#Or was Bollie too distracting?

[degenezijde]

Visited my mum for the first time since the operation 3 weeks ago, which I didn't actually tell her about for several reasons, so I was ready to have that conversation.

She didn't mention anything!

[imagine-a-dream]

Imagine Crowley's constantly trying to corrupt you because he thinks you're too sweet.

Inspired by @walkingaline ♥ Hehe

Since the first day you met Crowley seemed to be a little obsessed with the idea of corrupting you.

You weren't an overly religious person and not saint, that's for sure. It was just you were a bit shy and always kind to those around you. No matter what, even to the King of Hell himself. You offered him a cup of tea after he almost threatened to kill you, who even does that? So he comes up with a plan of ruining this sickening sweetness of yours, not giving much thought to the reasons behind this odd demeanor.

He popped up in your room again, offering you his company. He flirted, giving you hooded eyes and light seemingly accident touches. He rumbled sweet compliments into your ear, whispered hot suggestions, trying to break your will. You tried to not give in to his charms, but it was harder with each passing day. At this point, you started to believe that he was the snake that tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and not Lucifer.

"Crowley! Stop this, I'm trying to do some cleaning... Can we just, I dunno, calm down and get some tea?" You knew it was a weak attempt to reason with him, but you still gave it a try, knowing fully well he won't stop.

"Oh, come on now, bolly, you're no fun." He gave you a smirk and tried to snake his hands around your waist. You brushed his hands off you and stormed off out of the room, almost running to the boys' room for at least some sort of distraction.

"Bollocks." He murmured in defeat. Maybe tomorrow...

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[blogging4myself]

Sacred Games review: Saif Ali Khan’s debut web series gets a thundering response worldwide

  Energetic, entertaining and replete with uncompromising performances. If international reviews of “Sacred Games” are anything to go by, the Mumbai-set drama on India’s dark underworld has given Netflix a “strong start” for its local content in the country. Netflix’s maiden original Indian mini-series, “Sacred Games” is produced by the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment’s Phantom Films joint venture, and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap of Phantom Films. It is based on Vikram Chandra’s eponymous novel of 2006 and premiered worldwide on Netflix on July 6.

The New York Times notes how, for starters, Netflix has chosen a production from the same genre as a previous success, the American-Colombian “Narcos”. It deduces that “a gangster saga with a history lesson is apparently the best algorithm for cross-cultural success” for the content platform. The gripping series, spread across eight episodes, delves into the life of Sartaj Singh – Saif Ali Khan takes an impressive plunge into the web series pool and how his path crosses with dreaded gangster Ganesh Gaitonde – essayed with precision by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who like most of his roles in the space, excels here too. Radhika Apte plays a RAW officer.

“It is a welcome distraction from the usual Bollywood gangster epics which tend to glorify the world of crime and grime in a glossy manner. There has been no attempt at sanitising Mumbai into a gleaming, sparkling city,” wrote Gulf News, which adds that “the gore may not be for the faint-hearted”. All in all, Gulf News said “Sacred Games” is “thrilling and is a perfect antidote to Bollywood gangster flicks that paint its villains and heroes in broad strokes”.

“Here, you aren’t sure whether you are rooting for the morally bankrupt or the emotionally stunted. But whichever side you choose, ‘Sacred Games’ plays fair in the business of entertaining and sending a chill down your spine.” The starting scene itself – when a dog is tossed off a high-rise and falls to his death, and off goes a dialogue, “Do you believe in God? God doesn’t give a f*ck” – sets the pace for the gore, the expletive-laden language and the dark narrative that “Sacred Games” uses in its telling of a story on the web of organised crime, corruption, politics and espionage in post-liberalisation India.

A lot of cultural and historical references will go over the head of non-Indian viewers, says The New York Times, referring to the sequences when the screenplay toggles between Gaitonde’s story and references to Shah Bano case, Babri Masjid demolition, Mumbai bomb blasts and the rise of the Hindu right wing in the country. “The combination of dark humour and operatic violence may call to mind ‘Fargo’; the slightly hyperbolic characterisations and stylised dialogue are akin to those in ‘Luke Cage’,” it noted. ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Saif Ali Khan on Sacred Games, freedom on the internet and owing his success to Mumbai

Performances by the impressive and carefully chosen cast have found a mention in most reviews. The Guardian says: “Sacred Games has the kind of dense plotting that demands commitment and concentration. Having said that, this kickstart to a whole new TV genre (Bolly noir?) looks like being worth it, with uncompromising performances, a script bristling with lyricism, and an intriguing air of vibrancy and originality.”

And according to The Hollywood Reporter: “For those who haven’t sampled the impressive depth on Netflix’s international TV series bench, ‘Sacred Games’ provides the kind of intriguing thrills found in the best of those offerings – a worldly mise-en-scene that depicts something familiar but with unique local twists.” The Indian film fraternity has also given the show a thumbs up, with Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Varun Dhawan, Bipasha Basu, Dia Mirza, Vir Das and Arjun Kapoor, among others, calling it a gritty entertainer which kept them on the edge of their seats.

After “Sacred Games”, Netflix is already set to launch “Ghoul”, its first Indian original horror series, on August 24. It will star Radhika with Manav Kaul, and has also been produced by Phantom Films.

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[lazilyhopefuluniverse-blog]

day 3: 18.3.2017

reflections on: 1. food. molecular gastronomy. 2. purpose of life. 3. "make a magazine" idea.

this was prompted by an article in the hindu "who moved my curd rice?" about the rather unexpected (to the writer and me too) introduction of molecular gastronomy to south indian food. back when i wrote this note down i had a semi-rant against, mildly against, molecular foods. but now i realise my lack of ever having tasted any deconstructed/molecular food item means i wish not to rant about it just yet. but in the process of writing a rough, impassioned plea for regular size gastronomy i drew (below the write up) a nifty little diagram of what wholesome, complete food should do: it should touch one - here, here, here, here, here and here too!

2. this topic is hardly the worthy subject matter for one blog post or even 100. this is religion, philosophy, movies, hobbies, work, passion everything rolled together in a mega ball that we shall never understand, stop or play with or hit out of the ballpark. every once in awhile (especially around the periods for me), these questions come to haunt more profoundly than other times. is creation the purpose of life? creation of babies, food, music, dance, drama, tv, industrial goods. is purpose the same as meaning of life? or does it add meaning to life? is just living and working and living like our parents not enough? but even they are/were creating something. or are these purposes mere distractions to keep us from going mental thinking about the meaning and purpose of life? but how can it be a distraction if it fucking occupies all your life? to spend your time meditating on this is pointless. so we create. to simply exist and not make something, anything, no matter how significant, is to not live. maybe in the cosmic scheme of things we’re just whiling away time before we reach THE nirvana level. might as well use that time to create and to create well. 

3. the idea that struck me sometime today was to make my own magazine complete with incomplete indesign skills and guerilla sales tactics. it sounded nice in my head and continues to do so now although in a somewhat subdued manner. the name of the magazine should be (i think) the same as the name of this blog. which leads to why should i choose a popular bollywood item number? the kala chasma to my mind - yes, thanks to bolly it does remind me of the song and the time i might've danced to it - but more than that isn't it just literally, the accessory of the intellectual? especially the real ones. and the rest of us can wear it and pass off as rich of mind and culture too. so kala chasma is literally thick rimmed black (preferably) glasses.

yes, its hipster but let's leave them out of this because their motivations are not mine.

grandparents wore them and they were definitely wiser than us and saw and read better things

almost all well-known musicians, auteurs, writers had one or wear one

joyce, dave brubeck, godard, woody allen, asimov, ray bradbury

ogilvy, howard gossage

beckett did not

capote

ray, mrinal sen, adoor (not black though i think)

and my favourite: marcello mastroianni (heart eyes)

of course this being the de rigeur style for a lot of the word till the 70s/80s - a cool era - there was no escaping it.

needless to say, i wear thick framed kala chasma too.

[note: the the absence of women barring ahem myself. but that's another interesting topic to be covered later. however, it goes without saying innumerable well-known women must've been wearing thick rimmed black glasses though none come to mind specifically now].

{Note: after having written this heartfelt entry above about kala chasmas i realised that hindi term deals with shades. black shades. so i guess the name has to change? ugh}.