Yes, I know that little voice has been there consistently, poking, prodding and telling me what I already know - it's been a week since I've actually written or posted anything here. Reasons? Hmm, I'm not really sure. I've been more busy with working and tweaking coding and themes for a few other blogs. And while I sure do love writing, I love doing artistic things also, which is why when I get into the delight of experimenting, designing and making a blog/web look beautiful, I go into it full bodied (or mindedly?). If I spend my time idle, thinking to myself, that's when I get some stray thoughts to pen down, and lately I think I've spent any idle time doing that stuff, or just having some me-time (usually on the commute home).
I've finished that Lit Course at UM that I was taking just for fun and I miss it. Quite a number of us taking that course had developed a bond of sorts, and we started a post-class reading group on Goodreads, but it hasn't been the same, obviously.
As for reading, I've finished most of Cory Doctorow's novels - I'd have mentioned the book we read for the Lit Course, Little Brother. This book and his sequel Homeland are two books I strongly suggest to anyone who is looking for something to read. His writing isn't on par with great writers, but then again, the standard of writing and reading really has flat-lined with the breakout popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. Anyways, the topics and themes Doctorow puts out are those that make you think and relate to. For most of us using the internet especially. I learnt how to make awesome cold-brew coffee.
On to books to movies, I watched The Host. As always, a book made into a movie will never be better than the book. And this is a book I have a strong attachment to, since I think I read it the moment it was hot off the printers and first put on the shelves, and after reading insisted to anyone who would listen or I knew read books, to read it. I think my only success thus far in that regards is with my favourite co-blogger reading it and falling in love with it just as I did. She watched the movie before I did also, and wrote a review about it which somehow is on par with my own feelings.
So, speaking about her, you will have known her quite well as Kiara, blogger at a-shared-thought.blogspot.com. For quite some time now, she`s been thinking about renaming herself with a more apt and current blogger name, because Kiara was from another phase of her life. (Albeit, a Ranbir Kapoor connected phase, but the direct RK Phase is one that can never get old :P)
So, I`m taking the opportunity to introduce you to her new look and new name: Wanderer. :)
If you want to know the reasons for this name, you will have to read the book, or watch the movie.
Back to the movie: It was okay, if not leaning onto the "good-ok" barrier. I say it's good, because it's from THAT book. But I don't say it's great, and perhaps I am afterall reluctant to say it IS good, because noone can know how much better it can be without reading and comparing it to the book. What I have to say is what I dislike most about a movie made from book is when the movie absolutely changes the plot. While The Host movie loses most of the rich layers of the book, it doesn't actually change, but rather leaves out a lot. The casting was weak in that Ian wasn't portrayed as per the book Ian (a rather dweeb faced and skinny rendition in the movie), and the depth and intensity of the love between the couples is definitely not developed as well as the book. And, after all a Stephanie Meyer story (although for a more mature audience vs. the Twilight teenager saga), it's the love that is the foundation that makes the other elements, sci-fi and otherwise, so much more inspiring. That's lost out in the movie. But I still say, watch.
The week has seen yet further development in terms of the weather; the grass is so amazingly, richly, vibrantly green at some instances it just takes my breathe away. The trees are still bare, with no buds as yet. But I know one day I will look out my window and it will take me by surprise and give me yet another reason to smile to myself.
You may recall me writing about that tendency wherein people usually find it easy to approach me, or think I'm one of those 'somehow familiar faces'. I'm approachable I guess; I have a ready smile for others - and well, a ready cut-eyed glare for the usual perverts :P. Anyways, so on my commutes home, there are the usual faces, those others who are sharing the same bus or train home from work daily. One of these is a somewhat older than me woman, who for quite some time, we'd end up sitting next to or near one another without a word. Me reading or minding my business, her doing her own thing. Anyways, some time ago, another woman had approached me asking which bus she needed to take to get to some other place, and I helped her out, and it turned out the other woman had given her a suggestion previously but wasn't sure, so she had come up while I was telling the lost woman where to go, and when we sent of the lost woman onto her bus, and still waiting for our own bus, we fell into the easy small talk of acquaintances. For a long time she thought, or so she told me, that I was from Goa. Yeah, I'm shrugging too: her reason (like always) was that she was from Goa so, yeah, that's why I must be also. But anyways, now I have a small-talk buddy. To be honest, I rather not, I like the anonymity to be able to think in my own world, or read, or write, without someone's little nose peeking into my bubble. But oh well.
And the final bit of news is, I'd like to also introduce another new blog to our family of blogs: Nerdyy - who either you know, or have seen his comments - has FINALLY started his own blog, and I'm totally excited because he's full of lotsa things to write about and I've been telling him to make his own blog for the longest time ever. So yes give it up everyone for the man at musikellishus.blogspot.com.
And with that all said, I'm back to work!
