Monday, January 21, 2008

Review of Halla Bol

I like Halla Bol. Most importantly, because it finally activates the little grey cells and forces one to think beyond Ishaan.

The newspapers say it is about the awakening of the conscience of a film star. They are wrong. It is about the awakening of the conscience. Period. It is incidental that the subject in question is a film star. Anyone in his place would go through all this and more.

How do i know? Because I know someone who has gone through all this. Halla Bol is real, no exaggeration. Except, perhaps, one thing, no politician has sensitivity enough to pull down a house for sheer sentiment. They have too much greed to allow room for sentiment.

Do i recommend it over Taare Zameen Par? YES, because we are not likely to meet a dyslexic child as often as we are likely to meet eve teasers and other bullies on the road. What do we do when we witness a case of eve teasing, molestation even, or road rage, is important.

Which is also the reason why it is difficult to watch this film, and the reason why collections are going down. Because when you watch that film, and the scathingly impotent crowd that does nothing against what it knows is injustice, does nothing as it is swayed by politiicians, in that crowd, you see a reflection of your own impotent self. It is difficult to face the fact that as a part of the crowd, you will do nothing that will make you worhty of being alive. When people were burnt to death for their faith, we did nothing. We just voted the murderers back to power. When a woman is raped or outraged every single day, or burnt for dowry, or beaten up by an educated husband, we look the other way. Halla Bol is the unkind mirror that shows u how unworthy of life one really is, and how much oxygen one wastes just by being alive and spineless. Go see that mirror, it feels nice.

After the film, i asked myself whether i will stop and interfere if someone was physically assaulting another person in my presence. To my utter shame, the honest answer is that i will stop if the victim is a woman, but not if the victim is male, because i do not know the entire circumstance of the case.

What would you do, if faced with an episode like that on the road? The answer is not important for me. Its important for you.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Tag: These are a few of my favorite things!

This is a tag being started by me.

Some time ago, i started a post about some favorite movies that are not so often remembered any more. That post remains unfinished, but the tag is a nice extension, methinks.

The rules of the tag are:
1. Obviously, indicate the source that tagged you.
2. Write out 7 of your favorite things, that are dear to you, but are not "popular choice" any more. Categories could include, but are not limited to:
a. All time favorite book ever read.
b. All time favorite movie.
c. Best memory from the first 12 years of your life.
d. All time favorite teacher.
e. All time favorite tea time snack.
f. All time favorite piece of jewelry/family heirloom.
g. The one possession you would never part from...

Pass on the tag, as you please. 7 people would be a nice number, but these are just numbers.

Who am i tagging? The first 7 visitors, as usual! But some people who i really think should do this tag are - Chiya, Zoe, Maddie, Dharma...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

review of trustsource.org

The first thing that stumps me about this review is this – the home page is about offering user based reviews. That is good. That is excellent. But the review is about one particular service only – cash advance. Why would that be?

I like the concept of user based reviews. Before buying anything expensive, one always goes to websites that offer these reviews. The best part is that u make no mistakes when u buy this way. You also get to know what to expect from your product or service after a while of using it. In this site, the products are straightforward, listed clearly, and it is easy to write a review, or to read one. That is the only thing one needs from such a website. On usability, I give it 5 on 5.

The negatives? Only one, from one product, you cannot go to allied products or other products. There is no link to searching other products and no link to elsewhere on the site(except home). No link to site service. i.e., if someone has written a review that is obviously untrue, a user cannot inform the site owners. As I see it, the obvious risk is that an advertiser might place their product in this portfolio, and then have people write positive reviews that may not be genuine user reviews.

So much for my 2 penny. Links, if you are interested in a cash advance before your monthly pay check.

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