If

"IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
-Rudyard Kipling, If

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wake up each morning
black and white world
coffee and cream
fleeting dream
head out to a working day
dont matter if it were march or may
running to stand still
living out a time to kill
dazed to the beauty around
a boy lost and found
a man in motion

"keep it simple
show up
be there
make it count"

-read somewhere don't remember where

dear john

i watched dear john today(dear john what was i thinking:)!!)....let me back track and explain how i found myself in a screening room with people sniffling all around me to a nicholas sparks storyline, soft music, images of fields of wheat and horses(yes horses).....so we are a group of three friends here in boston...every friday we hang out....which essentially involves eating out and watching a movie or hanging out in a pub.....we have a democracy system...as we are tangentially different people.....we have varied tastes as far as movies go and hence every friday a decent amount of time is spent in reaching common ground in finding a movie that we would all watch.....some weekends its a no brainer as we all want to watch the same thing....like last weekend we all wanted to see edge of darkness.....mel gibson's new movie.....some weekends like this one we keep going back and forth about which movie to watch....i wanted to watch ishqiya....v wanted to watch from paris with love and b wanted to watch....dear john....we tried a couple of places for ishqiya....that didnt pan out....running out of time and famished we decided finally on the nearest eating place(read...your friendly neighbourhood chipotle)....and dear john

anyways....the storyline is a bit loose...channing tatum plays john, a us army special forces soldier on holiday....he meets amanda seyfried's character in a chance meeting at a wharf.....then there is chemistry...mush....seperation....mush....letters.....mush....tears....estrangement.....meeting again....mush....seperation again....mush....happy ending....hmmm i think i am missing something.....oh yea....mush.....(believe me that was the movie)........channing tatum wears an amazingly expression less face....amanda seyfried plays the nice simple girl....i thought she did a decent role....the autistic father seemed a bit unconvincing in his role.....i should just stop writing(just shoot me)....watch the movie for that happy minty puppy love feeling:)....can watch once kinds....

saving grace....jp licks amazing chocolate brownie ice cream(one of the flavors of the month) with blueberries....(fact: ice cream tastes amazing at sub zero temperatures)...and beck in the background singing soy un perdedor:)....and the long ride home.....friday ends...piece out...

crazy heart

disclaimer-incompetent review and spoilers all over:)

crazy heart is a movie about country singer bad blake. worn out, washed up and broke, the movie initially captures blake at a point of time in his life where life seems to be in a status quo. it depicts his "stuck in a moment" style of life, his alcoholism and general lack of direction. once a great singer, he now plays in small pubs and bars in remote locations to stay afloat. enter jean(maggie gyllenhall), single mother and journalist. the movie builds up on the chemistry of the two characters, till they fall in love. the writer provides the element of hope in the otherwise hopeless life of the old singer. jean and her son buddy brings some sense of responsibility to blake. one feels that this would be the turning point in his life but i guess that's what i like about the movie. instead of taking the dreamy plunge into an all is well ending, blake stays true to his character. he's flawed, he's human. he bungles up and ends up losing jean and buddy. i like jean putting her foot down about ending things. she makes the tough decision to end her relationship even though she loves blake. the writer/director gives her character depth and puts her love for her child over herself. the writer/director then edges blake's character from loss, to remorse and regret and brings him a full circle to understanding/realization. he decides to sober up and get his priorities right. i like the way the movie ends as well. in a perfect world, jean would come back to blake and there would be a happily ever after ending. there isnt one:). instead you see a slightly maturer, a slightly changed blake and the same jean under different circumstances. the open skies and the lovely background provide a nice touch to the ending as well.

the movie is slightly slow and seems to drag its feet at places. but, in some respects that is good because the audience gets to feel the pain and the drudgery of blake's life. the music is actually very nice and changes quietly as the movie moves along. initially it is up tempo stuff and later on moves toward more introspective music. never knew country music could vary and convey so much. there are some nice cameos by robert duvall and colin farell. maggie gyllenhall does a good grounded job of playing her role. there are no frills(if thats the word) to her role and she fits perfectly in jean's shoes. jeff bridges does an amazing job playing blake. the roughness provided to blake's character makes him endearing. he colors blake's emotions in his own way making blake real and believable.

the movie is really a very nice watch.

(note to myself- i have to get that star tv movie reviewer out of my head while writing about movies)