Posts from — February 2009

The forty-day period of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and leads up to Easter. Eleanor will observe Ash Wednesday, like every year. I think Frank will accompany her to the Church this time around. But Ash Wednesday is not just for the religious or the church-goers. If you want to take it on a personal level, you can do the same too. Eleanor pointed it out to me the other day. She sensed that I was not really keen on going to Church. She supported my stand and told me, “Don’t go if you don’t want to, Bob. This is something very personal. Just don’t turn up for the heck of it.”

I quizzed her further, if she thought that days like the Ash Wednesday was only for the religiously inclined. She said, “No, definitely not. You can reflect on your life and observe these days in a personal way. The trick is to reflect and realize. You can also take that as a period of repentance and prayer. And you don’t have to speak in Latin to say a prayer !” I think she really makes sense. I have always been against any sort of dogma when it came to religion. I want to do what I feel like, and I think Eleanor put the right words to my expression.

Do you agree with Eleanor? How religious are you? Do you observe Ash Wednesday and Lent? I’d like to know.

Rick’s Mardi Gras trip was one of its kind. After days of planning and convincing Kaitlin that everything would be according to her wishes, he set out with the best intentions in mind. While driving the earthy Texan in him started to unfurl and he forgot all about cares, worries and also the promises he made to Kaitlin! The nice breeze did it for him, I guess. But anyway, his trouble started the moment he became carefree. He blared hard country music. That was fine with Kaitlin because she likes it too. Then the add-on: he started singing along. Then he did the unthinkable. He wanted to have a drink.

Now if there’s anything that Kaitlin is very particular about, it’s not mixing drinking and driving. She refused to sit in the car if he had even one swig of the bottle. Rick insisted and one thing led to another and soon they were fighting. I was not surprised till this part. Then on it was just bad luck. He ran out of gas and Kaitlin had a terrible headache because of all the music. Rick tried his best to make her feel better but it only made things worse. They could hardly take part in the Mardi Gras festivities and came back without much of a fanfare. Sad, things are not going poor Rick’s way at all. Would you like to send him a message?

Natalie, Steve’s mystery friend, loves watching episodes of The Bachelor. Steve, who’s picked up a lot of stuff in the recent months, including changing diapers, is hooked to the stories and the drama in The Bachelor. He recited a couple of names from The Bachelor episodes as well that stunned Donna and me! A true-blue techie that Steve is, it was more than shocking to hear him talk about ‘bachelorettes’. While I rolled my eyes and looked at Donna, she was desperately trying to stifle a giggle. Steve continued to say that he was looking forward to watch the ‘Women Tell All’ episode. So the news really surprised us and we wanted to hear more about how this change happened.

I spoke first, “Are you okay Steve?” Steve smiled wryly, “Yeah mate, I know what ya mean. What’s this bloke talking about, right? But I really want to do something that I have never done. For her and also for myself.” Hmm, that’s more explanatory that you can ever expect of a geek like Steve. But, as Donna and we talked about later, it was good that he was beginning to see the world beyond his cubicle, though we still doubted if watching episodes of The Bachelor was looking at a world beyond! But sometimes we do miss our geek friend. He was so much fun back then.

Do you have a friend who changed when they were touched by love? Share with us.

After her success with the strawberry ice-cream, Megan was extremely keen to repeat her success.. She wanted to treat Rachael as well, this time around. Last time, Rachael complained to her and she was very concerned about it. She called the three kids to her place and set about doing it. Her aim was to make ice cream that was similar to the Sheer Bliss vanilla flavor that also has a pineapple swirl. The children were all excited and wanted to help her in any way they can. She didn’t allow them to help her. She called them over only when she was done with it. The reviews of her effort has come in.

Though the ice cream was not exactly Sheer Bliss in quality or smoothness, it was delicious anyway. But one of them confided to me on conditions of strict anonymity that the pineapple swirl was way off the mark! This informer tried to avoid having the swirl and dug deep into the vanilla portions. That’s okay, by Megan’s standard! At least she got the major part right. She might have messed up both, you know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being mean. But Sheer Bliss is sheer bliss and Megan still has a long way to go. Here’s to you, Megan!

Do you like ice creams? What is your favorite flavor?

Lent is a great occasion to wish your friends and folks. So that you may do it conveniently, I have selected my favorite Lent ecards for you. These Lent ecards have the right blend of calm and poise to help you express your feelings in the best possible way. Check them out…

Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!

‘Those who stand for nothing fall for anything’ - Alexander Hamilton

This week on Inspirational Mondays, let’s talk about how we can inspire our friendship and make it better.

It’s not always easy to stand by your friend. There are times when you are not sure yourself if your friend is on the right side of the line. If not, you are not sure if you should pull him out or help him to do it on his own. These are moments of doubt and sometimes of insecurity. What if your step did not yield results and you fall into the same trouble? What if your friend misunderstands you? It’s difficult to plunge into a problem that can be trespassing in personal space. Your friendship needs you to take a stand. This may be conflicting to the interests of your friend to that of yourself.

To take a stand for your friend, you need to first understand the situation and react accordingly. Try to look at the issue from your friend’s point of view. If needed, be firm with your friend. I think it’s important that you be true to your friend than be good to him. More often than not, we need someone to hold up a mirror to us and tell us the hard facts. A true friend does that. If you cannot tell your friend the truth, you might as well stop calling yourself a friend. As Eleanor says, “It’s better to be alone than have a false friend.”

It may also be possible that people may speak about your friend falsely. Then it is your prerogative to stand up and defend your friend. You must be sure that you know your friend more than the others and you have a certain amount of confidence in your friendship. It may result in cold vibes for you, but you can never make everyone happy, so why not be true to your friends? After all, they are the ones you can depend upon at all times. What do you think?

Do you stand up for your friend? Would you like to share some instances with us?

Woo! Eight out of ten is as clean a sweep as you can expect! Way to go Slumdog Millionaire! I’m delighted that Slumdog bagged the Oscars for the Best Film, along with Best Director for Danny Boyle and six more. Yes, though I was expecting the Best Original Score and Best Original Song to go its way comfortably, I was not so sure about the top two honors. I expected The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Milk to clinch it. My instincts overshadowed my support for Slumdog after Senn Penn bagged the Best Actor statuette. I was holding my breath, but then breathed easy.

Rick and Kaitlin didn’t have a fight after all, because neither Jolie nor Pitt won in their respective categories. But someone is really happy about Slumdog hitting it rich: Berka. She’s been telling me that filmmakers back in India are panning the film because it ‘glorifies poverty’. Berka added, “I wonder why they are deriding it. I mean, when they show the Taj Mahal, no one complains. The slums in Mumbai are as much a reality as the Taj in Agra. What’s the harm in showing it to the West?” I don’t know much about the politics of moviemaking. She knows it better. What I know is that if cinema is an art form, Slumdog Millionaire is art.

I’m also happy for Kate Winslet. She’s picked up her first Oscar. I found it strange that she got the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the same movie at the Golden Globe Awards and won as Best Actress here. This categorization is something that’s beyond my comprehension actually.

Did you guess rightly? How many did you get correct? Be honest here!

As we inch closer to the Oscar hour, it’s time for the big one: the Oscars for the best film. The list opens with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this movie, Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button who ages in the reverse order. Rumor mills are working overtime now that the movie was screened for Obama at the White House, the first movie to be screened since he became President. The contender giving Benjamin Button a run for the reverse-time clock is Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog has already won four Golden Globes and seven BAFTAs, which includes the honor of the Best Film. At the Oscars, it has nominations in ten categories! Wow, that’s huge, but three short of Benjamin Button. Get the hint?

Up next is The Reader. Based on a German novel by Bernhard Schlink, the film is about German concentration camps and life in those genocidal times. It’s dark and real. With five Academy Awards nominations, this could cause an upset. Unless Milk does it. Gus Van Sant’s film traces the troubles life and times of Harvey Milk, an openly gay man, as he gets elected as a San Francisco supervisor. Senn Penn could be the man of the moment. The round off comes as Frost/Nixon. A historical drama on the Watergate scandal, this one is about President Richard Nixon and British television broadcaster David Frost. This one could be the dark horse.

Opinion is grossly divided on this one. Kaitlin wants Benjamin Button to win (for obvious reasons!), Adrian wants Milk to win, I want Slumdog. Our opinions expressed, let’s wait for the curtain to go up! Happy watching!

The Best Actor nominations this year are an eclectic mix. There’s this bunch of actors who are diverse, but make the list as great actors as well. Let’s begin with Rachael’s hero Brad Pitt. Rachael loves Brad Pitt and you can very well guess that this two-time Academy award nominated star is her choice for the Best Actor trophy for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She wouldn’t listen to anyone who says he has a slim chance as compared to Sean Penn, who’s won the Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River. This time he’s up there for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in Milk. And Adrian made it clear that he rocked big time as an openly gay San Francisco supervisor.

The dark horse here is Mickey Rourke, who’s turned in a tour de force performance in The Wrestler. I read up the plot line and liked it. It reminded me of Rocky, one of my all time favorites. Rourke has already bagged the BAFTA and the Golden Globe. So I would like to see if he makes the big one. Richard Jenkins of The Visitor has a strong chance to get the trophy this year too. This is his first Academy Award nomination. Frank Langella completes the list for his role in Frost/Nixon. He’s a Tony Award winning actor and this is his first nomination as well. But both these first-timers have a history of playing out engaging roles.

Rick wants Michael Rourke to win and Kaitlin strategically wants Brad Pitt to win! They had a huge row over this as well. Rick blamed Kaitlin for supporting Pitt but deriding Jolie because he supports her. This has set off a complex quarrel between an ordinary couple over a celebrity couple. I’m enjoying this and will really love to see what happens if one of them actually takes a trophy home! Stay tuned. This one will go down to the wire!

Hmm, this one’s a real cracker, because it has two of my favorite actresses- Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet. Kate Winslet got the nomination for The Reader. She’s already won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress. The Golden Globe came her way too, but for the film Revolutionary Road. Some are of the opinion, including Megan, that she got the Academy Awards nomination for the wrong film. I have a feeling that she might just win it this time after six Academy Award nominations.

Let’s come to the veteran on this list: Meryl Streep. She’s nominated for Doubt. She plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier in this movie. Merl Streep has a record number of fifteen Academy Award nominations, the highest in the history of the Academy Awards! Stupendous! She’s won it twice, the first time as Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979 and then, Best Actress Oscar in 1981 for Sophie’s Choice. She’s got a real chance this time as well and she has MY vote!

Angelina Jolie, Rick’s favorite, has been nominated for Clint Eastwood’s Changeling. She plays a distraught mother in this movie, whose abducted son is returned but she feels that he’s not the child she gave birth to. Angelina has won the Academy Awards in 2000 for Girl, Interrupted. A win this time may make it a handsome double for her. Kaitlin doesn’t want her to win just because she happens to be Rick’s choice. She wants Kate Winslet to win, hopefully it’s not because their names match! I mean, I have never heard Kaitlin worry about the Oscars or any movie for that matter. Another strong contender is Melissa Leo for her portrayal of a woman, bruised with abuse, to take to human smuggling in Frozen River. She has a great chance and so has Anna Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married in which she plays a substance abuser Kym, who returns to her sister when her sister Rachel is getting married.

Another tough choice friends. Who has your vote?