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For the longest time that I could remember, not since the days where it doesn’t seem like a stretch to suggest that audiences outside India might now be ready to embrace films in the style of Bollywood films. While Slumdog Millionaire is far from a Bollywood tragic love story filled with singing and dancing, the way this film progresses rivet audiences with such enlightenment that is authentic to Indian culture while using a distinctly Western style of film-making might be enough proof that it is reaching out to the ever-demanding audiences from around the world.

Slumdog Millionaire is a drama exposing the tragic effects of poverty in gigantic-like cities in India like Mumbai that is also fused with a modern day Indian fairytale. Jamal Malik is a young man on India’s “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” and is a question away from 20 million rupees when he’s arrested on suspicion of cheating. Because Jamal is from the slums of India and has no educational background, it seems entirely improbable if not impossible that Jamal could make it this far, but each question is connected with distinct and sometimes painful memories for Jamal. It’s as if he is destined to win, even though he only went on the show to impress a girl he has loved his whole life, Latika.

This film is very tasteful in almost every respect. The romance scenes are beautifully crafted, giving us a vivid insight into India’s poverty, the very realistic and brutally scenes involving the luring of children to a life of begging on the streets in exchange for accommodation and food are done in a manner that is tastefully evocative of reality. The trouble with ‘realism’, which the film portrays is that it often is gritty and hopeless in a way life rarely is to most of us, and is actually laughable if done wrong when we are faced with the most extreme of circumstances. Jamal’s flashbacks bring much misery in his life, but before that, we get the happiness and relief of slum life that these children felt. It is this haunting memory that dwells in him, that made him what he is within the realm of possibility, leading Jamal’s only motivation in life: His love for her..

It’s hard not to be completely blown away by a film whose core message is about destiny and leans on the fact that Jamal is simply fated to do well in explaining what has unfolded, but like any good film ought to, it makes you a fan of the characters and not care as much about the apprehension as you might normally do. The fact that this film starts out so dramatic and real makes it hard to embrace the fairytale it blossoms into, but it is the great visual storytelling along the way that makes it so enjoyable.

An article I read recently regarding the issue of raising teens and setting priorities right at the right time. I find it quite amusing to relate this to almost any situation you face in life.

One of the most delicate aspects of raising a teenager is figuring out what’s worth a showdown and what isn’t.

I remember talking to a waitress, a single mother, in a restaurant a fews years ago. When she found out I was a psychologist, she began telling me about her 12-year-old daughter. "We’ve fought tooth and nail for an entire year," she said. "It’s been awful! We go at it every night - usually over the same issue." "What’s that?" I asked. "Well, she’s still a little girl, but she wants to shave her legs. And I feel she’s too young, but she gets so angry, she won’t even talk to me."

I looked her in the eye and said, "Go buy your daughter a shaver." That 12-year-old girl was paddling into a time of life that would rock her river good and hard.

As a single parent, her mother would soon be trying to keep this rebellious teenager from getting into drugs, alcohol, sex and pregnancy. Truly, there would be many ravenous alligators in her river within a year or two. In that setting, it seemed unwise to make a big deal over what was essentially a non-issue.

I’ve seen other parents fight similar battles over what were really inconsequential issues. I urge you not to damage your friendship with your children over behavior that has no great moral significance. There will be plenty of real issues that require you to stand like a rock. Save your energy for those crucial confrontations.

I was browsing the internet today when I came across an article that caught my eye. A very common misconception or should I say, mystify topic that was probably discussed a billizion times before. I wasn’t too keen to read it in the beginning, most probably and personally, I felt that such articles are merely based on one’s experience, thoughts and perspective, a ‘How You See This World’ type of article. However, this one caught my notice.

Do Girls Really Like Dating Jerks?

SHE SAYS: No, but we think we do. As someone who dated a jerk, whom I now refer to as my "learning experience," I admit to falling under the jerk spell. Here’s how the jerk spell works: we
meet the jerk and in some twisted way are seduced by his confidence,
charm, and passion. We don’t see these as the disguises they are:
confidence is really arrogance, charm comes from him being a player,
and his passion is being the center of his own universe.

1. He’s probably a jerk if he tells you to skip desert because your butt already jiggles enough.
2. He’s definitely a jerk if he "guilts" you into doing things
   that make you feel bad about yourself — usually starting with the line
   "If you really cared about me…"
3. He’s absolutely a jerk if he takes you on a date and leaves you the bill, while he leaves with the waitress.

The luck of those born in the year of the Rooster can be of two extremes. When it is good, it can be really fantastic; when it is bad, it can get really low. Business people may find it tough this year. They will meet with man delays and obstacles in their operations. Things can get stressful. However, the situation will get better after mid-year. Therefore, if you can persevere with your plans and make sound decisions, things will work out eventually.

Working people may face a lot of stress at work and will also have to deal with office politics. The best is for you to focus on fulfilling your responsibilities and not get involved in other’s affairs. This will keep you safe; Your wealth luck is fluctuating. Manage your finances wisely; otherwise you might experience financial problems. Your romantic star is shinning this year. Love life will be smooth and enjoyable. Married couples shall have a harmonious relationship. Your people luck is also very good this year.

Being happy is always a constant struggle for everybody. Last few days ago, a friend of mine was feeling as if the world is collapsing onto her. I did what I could by leading her out of the dark, showing her that there is more to a painting then just those shades of gray. It is encouraging to see what a simple comment could meant a lot to another person. I just hope that my words were etched into her brain.

It is Friday tomorrow, my company is leaving for Bangkok for a D&D on Saturday night. It is a pity that I can’t make it. I’ll just have to spend my weekends alone again. I just hate being alone. It really sucks.. I do have a lot of friends. But most of them have their own commitment. Retail therapy is a great cure but I’m kinda immune to it already. I yearn for a fresh breathe of air.

I thought I was in control of my happiness, but I let my emotions get the better of me.

Going in to this movie I expected to have the normal 2 hour thoughtless
escape from everyday life that these type of movies normally deliver. Instead I laughed. I even cried. I left pleasantly surprised. I am not a fan of Adam Sandler though but I went into the cinema expecting the same
AS film which I do enjoy quite a bit. Sometimes it’s great to just sit back and not get too critical about the film you are viewing. I went
in with this mentality and was surprised with how good this
film really is.

AS has shown that he is capable of
playing a serious character in contrast to the aggressive and funny
character he normally portrays in his film, Click is no different, he
is both funny and serious at the right moments.
I walked into the movie theater expecting to see AS make a
complete buffoon of himself. However, when I came out I was impressed.
There was a depth to this movie I did not see it coming, and it took me
completely off guard. "Click" proved to be a powerful, emotional, and
humorous piece of work. There was this subliminal message in
this movie, in which I think, we all take for granted.

All in all I recommend anyone who read this to go catch this film, if not to learn a valuable
lesson about priorities in life, but to have a laugh and to enjoy a
film that is better than what was expected of it.

Dreams are not facts nor fiction.
It is a process to generate past information that might or might not help us in anyway.

They
exist in a dimension subconsciously in our mind to constantly and
vividly help us recall our past experience. They can never portray a
future incident or event. The process of consolidating our past
experiences taken from our 5 senses will instigate a dream to begin.
Memories gathered from the past experience will be further segmentated
to catergories that will define each memory(piece of experience)
individually. They range from the latest to earlier experience; One
that make an impact to one that you couldn’t give a damn about it..
etc. Only a few of such information will be randomly used at any time.
With the one that holds a greater weight used more frequent that the
rest.

These information will be clearly defined and fused
together to conjured a new simulation(environment) created specifically
to the information. The new ‘environment’ created could be somewhere
you have been before. It could be an entirely new surrounding. The
things you do in ur dream builds on the foundation on the information
used. Althought each time the information used is different, a print of
the previous dream will superinpose on the next to strengthen its
foundation. No dream will always be the same.

Dreams are silent.
Take a gun shot for example. Unless one of the information used is the
sound of a gun shot, you will never hear any sound coming from the gun
when you press the trigger.

Do take note that imaginations are also used as inputs into our dreams.

Dreams
are constructs that has rules that take precedents over our mind. Yes.
The rules in reality, the laws of science applies in it. Unless one of
your 5 senses withness a flying or some sort (Think Superman) in which
the information used was ‘the desire to defy the laws of gravity’, you
can never fly in ur dream.

Dreams have laws. Using me as an
example, let me relate an experience I experienced in my dreams. I will
not lie to you, fantasy is part and parcel of every guys dream. I
recently dreamed that I was walking towards my primary school tuckshop
from the principle office. I saw Fiona Xie walking towards me. The
first thing that came to my mind in my dream was; OMG! What the hell is
she doing in my primary school! What do you think I’ll do? I could do
many things to her in my dreams.. but I just walk past her like how I
would do if I really see her in real person.

Its suffice to
say that dreams, for the most part, is like a virtual recycle bin. It
helps to guide us in our real life as well. Take those criminals in
real life; murders/rapist, Their dreams have been corrupted. Using the
example I gave above, Fiona Xie will be in a pretty bad shape if she
appears in the dreams of murders/rapist. The rules in their dreams have
been bent. They could confidently commit sins through their alterego.
The foundation in their dreams have been altered to their will,
ignoring the rules of norm.

Nobody have seriously penned down theories of how dreams are form. As much as I enjoy sharing my understanding, feel free to explore the somber side of living up your imagination.

Comments are welcome.

Stay tuned for a 815 page update soon..

It has been a while. I know. I have been a disappointment. Not that I have nothing to write, I did try to draft out some chunks of my experiences for the past weeks, but non of them actually made the cut. I simply have no time to sit and write some decent stuff at my workstation now. I have too much work to do. Thats the truth baby. The fact that I have to take some time off my sleep and effort to come up with something at this time of the night, reflects my enthusiasm in blogging nowadays. I guess the novetly is wearing off. Most of my friends had stop. And perhaps I should to. Off to bed now. Wake me up when November ends.

Goodnight.   

It has been a quiet Mooncake festival. Did I type wrongly? Festival? No Lanterns, no candles. No visiting the Chinese Garden. No burning of waste paper bins at some isolated lift lobby. I take that back.. I’ve never done that before actually. Not exactly.. Hmm.. But thats not the point. The mooncakes seems bland this year, moderated texture and having no dictinctive flavour to challenge my tastebuds. Having to eat the same old tradditional pasteries for the last 20 years, I reckoned that zest of mine to appreciate mooncakes has somewhat come to a halt.

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I sleep well last night albeit only 3 hours. Special thanks to an ‘anti-boredom’ article I wrote last night and a special edition of the Twins Fear Factor challenge that kept me awake till 3 plus. Sleeping late was never an issue to me. I know its bad for my health. I’ll try to cut down on that..
I’ll try to sleep at 2 tonight.