God's Debris

I am not the one who gets flared up with the talks of God, consciousness, free-will, scepticism. I heard about 'thought-experiments' from my friend. Albeit reluctant, I figured to give it a try. Google threw me a clean pdf of this book in the first search. Skimming through this, a 100 odd page book seemed quite appealing. After the foreword, there was no stopping. Will you believe if I point out that the author of "Dilbert", Scott Adams wrote this serious piece? Hold on, it aint serious. It aint humor either. In his very own words: "This is not a Dilbert book. It contains no humor. I call it a 132-page thought experiment wrapped in a fictional story".

It is a very fast read and it stimulates your rusty neurons, piques it right and shakes those thoughts. You will look at probability with a whole new light. If you wonder why a normal package delivery guy engages in such a though provoking discussion with a wise old man, I dont have an answer. But before you ask this, you would be so into this book and the trivial things seem all the more trivial. I was distraught when he elucidates 'God's debris'. I was dangling in between before I got fastened to this new belief system. We can cogitate about each topic in this book for hours. He covers a gamut of motifs and you go through elation and betrayal at the same time.

The best part about this book is his approach. He does not impose anything on you. It is not a new system. You wont change the way you are, although you might start questioning more. You can sail through gravity, physics, relativity without having prior knowledge. Play with your thoughts, create more, destroy some more and modify the remaining. The climax is even better. It is a light hearted thought provoking book. You say, oxymoron? Spend some time with this creation. I can vouch for it!

Excerpts-
Most people believe they have goals when, in fact, they only have wishes.

Have you ever had the experience where you hear a strange word for the first time, and then soon afterward you hear the same word again?

“Ideas are the only things that can change the world. The rest is details.

What more? This is exactly how I felt when I finished the last sentence.
The city had bright edges. Sound was crisp. Colors were vivid. Objects seemed more dimensional, as if I could see the sides and backs from any angle. I heard a phone call being made a block away and knew both sides of the conversation. I could feel every variation in airflow..

Courtesy: At times, tea-time conversation can lead to fruitful results

Gravity- sure does attract you !

I was glad that am standing on the surface where I dont have to struggle to walk. Thanks to "g". A movie which lives upto its hype. Seeing it in IMAX 3D makes you actually walk in space. Being a space enthusiast and sharing a dream of being an astronaut someday, am contented for now. Its so gripping and jaw dropping that I dint realize almost till the end, that the cast of the movie was mainly just Sandra. Clearly explaining the plight of the astronauts and the loneliness in space, it strucks you hard when your hear the voices in her head. You hope that her conscience can hear it, leave alone the mission control. I found it scientifically apt till I searched for the inaccuracies out of my curiosity, to be so meagre that one would not realize unless he is an astronaut himself.

Breathtaking view of the earth, the shimmer of sunlight and the lovely soundtracks engulf you with excitement. I shuddered everytime she let the rope loose, I sighed with relief everytime she got a thing working, I lost hope everytime she conveyed the whereabouts to Houston. I lived through the whole experience. Its so humbling that I appreciate immensely the ability to 'walk' the surface of earth, to 'hear' the fears and hopes, to 'breathe' the air here. I know how heartening it is to hear "copy that" from the other side !
Coz, 'In space, no one can hear you scream'. Amen.

The King's Speech

A movie which takes you to the depth of human emotions- Fear . Set in the times of 1930s, takes us effortlessly through the pages of history. Admitting that I wanted to see it for this movie being nominated in most of the categories in this year’s Academy awards, I could not but help feel satisfied and triumphant at the end of it. Telling the story of King George VI facing the problem of speech impediment and his efforts to overcome his stammering , makes one face the truth that nearly no one is spared of imperfections.

One actor who took my breath particularly is Geoffrey Rush as the speech trainer. An impeccable performance. His character as Lionel Logue trying his informal ways at the task in hand is truly attractive. He just steals the show. The way he calls the king as ‘Bertie’ instead of ‘your highness’ speak volumes as to the promise of friendship. The ways he adopt to teach the king to ‘have faith in his own voice’ is remarkable. Helena Bonham Carter dons a great role too as wife of the king. The dialogues with its poetic stature and the fascinating screenplay is a treat to the ears.



And ofcourse, there is Colin Firth. My most favourite character as ‘Mr.Darcy’ in the famous ‘Pride and Prejudice’, lives upto the expectations. He just speak volumes through his eyes. I do hope he bags the best actor award. In all, a great movie and worth all the nominations.
It takes leadership to confront a nation's fear and it takes friendship to conquer your own.

Namesake

I was skimming through the gigantic holding racks of the library, wherein the obesely beaming books almost looked like falling off the shelf. Looking at the various titles makes you think of a trait which atleast the quarter percent of the population seem to share-creativity and imagination. Suddenly the yellow paperbacked book looked prominent. Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I was extremely pleased with myself for having encountered the book which I was searching from quite a long time. The feeling of having a book which you always wanted to read, creates a strange sense of fulfillment .

Having heard a lot about the movie and reading the reviews on the last page of the book set me into a fast pace, notwithstanding the curiosity. The storyline is elementary. An Indian family making their life in a foreign ground. The characters begin to appear effortlessly. The author describes each of them so well that you feel like going through it, all by yourself. The settings beautifully explained to the tiniest detail without making it sound boring. She does not set rules, nor make claims. I had not given much of a thought about what a ‘name’ can stand for. Ofcourse, its our very identity. It takes a hilarious turn when , just a simple act of naming a child is portrayed as a levelheaded deed. Imagine having a name ’gogol’. The throes of having such a name is captured without an excuse. The origin of his name, his misgivings and the final justification comes out clearly. One should write a book as ‘what not to name a baby’! There is no sad hint. The trick is simple! A story told with all its beauty. Pristine as it is, she brings out the fact that conformity to a culture is by no means a pretence. The nuances of the ideological differences make you think a bit. In short, a story I loved for its sheer simplicity and description, not forgetting the thoughts that it will arouse to occupy the mind.