No Limits: Book Review

Michael Phelps it not an unknown name for anyone who follows sports. With 8 Gold medals in just one Olympics at Beijing, he became one of the most celebrated sports professionals in the history of Olympics.

No Limits is a book about Phelp's mental and physical journey from being a kid diagnosed with ADHD to stealing every winning moment at the Beijing Olympics. For people, who watched the 2012 Olympics at London, I am sure you guys would be thinking that this book would have been worth the wait to have captured everything until those greatest moments in London, especially the one where the FINA President declares Phelps as the greatest swimmer ever. Nevertheless, this book still does a lot of justice to Phelps' road to success. 

The book is divided into 8 chapters. Each chapter talks about a particular race and also weaves in Phelps' childhood, conversations with his coach and family, Athens 2004 Olympics and the Olympic Trials. For hardcore swimming fans, this book is captivating yet feels like a pool overdose. Swimmers will definitely relate to every number mentioned in the book, especially the details about how much a hundredth of a second matters, timing the turns and the splits. The book also introduces us to Phelps' interactions with some of the world's greatest swimmers like Mark Spitz, Ryan Lochte and Ian Thorpe.

There is a large part of the book, separated out in every chapter, that talks about Phelps' family and the support they gave him all through his journey. His sisters, who almost made the Olympic team but had to stay out due to health issues, had a huge impact on his decision to take up swimming. Being diagnosed with ADHD, Phelps was a rebellious kid and had to focus his energies in one direction. In his early years, Phelps' mom along with his coach, mentor and friend Bob Bowman took special interest in shaping his career.

The book also takes readers into an area that is not known to outsiders - about Phelps consuming more than 8000 cal per day, his foot size at 14 and his practice session that is an average of 11000 meters every day. Phelps also talks in detail about United States Swimming, the rigorous Olympic trials, and drug tests. 

The one important learning from this book is Goal Setting and sticking to the plan; also leaving out everything that would cause hindrance to achieving those goals (even if it was family). And these were not goals for the next Championships in 3 months but for the next US Olympic Trials. Once the goal was set and committed, aspects like  courage, determination, confidence, and the will to succeed would fall in place.

Michael Phelps gives a lot of lessons for anybody who is interested in chasing excellence. Perhaps the most important lesson from the book in his own words is this: "Nothing is impossible, you have to dream big dreams - the bigger, the better."

Kumki

Kumki, the latest movie by Prabu Solomon is a ridiculously stupid movie. I am writing this at the beginning to save some time for readers who do not want to continue.

The name Kumki actually refers to a type of elephant that is used to drive away wild elephants from troubling villagers in mountainous districts. These elephants are specifically trained by the forest department or other factions to keep people safe from wild elephant attacks.

Anyway, the Kumki that released last Friday is a nonsensical love story under the pretext of an elephant. A mahout brings his unconditioned elephant to protect a village and ends up being there because he falls in love with a girl there. Total rubbish.

Before any further abuse, I would like to credit the director for having chosen an amazing shooting location. The mountains, fields, waterfalls and the forest was a treat for the eye. Photography and Cinematography take top honors.

Music was literally a pain in the ass. There is a song pretty much every five minutes and that kills the interest for anyone who wants to watch the movie. The background score is amazing and I think the music director should have stopped right there.

Vikram Prabhu - I am sorry. This movie will not do any charm for you. You have to write this movie off and hope for another director to give you a break. And also hope that the new director has not seen this movie. Or even better, fund your next movie. Other than showing off brawn here and there, Vikram has not done anything worth mentioning.

Lakshmi Menon - the female lead has no scope as well.

The only person who saves this movie right from the beginning till the end is Thambi Ramaiyya. His dialogues, expressions, and sense of humor made me sit through the movie. If not for him, this movie wouldn't have crossed the weekend.

The elephant came of use only during the last 10 minutes of the movie. Until then it seemed like a complete waste of time. And Vikram Prabhu's dialogue in the end where he says to the elephant "Everyone thought you were mad but actually I was the one who was mad" is the only dialogue that made the presence of the elephant in the whole movie worthwhile.

Overall: Kumki is a big headache and not worth even a pirated VCD

Thuppakki - Quiet and Racy

It takes so much time in Melbourne to get an opportunity to watch a Diwali release. Gosh two weeks!

Anyways, I guess the wait was definitely worth it. AR Murugadoss proves that he is not a director who can be taken for granted. And yes, there is hope in Tamil cinema for good movies.

Thuppakki is a very quiet yet racy film. For once, the commercial aspects of a mass hero film has been played down very efficiently and the presentation of the rest of the screenplay has moved up a few notches without heavy damage. The theme of the movie is based on eliminating terrorist sleeper cells operating within the country. Maybe the theme by itself was a reason for the director to keep the extravagance under wraps. Good decision indeed. Execution becomes a key element of such movies and I should give the director a big salute. Scenes did not seem stretched at all.

In a year when most other superstars of Kollywood have wasted their talent and screen space on delivering over senseless scripts, Vijay has stolen the opportunity to shed his mass hero appeal from the likes of Sivakasi, Thiruppachi etc etc and play it down, a bit mellowed is the right word. No punch dialogues in high intensity and measured usage of words makes his character more believable in a number of instances.

With everything going right with the script, someone got drunk and introduced two characters to waste time. Kajal Agarwal and Jayaram.

Kajal Agarwal was hopeless. For a movie of this kind, she was zero value add. I would have been happy if she was kidnapped by the villain, like the typical Tamil movie climax but that didn't happen too. Am sure someone gave her a voice over and that was pathetic.

Jayaram - an actor whose talent was made worthless by the script.

Sathyan, as Vijay's friend, plays a very good role in the movie. His reactions and sense of comedy was more than enough for screen. The director didn't have to experiment another side-track with Jayaram and Vijay which turned out be a fiasco.

Oh yes, music. Harris J. He should have stuck to background score. Every song in the movie was just another loo break opportunity.

Tamil cinema can never end without bloopers. The climax was the best here. A bomb had been set to blast in 15 mins. And there was exactly 15 mins left for the whole movie to end. And in that time, the hero fights the villain, jumps out of the ship, the ship blasts and later he also manages a tearful send off from his family. This was hilarious. When people say, cut the crap, they really mean it. So, in future, please cut the crap.

Overall: Thuppakki entertains

Coldplay

So, I attended the Coldplay concert today at the Etihad Stadium in Docklands, Melbourne. I was new to the band. I had heard of them but hadn't heard their songs at all. I started listening only after I landed in Melbourne. Only a few of their songs registered in my mind and thankfully, they performed the ones I had heard a number of times (Paradise, Charlie Brown and Princess of China). The concert had some great pyrotechnics and the stadium was packed. It was a great experience but I never knew that it was going to be the experience I would never want to recollect again in my life.

Turns out that she also wanted to come to the concert. When the tickets came up for purchase, I asked many times and I got answers like "I may not be in town, so let's not buy". The first batch of tickets sold out. Then my friends who were attending the concert, asked us to buy. I looked up again. Tickets were available. I asked if I could buy. I got the same answer. Tickets were not cheap. 100 dollars each and I had no interest in buying a ticket and letting it go waste. I asked many many time before booking my ticket. I got the same response. So, I went ahead and booked my tickets; and by doing that I paved way for an atomic bomb to burst.

All the dialog about not wanting to spend more money, unsure of not being in town, Diwali and wanting to stay at home to prepare a sweet dish was all a big sham? In the bigger scheme of things, these were ideas that were planted in my mind to try and create a deviation so as to see if I steered back and said "its okay, I want you to be there with me". Obviously, it had no impact. Rather, I had no idea. Its like the Melbourne weather. It could rain, hail, shine and be windy on the same day. What would you do? Not listen to anyone and just walk like its a normal day.

I could have surprised her, she says. But why? Why should I surprise? Didn't I ask whether I can buy tickets? Didn't I plan for it in advance? During all those times, I never got an answer that told me - go and buy it. It was always signals to not buy.

I just don't get it. Why can't things be straight and simple in life. Why are women so complicated? If you want to go, then why don't you just say it?

I can't handle surprises. In fact, I am the last one who could think of anything of that sort. My rules in life are very simple. There is no instinct. Its rule driven and basic yes or no. I cannot work with something that is lying on the back of the mind and infer the same. It simply doesn't work that way for me.

So today's concert has gone down in my books as one of those days that will come back and haunt me forever. Every time I listen to a Coldplay song or someone talk to me about the band, I am going to have a nasty time.

And the husbands who book surprise holidays for your wives - if I see you anywhere, I am going to kick you in the nuts.

Maattrraan: The Milk Powder Conspiracy

History: Director Vijay decided to make a bad movie with Vikram and approached a few producers. He said he will shoot in London. Producers were not happy. Hearing this, KV Anand announced that he will team up with Suriya and shoot a movie in Ukraine which will not just be bad but be called the WORST MOVIE of 2012. That was the beginning of Maattrraan.

Maattrraan is about conjoined twins tangled in a milk powder conspiracy. The screenplay has a huge marquee titled SHIT running everywhere.

Director KV Anand has lost it completely. He was his best in KO, which was also copied from a Ben Affleck movie. After that its just downhill mister. Although his concept of having the conjoined twins is a novel idea, it totally misses the point. And then selling a genetically modified product to the Russian Olympic Athletes; and selling the same stuff in India. Ridiculous. WADA Officials please note, there is someone who is giving ideas to escape the doping tests.

For all the drama you did, shouldn't you atleast get the medals tally right. You claim in the movie that because of consuming this GM stuff, the athletes broke world records and Russia beat United States. And in the medals tally, China is number one. Russia is not even in the Top 10!!! What a genius you are. And hence I am not going to talk about direction. You have got a Razzie Nomination.

Gosh Suriya. Looking smart and young is not enough. Please choose good scripts. Did you even read this before signing up? Does it even make sense? Anyway, the scenes with the twins are marvelous. That fight around half-time was even longer than a SUN TV Mega Serial. And there isn't much to say about acting because too many things are happening at the same time. The director managed to fool you too.

Kajal Agarwal does manage to get some credit in the movie. Thankfully she is not the glam girl who smiles and romances when required. She does more than that, acting I mean. Good for you girl.

The first half is good because its has all the commercial elements of Tamil cinema. Ideally, the movie should have stopped there. It would have made money in the box office if the audience were shown just the first half. The second half is just trash.

Harris Jayaraj - for the past 12 years, you have ensured that you will always stick to 6 tunes. Hashing and rehashing for every movie.

The only person who has done a commendable job in the movie is the dad of the twins. He is fantastic. A very good choice for the script. Having been around in the industry for many years, he presents himself as a quite yet powerful character throughout the movie.

Overall: Maattrraan is a movie that should have been shelved during the story discussions.

Suited politicians are no better

A talk about politics always leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth. For years, I have been exposed to the Indian scenario and I have had enough. There is a new scam every year and then there is the typical Indian mentality to forgive and forget.

By the time I moved to the Great Southern Land, I had seen politicians and parties from around the world. And then, I began to realize that politicians are no different.

The ones in the UK, USA and Australia are all well-read lawyers or graduates from one of the best institutions. They are all suit-clad and dapper. That's one major difference from how it is in India where there is no importance to education and presentation.

At the end of the day, even education didn't turn these guys in developed nations into better individuals. The smear-my-face campaign is on full swing.

Someone here dug up a story about Julia G's employer from god knows when. Apparently she didn't perform well or whatever and there was some stuff about she creating a trust on her boyfriend's name. The Opposition started talking about this for days connecting that to present day political decisions. It was so ridiculous.

The next target was the Opposition. News got out that Tony A was quite a rough guy in school. It seems he punched a wall just next to a girl's face. Again an attempt on his character. He got on press saying that he didn't remember anything of that sort. Days later, he comes back and says such an incident never happened. Every one in the parliament had to talk about this for a week.

I was like - you guys are so lame and low. Don't you have better things to do than run such smear campaigns. Whoever they are - politicians, media, publicists, lobbyists, jobless people etc. How are you any different from the parties in Tamil Nadu that shout dirty stuff against each other or the national parties like BJP and Congress. You guys here give more polished nonsense whereas your counterparts in India are a little more rustic and ruthless.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the Republican Party finds out that Barack Obama didn't pay the bill or tip the waiter on his first date with Michelle.

Thaandavam : Movie Review

 What's with movies hitting the screens on similar themes within a short span of time? Just now Salman Khan finished being a RAW Agent and then Vikram follows suit. And can we please end the India-UK relationship for sometime? Why should all conspiracies end up creating problems in the UK or around that area, when you can stage better things around Eastern Europe. Yes, in the latter case, there is no guarantee of just shooting the movie and getting away. Someone would use the script in reality. HA HA

Thaandavam is yet another RAW Agent story. Vikram plays the role and he comes across as a revenge agent more.

Comedy - doesn't make you laugh at all. I began to think why spend so much money; get our comedians to London and abuse Britishers? Is that some sort of a post independence rage?

Music -  GV Prakash is also becoming predictable like Harris J. There seems to be a lack of experimentation and thought in the compositions. The first song reminded me of a Michael Jackson number. The second one was like one of George Michael's. The third song in the village was similar to one from a Rajkiran movie and the fourth sounded like a Harris J. I lost it after that.

Direction - this movie isn't like any of Vijay's previous movies, which did very well at the awards arena. Directors are always stretched between intelligent action films and commercial aspects. This is not a thin line but a choice and scripts get twisted because the Chennai audience doesn't appreciate a tight story-line. Research well done on the echolocation science but the movie doesn't tell much. Vijay seems to be happy with his team of GV, Vikram, Anushka and Nirav Shah from his previous movie but I hope it doesn't become a comfort zone with less experimentation. The script weakens in a lot of places and then picks up pace. The scene just before the intermission and the use of Ledex as a courier service was REALLY LAME.

There is a landslide of characters in the movie. Big names every where and simply not required. Anushka looks good but age is catching up lady! You need to get back to some serious yoga and fitness. Amy Jackson was wasted. If I removed her from the script, it would still work with very minor tweaks and hold better. Characters from the village are again sort of reminding you of the scenes from Surya-Jothika's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. Was there a need for Nasser to be a Sri Lankan police officer? Or was it the multi-cultural and diversity aspect? And Lakshmi Rai as well. Why does everyone have to be in this movie? Don't get me started about voice-overs.

Vikram's desperate measures for a success after the Rajapaattai fiasco seems to have helped. The script is around him and he delivers. Romance between Vikram and Anushka is very mature and subtle. Thankfully, for a such a movie, absolutely didn't go overboard.

Thaandavam would have been a better action movie sans the comedy, songs and procession of characters. And with this, I hope to return to blogging. Thanks for reading.

Leaving Maximum City

So, all of this happened way back in January and I was really lazy to write about this.

Towards the end of December, I decided that it was time to leave. I may have stayed around for maximum another year. Dont think I could have managed beyond that. But life had to take a different track.

Quitting was actually not easy. This was not the first time but it was very tough this time. And for the first time - Totally unplanned.

On a not so fine morning (which I realized a little later), I entered the office. As usual, I was one of the few people to get in that early. I opened my inbox and I saw an email from my boss. He had written to find out what I was working on and wanted to have a status update. I was totally shocked when I read that email. I had already planned to quit sometime in December but this email put me in a spot. I had to take a quick decision. If I were to meet him as if nothing was going to happen, started something to work on and then later told him (in less than a week), he would be really furious as to why I didn't bring that up during my earlier meeting with him. It was quite natural. So, the only option that was left was to quit that very moment. I took some time and waited for my friend, had a chat with him and then composed the email. This time, I almost started shivering. I still can't explain why, but yes I did shiver. Maybe because I was not sure what my boss would tell me or rather how he would react. Nevertheless, I wrote that email and stepped out to have a cup of tea.

I got a call from an another person who works for my boss and asked me to meet with the CIO. It was my first meeting with him and also my last meeting. Over a cup of coffee, I gave him my reasons to leave. He was very understanding and he told me that he will do his best to get me relieved.

I tried to meet my boss that day. He told me that he was busy and he will call me. I waited for 2 days. No response. I tried to meet him again. Same answer. Then I decided to write an email to keep things on record. I got a response that something will be decided in a few days time. A few days passed. Suddenly, one fine morning, I got an email from the HR that it was my last day and I had to pay up the notice period if I wanted to leave. No discussion nothing at all. Decision taken without consent. I was partially bankrupt and had no option but to tell them that I was prepared to serve the full notice period instead of paying the shortfall. Now, this went into another discussion. My boss was probably irritated with all this and he asked me to move desk to somewhere close to his cabin. I moved and he was out of office the next few days, busy with meetings. As usual, I kept calling HR frantically trying to find out what was happening. Meanwhile, the guys who were responsible to get me relieved from the company were never aware of these happenings. They already started processing everything based on my previously mentioned last day. I had to tell them to take a break.

At one point, everyone was okay with me serving the notice period. I tried to meet my boss again. There were many failed attempts and one day I got through to him. He told me that he was going to speak to the HR. I told him that I could wait. Meanwhile, it was already New Years. Everyone in my friends circle at the office was eager to find out what was happening. Things were not moving. That's all.

Finally, the surprise came. The HR discussion was done and they decided to relieve me. Again, this was told to me all of a sudden. I had like few hours left in the day to pack up and leave. I finished all the formalities in quite a jiffy and left.

I can still remember those 2-3 weeks after I submitted my resignation. I was literally wasting time in the office. Everyone who came up to talk to me would ask me the same question - when is your last date? and I would say "nice question, but simply no answer"

Camp 3 to Summit

We reached Camp 3 and there was some surprise for sure.

The environmentalist did not need aspirin. He actually needed the inhaler, but he managed to borrow one from some other team who decided to help (this happened on its own and was not part of the simulation).

The photographer and environmentalist were at critical health. Everyone else was at weak health. Satellite communication went for a toss. All weather predictions had to be done manually. Every team member had been given a set of data that could be used to calculate the weather range, windchill factor and windspeed. Based on this information, the team could decide whether to move to Camp 4 or stay put for another day.

The team got into action. All data was collected and using traditional temperature formulae and windchill tables, the weather forecasting was done. We found out that we risk a frost-bite within 5 minutes of ascent. That was the last thing we wanted.

The biggest decision was made. To stay back, stay alive and stay healthy.

The decision helped us. It was the 4th day and the sherpas delivered the oxygen cannisters. Our next job was to divide the oxygen cannisters among the team members. Health status has improved and everyone was good to climb. Weather was fantastic and there was no point in waiting. Again, everyone had relevant information on the oxygen cannisters. The number of cannisters were to be decided based on the hours taken to summit and back, from Camp 4, and the rate at which oxygen was being consumed by each person.

We did some calculations and then split the cannisters. As we were doing that, we also figured out that there was a cost associated to with the cannisters. So we were quite careful about allocating extra. We were also mindful about the weight that it would add to the backpack. This was a big mistake on our part.

None of us needed medicines. We put our footsteps forward. Camp 4 seemed to be a tough place. Icy winds and troubling temperatures. Health had come down. The environmentalist was not very sure now. He had an incentive to stay here and collect some browny points. So, he started suggesting us to think about leaving him at Camp 4. The leader was not too keen on doing that. The other question was to decide whether we need to administer medicine or not.

After prolonged discussions, we decided that if we were going to leave the environmentalist behind, then we will not give any medicine to him. Our other option was to give him the medicine and move to summit. The photographer was also weak and he needed aspirin too. We administered the medicine and decided to Summit.

The worst happened. The marathoner, environmentalist and physician could not summit and they were rescued.

Camp 1 and 2

After the brief was sent out, I had a break for close to 10 days. Our first meeting happened after I was back. Some groups had already finished the simulation by the time I was back.

Our first meeting was quite a breeze. We were at Base Camp. We sat through and introduced ourselves, stating what we look forward to during this simulation. As everyone was in great health, we decided to proceed to Camp 1. We reached the camp without any problem at all.

The next decision was to move to Camp 2. The photographer had some issues because he had an incentive to stay at Camp 1 for one extra day. None of the others had any motivation. There was a restriction to have only one rest day during the six day trip. The environmentalist wanted to spend an extra day at Camp 4. The leader wanted everyone to stick together. Seeing all this happening, the photographer decided to move to Camp 2. He thought that if things did not go well, he could stay in Camp 2 for an extra day and then get back to Camp 1; basically not summit at all.

Everyone ascended to Camp 2. This place was first sight of how things could go awry. Everyone's health had come down. The environmentalist was critical. Anyone could contract asthma or AMS. The physician did have the medical equipment (inhaler, aspirin, blood pressure monitor) to administer to one of the team members at a time. The important decision was to know what medicine to give and see how we can progress.

The photographer was in a fix. Now he had to decide. He was the only one who had a different motive - "Stay back". The discussion began. The leader was quite clear. He didnt want to keep anyone back. The overall team objectives were at stake. The photographer decided to take a call. If he didnt stay back, he would lose only 25% from his overall goals; but the team as a whole would achieve more, perhaps more than 30%. He decided to let go of his personal interest.

The team took a call to administer the aspirin to the environmentalist and move to Camp 3. The marathoner played the very important role of gauging the temperature at every stage. We were at Camp 3 now.