My Little Log Book

I don't think any subject can aspire to be as aspiring or as all comprehensive as architecture. People think architects only learn to make plans. No. They are taught to have an eye for colour, rhythm, pattern, taught distinctive styles ranging from the medieval to modern, taught climatic conditions and what type of built environment suits each one, taught about materials, old and new, learn about construction and structural techniques ranging from stone, bricks, steel, concrete to present day  new age materials. History, sociology, botany, a bit of geology all form a part of what they need to know. Truly, botany? Right! They need to understand plants and know which types provides what kind of shade and goes with which type of environment! Plus obviously they learn drawing plans, elevations, sections to represent all that they know. Wait. They don't just sit at a computer and start drawing plans. They spend a couple of years practising drafting on a drawing board. Then th...

Flurys Park Street Kolkata Some things in life never change. Like a Sunday morning on Park Street. There maybe an entirely different Government at the Centre. The country's political and social landscape may have changed beyond recognition in the past decade. I might be older(and wiser?) by a decade. More importantly there maybe an entirely different Government in Kolkata with the leftist flavor gone perhaps for ever...but Kolkata in many ways fortunately remains the same! CLosed Park Street shops A stroll on Park Street looking for a hair parlour and reviving old memories made me realise how much had gone by in the last 9 years but one could get no inkling of it here! The roads were a virtual empty stretch. In Kolkata's premium shopping and businss district it has been a source of constant amazement to me how it can sleep so utterly on Sunday mornings. No cabs, no lining up at exclusive shops, little pedestrian traffic, no jay walking or hustling to flag down a cab...

Well not exactly... '"The ocean is very big and a skiff is small and hard to see," the old man said. He noticed how pleasant it was to have someone to talk to instead of speaking only to himself and to the sea.' I had an amazing experience recently, watching the "Old Man and The Sea" performed on stage by Tom Alter and supported by Sufi dancer Zia Nath. Tom Alter did all the talking himself as he spent nearly 1.5 hours on stage enacting the famous role of the old man adrift on the sea. Alter' performance was of such intensity that one felt really adrift with Santiago on a skiff checking baits, tackling a marlin, fighting shark attacks, thinking about the day's baseball, DiMaggio and the boy. You knew the old man wouldn't give up especially when he reminisced about an arm wrestling match with a much stronger opponent that went on and on till the pectators almost left for work on the next day. Santiago' fight with the fish was beautiful...

40s just the beginning and our awesome celebs prove it! Here's a listing of celebs in 40s by their oomph - iness Obviously the oomphiest of them all - Rahul Dravid scores a perfect 10 with his clean cut classic features, the glint of steel and sometimes mischief his eyes, his dedication and overall charm. Bharat Ratna or not - Rahul is the best his fans agree. And the sexiest ;) If there was one sports star who could take over Daniel Craig, my vote is on Rahul Dravid.   (image courtesy - johnabraham.com) Dimple, figure, maturity, biceps and bulges at all the right places. John's got it all. And at forty, he looks perfectly naughty!                                                     (Image Courtesy - madhuridixit-nene.com) 40 - who cares? At 45, the Diva has made an amazing comeback with Jhalak Dikhla Ja, item songs, plum movie roles. ...

and Katrina Kaif, and 90 minutes less and a few less bomb diffusion and a few less accidents. Whew! I went through the torture that was Jab Tak Hai Jaan last night. It is hard to believe that the director of movies like Lamhe and Chandni ... could have given us this 3 hours of drivel packaged as a movie. Most reviews have been muted in their comments I guess out of deference to the just demised patriarch of YRF - Yash Chopra. Never mind - Yash Chopra will be much remembered and loved for Trishul, Deewar, Lamhe, Silsila, etc - and he would prefer not to be associated with JKHJ. Shahrukh Khan spans ten years in the movie. It was an awful sight to see a near naked wrinkled Shahrukh posing as a 25 year old in some of his risque poses with Katrina. He looks (and acts) closer to his 50 years! Will Shah Rukh be as delusional as Dev Anand and prefer to act the romantic lead ( maybe give a new definition to the evergree hero) even in his 70s??? Hindi movie heroes really can...

As a proud owner of one of the earliest versions of Kindle (when it was just a simple ebook reader for book lovers - with epaper / eink- technology) I have always tried to keep up with the latest models of Kindle. So it was with some awe and frustration of the head nodding kind that I saw the launch of the latest version of Kindle Fire. Kindle is no longer just an ebook reader from Amazon. With Kindle Fire, Kindle is prepared to go the distance to be a complete tablet. Amazon itself is slotting it as "A Tablet from Amazon" and "More than a tablet". The biggest plus point for Amazon's Kindle Fire seems to be the new HD screen. The sizes, options and features come in a mindboggling range. The screen sizes range from 7" to 8. 9 " and the storage space from 8 GB to 32 GB. The highest end model is enabled for 4G technology while there is Dolby audio in most models. The price range is equally wide - from $159 for an entry level Fire model to $ 499. The lowe...

Zingdagi Na Miliegi Dobara is Zoya Akhtar revisiting Dil Chahta Hai – though in an entirely different setting. If a tribute to Dil Chahta Hai was to be shot – ZNMD would fit the bill. 1 – Farhan Akhtar does an amazing job as the down to earth, irreverent, don’t give a damn guy. He is one of the main reasons the movie was so likeable. He excels in dancing and singing too as a huge bonus! 2 - The bonding between the characters – a lot has been said about this bonding. The times the trio spent on the set as “friends” comes across in the movie. None of the scenes seemed forced – even the emotionally heavy scenes come out naturally. Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay complement each other perfectly. Hrithik doesn’t get the heavy star treatment – and that makes all the difference. Katrina Kaif’s presence doesn’t let it be a tedious all-male show! 3 - The Spain road scene – Just traveling through a foreign locale, not just along the tulip route, adds a separate dimension. The movie travels th...

I was privileged to watch a premiere show of Transformers 3 two days back. Not having done my homework (in fact I was confusing this movie with Schwarzeneggar's Terminator - till we hit the theatre) - I was initially at a loss about the movie. Here's my take on the show! Of all the irrelevant things in the movie - the worst is the title. Dark of the Moon has very little relevance to the actual movie. Return of the Cybertron or something lke that would have made more sense. What was the movie about? How can an entire planet (Cybertron) be transported back to earth? Wont they clash? Come on - we are scared stiff and predict wholescale destruction when a tiny meteor comes close. An entire planet....puhleeze! Shia LeBeouf in Transformers 3 What exactly was Shia LeBeouf's role in this edition of Transformers? Other than providing some cute moments and running from pillar to post for no apparent reason - he could have been written out of the script - and the movie woul...

Who says Harry potter is just for teenagers? I have loved the series from day 1 and waited and waited for the books to come out when Rowling was in the middle of the series. However the movies dont really do justice to the complicated world of Harry Potter. They are good - but not really classic like the books. So if you have heard of Harry Potter - first read the books before getting hold of the DVD! BEST REVIEW - TOP 3 HARRY POTTER BOOKS 2011 - HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, HARRY POTTER BOOKS, BUY HARRY POTTER ONLINE, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, SORCERER'S STONE, GOBLET OF FIRE

Yes IPL 4 is live online free streaming online . So all those facebook addicts, net watchers and internet addicts - you dont have to leave your laptop to catch the IPL live streaming online. And you dont need a shady digital or dubious channel to watch the 20 over cricket. Indiatimes has bought the rights for this ediion of IPL (IPL 4) to webcast all the matches of IPL 4. The site has already had a huge influx of visitors for the first couple of matches. The matches can be caught live ANYWHERE in the world! Meanwhile get the ipl complete schedule and fixture at Espncricinfo/IPL Fixtures Watch the ipl 4 live online at Indiatimes at world.ipl.indiatimes.com/

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In the last two weeks I have gone through some books which are kind of Chick Lits. No, the books were more than chick lits - the authors classify them as thrillers - I would say they are chick lit murders. I am a very safe reader. For my daily dose of reading, I tend to stick to Georgette Heyer, Judith Mc Naught or Jo Beverly for romance, Robin Cook, Archer, Grisham, Dan Brown for thrillers with a PG Wodehouse, Christie or Enid Blyton thrown in. I tried my hand a Dean Koontz and Stephen King - but while some of Koontz's books worked for me - I gave up Stephen King after one book. And I have given up Paulo Coelho after Alchemist - which I found incredibly silly. I know I might get lynched for saying this. In my defense, I intend to take up Coelho again - because everyone seems to love it - and I cant see why I shouldn't, if I pick up the right book! Back to my chick lit murders - the first one I read was "A Rose From the Dead" by Kate Collins. It is part of a se...

Main gay hoon, Main gay nahin hun, Main gay hun kya? Kya tum gay ho? This sums up the story of Dostana – a story of two young men over confused about their sexuality. Well the plot is thin – So thin in fact it loses itself many a times in the tangle of legs and hormones - of Priyanka Cho. and John Abe. And the cute one day stubble of Abe babe. What was Bobby Deol doing with those three? The Deol Baba was such a let-down. I was really thankful to Bobby for providing some relief in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (The worst ever movie I have ever watched) – I guess the Director too thought of Bobby’s role in a similar way – to provide plenty of back-up to the Bachchan Baba. But here’s news for you – Abhisekh Bachchan was outstanding – Bobby Deol was a dead bore. Dostana really has brought the term gay out of the closet, in India amongst the masses. There are some thoughts that the movie would throw the fragile gay rights movement in this country decades behind. I tend to disagree – bringing such a t...