Coffee @ The Window Watching The Rain

April 10, 2009July 16, 2009 - Roshan

the black pimpernel online For the entire morning & afternoon it was cloudy and gloomy today. By 2:30 pm the clouds blocked the sun and it was quite dark outside. I lay on my bed and watched Star Trek episodes on my computer. It was a big humid and I knew that rain was in store.

By around 5 pm you could hear the rumblings of thunder and there was lightning. I switched the pc off and went to get some coffee. I took my cup and went to sit in the common room which is opposite my bedroom. There was a lovely breeze blowing in through the open windows and onto my face as I sat at the desk and sipped my coffee.

d a r y l movie

I sat there and enjoyed the breeze while it rained outside. I watched the clouds glide through the sky, the roads getting a wash, a few vehicles making their way to their destination and people walking under umbrellas. It was quite & peaceful and I was content for that 30 minutes or so that I spent there.

In one word : bliss.

The Wrestler Aka Mickey Rourke’s Comeback

April 10, 2009February 27, 2011 - Roshan

I finally got round to watching one of the best movies that I have seen – ever! The Wrestler is a movie about a fallen star, a one time top wrestler now a fading relic of the excess that was the 1980s. Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson’, the guy who headlined arenas now is a weekend wrestler, strutting his stuff in small halls with opponents who are fans of his and remember his glory days. He is booked to fight a rematch of his crowning moment, a 20th anniversary celebration of his sold out match against the Ayatholla. We see Randy getting locked out of his trailer for not paying the rent, working behind the meat counter at a supermarket, puke and collapse after a heart attack, looking very aged as he puts on his glasses to read the instructions on medicine bottles, get’s insulted by his boss and breaks down in front of his estranged daughter as he begs her not to hate him for abandoning her.

We see him smitten by a stripper named Pam (Marisa Tomei) and see him try to woo her. She suggests that he tries to speak to his daughter, who takes some convincing but agrees to build back a relationship. After Pam gets scared of getting too close to him and says that they keep their distance, he gets angry and insults her. Then after a night of partying, drinking, snorting cocaine & having sex with a wrestling groupie, he forgets to show up for a night out with his daughter & their first dinner together after patching things up.

His daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) throws him out of her house and says that she never wants to have anything to do with him. Broken and devastated he finds himself embarrassed at where he is working when a wrestling fan recognizes him at the meat section and quits his job. He quickly arranges for his comeback match against the Ayatholla and understands that he can only be truly happy in the ring, cheered on by his fans. Randy’s heart strains in between the match and even the Ayatholla is concerned but Randy ploughs on and gets on top of the ring post.

We expect he dies of a heart attack after the match, post the final dive from the top. His heart wouldn’t have been able to recover. The movie ends as Randy jumps but that would have been fitting. He was a loser, couldn’t make a life for himself and screws things up. So in the moment of retained glory, it would have been fitting for him to die just after. And as the credits roll, a wonderful song by Bruce Springsteen plays.

“I’m an old, broken down piece of meat and I’m alone. And I deserve to be alone. I just don’t want you to hate me.”

The Simpsons Stamp On Your Mail

April 10, 2009July 23, 2009 - Roshan

The yellow family will be featured on US postage stamps come May 7th. Yes your favourite animated family is going places, all around the world in fact, on the corner of an envelope or a parcel!

The U.S. post office wants folks to vote early and often for their favourite among the five new stamps honouring the funny dysfunctional family.You get Homer, Marge, Bart, Liza & Maggie. The characters, created by cartoonist Matt Groening, have become pop culture icons in 20 years on Fox television. The 44-cent stamps will go on display at 8 a.m. Thursday at www.usps.com/simpsons

and votes can be cast at that site until May 14.

Hot & Humid On The Rooftop Bar

April 10, 2009August 15, 2011 - Roshan

After 3 days of heavy rain (but hardly any wind or breeze) there was a lull yesterday. I didn’t know that it would be so hot & humid until I had left my home to head to work. The day did not look like it would be pleasant.

Anyways, I was thinking of getting a quick bite to eat and maybe a cold shake before I headed off home but my buddied Anil & Madhu had other things planned. Madhu wanted to treat us to drinks & dinner @ Malabar House roof top garden. The occasion was that he had snagged a much better paying job with a higher profile. Good for him!

So I left the office a little after 6 pm and headed straight to Menaka. I got down there and had a quick soft drink, since I was parched. Then I got into an auto and headed to the bar. They had already started on a beer each and were having fried prawns. I ordered some Romanov vodka and we had some fish masala, more prawns and then moved on to french fries. The cooks over there really know how to make french fries; long, crisp, thin and plentyful on a plate. Madhu moved on to whiskey and Anil opted for brandy.

However, pretty soon I was getting really sleepy. I hadn’t been sleeping well the past 4 days and I was almost dozing off. We left the bar a little after 10pm and squeezed our asses into an auto and I reached home in a few minutes. I ended up spilling almost a quarter of a jug of water on my sheets and had to dry it off before I slept.