With MM, on a random afternoon in London.

Today, with Raghav, free tickets courtsey Time Out.

A well researched biography of the group, albeit occassionally void of the ability to critique, if any, negatives of the group. Like the rest of R.M. Lala’s work however, it has helped immensely in giving a broad overview of the history of the group. The foreword and epilogue by JRD and RNT are a treat.

Insightful and painstaking, but would not qualify for wikipedia’s NPOV.

Kind of ironic. After seeing the door size poster behind the sofa at Mat’s place almost every day of my four month stay in Brest, I didn’t see the movie or wonder about it, till I noticed it on the flight entertainment service an hour after I flew out of France. Mais, ce vrai, tres bien. Bon memories of the parties at Mathieu’s.

For some reason, ‘The Trumpet of the Swan’ is still White’s best.

“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.” – Freud

“I believe that the moment is near when by a procedure of active paranoiac thought, it will be possible to systematize confusion and contribute to the total discrediting of the world of reality.” – Dali

A unique blend of mass appeal and intellectual onanism. The cinematography and symbolism of individual images are exemplary. My favourite shot in the movie has the protagonist arms dealer sitting on a toppled statue of Lenin with an array of tanks behind him, calculating his capitalist profits in a lucrative arms deal after the break-down of the U.S.S.R. Quirkily, there are many similarities between the lead Yuri Orlov and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Both have vague links to Jewish ancestry, were polyglots (Lenin was distinguished in Latin and Greek) and had more than a passing acquaintance with the law (Lenin had a job as an assistant to a lawyer).

Both believe in the statistics of gun running –
“One man with a gun can control 100 without one.” – Lenin
“… one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11? – Orlov

Both believe in the virtues of dualism –
“A lie told often enough becomes truth” – Lenin
“Some of the most successful relationships are based on lies and deceit. Since that’s where they usually end up anyway, it’s a logical place to start.” – Orlov

Both had strong views about democracy –
“Democracy is indispensable to socialism.” – Lenin
“Democracy? What have you been drinking Andy?” Orlov to Andre Baptiste Sr.

After Cinema Paradiso, it is only The Pianist and Gandhi which have evoked strong emotional reactions. The scene depicting the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh was heart-rending to say the least. It is surprsing and sad that the country and the world in general is so far removed from the incidents and principles that occured so recently that they are in living memory of many.

“Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as him ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” – Albert Einstein

“I think it would be a good idea!”
- Mahatma Gandhi in reply to a reporter’s question “What do you think of Western Civilization?”

Kick ‘n’ kiss?