We the Write stuff.

Ello All,

Readers who have read my blog may know that I have a huge respect for Dogs and the things they do. They may even know, that some of the most memorable moments, we the writers have shared have been with dogs, and so I figure it's about freaking time we list out some of our favorite on screen canines. Bear in mind the list is the top CHARACTERS and not films. So without any further ado....

10. Old Yeller (1957)
As a movie this is one of those old classics that you completely love but can't watch more than once, unless you're you know, Kyra. But the golden lab they got to play the mongrel in the movie will certainly always be one of my favorite on screen characters. He was the ideal dog. He was loyal and loving and sacrificing and the kind of guy you'd grow up to write a book about. I don't know about the book, but the movie certainly delivered to an entire generation of parents, one of the greatest Catch 22s a kid could lob at you- 'Mommy, can we get a puppy?'

9. Top Cop Dogs:
The idea of a dog as a cop's partner has sort of been run down by now, but there are two utter classics for me, which feature two actors from my favorite generation of hollywood humans.
The first is K9 (1989). James Belushi and his trusty sidekick Jerry Lee were the ultimate bachelor crime fighters. Replete with the 'HE'S DESTROYED MY HOUSE' scenes and the ultimate sacrifice in the end, Jerry Lee was one bad ass dog. He was one of those few dogs with a real personality that totally deserved to be on the tonight show.
The second is Turner & Hooch (1989). Somehow this movie didn't do well, but this was the film that sparked my love for Tom Hanks. Hooch, is the slobbery cuddly lump of stud sniffer dog pal of Turner played by hanks who is trying to crack down on a a huge case in a little city. The film features one of my favorite canine-human bonding moments, with Hanks and Beasley the dog on a stakeout.
I should also mention the giant sheep dog from Christian Slater's excellent Cuffs.

8. Cats and Dogs (2001)
Now here was a movie with a great idea, executed horribly, but featuring some of the cutest animals on screen. Frankly, you don't need much more than that to get by. For me the stand out performance from a dog was Lou the beagle voiced by Tobey Maguire. Mr Tinkles, the evil white cat voiced by Sean Hayes deserves credit, but I'm going to stick to one species here.
Lou was like the Michael J Fox of the dog world. Cute, cocky and boyishly charming. Certainly, the beagle must be the most under rated breed of dog in movies.

7. See Spot Run (2001)
The English Mastiff (I may be wrong...) Spot is easily one of the most complex character metaphors I've seen yet. He's a dog who's not a dog. He's been in the FBI so long he's lost his doggy nature and become a run down hard ass. The chemistry between him and David Arquette is amazing, and I was quite amazed to see the film pull off the story line as well as they did.
That dog made me think.

6. Homeward bound (1993)
It's so very typical for studios to take anything cute and stretch it till it's no longer cute, so I'm not even going to mention the sequel to the film. The old wise Lab and the goof ball boxer with the cynical cat combination was so delightfully perfect, only Disney could've accomplished it. One of the most moving films in the genre, but more than that the role of the Lab as the wise old man was stunning. His chin was always up and his mane always perfect, just like his posture. I wish I was his nephew.
That and the boxer and the porcupine scene, make these two, for me, one of the best canine chemistries on screen.

5. 101 Dalmations (1961)
If Walt Disney ever wanted, he could have become one of the greatest advertisers of all time. The man knew people like nobody's business. He knew what people wanted to be. He understood personality and he understood love like very few other film makers. There is not a single puppy in 101 Dalmations anyone will forget in a hurry. Rolly will forever reduce even the most serious of people into a puddle of 'habubucheebu' when they think back to his fat little bum stuck in the hole. And Roger and Perdita will always be the ideal parents everyone will want their kids to see them as.

4. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Who here has never actually tried the spaghetti kiss or atleast wanted to? Scooby Doo may be the highest grossing animated dog, but face it, nobody drew dogs like Disney. Lady is undoubtedly one of the classiest dames there is and the Tramp is one of the coolest men there is. The Audrey Hepburn-Peter O'Toole of the animated world.
Oh and let's not forget the smoothest dog around- Billy Joel's role as Dodger in Oliver and co. (Thanks to Kyra for the correction)

3. Lassie (1954)
2. Beethoven (1992)
I think till about age 14, this was actually my favorite movie ever. Sure the studios sucked it dry with the most ridiculous remakes, but the first one is genius. The single shot walk through the park scene where he licks the little girl's ice cream and the perfectly juxtaposed 'Roll Over Beethoven' scenes are brilliant, but for me the greatest part of the movie, is the look on the St. Bernard's face when they walk into the mud covered room and he's sitting on the bed. You may not be able to teach a dog new tricks, but when the guy's a born actor you've hit the jackpot...

1. Marley and Me (2008)
I realise I'm alone in this view, but this movie deserved an Oscar. Not only is it one of the greatest depictions of married life, it also features the greatest final farewell scene I have ever seen. The part at the end when Owen Wilson runs his hand over all of Marley's soft parts made me ache, it was so perfect.
But the undoubted star of the film was the dog/ dogs they got to play Marley the Dog. I'm yet to read the book, but everything I've heard about Marley in it was perfect. In particular the scene where Marley's taken Jennifer Aniston's necklace in his mouth and he's just staring at them as they slowly approach him. I was convinced that was CGI. just brilliant. Even the look on his face when he realises her water's broken and the time he puts his head on her lap after the miscarriage. As far as performances go it was perfect. There was no contrived scenes of 'cute pooch' gimicks. It was all real, all believable and all incredibly moving. A feat impossible without the tremendous performance of Jonah the lab.

There you have it. My top ten dog stars. Mention anyone I've left out, and don't count on a list of top ten cats. Let's face it- cats are evil.
Roof.

Gilmore Girls effectively ended two years ago. However, thanks to the fact that it doesn’t seem to air in India (except for a while at an abysmal hour on Zee Café) and erratic Abu Dhabi visits (when a season would never be on air) I only got to catch up with the last two seasons now.

It was heartrending, all the memories that show brought up. Ive been watching Gilmore Girls since I was in High School, back in the good old days, when Wednesday nights were primetime viewing because Thursday/Friday still constituted a weekend. It was a mommy and me tradition and we never missed an episode.

I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find a mother-daughter (those that get along as well as those who don’t) who don’t fall hook, line and sinker for this show. Yes, the characters talk too fast, yes, Stars Hollow doesn’t even exist (and a town as awesome as that really should), but a show as warm and as intelligent as that deserved to run for years and years and years.

One of the main reasons I loved this show was an inherent theme that ran throughout the show from episode 1 to the Bon Voyage episode in Season 7 – Books. The writers of Gilmore Girls (the Palladino’s are GODS) made sure that every other sentence had a cultural/literary reference. They understood, how underrated books were in American teenage television. In the O.C, in 90210 – it’s all about sex, breaking up and hooking up. In the Gilmore Girls however, a book is a symbol of your identity, an understanding of whom you are as a person as well as whom you want to be. “ I live in a world of books. I’ve been a resident of Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down Swann’s Way” – Rory’s High School Graduation Speech. There have been at least a dozen books Rory Gilmore has introduced me to, that will remain favorites forever.

For the Gilmore Girls, unlike the characters of The O.C/90210 etc, high heels and handbags aren’t the ultimate accessory. Books are. In the first episode, Rory meets her first boyfriend, Dean (Jared Padalecki), when he spots her reading Madame Bovary and later Moby Dick under a tree: "I thought, 'I have never seen someone read so intensely before in my life. I have to meet that girl.' " In a later season, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) borrows Rory's copy of Allen Ginsberg's* Howl and returns it with notes scribbled in the margins. The two soon embark on a typically angst-ridden romance, where the exchange of books plays a large role.

Season 7, the final season of Gilmore Girls plainly showed the absence of the Palladino’s. As soon as I watched the first episode of the season, I knew something was wrong. The dialogue was as wordy as ever, but no longer witty. Overall, it was a disappointing season – made up for by the last episode. I didn’t just cry, I blubbered. I wept and wept till I ran out of tissues. Once I got another box of tissues, I wept some more. It was beautiful, because the Gilmore Girls themselves, didn’t cry once, despite the fact that they would be separated for months, if not years. They ironed tshirts, they shopped, they didn’t talk, they talked, and the show ended the same way the show began 7 years ago – at Luke’s diner, in the early hours of the morning, just before Rory Gilmore takes off to be a political reporter on the trail of Obama’s presidential campaign.
Cliché, though it may seem, I always felt prettier, and wittier and wiser after watching Gilmore Girls. Not only do I talk (much) faster than normal, I’m chirpier and wiser. Ask Harry. He has spoken to me pre-Gilmore Girls viewing and post-Gilmore Girls viewing and can tell the difference by now. It wasn’t just about the books, or the addiction to coffee, or the compulsive eating, or even the witty dialogues. It was them. You fell in love with the Gilmore Girls, because they were awesome. End of story. They were funny, and smart and brave and had pretty much no-one else but each other. And I, for one, am a better person for knowing them intimately for seven years.

Wolverine releases in India today, and I was lucky enough to see a preview show last night. First off let me say that, Empire Magazine posted a blog about how Movie Studios need to ignore the fans, and man, I couldn't agree more. What I saw was a contrived, compressed and overall insipid film. It follows Wolverine's entire journey from Weapon X on Alkali Lake (Remember X2?) right up till a little before X-Men (2000) and involves the strained relationship with his brother Victor Creed (Sabretooth) and Team X.

I was going to blog about something else today, but last night I had dream about my ex-girlfriend. She usually seems to pop inside them now and then. We got back together, and I was the happiest I have ever been in a long time, until I woke up. So for the rest of the morning I sat wallowing in whatever it is I am wallowing in, and in typical fashion I further forced myself into more of that tasteful sorrow, by listening to all the heart-rending songs that I could find. Today I am part a large group of people that seem to have many names some including ‘losers’, ‘the pathetics’ etc.

But I say no! Mostly because I don’t want to be named those things, but I think it is time we celebrate those people! I want to celebrate Romeo and Juliet, I want to celebrate Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, I want to celebrate the doomed lovers, or all the failures. Today should be the opposite of Valentine’s Day (It only shouldn’t because it’s my friend’s birthday and she would hate that). Why did it go wrong? No one knows. But we tried. We should be together, but we aren’t. That is the sentiment. Sorry guys.

There are so many people out there just looking for something. Yes it sounds cliché, but it just shows that people want it so bad and that it’s repeated so often that it has become a cliché. I write all these things and it’s hard, but I hope someone out there can relate, so I feel a little better.

So once again I find myself aimless in the middle of a post, on what I hope comes off as a professional blog. Why do I do these things?

Might as well make a list! Here are 5 songs I’m listening to right now.

Lovefool – The Cardigans. You know how people say ‘the singer is speaking to me’? Yeah, well how about that?
Hanging By A Moment (Acoustic) – Lifehouse. I love this version way better.
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room - John Mayer.
Colours – Amos Lee. I think this guy is really under-appreciated.
This Never Happened Before – Paul McCartney.

Yup. That’s all.

Ello all
Just a short one to let you all know that I've finally mustered up the courage to officially launch the web comic.
A few disclaimers are in order though. Firstly, the layout is rubbish but I'm working on a new banner which may take some time considering I have an exam in 2 days. Secondly, the image quality is equally rubbish and I think it's a glitch in my camera. I'll probably have to end up scanning though. I'm still in a testing phase. Thirdly, I've never done this before so if the actual strips themselves are rubbish, well let's hope and pray I learn soon.
This isn't something that'll grow into anything commercial, rather something I desperately want to do and figure it's worth the effort. At the moment it's all very rudimentary but I'm hoping I can make some progress and fast.
Anyway with much trepidation I present to you- http://rupees100.blogspot.com - a webcomic.
Credit to Anish for somehow locating the damn thing and commenting on it two whole days before I even told anyone I'd come up with a name. He is, in fact, the best.
Be gentle...

The time has come. To think not of cabbages and kings, but of what the future brings. Now that I am "officially" a graduate, my sole reason for procrastination has faded. In a little over a month’s time, I will be armed with transcripts, resumes and recommendations – all that anyone needs to make themselves official in the big bad world of employment and you know…reality. Which brings me to J. Peterman.

Stealing a quote from You’ve Got Mail, J. Peterman "is a lone reed standing tall, waving boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce." In a world that has become scarily cookie-cutter, this famous catalog company don’t sell just products, they sell stories.

For example, when selling a shirt, as opposed to just giving the size, color and price (ie Banana Republic, Gap etc), J.Peterman chooses to describe it like this: Thos. Jefferson disliked stuffy people, stuffy houses, stuffy societies. So he changed a few things. Law. Gardening. Government. Architecture. Of the thousand castles, mansions, chateaux you can walk through today, only Monticello, only Jefferson’s own mansion, makes you feel so comfortable you want to live in it. I think you will feel the same about his 18th-century shirt. Classic. Simple. Livable.

You see? Its not just a shirt, it’s a story. You wear a story everytime you put the shirt on. And honestly, who wouldn’t want that?

Most people remember Jacopo "J" Peterman, from Seinfeld (Elaine’s boss?) In fact, Seinfeld helped make the catalog company a household name. Seinfeld and J. Peterman forged such a strong bond, that when the company faced bankruptcy, takeovers etc, the actor who played J. Peterman in the show (John O' Hurley) helped the original John Peterman bring his beautiful company back to life. Apart from being a major investor in the company, O' Hurley sits proudly on the Peterman Board.

J. Peterman gives life to the most mundane of things. Pants, shirts, bags, stuff for the house. Everything. The descriptions make you laugh, or smile or feel. You feel like you KNOW, and know intimately the product you’ve never felt between your fingers. Also, to enhance the personal tale-telling atmosphere, there are no photographs in the catalogue – only handmade illustrations. Thus, no-one in their right mind would ever consider this to be just a catalog. Its art, through and through. And yes, in my current post-graduation phase I would give up my right…ear or leg or something to work for them. After all, theres nothing *official* about them.

My personal J. Peterman favourites:
1. Vintage Tshirt
2. Linen Safari Dress
3. Thinking Pants (yes, seriously! They invented "thinking" pants!)
4. Seersucker Shirt
5. Knockabout Dress (teehee)
6. Authentic Baseball sleeves

Oh and also check out their new website : Peterman’s Eye. It is most awesomess.

Theres a lot we can say about AR Rahman. Most of the comments are usually about his wonderful talent of making excellent soulful and melodious music or about how simple and unassuming he appears to be. Yesterday was the first of the 'Jai Ho' world tour, which was in my hometown of Pune which I did attend, but I'll get to that later. I first want to recap what I did this weekend in regard to the maestro, so I can read about the hectic-ism and feel happy.

Working for a radio can be very rewarding and eventful, and when I received news that my colleague Surya and I would be interviewing AR, I couldn't believe it for a second. It was Friday and we were both shaking with delight considering the fact we would be meeting a legend with the awesomeness level of 10^kickass. In the end it was too good to be true, because he cancelled on us and pretty much everyone, but someone did say he would be holding a 'press conference' the next day. In all this excitement, we also kind of swindled the accounts guys into paying for our tickets to the show; that was really sweet. The programming heads also decided to have an AR Rahman Weekend Special which meant playing only his songs for the next two days. So recording, producing and editing the promos seem to take most of the time after that with numerous distractions in the middle. We finished the 'day' at 4:30 in the morning with the radio going live again at 6. Some people would say "Wow, you did it with two hours to spare!" I say "Balls to that."

Tired, sleepy, hungry and altogether mentally screwed, I had to set the alarm for 11 to get to the Rahman conference. Suddenly I found myself on Surya's bike on my way to Baner, which is damn bloody far from home. It was held in a cafe in the lobby of the hotel he was staying at, the Courtyard Marriot, and the place was packed with countless journos all waiting for snaps and soundbytes.

The tension was building. One of the world's greats would soon be in our presence. Suddenly, news arrives that he has entered the lift! He is slowly descending to the level of us poor mortals...and then! He arrives! He is really short! Oh. Everyone is insane. Some suits are introducing him and talking about his exploits and accolades. And thats all. He cuts a piano shaped cake, says precisely "Thank you, thank you very much" and leaves. So much for the 'press conference'.

I was so thoroughly under-whelmed. Then we had free food.

Cut to the next day. The concert itself started on time-ish, with 'Mausam & Escape' kicking off the show in most bad-ass style. The shitty part was that the concert wasn't arranged like a rock show, with the standing tickets in front and seated at the back; in fact it was quite the opposite. As a result when the most jhatak songs were going on Surya kept having the urge to stand and dance much to the frustration of the people seated behind us. The deal was that ARR is not really a performer; he's an amazing musician to say the least but most of the times he was on stage and not playing an instrument, it seemed like he felt of out place. Apart from that the show was really good, with amazing visual backdrops bringing back fond memories of Redial Entertainment. The highlights were the sufi songs (Khwaja and Arziyan), ARR playing grand piano-acoustic versions accompanying the vocals of Hariharan and Roop Kumar Rathod, and finally 'Rehna Tu' from Delhi-6 which was the song I was waiting to hear personally. Lowlights were just the missing numbers from Swades, Lagaan and Taal. Also the song 'Jai Ho' was quite insipid.

However, it was overall a really good standard of performances from a man you can't help but admire. He is one of the few seemingly incorruptible figures of India, whom people can look up to and feel proud of. I realized how versatile he was, creating beautiful music in such a variety of genres, that I felt satisfied. I felt that the whole weekend seemed worth it.

P.S. Sorry about the lame photo, I was compelled! Its me buying the tickets to show. For those who care.