My Top Ten Favorite Films of All Time

The films that have influences me in more ways than one, are not too many. Though I have been watching a whole lot of movies, especially in the recent past.

There are some movies that I watched as a kid or as a young adult and had thought that they shall remain engraved in my psyche forever have sadly lost their charm, some have dated to a great degree and others must have seemed novel because of my immaturity and infrequent exposure, but now seem stale and unworthy of celebration. 

Yet there are some personal preferences of mine which have moved me, provoked me, challenged me and have unconsciously shaped my thoughts.

These are the movies which have stood the test of time, for me.

Some I am too fond of in an obviously biased manner, maybe the viewing experioence, the associations are too deep, and have manifold increased the inherent charm of the films.

Some such films have been featured, actually only ten of them, and the most recent viewing among them happens to be the one which I considered as the best movie seen in 2007, no wonder my distancing from that very movie hasn't been made as yet.

Others on the list are films seen much earlier, the oldest viewing happens to be the only musical in the list too!

These are the films:

[They have not been ordered according to my preferences, or chronologically, but in the order that the pics from these movies appear on this page.]

Fargo (1996)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Brief Encounter (1945)

The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Back to the Future (1985)

Trainspotting (1996)

The Sound of Music (1965)

E.T. Extra Terrestrial (1982)

Notes, Reflections, Fulminations & Hullabaloo.... Our Films in 2007

Two thousand and seven has been a good year for Indian films. Why do I think so? For one, this year has seen more of what is commonly called middle-of-the-road or alternate cinema, and quality products which had something or the other to recommend them for - on a global platform.

Indian films have almost always been straight-jacketed under two broad categories, mainstream cinema and parallel (sometimes strangely called 'art') cinema. I used to protest this simplistic division even as a young viewer, as the divisions are hardly tenable. The so called art- cinema movement that happened to rise amidst much fanfare and excitement surrounding the novelty of the themes and the executions, died its slow but natural death in the late Eighties, as the cliches and the formulaic approaches made the majority of such offerings stagnate in the viewers' reception or, worse still, in archives and cans!
Films, I believe, can never survive if they do not appeal to an audience, as a filmmaker must communicate with his work of art to his audience, regardless of its size. Due to the spiralling costs involved in the business of movies, it is indeed a lucrative proposition to attract as many eye-balls as possible, and, in the present context, in as little time. The business pragmatism may well be so, yet it is unthinkable to hit upon a unique and foolproof scheme to achieve this. Unfortunately, our Hindi filmmakers (the largest chunk of Indian movies are made in Hindi; commonly referred to as Bollywood as they have been continually churned out by Bombay, now christened Mumbai) do not understand this. Over the years, there has been a deluge of mindless, formulaic films (unlike genre films of Hollywood) that try to repeat earlier success stories of filmed offerings, or even the theatre of the masses. Crass executions further dilute the inane plots, and hence a whole range of masala films or commercial potboilers have been thrust upon us viewers. Needless to say, the producers and distributors, coupled by corrupt financiers and the superficial, glamour-conducive star system plagued the system of filmmaking and it has been a pseudo-realistic industry, a mirage of creativity. Our stories were unreal, and so were our films.
The advent of the multiplexes, in the late Nineties, the official granting of 'industry status' to the filmmaking sector, and the willingness of the 'youngblood' makers to create films for a niche audience have given a big boost to our films. In the Twenty-first Century, the scenario looks quite promising. In an earlier post I had talked about the exciting ventures that we audience got to see in the year 2006. Last year, luckily, the trend is seen continuing. Actors like Aamir Khan and ShahRukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan are found to endorse the concept movies; they have reaped profits too, for themselves and the production/distribution houses. Films like 'Taare Zameen Par', 'ChakDe! India', 'Cheeni Kum', 'Johnny Gaddaar', 'Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd', 'Life in a ... Metro', 'Khoya Khoya Chand', 'The Blue Umbrella', 'Jab We Met', 'Black Friday' and 'Bheja Fry' have been toasted for reasons aplenty. Not that they were all perfect as finished products; they aren't so blemishless that they would be beyond the faultfinders' criticism. But they all had one thing in common - the urge to move beyond the stereotypes, in one way or the other. They all were about real people, or real situations, or way beyond the real - to etch out an appealing canvas and help us let go of our staid conventions. Hats off to the new age screenplay writers and dialogue writers (people like Jaideep Sahni and Prasoon Joshi have been bringing on a subtle but perceptible change even in the big production houses' products)! And there has never been any dearth of talent in the acting world or in the world of skilled technicians. We are finally moving beyond the ghettoed dominions of stars and starlets, the wide horizon of storytelling (which has always been our forte in the literary world) beckons, the makers now have to spread their wings and make us all take a flight!

[PostScript: Apart from the eight films noted above, there have been some other Indian films too which I loved watching....... in an earlier post I did mention The Bong Connection as the best Indian film of the year, I was really impressed by it - yet I did not mention it above because it was not made in Mumbai, and Anjan Dutt's film is both in Bengali and English as it traces the diasporic experience. Another of his engaging films was released in 2007 - 'Bow Barracks Forever!' - about the Anglo-Indian community in Kolkata, and hence filmed in Kolkta itself, has been left out as it is essentially an English language film, also I left out the diasporic films 'The Namesake', 'Loins of Punjab Presents' and 'Provoked'. Other mentionables, to a lesser degtree, were 'Anwar', 'Guru', 'No smoking', 'Manorama Six Feet Under', 'Gandhi My Father', 'Water' (which again was actually a Canadian entry at the Oscars), 'Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii', 'Say Salaam India', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa', 'Traffic Signal', 'Namastey London', 'Yatra', 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal', 'Eklavya - the Royal Guard', 'Om Shanti Om', 'Saawariya' and 'Aajaa Nachle', some of which had more flaws and warts all over them than the high points,

and the rest couldn't go the whole nine yards because of crass conventions playing out rather largely.]

Johnny Gaddar

Taare Zameen Par

The Perfect Gift

What is the perfect gift to gift someone?
Irrespective of the age of the giver, or the recipient?
Perfect?
How perfect?
It relieves tension.
It improves blood flow.
It reduces stress.
It is non-polluting.
It boosts self-esteem.
It generates goodwill.
No batteries required.
Absolutely no cost.
Non-taxable.
Silent performance.
Extremely personal.
Fully refundable.
Recommended for ages 1 (even below) to 100 and up!

The answer is: A HUG!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I wish all my readers, and fellow bloggers, have a wonderful year ahead!
Blogging has been the most intuitive and impulsive way to express oneself, the year 2007 has reportedly seen an unthinkable rise in blogging and blog-related exchanges.
Most of the leading newspapers and journals of the world now feature regular sections on blogs from the Net.
People have been seen speaking on issues and topics, hitherto brushed off, or considered non-mainstream, or underground.
As a result of which these subjects have captured the sensibilities of the majority like never before.


Discussions and discourses are bound to open up newer and fresher approaches to conflict resolution, redressal and reconciliation. However unsavory an issue may be, only debating on the same can help open vistas for integration and eventually all possible aspects can thus be explored.

As a new blogger, I won't say that I have been able to fully reach out to all who would be potentially interested in the banter and the blabber that I have ventured to exhibit herein. Anyways, I haven't exactly been a prolific blogger, many of my readers complain. But I do try my best to treat them to my spontaneous outpourings, never mind how trivial they might be.

I had started my blogging journey with the declaration that being an out and out Kolkatan, I will keep you all posted on the developments and the city-specific events that most Kolkatans would to be too happy to carry out an animated discussion on. But, unfortunately, I have not been able to do so....... rather I consciously chose not to. The reason being my city was and still is under a spell.......a spell that is dark, deadly and dangerous. I never expected my Kolkata to witness such turmoil, such unnecessary, utterly avoidable strife as it did in the past year. Nationally, and internationally, Kolkata was continually in the news in 2007 for all the wrong reasons. It pained me. The blows suffered by the city bruised me, scarred me, I earnestly hope that, at least, they haven't maimed my psyche! I am sure I will be able to talk about the unpleasantness, the political, social and cultural blows that my city, Kolkata, dealt with - but only in the future, when I am able to distance myself a bit and offer a gainful perspective. I hope to do that soon ........ very soon....... in the near future. But before I do that I do pray for the solidarity and amity which has been the hallmark of Kolkata and its people over the ages.

Top Ten Films - 2007 (Personal Preferences)

Here is the list of the top ten films seen this year (2007), ranked in the order of preference:

1. Trainspotting 

[This 1996 British film by Danny Boyle is a cult classic; disturbing, irreverent, tragic, dramatic, violent, sensuous, repelling and, even, maddening tale of youth gone waste....... it is a trip in itself, it is sure to make each viewer high....... high on life!]

2. The Departed 

[This 2006 film directed by Martin Scorsese is in fact one of the cleverest remakes in the history of cinema; William Monahan's screenplay helps Scorsese explore all his favorite elements at their finest and subltlest. Memorable performances from a stellar cast makes the film magical.]

3. Jarhead

[This Sam Medes film, made in 2005, was a revelation for me. I never expected the director best known for that acclaimed film called American Beauty to make a war picture, and make it so perfect and even fresh, thanks must be given to the robust first hand account of an ex- marine, depicting his desert war experiences in a book that itself is acccolades-worthy material; Jake Gyllenhaal simply rocks in this film, as do Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgard.]

4. A Very Long Engagement

[Un long dimanche de fiançailles - subtitled as A Very Long Engagement - is a French film which moved me because of being so typically French! It may sound biased, can't help it, I was stunned by the performance of Audre Tautou who plays a young woman relentlessly searching for her fiancée, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One. Made in 2004, this wonderful film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet is sensitive without being maudlin.]

5. Zodiac

[2004/Dir.- David Fincher/Based on the Robert Graysmith books about the real life notorious Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a string of seemingly random murders during the 1960s and 1970s, this film is much more than a thriller dealing with a serial killer/Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny, Anthony Edwards are in the cast.]

6. My Son the Fanatic 

[Based on the Hanif Kureishi novella, this 1997 film by Udayan Prasad stars Om Puri as a Pakistani taxi-driver in a British town forming a special bond with a local prostitute, in a British town, suddenly torn apart by sectarian violence.]

7. The Bong Connection 

[Made in 2006, but released in India in 2007, this film by Anjan Dutt is based on the lives of Bengalis across the world, especially on those settled abroad. It attempts to delineate the pain and dilemma of Bengali's estranged from their places of origin.]

8. Taare Zameen Par 

[Aamir Khan's debut as a film director, this 2007 film has an endearing story that's grounded in the everyday reality of a dyslexic child's trauma, travails and triumph, as he fights to make his difficulties known and silently cries for help.]

9. Ratatouille 

[Directed by Brad Bird, co-directed by Jan Pinkava, this 2007 animation film was an absolute delight for me; It tells the story of a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant's new garbage boy, and the culinary and personal adventures begin.... in the rat-hating world of humans.]

10. Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd 

[Six newly-married, diverse, honeymooning couples face marital bliss and discord, finding out more about themselves, their significant others and life in this happy-go-lucky, quirky drama directed by first-time director Reema Kagti; Anurag Kashyap's sharp dialogues and the ensemble cast's finely tuned performances add extra zing to this intelligent post-modern romantic medley of 2007.]

The Bong Connection

The Departed

My Son the Fanatic

Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd

Ratatouille

Taare Zameen Par

A Very Long Engagement

'Fur': An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

Nicole Kidman as an actress has always intrigued me.
She has played some wonderful characters which are sure to leave a lasting impression on the viewer's mind. The most recent of her films which I had the opportunity of watching is 'Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus'.
I am still gushing from the experience of having watched it.

Three Favorite Directors and their Films

Alfred Hitchcock

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The 39 Steps (1937)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Jamaica Inn (1939)
Strangers on a Train (1951)

Rear Window (1954)

Dial 'M' for Murder (1954)

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

The Man Who Knew Too Much [Remake] (1956)
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)
Family Plot (1976)




Martin Scorsese





Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)

New York, New York (1977)
Raging Bull (1980)
The Color of Money (1986)
Goodfellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
The Age of Innocence (1993)

Casino (1995)
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Aviator (2004)
The Departed (2006)




Steven Spielberg


Jaws (1975)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

1941 (1979)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

ET - Extra Terrestrial (1982)

Twilight Zone: The Movie [2nd Segment] (1983)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Color Purple (1985)
Empire of the Sun (1987)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Always (1989)
Hook (1991)
JurassicPark (1993)

Schindler's List (1993)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Amistad (1997)
Saving PrivateRyan (1998)

Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001)
Minority Report (2002)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

The Terminal (2004)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Munich (2005)

I Am Fine!

"It feels great to watch the flowers breathe.............It's wonderful for me as a person to live life without any baggage on my head or in my heart." [Rahul Bose, actor and director]
I have always lived life on my own terms. Though the aforementioned words of Rahul Bose (whom I admire a lot) resonate with my own feelings, my philosophy in life has had more to do with compulsion and less with choice.
I have always loved the private space, being an introverted person. Most of the times I have kept my little sorrows and my little joys to myself. People like me, who survive, but do not essentially live life, are the ones who are taken for granted by their friends, by their near and dear ones, in fact by everyone around them. Our wishes hardly count. Our dreams are not worth living up to. Our fulfilment does not matter for those who pretend to be our well-wishers.
Yet I have at least felt blessed, well, most of the times. I know that it is a supreme blessing to live, to breathe the air and to walk on this earth. I have often gone out of my way to help others, extended a warm hand to one who asked for it, lent a patient ear to one who poured his/her heart out making me listen to their troubles - on such occasions I have really felt privileged. But never ever did I vent my angst, my grudge, my complaints; never thought of doing so, as I feel so small even to think of doing so. When I felt betrayed, when I felt being used - all I did was to cry in solitude. But I have never looked back in anger or in regret.
I have all along been a laidback person - one who has never been ambitious, but that doesn't mean I never had dreams! I have loved and lost. I have felt destroyedin love. And again and again love has blossomed in this heart of mine. Relationships may be complicated, but true love - selfless, yet passionate love - is so very simple and genuine an emotion. Emotional baggage only comes with expectations that one might have trying to put love in the framework of relational conventions. I am happy at present to be bereft of all that. I can float. I can afford to watch the flowers bloom, not having to bother about setting up a nice bouquet nor to pity on the eventuality of withering flowers. I hate to see myself in the race of life. Call me non-commital if you please, deride my pursuits if you can derive ample pleasure from the task. But trust me, when I say that I feel happy, contented, liberated.
Borrowing from Rahul Bose's film title, I want to say, I Am Fine, really!

Keanu Reeves

The Keanu Reeves films that I have seen are:

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

The Animatrix (2003) (voice)

Sweet November (2001)

The Gift (2000)

The Watcher (2000)

The Matrix (1999)

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Feeling Minnesota (1996)

Chain Reaction (1996)

A Walk in the Clouds (1995)

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Speed (1994)

Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)

Point Break (1991)

I Love You to Death (1990)

Parenthood (1989)

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)

The Night Before (1988)

River's Edge (1986)

Youngblood (1986)

Aditya - the coolest e-friend of mine

Aditya Kapadia is undoubtedly the coolest e-friend that I have made. Inspite of being a celebrity (since childhood he has acted in television serials, films and commercials) he is such a warm person to befriend. All I did was to just tell him how I genuinely adored the character that he had played in the popular television serial called Just Mohabbat, and we started to vibe instantly. He is much younger to me, and that too hardly matters in e-friendship. Ours is a perfect example of being friends on the Net without imposing on one another's private life. I wish he really makes it big as a performer. Here's wishing my sweet friend all the best!

Orkutting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I discovered the joys of Orkutting (Being on the networking site called Orkut and connecting with friends - new & old, through exchange of scraps) last year. Since then I am quite hooked. I love the concept of making e-friends more than anything else, though I must say that the majority of the people using Orkut are not quite open to it as opposed to socialising, meeting and dating. But the ones that truly value each other's private space and have fun exchanging scraps on issues or topics of mutual interest, focusing on their passion or hobbies (or things not even remotely connected to their lives!) and can indulge in what I call innocent masti.

Aamir - The Perfectionist

Aamir Khan has been my favorite screen hero since he erupted as a bubblegummer craze in the late eighties in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. My preferences for films may have changed over the years, but my preference for my screen idol hasn't. It is largely because I have seen him grow too, the manner he has matured as an actor is absolutely amazing. He hasn't stuck to his romantic chocolate hero image. He keeps reinventing himself again and again. In film after film, he keeps surprising us pleasantly with his nuanced performances. He has become a producer, and has given one of the best films in recent years (Lagaan) which has earned Indian cinema a lot of respect and admiration, worldwide. He became an inspiration for Generation Y with the super trendy, super cool images that flooded our psyche, courtesy Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti. When he became Mangal Pandey in the mainstream historical of the same name, the youth of the nation doffed their hats at the spirit and zeal which made him essay the role of the freedom fighter who hadn't had an illuminated profile in our national history, in spite of the collective reckoning. He has always gone against the grain.
Aamir Khan is a true fighter, and a true icon for us Indians, as he essays his role, in real life, as a conscious humanitarian, throwing caution to the wind. He doesn't care to be politically correct when he opens his mouth at a public forum. He refuses flatly to suck up to the media. He remains elusive to the film-media, essentially to the gossip tabloids, as he chooses to keep his private life private. In the reel-life portrayals, he searches within himselffor answers. And through the years, his performances have thus been lined with self-control, reflection & wit. A sense of light humor alloyed with a stark seriousness is discernible in his welter of performances. Now that he has turned a director - his maiden directorial offering, Taare Zameen Par [pics on the top right], is expected to release in December! - here's wishing him all the best, may he continue to thrill us and entertain us for many more years to come.

Movie Viewing 2007 - the last quarter

Just mentioning the titles of some cool movies that I have seen this quarter...........

watch the movies if you are a film buff,
you will feel rewarded, just as I did.

'The Good German'

Also: 'A Very Long Engagement', 'Chak De India!', 'Zodiac' and 'Little Manhattan'.

The Twenty 20 Magic!

As the Twenty 20 World Cup cricket began this month in South Africa, I was sceptical about the entire episode for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, for us Indians, this was a new format of the game and our team was composed of many freshers and not-so-regular players. Further, the game itself did not promise to live up to the expectations of a regular cricket buff (or should I say purist). The innovations were a plenty - apart from the basic difference of having 20 overs for each side, with 20 minute break between innings - there were novel concepts like free hits, bowl outs, players seated in dugouts and restrictions in fielding placements. There were side-attractions at the matches too, viz. cheerleaders, loud music, jacuzzis, carousels and beer vendors. A total of three venues were there - Johannesburg, Durban & Cape Town. The slam bang session began from September 11 and the final was scheduled on September 24.


When India started playing at the Twenty 20 World Cup matches, most of us had zero or minimal expectations. But the performances of our players at these matches has opened our eyes to the possibility of excelling as a team, the team spirit was palpable throughout the tournament. Under the able leadership of our young captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni, the cricketers tried to give their very best. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit P. Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa shone like superstars and made history with their magical performances. As the teams likes England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia left vanquished, the final match saw the battle of the sworn rivals of the game India and Pakistan. By this time, both the team had displayed their grit and determination to emerge victorious. All eyes focused on the final entertainment blockbuster - the final match, where the two teams from this sub-continent were to battle it out at the Wanderers stadium.


Never ever have I seen such frenzy, such excitement - though we are an out and out cricket crazy nation and will always remain so, come what may. The final match has made history for many reasons. Our winning the Twenty 20 World Cup proves that we can surely show tye world how brilliant we are, by simply refusing to stumble under pressure. For all cricket lovers and for all my Net-mates, here is a special moment to be treasured for eternity (descrbing the pic is inessential, just as I chose not to quote cricket statistics or to describe the final showdown in greater details, there are many more forums on the Net for the same).
Here's saluting the heroes:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain/Wicketkeeper)
Yuvraj Singh (Vice-Captain)
Virender Sehwag
Robin Uthappa
Gautam Gambhir
Rohit P. Sharma
Dinesh Karthik
Yusuf Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Piyush Chawla
Ajit Agarkar
Harbhajan Singh
Joginder Sharma
Rudra Pratap Singh
S Sreesanth

Leo

Leonardo DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is my all time favorite actor. All his films which I have seen till now are my personal favorites. Though the first time I saw him was in the movie 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?' and since then has begun a longtime fascination with this actor who is incredibly talented and also possesses the charisma of a star. He has been acting in movies from a very young age, and still he seems to enjoy playing diverse characters on screen immensely. Thus he makes all these characters come to life and they are all dear to us. As viewers, we are drawn by them, we laugh with them, cry with them, we love them, and always see them for what they are.

My favorite Leo starrers are:

This Boy's Life (1993)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)

The Quick and the Dead (1993)

Total Eclipse (1995)

The Basketball Diaries (1995)

Marvin's Room (1996)

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Titanic (1997)

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Celebrity (1998)

The Beach (2000)
Gangs of New York (2002)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

The Aviator (2004)

The Departed (2006)

Blood Diamond (2006)

'Gangs of New York'

Movie Viewing - 2007 - Continued...

Time again to list more films that I have seen this year. I must say, I am pleasantly surprised that already I have been able to see some really fine films. Continuing the list that I last published on my blog - listing some of the interesting films that I saw in the earlier part of the year - here are a few more seen thereafter:

1) Life in a..... Metro (2007)
2) Cheeni Kum (2007)
3) The Bong Connection (2007)
4) Anuranan (2007)
5) Bow Barracks Forever! (2006)
6) The Blue Umbrella (2005)
7) Let's Enjoy! (2004)
8) Gandhi My Father (2007)
9) Chak De! India (2007)
10) Yatra (2007)
11) Before Night Falls (2000)
12) De-Lovely (2004)
13) The Life & Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
14) Smoke (1994)
15) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
16) Selena (1997)
17) Apocalypto (2006)
18) Under Suspicion (2000)
19) Up Close and Personal (1996)
20) Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii (2007)
21) Ratatouille (2007)

[The film titles have been listed randomly, not in any order; given alongside each title is the year of filming and/or release.]

Cool Replies

There is always this need to share good jokes with friends. I am amazed that some wonderful nuggets are on offer on the Net these days. Some are really funny, that deserve to be shared.

Here are some Cool Replies - collected from the Net - hope they keep my readers laughing:



Customer : Waiter, do you serve pigs?
Waiter : Please sit down sir, we serve everyone.


Customer : Waiter, is this a lamb chop or pork chop?
Waiter : Can't you tell the difference by taste?
Customer : No, I can't.
Waiter : Then does it really matter?



Customer : Waiter, there's a dead beetle in my soup.
Waiter : Yes sir, they are not very good swimmers.



Customer : Waiter, there's a fly in my soup.
Waiter : That's all right sir, he won't drink much.



Customer : Waiter, there's a fly swimming in my soup.
Waiter : So what do you expect me to do, call a lifeguard?



Customer : Waiter, what's the meaning of this fly in my tea up?
Waiter : I wouldn't know sir, I'm a waiter, not a fortune teller.



Customer : Waiter, this soup tastes funny.
Waiter : Funny? But then why aren't you laughing?



Lady: Is this my train?
Station Master: No, it belongs to the Railway Company.
Lady: Don't try to be funny. I mean to ask if I can take this train to New Delhi.
Station Master: No Madam, I'm afraid it's too heavy.



Teacher: Peter , why are you late for school again?

Peter : Well, Miss, I dreamed that I was playing football and the game went into extra time.




Wife: Do you want dinner?
Husband: Sure, what are my choices?
Wife : Yes and no.




A drunkard was brought to court. Just before the trial there was a commotion in the gallery. The judge pounded the gravel on his table and shouted, "Order, order!"


The drunkard immediately responded, "Thank you, your honor, I'll have a scotch and soda."



Customer: If I post this letter tonight, will it get to Delhi in two days time?
Post Master: Yes sir, it definitely will.
Customer: I bet you, it won't.
Post Master: Why not?
Customer: It's addressed to Mumbai!


An absent-minded man went to see a psychiatrist. ''My trouble is,'' he said, ''that I keep forgetting things.''


"How long has this been going on?'' asked the psychiatrist.
"How long has what been going on?''said the man.


Girl : Do you love me?
Boy : Yes Dear.
Girl : Would you die for me?
Boy : No, mine is undying love.

1st thief : Oh ! The police is here. Quick! Jump out of the window!
2nd thief : But this is the 13th floor.
1st thief : Hurry! this is no time for superstitions.

Man : How old is your father?
Boy : As old as me.
Man : How can that be?
Boy : He became a father only when I was born.


Teacher : Correct the sentence, "A bull and a cow is grazing in the field"
Student : A cow and a bull are grazing in the field.
Teacher : How come you changed the order?
Student : Ladies first.


Waiter : I've stewed liver, boiled tongue and roasted leg.
Customer : Don't tell me your problems....... Give the menu card!

Isn't it a wonder........

According to Henry James Foy, There are two types of people in this world: those who blog and those who don't.He further states that by the end of 2007, there should be around 150 million bloggers all over the world - the same as the population of Bangladesh!
Isn't it a wonder that the phenomenon of blogging has grown by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time? Blogs are the 'in' things! I guess it speaks volumes about the urge that more and people feel to connect with other people, to get their private, personal and even intimate thoughts and ideas conveyed, across physical spaces and barriers that had erstwhile been prevailing for ages.

The Difficult Times

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'
-Oscar Wilde

These are indeed the difficult times. The age of confusion - as it is commonly referred to - has its crises of a unique nature, crises of identity that stems from what we want and what we achieve, who we want to be and what we happen to be. We all have our own individuality screaming for more - a greater share of the pie of life, love and lofty grabs. But, at the end of the day, we all happen to be so lonesome, isolated and bitter. We crave for love, yet we are just sucked up in our eternal state of longing. Selfish priorities destroy our humane selves. Narrow pursuits leave us hollow from the inside. We do not let our pride get hurt, but, on the contrary, we often have to make silly compromises. We choose to survive. We fail to live life. We give in to demands of the times, we deny our inner compulsions. We cheat our souls, we disregard the spirit, we choose not to listen to the voice that yells 'Stop!' - we think that it is too messed up all around and our standing to ponder, and to pick up the broken pieces, can hardly make a difference. But we are wrong.

Every age has its distinct dampeners, punishing odds, ominous threats and strange insecurities. But every age has the people who make a difference. Who gain their foothold in history by choosing to struggle, going against the grain. They are the dreamers, the ones who dream big; they dream not only for themselves but for others around them, sometimes even for the forthcoming generations. They are known for their focus, and for their determination to see their dreams turn into reality. They dare to look up and ahead. They know that the sky is the limit. One has to look not just at the stars, but even beyond that imaginable realm of unknown where possibilities are limitless. We become who we choose to be, and the choice is not expected to be that narrow as it is for most of us who find their choices limited by opportunities, by destiny and by chance. The gutter of life is unkind. In fact, it is ruthless, it does not hesitate to engulf us if we hesitate to act for good. None would be spared by this tough taskmaster called Life if the lapses aren't amended in time. Remembering the words of Oscar Wilde, and also his visionary spirit, I humbly throw the light of introspection on myself.

After all,
Dream makes all things possible,

Hope makes all things work,

Love makes all things beautiful,

So let us wish for all the above.

AniMagical Preferences

In the words of Francis Bacon, 'Imagination was given to Man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is'. The world of animation-films opens the floodgates for entertainment for mankind, through a pampering of both imagination and humor. Here is a selection of animation films that have enthralled me over the years, and as they transport me and all others to a world of fantasy, fun and magic, I call this listing AniMagical Preferences, albeit personal and biased. The films have been enlisted in a ranking that is exclusively mine, given alongside are the years of release:
1. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
2. Finding Nemo (2003)
3. The Lion King (1994)
4. Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993)
5. The Little Mermaid (1989)
6. Aladdin (1992)
7. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
8. The Rugrats Movie (1998)
9. Robots (2004)
10. Happy Feet (2006)
11. The Polar Express (2004)
12. Shark Tale (2004)
13. Toy Story (1995)
14. Antz (1998)
15. Shrek (2001)
16. Shrek2 (2004)
17. Ice Age (2002)
18. Cars (2006)
19. Chicken Little (2005)
20. The Incredibles (2004)
21. Anastasia (1997)
22. The Road to El Dorado (2000)
23. The Prince of Egypt (1998)
24. Pocahontas (1995)
25. Mulan (1998)
26. Titan A.E. (2000)
27. Madagascar (2005)
28. Brother Bear (2004)
29. The Jungle Book (1967)
30. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)

Aladdin

The Lion King

Destroyed in Love

It is believed that Love heals,
Love conquers all,
Love replenishes,
Love makes one whole,
Love works wonders to help one be a better person............
But is it not also true that Love destroys?
Being Destroyed in Love is, however, not the eventuality that should deter men and women from falling in Love.

Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame?

 Really?
The Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Naaaaah...... just kidding!