Video Wednesday: 50 Shades of Grey

50 Shades of Grey the movie releases this Valentine’s Day. And this is one book I haven't read. It’s actually on my DNF list! Well, I couldn’t get past the first 5 pages.

I knew before I started, that the book was erotica and that’s not my genre. I’m not saying I don’t read it but I don’t like it so much. I guess I can take only so much of porn. :D

Anyway like I was saying I started out knowing it was erotica, I expected the BDSM sex scenes but I quit before page 5, before the erotica made an appearance. It wasn’t the genre that didn’t work for me, it was just the book.

Considering 50 Shades is Twilight fan fiction, maybe that explains it, since even Twilight didn’t work for me. Twilight was another DNF.

And if you ask me, DNF’s are best watched as movies. That way you waste only 2 hours, get the gist and don’t feel very guilty. ;)

So here’s the trailer of 50 Shades.
http://youtu.be/SfZWFDs0LxA

While looking around for the trailers, I came across some takes to the trailers. Here you go…

Superwoman’s Parents Reaction to the Trailer
http://youtu.be/XHtlgJSJ8eA

React did a video on Elders reaction to Fifty Shades of Grey. Here’s the bonus video of it, you can see the full one on their channel.
http://youtu.be/4fq6fBUS9sA?list=UUHEf6T_gVq4tlW5i91ESiWg

I enjoyed these and thought they were funny, Che though disagrees. Guess we have different senses of humour! :P What did you think of them? Funny at all?

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The Week That Was: Week 6

This week has been a crazy week. Wait, did I just say crazy. Hrrump… It’s true this has been a crazy week, but then so is every week and crazy is my favourite word. So, lets try again with something else. :D

This week has been maddening, chaotic, hectic, simply put crazy busy. :P

I started the week with welcoming Mom and Granny back after their two month sojourn. It’s good to have them back...

http://instagram.com/p/ylvZ5mB1sE/?modal=true

The rest of the week sped past as I tried to (and am still trying) wrap up stuff. (I head out to Calicut for my cousin’s wedding on Tuesday and there is just so much to do before that.)

I visited Doctor Prince, a well known Ayurveda doctor who has been recommended so many times, I just had to go meet him for my cold and gastritis. One more attempt, hopefully my last.

This lady surprised me at the Doc’s when she switched from a Tamil newspaper to Harry Potter. I couldn’t resist asking if this was her first time.
She grinned and replied, ‘It’s my fourth time, I really like these books’… :D

 

The dogs got a much needed bath. Well not all, two done, now it’s four more to go…



Managed to fit in a visit to Mom’s so I could put together some of the clothes I’m going to wear for the various events with it’s coordinated jewellery. Glad I did it, coz all blouses are tight! :P

Granny though doesn’t have that worry and she was more intent on showing me her latest acquisition. Her latest gift from the Amricas…



My compost bin was overflowing and so got that one out of the way too. Got some lovely black gold to sprinkle around the garden once I’m back.



 

The rest has been just all work, which makes for boring photos so here are some cute ones… :D

The Style Guy!

 

The toy that lasted less than a minute :D

 

Ebony and Ivory!

 

MISS Red Riding Hood…

 

The cuddlers…

 

After trying this whole week to fit blogging in with the tight schedule, I’ve officially given up. I’m taking a two week time-out from the blog.

For now I’m focusing to getting the house, dogs, and work sorted while keeping a sane head and managing to pack all I need for the wedding.

See you guys once I’m back. Have fun folks! ;)

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Tuesday At The Movies: Wild, Birdman and American Sniper

From this valley they say you are going.
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathway a while.

So come sit by my side if you love me.
Do not hasten to bid me adieu.
Just remember the Red River Valley,
And the cowboy that has loved you so true.

This week we impulsively decided to do a movie marathon. We haven’t done that in a while but a friends staying over seemed like the perfect excuse to go back in time. Only we had forgotten the years that have gone by and the age that has creeped in.

We used to do all-nighters at one point in time, movies ran back to back through the day and night and the marathon ran for 3 days. This time we only managed 3 movies. :P

The lyrics at the start are of Red River Valley, a cowboy folk song that is know by many names. I remember it though from school when it was sung in memoriam of one of our teachers.

The song is short but it has stayed in my head for years and it came pouring back when I heard it again in ‘Wild’. What can I say, it’s a haunting song. Give it a listen…

http://youtu.be/NlCjIbdy2tQ

 

Wild

A coming of age movie. The true story of a woman who took up a 1000 km hike across the Pacific Crest Trail to find herself. Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, watching the movie I couldn’t help but think that The Legally Blonde gal has come a long way… This is a movie to watch.

 

Birdman

This movie I think is about an actor struggling with his past and trying to reinvent himself. But I say ‘think’ because I’m not sure. I didn’t really get the movie and if I can manage it, maybe I’ll watch it again. Good movie, but deep (I think). Some may like it.

 

American Sniper

Based on the biography of Chris Kyle, who is considered the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history, with 255 kills, out of which 160 are officially confirmed. This movie gives a glimpse into the head of a man who is a mass murderer if you want to see it that way. A propaganda movie but, it is good entertainment and you’ll not see the end coming.

What have you watched this week?

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The Asus IndiBlogger Meet 2015: #GoSleeekAsusExperience

Photo Credit: IndiBlogger

One of the highlights of this week was the Indiblogger meet on Friday. I first heard about it in an email from them and as always promptly called Vidya to ask if she was going too.

There was a requirement to write a post that compared the latest Asus ebook and ET PC that had me wondering. I don’t like doing promo posts on my blog unless it ties-in in some way with the objective of my blog. So…

Vids and I talked and grudgingly agreed to write posts so we could get an excuse to meet-up. Then 5 days before the event, as I struggled to get myself to sit down and write, I find an email invite to the event. You should have seen me air punch with glee.

A quick call confirmed Vids had got a mail too. Now, the plan was on and without writing a promotional post. Yippee… :D

Friday couldn’t come fast enough and the week slowly rolled past. Creeping and crawling along, Friday did get here and I headed out on my long cross-country trip to ITC Gardenia.

This time the Indiblogger Team was authenticating people with ID proof! That was a new one, I’d never had to do that until now and I wonder why it was required this time.

Photo Credit: IndiBlogger

Registration complete we headed in and settled down around tables. I don’t know why this happens but almost always there will be women tables and mens tables. It just happens and it’s just weird!

The event started with a performance from the Indiblogger Team. And it was fun I say! Here’s a glimpse.

http://instagram.com/p/yerxksB1tC

This was followed by an icebreaker in which each person had to convince people to give them something personal. The objective was to get as many articles as possible. The results were fascinating - some people got over 20 items, some managed to collect so rather expensive articles and some collected smart things like autographs and selfies.

This was followed by a presentation by the Asus guys on the Asus EeeBook X205 and the All-in-One PC ET 2040, which are the latest products from the Asus stable.

Considering that I have used an Asus laptop for the last two years, this is a brand I like. The EeeBook was light and felt nice on the fingers but I overheard the tech bloggers saying that it’s memory specs were not great.



The PC looked really interesting in the presentation but the real thing turned out to be too big for my liking, almost as big as a TV. But that said it did have this rather cool feature of reading gestures.

http://instagram.com/p/ye3bGuB1va

This activity was followed by the group being broken up into 4 teams. Each team was given a theme and we had to do a skit on blogging based on the theme.

Team 2 according to me was the best. When came up with their own blogging related lyrics and danced to Gangam Style. I was in Team 2 and our topic was Pirates of the Caribbean. I was water girl as you can see. :P

Photo Credit: IndiBlogger

By the time all this got done, we were running a bit late, so Anup announced that all winners would be announced in a couple of days, the group photo got taken and everyone charged towards the dinner counters.

Photo Credit: IndiBlogger

The rest you know. I dabowed and ate. There was a large spread but the Dum Biryani was the hero for me and I even ate seconds. Desserts were so-so, the mud pie and Mysore Pak were the only ones I enjoyed. Eating complete, the race was on again to get home.

I have two reasons for attending a blogger meet. 1. It’s a chance to meet blogger friends who you won’t landup meeting otherwise. 2. There’s lots of freebies to be won.

This time I caught with friends and we talked dime a dozen trying to catchup with all that had happened in almost a year. But the event lacked freebies. For the first time in over 4 blogger meets I came back home empty-handed.



Greedy me but I hope IndiBlogger has more prizes next time. :eek: And more events too since there hasn’t been one in a long time and this was the first one of 2015.

Overall a good evening spent with friends. May this year have many more of those. :)

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Saturday Tirade: Who Am I?

'Who am I' is a cliched question. Constantly being asked, forever flaunted, indiscriminately repeated and never resolved. I have tried to define myself way to many times now and words always fall short.

How does one define oneself? Why does one need to define oneself? Can one not be the undefined? The unlabelled? Vague and obscure like that tantalising island shrouded in mist?

And yet every time this question comes up I get lost in thought, sucked into another cycle of trials and attempts to answer the question. Not so much to the person asking the question, but to myself, to reason with and quieten the monster this question awakens.

'Who Am I’.

I know who I was and it is this knowing that causes conflict. I am not the same anymore, I have changed, evolved and what not. Like they say change is the constant and yet I am what I was, I am what I am and I am much more.

So, here’s another attempt at definition, a list of all I am, not OR but AND.
I am a…
- Human
- Girl
- Woman
- Daughter
- Sister
- Wife
- Doggie Mom
- Friend
- Writer
- Imagineer
- Bibliophile
- House Manager
- Crafter
- DIYer
- Jugaadist
- Hoarder
- Washerwoman
- Gardener
- Blogger
- Doggie Vassal
- Food Conjuror
- Poop Examiner
- Pee Appraiser
- Meat Sorter/Meat Box Maker
- Personal Doggie Exerciser
- Poop Collector
- Glorified Charwoman
- Grudging Chambermaid
- Reluctant Cook
- Happy Baker
- Biker
- Traveller
- Adventurer
………
………
………
And the list goes on.

I came up with these in 10ish minutes. I’d be a lot more if I had more time, I guess. :P

Who are You? Does the question haunt you too? How many of these are you too?

I’m constantly striving and working towards the day with I make peace with all I am, with who I am. I don’t know how this can be done, or ever if it is possible but for now I’d say it’s an uphill task and an uplifting journey. :D Have you found the answer? The secret to making peace with ‘Who Am I’?

****This post was inspired by and written for the #UseYouAnd activity on BlogAdda. Now here’s the compulsory text… "This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus".****

Photo Credit: Chenthil Mohan

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Video Wednesday: The BSF DareDevil Motorcycle Show

It was republic day this week and it was after years that we watched the Republic Day parade at Rajpath on DD this year. As mix of tradition and technology, we watched it all on YouTube while it was Live Streaming from DD. :D

There were a lot of beautiful performances, partly I think thanks to the desire to impress Obama but what stood out for me were the BSF DareDevils. These guys I have seen over the years doing stunts on motorcycles that defy the eye and mind, yet I’ve never tired of them.

I seem to remember the DareDevils motorcycles being Royal Enfields since forever. However as a child I didn’t see the difference between an RE or any other bike. But having ridden a Royal Enfield for some years myself, I have an attachment with RE’s now and seeing them being used in such amazing ways, makes me all warm inside with a big smile on my face.

Motorcycle stunts aren’t easy. I should know, I’m terrified of even letting go of the handlebar, forget standing up on the bike and other such stuff. :D So, this week here’s to those DareDevils, their courage and the hours of practice they must put in to pull off such amazing feats.

http://youtu.be/pnv7nWxaZII

Stunts by the BSF DareDevils Team in the 2014 Republic Day Parade
http://youtu.be/nIFkaHWMjPI

The 2013 Republic Day Parade stunts by BSF DareDevils
http://youtu.be/dKHXGdFDexw

Here’s another where these guys have broken world records!
http://youtu.be/aVxOwFwC98E

There were some new stunts this year, but new or old they were all wow ones. But my favourites were seeing the guy sitting sidesaddle working on a laptop, and other one where the rider controlled the bike standing on top of a ladder.

Which one’s did you like the most?

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Tuesday At The Movies: Into The Woods, Baby and Gone Girl

I’ve made progress on the movie list. Not by leaps and bounds but like the cliche says, every step counts. :D

Last week I watched 3 movies with Che , out of which one was in an old school theatre. It was such fun to buy a balcony ticket after ages and sit in a non-A/C theatre in slightly uncomfortable seats. And the snacks, they were simple and affordable compared to the 100’s we spent at the multiplex.

I looking forward to more movies in theatres, before they disappear and we are left with only the multi-screen monsters. The non-fancyness of the theatre didn’t take away anything from the movie experience, I think it only added to it.

Now on to the movies I watched -

Into The Woods

What happens when you take Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk, put them together and give it a modern twist? You get a kick ass fairy tale movie from Disney! ;) A must watch...
My favourite scene was when Johnny Depp howls at the moon in a way that only he can make sexy. 8-)

 

Baby

Don’t go by the name, this has nothing to do with those little wailing, pooping bundles. This one is an all out masala action thriller. Not the perfect tight storyline but it still did have me sitting at the edge of my seat most of the time. It also does have some mushy gooey dialogues that had me falling off my chair in laughter!
My favourite scene was when Akshay Kumar charges into a room to save the damsel only to find the damsel has saved herself! Full to full woman power! :D

 

Gone Girl

I’d been meaning to read the book before the movie but I finally gave up. The movie is neat, the story is awesome and I definitely need to read the book sometime (especially since Che says a lot of stuff was missing). I never did see what was coming as the story unfolded. Don’t miss this one…

So that’s it for this week. I’m hoping in the coming week to watch some movies on my choice and by myself for a change. :D

What have you watched recently?

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