Australia - Tasmania

For most part of my life I have lived in a big and busy city...so a getaway break was something I always looked forward to. And then some remarkable events brought me to Tassie, a pure travel destination, a physical stunner! And ever since I have looked around for 'unique experiences', not featured in Lonely Planet Guides...Here is a list I hope to keep updating for the rest of the year.

Hollybank: Tree Top Adventures

Catch an incredible bird's eye view of the intriguing forests of Tasmania by gliding across treetops. You can enjoy the adrenaline rush of a high-wire, super-fast canopy ride in Hollybank, just twenty minutes from Launceston.

Wynyard: Unforgettable Views
The Wynyard Tulip Festival (September-October) is a chance to walk amidst thousands of blooming tulips and feel like a Bollywood star in a romantic song sequence. If flowers do you no good then explore the bleached sands of Sisters Beach and go swimming in the crystal clear waters of Boat Harbour Beach.

As they say, Tassie is nothing if not for its dazzling wilderness, colonial charm untouched beaches and incredible wine and food. Its urban spirit, fairly recent, will make you wonder if God froze time in Tassie for a small period in time. For a place that accommodates some amazing natural wonders, Tasmania is rather shy...this is my attempt to unearth its dazzling character.

Go Green " No Plastic Bag "

Lately “No Plastic Bag” campaign have been an issue in Malaysia to create an awareness among the public. In fact minority of people are practicing the habit of bringing their own recycle bag to hypermarkets or even shopping malls. Some will bring lots of recycle shopping bags and toss them into their car. While some prefer to bring a few into their shopping bag in case they wanted to make any purchases. Thus, starting on Jan 09 this year for every Saturdays, Selangor hypermarts will not provide any plastic bags for their consumers. By 2010, all plastic bags will be eliminated in Carrefour Malaysia. However, for customers who insisted on plastic bag,will have to pay RM0.10 per bag, while some places are charging RM0.20 per bag  and RM1.99 for reusable bag and some offering carton boxes for their customers.
Danger of Plastic

Plastic takes as long as 1,,000 years for plastic bag to decompose?
And every time we use a plastic bag, we drive up the demand for oil – which is used to make plastics.

Plastic is a major toxic pollutants on earth. It containts non-biodegradale substance, composed of toxic chemicals, and most of all it pollutes our earth, air and water.
The major chemicals that goes into the making of plastic are highly toxic and pose serious threat to living beings of all species on earth. When recycling plastics, it creates hazard and  since plastic does not undergo bacterial decomposition, landfilling using plastic means preserving the poison forever. Plastic can’t be burn either as it will releases toxic.
Apart from these, recycling of plastic is very uneconomical, dirty and labour-intensive.
Recycling of plastic is also connected with skin and respiratory problems, resulting from exposure to and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially hydrocarbons and residues released during the process.  Through the process of  recycling, plastic degrades in quality and necessitates the production of more new plastic to make the original product.
Dengue on the rise when plastic wastes clog the drains. Some are even dumped into rivers, streams and seas contaminating the water, soil, marine life and also the air we breathe. Clog drains not only provide an excellent breeding grounds for disease-causing mosquitoes and finally causes flood during the monsoons.
There are no ways to get rid of plastic in the landfil, because any attempt to get rid of plastic through landfills is also dangerous. Toxic from the landfill, will result in the contamination of our water sources, the waste mass impedes the flow of ground water as well and obstructs the movement of roots thereby badly affecting the soils biological balance and organic processes.
Landfills are also prone to leaks. The wastes especially cadmium and lead in the wastes invariably mix with rain water, then seep through the ground and drain into nearby streams and lakes and other water bodies. Thus the water we use gets poisoned.
The only way out of the deadly and lasting danger of plastic is to cut down the use of plastic, if not avoid it altogether. Little plannings will make big changes to save our earth or else we are really in big trouble in the near future.
Say no to plastic whenever and wherever you can.
What about the waste ……..
Comment from a senior citizen: (Age 50 and above)

Recycling by not providing enough recycling bin is also a problem in Malaysia. For example, high rise residential building are not provided recycle bin to throw their waste. What about watery waste, where are we suppose to throw them? As for landed housing area, they can easily dig a hole in their garden and throw their waste and decomposition will easily take place. If high rise apartments or condominium throw their watery waste into the rubbish bin which is placed on every floor unit, the pungent smells will be unbearable. We have many garbage enzymes and we can’t possibly make more of it. Till now, apart from plastic bags to throw our watery waste. We can’t think of any other ways.

iPhone Battery Life : is this normal ?

Out of all the little gripes there are about the iPhone, I’d heard the battery life was one of them, but I didn’t realise the life of my 3GS would be SO short?! Granted, it’s my newest toy so I’ve been playing with all the features quite a lot, and it’s quite understandable that the battery is going to run down quicker when in full on gaming or web-surfing mode, but today I ran a little experiment that is seriously making me wonder whether my phone is actually faulty…

The Experiment

I completely run the phone down flat overnight, then connected it to the wall charger this morning and proceeded to charge it to 100%.

I then configured some settings:

Wifi – Off (Sometimes turn this off if I’m out)
Location Services – Off (Usually off anyway)
3G – Off (Usually left on)

It’s also worth noting I have email fetching to Off and I didn’t receive a call or SMS during the experiment (because I have no friends… booohoo)

I clicked the top button and sent it to sleep, left it in place on the desk and went off for some lunch. An hour later (well, just over at 73mins) I returned and checked the battery level – 84%

WTF?! An hour and 15mins of being in sleep mode, with none of its features being used and it’s used 16% of the battery life.

Obviously this isn’t the most scientific experiment, and I could do with repeating it a few times to double check the facts, but it got me wondering whether this is normal for iPhone battery life? Does everyone else out there have to charge their iPhone every day? (That’s with turning it off at night)

Or, could this just be down to it being new, and it needing a few charge cycles to ‘bed in’ the battery?

Update

Maybe my iPhone read this post, but since the experiment it’s actually been acting really well battery wise. The next charge lasted much longer, sticking to 100% in the same length of time. I’ve now switched back on all the fancy features, including Location Services, which is meant to be the real power hog. Hours after a charge it’s still at 100%, and is lasting around the couple of days mark people have mentioned in the comments.

Bedding in the battery with a few charges during it’s early use might just have been what it needed?

Inception Review

Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” has made the entire world sit right up and take notice of Mr. Nolan’s remarkable filmography. Inception is about to set a record of sorts for the maximum number of reviews on the internet for any Hollywood movie. Everyone has seen it and everyone who has seen it, seems to have written a review or two on it. Around 95.67% seem to love that movie. The remaining people attack the movie – mainly because of the urge to “be different” from the crowd.

If you are smitten by Inception in anyway, unless you are living under a rock in an inaccessible cave in African mountains, you have read about and seen the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that has the same theme – A dream inside a dream. Nolan might have inadvertently got inspired by that comic strip though it is highly unlikely that Bill Watterson would file an IP theft case on Nolan. We are all reasonable enough to just laugh about this sheer coincidence and not take anything away from Nolan. His Inception screenplay was pure genius; an intelligent thriller that satisfies almost everyone (Yes I know only 95.67% liked that movie – Hence the word “almost”.) in the world. Nolan is God. Isn’t he?

Well, there’s this small “One More Thing” – (I admit I am no Steve Jobs to say the one more thing in the best possible way!)
Christopher Nolan seems to be heavily inspired by Calvin. It is not just “Inception”. Calvin’s heroics and ideas have seeped into at least two other movies of Nolan – The Prestige and The Dark Knight. While in The Prestige, Calvin’s “Duplicator” was put to good use, in The Dark Knight – Calvin’s “Transmogrifier” helped the Batman modify his Batmobile into a particularly suave motorcycle!

However, Bill W – the gentleman that he is – is probably not interested in taking Mr Nolan to court.
Any other C&H inventions that you think have inspired him? The comments space is all yours if you want to say something.

Disclaimer: This disclaimer is only for those who do not have the innate capacity to spot a satirical piece of work. This article is meant to be a joke. If the joke is lost on you, it is your problem – not mine J

Madrasapatinam Review

  A while back I had written a review which warranted a title and a description along the lines of “the film that has left me speechless”. At this point I’d like to retract my statement and reassign that title and description to Vijay’s Madrasapattinam. Yes that is bold statement indeed but it was my exact sentiments when I finished watching the film. To ensure that I didn’t simply gush about the movie aimlessly in this review I had postponed writing it for a while so as to  till  give myself time to gather my thoughts.However to my surprise after days of pondering upon the experience of watching Madrasapattinam I came to the very same conclusion and failed to find any major flaw(s) that would change my overall opinion of the film.
Vijay has delivered a historically significant piece of cinema. In its essence it is a period drama enveloped in a breath taking love story. The way in which the maker combines the two themes, that is, the history of Madras and the love story, is the real reason the film warrants a watch. He doesn’t make one theme any more obvious than the other. Nor does he attempt to send an overall patriotic message or blatantly pose the British Empire as the villain. (Of course he still does to a certain extent but that is not the point of the entire film) Rather the history and the love story are brilliantly intertwined so as to not make you feel overwhelmed by either.
Set in the days of Madrasapattinam i.e. the British Raj, the film is a story of a simpleton young Indian whose world is turned upside down when he falls in love with the British governor’s daughter. Their love story is lost in translation for a while until finally he dabbles in English and she more intently learns Tamil. As their love story progresses you also witness the life style of Tamils during the British Raj, how they went about their daily activities and how they dealt with the ruling empire. Naturally conflict arises when their love story is unveiled to the world which leads to one of the most phenomenally choreographed climaxes in the history of cinema, according to me.
Yes, yet again I make a bold statement but honestly it is no exaggeration. The climax which takes place at a railway station and on the night of India’s independence is intense, subtle and magical at the same time. As the nation rejoices in its newly found independence, two people fight for their independence. Independence to love. To live life as they want. To belong to the nation they’ve formed a bond with. The historical day of Independence becomes a background event that although significant, has no effect on their love story which is yet to reach its climax. Perhaps words aren’t enough to describe the phenomenal climax sequence but it definitely leaves you in speechless.
Apart from the climax, another one of the film’s most impressive trait is its ability to transport you into another world. The characters and the plot truly hypnotize you and draw you into the world in Madrasapattinam. Once it has finished you’re almost sad and devastated, not because the climax is somewhat tragic but because the journey has ended. It’s been quite a while since a film has made me feel that way.
The actors play a major part in bringing the magical story to life. Arya is to be praised for becoming the humble, cute and very down-to-earth Parthi so effortlessly. He’s an absolute natural. I have only seen three films of his but am convinced that he is indeed as versatile as they say, if not more. Amy Jackson surprises with a brilliant performance! After having witnessed countless foreign actresses in Indian cinema I’d become used to the fact that none of them can act and none of them seem to take our cinema seriously. Thankfully Amy changes my opinion as she couldn’t have put anymore effort into her role than she did.  She’s there 110% with brilliant dialogue delivery and as brilliant Tamil lip-syncing in the Ayure song. At this point I have to say that the usual Tamil heroines ought to be ashamed for not being able to do what this British talent pulled off with so much ease. Maybe she’ll inspire at least some to demand to dub for themselves and others to make more of an effort when lip singing or when mouthing the dialogues which will be later dubbed by an artist. The supporting casts, baring the British granddaughter, are as apt and contribute the overall success of the film.
Music by G V Prakash is a ‘movie soundtrack’ in its true essence as it has been created solely for the purpose of moving the story forward and not for the sake of having songs. Aayuire would be my favorite track and was amazingly picturised to my surprise. Of course Amy’s lip syncing made the song so much more enjoyable as I had TRULY had not expected that!  Background music is one of the most influential factors in creating the overall effect of the scenes and did so brilliantly in every scene particular the climax.
So as I said, I really cannot say much about the film as it has indeed left me speechless. All I can say is that despite the nearly 3 hours length the films manages to sweep me into its world so successfully that I’d forgotten all sense of time and space. To do that to someone who checks his watch by the minute and literally has no time to spare at this time of the university semester, I think is quite an achievement! I don’t think I can ever recommend a film more strongly! Without a doubt one of the best films of 2010 and surely has made its way on my ‘all time favourite’ list.

The Flamingos ...

Flamingos are very interesting birds. You know they're not born pink, right? Baby flamingos are a whitish-grey. They turn pink over time because of algae in the food they eat. So this kiddo on the right has some years to go (and lots of eating to do!) before he looks as pretty as that other guy on the left.

They have a funny way of feeding - they eat by holding their bills upside down in the water. See that deep curve on the bill? There's a specially adapted tongue inside the bill that filters tiny food items. In lesser flamingoes, the bill pumps water 20 times a second, while the tongue filters away like crazy!! They need about 60 grams of food a day, so no wonder they feed all the time.

Just in case you were wondering, the flamingo tongue tucked away inside that bill is large, fleshy and has little bristly projections. Yeew? The early Romans thought it quite a delicacy, anyway, and pickled flamingo tongue was on the menu at their parties! I kid you not.

Here are some more birds that have not yet turned fully pink. You can really see the curve of the bill beautifully in this photo. Babies are born without the curved bill, by the way. Strange huh? It takes some weeks for the bills to start curving. Until then, parents feed the chick. Both dad and mom produce a sort of "milk" - well, let's call it milk, even though it is red in colour. Babies store the pigment in their liver, which then gets deposited in their adult feathers as they grow.

You know another interesting thing about flamingo babies? They grow up in creches. Flamingos lay a single egg, on mounds of mud. When the eggs hatch, the chicks join a creche, a sort of group child-care facility which is marshalled by some adults. The adults lead them on foot to fresh water sources, because the chicks can't fly. Mom and Dad come to the creche, find their kid, and do the milk feeding thing. Hah! If only we had that sort of child-care to help Mumbai's stressed out working parents!

Here's a longer range view. These are mature adults, since they're all pink. Flamingos live for 40-50 years, did you know? I found that very surprising, because I always thought birds were short-lived. Goes to show how much I *really* know about birds!

Here's a still longer range photo. Look at the number of birds in the distance! How pretty they must look when they're flying!

Sura Review

Sura - Shark or Dolphin...or both?

Yummma! Yupppa! Podhum daa...

With these words, I left the cinema hall after watching Vijay's latest and 50th milestone movie in his film career: SURA. Sura means Shark. I agree. Quite as vicious a film as a shark is said to be.

Vijay's opening in the film came as a Dolphin-like stroke supposedly in the ocean. Didn't know sharks did that! Maybe sura also means dolphin. Ok, I can give them that.

What I cannot give this film & story, is ANY ounce of appreciation. Vijay is a fisherman, it seems. Pooh. Credibility goes downhill from here! Even Vadivelu's comedy was ...stupid. Only one scene was really funny -- the one with Vadivelu and Venniraadai Moorthy, but teh former spoiled it by repeating the funny act 5-6 times in succession!! Really poor.

Vijay. Couldn't he have given some amount of interest to the script he signed for his 50th film?? Disappointing. Boring dialogues but brilliant dancing! That's one thing he always has going for him. Also, he looked healthier in this film than he has in a long time. He just needs another Gillie now and then...and then, he can pull on with more Kuruvis and Vettaikaarans but God forbid he comes out with more Villus & Suras.

Tamannah. Really, the girl's OK. Forced to act like a bimbo but am sure I want to thank her for her correct lip-syncing, which is more than I can say for the villain. Aha. The Villain in Sura I THINK is the hero from the family-drama nice-Tamil-film-hit 'Aha' that released in...I think 1996-1997. Poor guy. Poor lip syncing / dubbing.

The story & presentation is best described as 'thoo-thoo-thuppaaki'. Stupid-O-Stupid.

It seems Ilayadhalapathi (what does it mean?) Vijay's movies have slumped into the following super-boring format:

• Talk of the hero (Vijay), followed by a 'Vijay-opening' scene.
• Song for some made-up victory celebration.
• Some drama usually involving the mother who dotes on son(Vijay) and is the epitome of...home-making / mommying.
• Villain-entry followed by a small triumph from Vijay's side over one of the villain's assistants / small-fry.
• Heroine entry and the weaving of a romance-plot that thins with every film.
• Song: Vijay and heroine. Show-off time for Vijay!
• Some fights, more songs, ill-placed comedy scenes and ...a challenge!
• INTERVAL (habbah!)
• More drama, comedy, fights, songs, fights, fights and fight till the end.
• Vijay wins any fight in the end never mind the number of villains or anything.
• The end

Sura is best described as a SHARK ATTACK! Stay outta theatres, people. I didn't. That's ONLY because a friend and I like to watch Vijay films even if JUST for the heck of it.

Psssst! BURRRP. The film's bad. 

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya Review

Yet again, a movie with a soul, from the talented director Gautham Menon. The movie is so realistic that it makes us a part of it instead of merely sitting and watching. The movie makes you feel so much. As the name implies the movie is worth crossing the skies for.

The movie is not just about falling in love. There is a fragrance of love in every frame. I enjoyed every single bit of the movie. The movie had so many moments of tenderness, emotions, love and pain. Everything so perfect, like a beautiful poem. Simbu and Trisha had an impressive chemistry between them!

Simbu portrayed Karthik, a straight-forward guy who is crazy about Jessie. Simbu as Karthik was mind-blowing. Unlike his other movies, he was mature and different. He lived Karthik. I wasn’t much of a Simbu fan, but now I must say that he impressed me with Karthik. I didn’t know that he could act so well. Gautham brought Simbu’s acting skills to the limelight. The central park monologue by Simbu was so touching, so emotional, and so beautifully done. Whenever Simbu sees the girl of his dreams, the intensity of his love that bursts out of his heart makes him collapse on the gate. Simbu did it wonderfully so that his simple action shows the intensity of his love better than words. I bet this movie is going to give Simbu a break.

Trisha portrayed Jessie, a complex woman who is torn apart between love of her life and family, a confused character as well. Jessie doesn’t even know what to do. She says, “Enakku enna venumnnu enakke theriyaadhu”. Trisha portrayed Jessie really well. Perhaps this is the finest character Trisha has ever done. Nalini Sreeraman’s costumes made Trisha look even more stunning and simple.

The first half of the movie also had some witty dialogues like when Gautham Menon dug himself with “English pesi tamizh padam edupaare, avara?” and “Avan avan lovekaga America poren, naan Alleppey poga mattena?” (Refers to Vaaranam Aayiram)

Ganesh, one of the producers, appearing as Simbus friend, takes us away with his one-liners.

The movie had an intellectual climax, and a wonderful ending. The ending was so perfect; the performance of the actors, the emotional tension between the characters, the way it ended, everything!

“Omana penne” song would have been better if it had been shot in Kerala. “Mannippaya” and “Anbil avan” really did suit the mood of the movie. I think the movie would have been more touching, if the flow of the story had not been broken by too many songs.

Manoj Paramahamsa's cinematography did magic! Each frame captured the essence of the scene perfectly. The camera angles were just perfect! The lighting blended with the mood of the movie.

I have always wondered what the title Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (Will you Cross the Skies for Me?) implied. After watching the movie, I think that it means Jessie is reluctant to come into the life of Karthik, crossing the distance between them, because she can’t decide what to do.

Once you get into the characters, you’ll love the movie. The movie is surely not a choice for people who are just looking for entertainment or breezy love stories.

3 Idiots Review

It’s been a while since 3 Idiots was released and all this while I had been resisting the insane urge to watch the movie for one simple reason: That I thought the makers did not give Chetan Bhagat his due credit. Today, however, my wife injected some sense into me by saying that I should watch it anyway and then take a call whether Vidhu Vinod Chopra was right in saying that the movie had a different storyline.

There is one point that everyone agrees on – that you have a right to comment on this controversy only if you have read the book and seen the movie. Hence I qualify to put forward my opinion. 3 Idiots is clearly based on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. There is no denying that. The characters are straight out of the book. The setting is identical. Some sequences are reproduced almost verbatim. However, there is more to a movie than its characters and the backdrop. It is called “Story”. It is in this department that the movie and the book part ways. The movie has a completely new story line and is on a whole new emotional level altogether. While the book deals mostly with the three protagonists’ struggle to keep afloat in the IIT, the movie concentrates on the shortcomings of the education system; the rat race called “Competitiveness”. It talks about the silent killer – Stress and the need to acknowledge this as a serious problem.

My qualified opinion hence is that Abhijit Joshi and Raj Kumar Hirani deserve to be called the “Story Writers” of this movie. Chetan Bhagat also is an important contributor but I feel that the note “Based on Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat” is apt enough. This controversy is probably doing wonders to the sales of the book as well as the movie tickets. So I guess it is not hurting anyone – at least on a practical note.

Coming to the movie, it is a thoroughly enjoyable ride. There is not a single boring moment in the movie. You are served a complete thali of emotions. One moment you are laughing out loud listening to the speech of Silencer and then you are wiping tears off your eyes feeling for Raju. The songs are well choreographed and blend smoothly into the narration. The end is the most beautiful part of the experience. Set in picturesque Ladakh and Simla, you almost forget about the characters on the screen and concentrate on the breathtaking backgrounds. The twist in the last scene of the movie was totally unneeded and probably is my only complaint about the movie. For a movie that shouts from the rooftops that “Rat Race” and “Number One, Number Two” are bad, an end that believes in the same philosophy – doesn’t quite fit.

All in all – A must watch for anyone looking for good cinematic entertainment. I strongly recommend that you stop reading this blog and go watch the movie in the nearest theatre. It needs to be seen on the big screen.
Rating: Must Watch. 4/5