Term Paper.

After much head-scratching and pondering, after many putting-on-thinking-cap sessions and not-thinking, I (with substantial help from Esmo) have come up with an idea on the Term Paper for Literature And The Other Arts.

I shall focus on the brainwashing in A Clockwork Orange, and draw parallels to brainwashing in other works like 1984, Hirak Rajar Deshe, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Will discuss the whole concept of brainwashing (the famous Pavlov experiment), and then end by discussing the ethics and the morality of brainwashing. (Question: How am I supposed to fit all this in within 3000 words??)

Now comes the most difficult part- WORK!

*sigh*

The Alphabet Tag

I have been tagged by Little Boxes, so here goes:

A - "And Then There Were None". My favourite Christie book. Even now, if I read it late at night, I get chills that run up and down my spine.

B - Badminton. Somehow, I just never learnt to play it properly.

C - Cats! I adore them- all shapes, all sizes, and all colours.

D - Daffy Duck. Don't you just love that idiotic cartoon character? *grin*

E - Ecstasy. I mean the feeling, NOT the drug!

F - "Frankenstein". One of the best books I've ever read. A truly great classic.

G - Guppy. Copywriter, joker, writer, friend- Everything.

H - Home. That's where the heart is.

I - Italian food. Especially pasta! Yum yum.

J - Johnny Depp. Actor par excellence, and the man who oozes charm and sex appeal. Also for Julio Iglesias- the man with the Voice of Velvet.

K - Kosha mangsho. With roti and raita. *drools*

L - Love. It does make the world go round.

M - Ma. Guardian angel, friend, counsellor. I cannot express what she means to me.

N - Nyakami. A unique trait in some people that I find extremely abhorrent.

O - Oregano. It's so versatile. You can add it to pizza, to chicken, to pasta, even to ommelettes!

P - Pink Floyd. The greatest band ever. Period.

Q - Quilt. The ultimate comfort on cold winter nights.

R - Rain. I love the sound of rain falling, the smell of the earth just after it's rained, and the delicious coolness it brings...

S - Shelley. His poetry was complete genius.

T - Tuna. Me or The Fish? I leave it to you...

U - University. Specifically JUDE. A home away from home.

V - Vanilla icecream. With chocolate chips. Better than anything else.

W - Writing. I'd be lost without it. Be it blogging, writing articles, or snippets in my Diary- or random stuff, I don't know what I'd do without it.

X - X-rated Hindi movie titles. They're hilarious!

Y - Yellow. I look terrible in all its shades. You will never catch me wearing it.

Z - Zach. Somehow, I've always loved the name.

I tag anyone who wants to do this.

The Beatles

It's strange how you don't like something the first time, and then love it later.

I never liked The Beatles before. Sure, I liked a few songs like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be", but that was it. But after listening to "Rock And Roll Music" in Literature and the Other Arts class, I decided to try The Beatles again.

And now I am completely and utterly hooked onto them.

From morning I've been listening to "Yellow Submarine", "Across The Universe", "All You Need Is Love", "Drift Away", and many many others. They have a lovely sound- smooth and mellow. And every song is a masterpiece in itself.

The Beatles rock!

P.S. - I never liked The Doors before too, but listened to "Back Door Man" in the very same class, and have decided to give them another try too!

JUDE picnic

Highlights of the JUDE picnic, at Raichak, on 16th March 2008.
1. Anomitra and Sohini stepping into a pile of God-only-knows-what, I'm assuming dung was a major component. Anomitra stepping out, looking down at her legs, and saying, "Oh crap!"
2. Arindam's stairway seduction- I am truly at a loss for words. I don't think I will ever recover.
3. Somdev 'glaring at people for no apparent reason'.
4. The Dumb-Charades game! (Even though I didn't play.. It was hell hilarious!)
5. Sitting by the gate leading to the river, and feeling the breeze on our faces. Beautiful.
6. Rukmini and Rimi-di's dance. (Rukmini sloshed is FUN!) *grin*
7. Mahadyuti shouting to Deep, "Sit on my face!", Deep looking scandalised, and Mahadyuti hastening to explain, "It's a song! The song!" Also, Mahadyuti's 'passive high'.
8. Fire Condom, Nokia Condom, etc etc. *guffaws*
9. Swinging with Nilanjana and Sohini- I had forgotten what fun swinging could be!
10. The journey back home- right from laughing ourselves silly at random hoardings, to the irrelevant nonsense we talked!
A big hug and thank you to all the people who made this such fun. This was THE BEST picnic I have been on! JUDE truly rocks! Cheers!

The actor with Depp-th!

I watched 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street' today, and I marvelled at the creative genius of the Burton-Depp collaboration. 'Sweeney Todd' is a brilliant movie- it's dark, literally and figuratively. Even though Todd is slitting throats of unsuspecting customers with a vengeance, Depp's acting pulls at your heartstrings- makes you actually feel sorrow for the poor barber. The music, of course, is memorable- each and every song good in its own way. In fact, the movie has very little dialogue- the lines are mostly sung. Helena Bonham Carter is fabulous. Alan Rickman is good as always, though a little too reminscent of Professor Snape. And Depp... Depp.. Aah- where do I begin??

First I watched 'Nick of Time', and he looked so sophisticated in a suit. Then came 'Edward Scissorhands'- and he managed to look great despite wearing black lipstick, a leather costume, and a frizzy haircut. After that, he was the sexiest pirate ever, in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series. I mean- Depp has beads in his hair, dirt on his chin, and wears a grubby pirate costume- and all you can think about is- "How yummy is he??!" (By the way, I actually stood up and clapped when said, "Hello, beastie!", drew his sword and prepared to go into the mouth of the kracken in 'Dead Man's Chest'!) Then I saw him as the schizophrenic writer in 'Secret Window'. And just when you thought he had mastered every role there is- he surprised us all with his quirky energetic performance as Willy Wonka, in Burton's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. And recently I watched 'Benny and Joon' - one of his early movies, a pretty obscure one at that- and... WOW! He was the sweetest man ever! (I still have 'Corpse Bride' and 'Donnie Brasco' lying with me, yet to be watched.) Then- aah... 'Sweeney Todd'- where he plays the barber with a vengeance, and still looks sexy!

Depp is by far, my favourite actor. (Not just because he's sexy.) As Elendil says, "This man takes every character he plays, and just owns them!" I swear, he does! After he's done with a role, you watch the movie, and you're left thinking, no one else could have done this even half as well as Depp!

The man's a genius at what he does. He totally is. How else can you explain him excelling at every single role he's played? And he's so extremely versatile and unpredictable- from the 'piratey' Jack Sparrow to the mournful Edward Scissorhands, from the quiet and timid (but lovable) Sam to the energetic Willy Wonka- he's been there, done that.

Of course, the fact that he is just so darned sexy is another plus point. Look at his facial structure, look at his lips. His face is a work of art!

For those who have seen 'Benny and Joon', you'll know what I mean when I say: I wish I could win Johnny Depp in a bet, and have him swing outside my window! *sigh*

A random tag.

Life Ten Years Ago:

I have very vague recollections of Life a decade back. I was 9 years old, which would mean I was in class III- and I was the Monitor. (Yes- I actually was given such a God-forsaken post!) Tomboy to the extreme, I stayed the hell away from combs, dresses and other girlie things, which I detested fiercely. Pretty much got bullied by Guppy, and pampered by Ma and Height. Shruti and Sanjita- my first ever best friends, were still in town- what fun we had those couple of years!

Life Five Years Ago:

Was a complete waking up experience. I was beginning to realise that Life was more than school friends and parties- that there existed other matters beyond the realm of childhood and adolescence, that we must all resign ourselves to accept. That Life was in no way a bed of roses. I became friends with Tanima- the one who tolerated all my whims, moods, and shortcomings, and helped me grow up. (Of course, I helped her grow up as well!) She's the only one among my friends whom I can still talk to, and feel that nothing's changed- that years haven't passed us by, and that Time hasn't whooshed along and taken fun-times from us.

Life Tomorrow:

Is Sunday- the day of rest! The day for lots of sleep, gorom-gorom mangsho-bhaat, and movie in the evening! But Life tomorrow, (at the risk of sounding cliched), more philosophically- is a new beginning. A day of good intentions, higher aspirations, and less pretensions.

Five Locations I Would Like To Run Away To:

1. My little ladies' room *grin*- it's provided me solace and comfort, and water to splash on my face when I've been crying in secret.

2. My own corner of the roof- that elusive little place that gets the best wind, has the best view, and the best atmosphere for just thinking things out.

3. London- where my grandmother says I should have been born!

4. Gurgaon- my brother's place- just to laugh my guts out at the outrageously hilarious things he says! (Laughter therapy WORKS!)

5. And finally- my home, because that's where my heart is. No place like home.

Five Things I Will Never Wear:

1. Spaggheti straps / tube tops (I can't even begin to consider showing all that skin!)

2. Anti-fit jeans (Gaah!)

3. Long ankle-length skirts- the ethnic kind (Not my kind at all!)

4. Those six-pocket cargo pant thingies (They don't suit me)

5. And lastly, I will never wear my heart on my sleeve, for jackdaws to peck at. It invariably leads to trouble.

Five Biggest Joys At This Moment:

1. JUDE- my friends, the jheel, classes, canteens- life would seem incomplete without them all.

2. Broadband finally being fixed.

3. Guppy coming on the 21st- yippee!

4. S- the one and only. I love you vewwyvewwymuch!

5. My mom and the endless support she gives, for just about everything.

Five Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. See the world- hopefully London, Paris, Venice, Rome, Goa, Egypt, Bangalore, Auckland, Hawaii, Kerala, and New York. (Whew! What a list!)

2. Write and publish atleast one book.

3. Take good care of my mother, and ensure that she has only the best.

4. Widen my horizons and be able to learn constantly.

5. Marry, have children, and livehappilyeverafter.

Note: Thanks to Quietlittleshything for providing this tag!

Anthem.

Presenting the latest JUDE Ug-1 anthem...

"Banana banana banana-
Trochee trochee...
Banana anapaest iambic pie...
Iambic pie. Hey!
Iambic pie. Hey!
Iambic pie. Hey!
Iambic pie!"

*sigh*
Don't even ask, if you value your sanity.