Fire the movie was wayyyy better than the book. IMO.

JLaw will 4ever be the bow wielding Katniss...Peeta and his sweet Peeta-ness...Gale, oh Gale will always be the hero for me...they were purrrfect in a way that defies perfection. 

Read it, if you haven't. Watch it, you must. 

The Book Thief:

I haven't seen this movie yet. I want to. Desperately. And I hope to next week (crossing fingers). I love this book so much that I honored it with its own blogpost. Again, it was my daughter bringing it to my attention and while I am super excited to see it come to big-screen life, I am so scared the movie might not do the book justice. Especially, after watching the trailer where it's implied that the script has already deviated from the book by changing its narrator. But the reviews have been good (whew), the trailer looks powerful and there's Geoffery Rush - how wrong can the producers have gone? 

I'm feeling hopeful. Now, to watch it and cease the anxiety.

Which movie did you see last?

(all pics and trailers found through Google search)

THE MYTH of INVINCIBILITY.

If not immortality, we mortals are obsessed with invincibility. We want no weapon to harm us, no disease to kill us, no misfortune to befall us. If we can't live forever, then we want the next best thing - to live a healthy and prosperous life into an old close-to-forever age.

It's a great aspiration. Something to strive for certainly, this state of invincibility, of being super protected. But, the thing is that the very nature of being mortal means that we can never achieve that goal. We forget that even Superman had Kryptonite to deal with.

Our ancestors did warn us...

What is myth? 

[ mith ]

1. ancient story: a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings, often attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena or aspects of human behavior.

Achilles and his pitiful Greek heel: 

The son of a mortal Peleus and the immortal Nereid Thetis, Achilles was the un-defeatable warrior-hero of the Trojan War (or most of it.) It is said that upon his birth, his mother held baby Achilles by his right heel and dipped him in the River Styx to make his body invincible. The catch? Where she caught him - his right heel remained vulnerable causing his fall, and thus the legend of Achilles' Heel was born.

Duryodhana and his vulnerable Indian groin: 

His name itself means "One who can't be defeated" or "great fighter," was the son on of the blind King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari. Gandhari chose to blind-fold herself forever the day she married the blind king because she wished to "see" the world just as her husband did. That act of immense courage (ahem, crack-pot stupidity IMO) pleased the Gods and they granted her a powerful boon. Just before the terrible Mahabharata War began (or during it, I forget) she asked her oldest son, Duryodhana, to come to her unclothed. She untied her blindfold and only for a second opened her eyes (the ones with the power) to sweep them over her son, use the boon to make him invincible. Duryodhana did not strip naked, thinking to cover his groin from his mother (a gentlemen, to be sure) and thus that became the only part of him that remained vulnerable causing his enemy to strike him dead there.

In both Achilles and Duryodhana's cases, the protector strives to protect but fate (nature, understanding, limitations) gets in the way.

What is the lesson we're supposed to learn from these myths? Should we not strive at all as the outcome of our actions may not be in our hands? Can we not survive without might and power? Is vulnerability such a bad thing? Is being human not in our best interests?

(pic source: google search images)

IMMORTALITY 2

They say if you come across the same thing twice, its like a fact!

Last month, I came across Dr. Kurzweil and his nanobot organs that aspire to replace old and dilapidated natural human organs by the year (or so he hopes) 2045.

Well, pooh pooh to Kurzweil and us mortals. The Immortal Jellyfish akaTurritopsis Nutricula has no need to wait for another three decades to live forever, neither does it need organ transplant. 

What? Why? How, you ask? Well, the Immortal Jellyfish (don't know why I love repeating that word. Immortal. Immmmortal. Immmmortttallll!) has an evolved circular life cycle as opposed to the human linear one. Wonder if that means that the Immortal Jellyfish is a Hindu?

Fascinating, isn't it? And if by some mischance, technology and evolution fails us, I know what I'm coming back as in my next birth.

A HALLOWEEN DIWALI.

Say What?

Today is Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights that brings in the Hindu New Year. 

For a few years now I've noticed that Diwali and All Hallow's Eve occur close together, sometimes on the same day. They weren't on the same day this year, but my daughter is having a Halloween party at home today. And it's Diwali!

So here we are, celebrating two festivals multiculturally. 

ALL HALLOW'S EVE

Halloween...All Hallow's Eve...Samhain...the Feast of the Dead, the saints, the martyrs and the faithful.

Samhain Prayer. The night when the veil between the living world and the dead is at its weakest. 

This is the night when the gateway between 
our world and the spirit world is thinnest. 
Tonight is a night to call out those who came before.
Tonight I honor my ancestors.
Spirits of my fathers and mothers, I call to you,
and welcome you to join me for this night.
You watch over me always,
protecting and guiding me,
and tonight I thank you.
Your blood runs in my veins,
your spirit is in my heart,
your memories are in my soul.

(Some might wish to name their past ancestors here)

With the gift of remembrance.
I remember all of you.
You are dead but never forgotten,
and you live on within me,
and within those who are yet to come.

Blessed be...

And be careful Trick or Treating tonight.

24

Yesterday afternoon, while browsing E! Entertainment...er...I mean, while I was researching stuff  for my book online, I came across this...

'24' returning to Fox for 12 episodes, network announces.

Which is exciting. Yay. I was addicted to the series back when it was fun. (Jack Bauer, you're what they put in Red Bull's formula.)

 

And then not so much when it stopped being fun. Anyway, the point is that I got thinking...

What does my day look like?

I wondered and this is what I mapped, people. 

11:00 am to Noon: I was on the phone.

Noon to 1:00 pm: I lunched, while I was on the phone, (What the...?) and fed Truffles somewhere between my own bites. Aaand found time to play with him too. (I'm a good Mommy.)

1:00 to 2:00 pm: I worked on my manuscript. (Yeah...still writing...still living in a world of my own making. TYVM.)

2:00 to 3:00 pm: I worked on my manuscript...some more.

3:00 to 4:00 pm: I worked on my manuscript...even more. Picked up DD from school. Made myself a mug of masala chai. Drank it. 

4:00 to 5:00 pm: Worked on MS. Chatted with DD about life and school. (She's bored. But will suffer through it only because she must.) Took Truffles for his bi-annual Bordatella. Whew. I believe I was exhausted at that point. Or not...

5:00 to 6:00 pm: Drove to the dance studio and for the next hour danced the merengue, the salsa, the merengue and the salsa.

That was fun...and invigorating...and no, I don't dance alllll that well but I probably look decent enough as a red salsa-ing silhouette. 

6:00 to 7:00 pm: Dined on Thepla, Chunda, Batata nu shaak and fried cauliflower as I was starving after alllll the twirling. Then worked on the MS. (What can I say? I'm a writer.)

7:00 to 8:00 pm: DH came home. We chatted. He ate. I...yes, I know I sound like a broken record but...I worked on the MS. 

8:00 to 9:00 pm: To spice things up, I unsheathed a long, sharp scimitar and with a graceful X move slashed opponent to shreds. 

Wait! What? That's not me me who did that, it was one of my characters. ;)

9:00 to 10:00 pm: After allll that excitement, I was exhausted, natch, so I vegged in bed and watched Criminal Minds (for inspiration)...and internet stalked...people. (Did you know that Brangelina is the most, cutest, adorable-est PDA celebrity couple on Earth?)

10:00 to 11:00 pm: More of the same.

11:00 to Midnight: More. Of. The. Same. And then I fell asleep. 

Midnight to 7:00 am: Wow. Thank heavens, I don't need to monitor sleep. Sadly, I do not believe I dreamt last night.

7:00 to 8:00 am: Woke to the sound of Tweets and Email. Brushed. Breakfasted. Bid adieu to DH and DD; one was off to office, the other to school.

8:00 to 9:00 am: FaceTimed with BFF who lives in Singapore. Truffles FaceTimed too. It was cho chweet.

9:00 to 10:00 am: Googled, oogled, twitterpated about Jamie-Sam and his new promo pic. Yup, I'm still fangirling the Great JAMMF. 

So, kilts are hot again: Sam Heughan in 'Outlander'

(You'll have to click that to see some kilted scrumptiousness)

10:00 to 11:00 am: Seriously, I have no life. Working on the MS.

Not as insane as Bauer's but that's 24 hours of my life. 
Ta ta daaaah!

(source for all pics and gifs is the www.)

WHEN SCIENCE GROWS FROM FICTION.

I want to live long enough to see this. 

Don't you?