A Blast From The Past – 1997

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“Describe your very first job and what you learned from it.”

Ah I have to go all the way back to the age of 21 and a summer part time / freelance job I did for just a couple of months for a small marketing company that focused on computer & accessories sales in the city of Cochin. Man that was almost 16years ago. Like I said I only did it for 2 months or so, no commitment of any sort. The small agency, run by a middle aged woman, who ran it out of one of the two houses she owned with her husband, was launched a dealership with US Robotic to sell their then models of dial up modems in Cochin. This would be around 1997!

I had heard, from my sister who had met this lady, that they wanted to hire one or two young freshers who would go about to some companies and market the modems to them. I went and met the staff at the office and she agreed to hire me. Pay would be based solely on sales and I would get a good cut per modem sold. The next day I went in for a couple of days of introduction to the internet – my first time on the net ever as we had just started getting it over here! I even remember the first 3 websites that I had visited – Wimbledon’s official website, CNN.com and Joe Satriani.com! I still remember that cause I blogged about it somewhere in one of my old blogs I guess. Anyways they gave a run down on the modem and how to connect the dial up to the system, phone etc etc. About a week after I joined them, I pinpointed a few companies in the city, close by to each other, that I would hit one afternoon. I spent 3 hours that day going to each of them after my diploma in computer science classes ended and met a few people in each company and asking them to sign on for a demonstration of the modem for internet connectivity.

I didn’t have much luck the first few days but through a family friend of mine I got a couple of contacts in some companies that wanted to check them out. So I arranged for them to have a demonstration sent and when they agreed I went back to the office and gave the address & contact numbers/names of the interested parties. A couple of days later I went in again and found out that one company had already purchased a modem based on the demo. But I didn’t getĀ  my commission because the lady said she had already spoken to them previously. I was dissapointed but said ok. Next was another company but again the same thing happened. She said that one of her regular staff had already gone there to arrange a meeting and hence the sale should be his! I got annoyed at this point and didn’t go to the office or for marketing for a couple of weeks.

Then I decided to catch her at her lies. My friend wanted a modem and so I arranged a demo at his office for his boss. Once the sale happened, she tried the same thing again but I called her on her lies. I then told her that my close friend works there and she could call his boss in front of me and that the two of them would confirm that they had only met with me and have made the purchase only because of me! She was visibly angry and called in her assistant who was told to give me the cash in an envelope. Then she said “Oh you have only made one sale till now (it was almost 2 months), I think I will have to stop this arrangement.” I smiled and repied that I was tired of this place and wasn’t going to freelance for them anyways. I took my money and went way.

What I learned? Snakes can walk on two feet! And the world is full of bastards & bitches who will try to cheat you so beware!

Evil Dead (2013)

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I was heavily anticipating this movie ever since I heard the announcement and then saw the trailer. Evil Dead aka Evil Dead 2013 is a reboot of the 1981 movie of the same name. It is the 4th in the movie franchise (after 1987’s Evil Dead II & 1991’s Army Of Darkness) and also a loose continuation of the Evil Dead franchise. Produced by Sam Raimi, who directed the first 3, along with Bruce Campbell (who was the hero of the original 3 movies) and Robert G Tapert and directed by debutant Fede Alvarez. The movie stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas & Elizabeth Blackmore. Of these I only knew luscious Jessica Lucas.

The story line is simple and similar to that of the original in that it is 5 young people in an old rundown cabin in the woods. Why the fuck would you want to stay in a small, dusty, shitty cabin in the woods that has old plumbing, rusty pipes and electricity is bound is go out at any time? Why, why why? In the very beginning of the movie we see a young girl running the woods and is captured and tied up the cellar of this cabin. Upon revealing she is demonically possessed, her father sets her on fire and shoots her dead.This time it’s 2 friends – Olivia & Eric who have dragged their friend Mia to the cabin to help wean her of drugs. Mia’s brother David & his girlfriend Natalie also arrive at the old family cabin which hasn’t been used for many years – or so they think? When they get there they find out that there were some occupants there earlier and they left behind a host of rotting animal corpses, aĀ double-barreled shotgunĀ and a book titledĀ Naturom Demonto, a SumerianĀ  variation of theĀ Book of the Dead, with some translations scribbled here & there in English. As Eric reads out a passage from the book – despite clear warnings written next to it, the idiot went ahead and read them anyway – which summons a demon that possess Mia while she is out walking in the woods nearby. Why was she allowed to walk in the rain when she is suffering from withdrawal? Anyway the roots & vines near a tree grab her and a filthy, disgusting looking thick black slides up her leg and enters her through her nether regions.

In one of the most annoying way of speaking I have heard – she tried to warn David about the “something” but it is too late. The other 4 think she just wants to get out of there but when she burns herself in boiling hot water, they get scared. The road is flooded so David can’t take her to a hospital, so they are stuck. So possessed Mia starts doing all these crazy things; shoots at David, cuts her own tongue in half and French kisses Natalie and kills the poor dog! Awesome scene by the way! Olivia is possessed next, after a scene in which pee runs round her leg and she cuts off part of her face and then attacks Eric. Eric kills her by using a broken piece of the sink. Next it is Natalie who is possessed, cuts off her own hand and then attacks at Eric with a nail gunĀ and a crowbar. David kills her with the shotgun leaving her bleeding. Attempts to destroy the book are futile, as it describes a prophecy by which a demon named Taker of Souls needs to devour five souls in order to free the Abomination from hell. To achieve this, the demon has taken possession of Mia’s body, and the only ways to release her are to burn her, bury her alive or dismember her. David goes down to the cellar and tranquilizes Mia with Eric’s help but the latter seems to die from his wounds. David buries Mia alive, as he is unable to cut her to pieces – she dies and then he digs her out and shocks her to revive her, free from the possession.

However, back at the cabin a reanimated & possessed Eric attacks David & tells him that the abomination is coming. David hands Mia the care keys and blows up the cabin killing both him and possessed Eric in the process. As Mia grieves her brother’s death, the final part of the prophecy comes true – it begins to rain blood. The Abomination, a demon in the form of the girl, comes out of the ground and goes after Mia. Cutting her hand under David’s jeep Mia then manages to kill the Abomination with a chainsaw she finds in the storage, and its remains sink “back to hell”. The rains stop and day breaks as Mia begins to walk away from the area and unseen to her the book closes itself on the ground. The end!

I hope we get sequels. Awesome blood, gore & scares. It’s good enough for some scary jumps. Most fans of the original will like it but I just wonder a bit since we get nothing new. I also question the cast. Mia is no Ash! Anways, 7.5 for me!