Dont Panic!
Prometheus | 16 July, 2004 18:04
In the normal scheme of things, at least once in a lifetime, you come across a book. The first time you read it, it?s funny. The second time you read it, it?s still funny. The third time you read it, you curse the day you picked up the damn book in the first place. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is not that book.
This is a book which remains fresh no matter when you read it ? though it does get a little soggy when read in the loo.
The book starts with a bang ? the Earth is destroyed. In any other book, that would be the end of the story, but not in H2G2. After the destruction of the Earth, the plot thickens ? and thickens ? and thickens ? till it turns to pea soup at around the exact time ? but not the exact time, because no such thing has been defined by the ?Guild of witty story writers who are very fond of pea soup and soggy bread.? The best way to recognize them is to shout Goldilocks and they will respond. After years of discussions and debates, peppered with long pea soup and soggy bread luncheons, enough to keep all the pea soup and soggy bread manufacturers happy for quite a while, it was decided that every book must turn into pea soup and/or soggy bread at least once ? that such books usually do, and in the end the Earth is destroyed once again. Read the sentence again ? it makes sense!
For everyone else who hates pea soup and wouldn?t be caught dead with soggy bread, we have the colorful cast of characters. ?
Ladies and Gentlemen! I present the Hero, Heroine, Villain and the village idiot ? the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy itself. This is the most comprehensive compendium of information for hitch hikers wanting to explore the universe in under 30 Altairian Dollars a day. From the Mostly Harmless blue planet we call Earth to the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (the most potent drink this side of the universe), from Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple breasted whore of Eroticon 6, whose erogenous zones are said to start some 5 miles from her actual body, to the Restaurant at The End of the Universe, where you can have dinner while watching the universe crumble upon itself, this has it all.
With the help of Arthur Dent who works in the local radio and his friend Ford Prefect, who unbeknownst to him is a correspondent for the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy; the book gives us a ring side view of all the fascinating things the universe has to offer. Having survived the destruction of the Earth by hitching a ride with the very spaceships that destroyed it, the duo end up in the Starship Heart of Gold, which works on the Infinite Improbability Drive, realize the purpose of their lives and that of the Earth?s existence and still end up having fun on the way.
This is a cult book which has been converted into a radio series, a movie and also cartoons ? the works. It gives a different paradigm that is at once thought provoking and comedy. If you?re looking for a time pass novel to read in class ? this is the book for you. If you?re into heavy philosophy stuff (Ayn Rand et al) ? this book is for you too.
Finally, I give you my personal favorite character ? Wowbagger, The Infinitely Prolonged. His only mission in life is to traverse the entire universe insulting everyone in it. And the best part ? He has to do it in alphabetical order!
"Nani" yaad ayegi
Prometheus | 19 May, 2004 07:05
Survived the movie Nani today. It was torture while it lasted.
Havnt watched the original english movie this is supposed to be made from, but it cant have been like this. I am sure the director wouldnt remake his own movie in a different language :) Its that bad.
The story is loose. The jokes are crass and vulgar. The songs are too loud and at all the wrong places. Overaction by everyone (If they weren't shouting at each other, u had Mahesh Babu acting all dumb, like Krishna, his father). The ending also wasnt all that great. In short, nothing to hold the movie up.
The amazing thing was that in the multiplex, i could see only families, small kids and grandmothers..... shudder to think what their haalat was after the movie.
There is someone up there listening to me :) My last post lamblasted Sonia for all she was worth.... and today she announces that she wont become the Prime Minister... and at the same time, the stock market rises by 300 points. Looks like the Gods arent that crazy after all.
Till next time.... adios
more anti Sonia ranting
Prometheus | 18 May, 2004 08:33
Just saw the news..... markets lost 2 lakh crores in 2 days. Cant even dream of so much money. Just goes to show what a jinx Sonia is turning out to be, and she hasnt even stepped onto the chair as yet.
I'm still mad at them all.
Oh mai, NO SONIA
Prometheus | 18 May, 2004 03:10
here i am once again, trying to mindf*** u.
Sonia is seriously the worst thing to have happened to Indian politics in all time.
Now dont get me wrong and start out about how she's all Indian and how she's commited to the country and all that c***. The fact of the matter is that people dont know how to handle her at all. I mean, Indira Gandhi was purely Indian...... now when u call yourself the next Indira, and dont have a drop of Indian blood in you, people tend to fog up.
People didnt worship Indira Gandhi just coz she was Indian... that way every female in power would start having temples of their own all over the place (Bollywood stars already do, but that is a discussion for next time).
People liked her coz she was charismatic, she had energy, she could talk Hindi for God's sakes...... and please note that Sonia is none of these. If u've seen her in parliament, u'd wonder how the other members could keep from rolling on the floor laughing... her english is also no better... halting at best.
Dynastic politics is always considered a bad thing, but one exception is the congress party. I think that was because Nehru trained Indira into politics, and Indira did the same with Rajiv. So, when they came to power, they knew how to handle people, how to communicate, and could feel the pulse of the country. Again, Sonia came into politics, not as a natural politician, but because she happened to have a Gandhi behind her name.
If u thought Sonia so bad, The communist parties are even worse. Cant stick to an ideology, cant stick to a stand... cant stick together even. Already, we have them scaring the living daylights out of industry. Where is Indian politics going to, not one decent party.
What brought all this off....... saw just now that the sensex lost 500 points as soon as it opened... and its lost 1000 points in the past one week. So, having put in 10k in the market, ive already lost 3000 bucks. I'm mad at them..... totally mad.
Well thats enuf of politics... even i am getting fed up of the thing.
Was reading an article in the online magazine www.qmag.org about the nazi rule in germany and the concentration camps. Its pathetic to think that even now, u have people fighting against one another on the grounds of race, colour and country. Its even more amazing to note that the Jews in Isreal have gone from victims to terrorisers in such a short duration. They are doing to Palestine everything that was done to them... but revenge wont help. Revenge might be sweet, but u might get diabetes and die of it too... and it would be painful, and slow.
In all this u have the americans.... i wonder, dont they ever get tired of meddling in other peoples affairs? They tried vietnam, got screwed. They tried afghanistan... now Hamid Karzai is left between a rock and a hard place. The americans dont listen to him, the afghans dont listen to him.... but everyone questions him when something goes wrong. I definitely wouldnt want to be in his position.
And now u have the americans in Iraq. After the "Photogate", its surprising Bush is even able to come on screen and talk in public. The photos, if u've seen them are sick, disgusting and perverted. One wouldnt do that to ur enemy, much less some innocent on the road. But then, as its said, "Power corrupts, Absolute Power corrupts absolutely".
When u know that the person in front of u is totally at ur mercy, it brings out the devil in u. I shudder to think what other skeletons lie in wait in their cupboards.
If u've had the patience to go through the whole blog..... man are u patient!!!
God, on stage
Prometheus | 07 May, 2004 12:04
Couple of months back, went to this play of Woody Allen's, called GOD. The storyline was a little vague, set in ancient Greece with Socrates and Diabetes, also Hepatitis. A play within a play -- all searching for that "Golden Ending" that authors usually crave. The whole play was about the question -- does God exist?? If he does, then Man is not responsible for his actions, as his actions must be directed by GOD. This would only mean chaos in the world. At one point in the play, the actors realise that they are in a play too, and this brings them into denial -- are they free, or are they just doing things they were designed to do. Then the twist is that the audience is also fictitious and the product of some other playwright. One lady from the audience comes up and declares that she is real and nothing can change her mind about it, till the playwright points out that she has never had an Orgasm though she has slept with so many people -- and faked all of them, as she wasn't real.
Basically, it's a Greek Tragedy which ends up being a hilarious comedy. The actors were fabulous and the girls were hot... literally. I would say the plot was inspired by The Matrix, was it not for the fact that the play was written long before The Matrix saw the light of day. But the questions are the same... If 'we' got out of the matrix, would it change our way of thinking... What would a person do if he realised that all his life he had been dreaming -- only the dream had felt so real, he had not waken from it. Would it make people less responsible for their actions to know that this world isn't real. Are we truly free???
Alvin Toffler, the great economist, writes in his book, The Third Wave, that the right to choose ones leader has been utilised by many civilisations to provide a fig leaf for their rulers. He says that even in a democracy, the members of the leadership are decided by the people once every four or five years, akin to a batch process in engineering, whereas the lobby groups and pressure groups which actually control the levers of policy and decisions in the Government have a chance to continuously alter the course of the decisions, akin to a continuous flow process. Hence, even the best democracy in the world does not truly give power to the citizens. It is always the administration that holds control over the country.
This line of thought reminds me of the English comedy series, Yes Minister, one of the few really imaginative comedies I have enjoyed. In that we have the Administrative Officers acidulously moulding the Minister, and later the Prime Minister towards their own goals -- it might be very subtle, but it still exists. And we have no respite from their hanky-panky, for they themselves declare that Politicians might come and go, but they are here to stay. The only option would be to decentralise decision making and encourage the growth of smaller countries and states.
Well, I've finally reached Writer's Block. So, that's it for today.