Guldasta

The dangerously light Macbook Air March 20, 2009

Filed under: style (not fashion) — gurdas @ :

Like with everything else, I also have favourite professors. One of the top contenders on my favourite list sits right across my office; let us call him DB. A great teacher, fun to be with in class, and highly lovable; I had the pleasure of learning from DB the previous semester. And for inexplicable reasons (maybe his age and personality), he reminds me of my father and I have an urge to go hug him.

But wait, this post is about Macbook Air and the disadvantages of an ultra-light design! So, DB purchased a Macbook Air some weeks ago. Shiny, sleek, classy, and the envy of many, the Air perfectly complimented him. Though I did tease him about his youthfulness 🙂

So, today when I stopped by his door to say hello and enquire how he and his Air were doing, DB mentioned how he left it behind on a recent visit to Washington – just the perfect time to use (and show off!) his new gadget. He had to leave office in a hurry, and so picked his bags and left, while the Air was on the chair all the while! Air on the chair… that rhymes!

Now, if I were to pick my backpack, I could tell without even looking inside whether my laptop was in there. My laptop is a significant fraction of the total weight of my backpack. But not the darling of the classes – Macbook Air. This beauty is consipucous due to absence of certain things – like size and weight!

At 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg) the macbook Air is dangerously light! Like those new ultra small thumbdrives which are so easy to lose. To make matters worse, the Air’s stunning looks add to the hurt from missing an opportunity to show it off because you forgot to pack it in.

The Bus Driver

Filed under: Ethics and Values,Inspiration,life — gurdas @ :

Just like every other day today I took Wolfline Southeast Loop to campus. But as we were driving down Morrill Drive, an ordinary event told me how extraordinary the driver was. Here we are cruising smoothly, when suddenly the driver slams the breaks, sending almost everybody lunging forward. The reason – the vehicle ahead of us had swerved sharply without warning to grab a parking spot. So, what is so special here? The very first words uttered by the driver were “Sorry about that”, addressed to the passengers who had been inconvenienced by the sudden change of velocity.

I could not but help wonder about this. I put myself into the shoes of the driver and try imagining what my first words would have been. I would have probably sworn and only then followed up with an apology (which in any case was not due because the driver was not at fault).

To narrowly escape an accident, not be at fault, and have a sorry come out of your lips in the first second, to me, is nothing but extraordinary.

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Butterflies from Dad March 1, 2009

Filed under: family,Inspiration,life,love,Me — gurdas @ :

Dad opened an email account and sent me our first one-to-one electronic communication. I enquired and found out he has been (secretly) attending “Internet classes”.

When I saw that first email, I felt butterflies in my stomach. In that moment, I could feel the love of my father from thousands of miles away. Because only love can make a 70 year old, who has never used a keyboard in his life, to go learn email communication.

I may be more educated than my father, but in matters of Life, he is still my teacher.

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Not so lovely Chemistry February 28, 2009

Filed under: life,love — gurdas @ :

Ever so often you find someone equating chemistry (between individuals) as Love or reason to be in Love. Nothing could be further from the truth. To the contrary, this definition makes Love a small frivolous thing, which it is not. Love is the grand pillar which keeps mankind alive. Love is compassion, Love is effort, Love is an unconditional extension of your Self towards another, and Love is selfless. You need chemistry to make love in bed. And chemistry will get you exhilarating moments of happiness. But that is how far it will go. Chemistry will not, and never has, seen a couple beyond a few years. What you need for a lifetime of togetherness is Love.

When two people not just survive together, but thrive together, there is Love in action.

To get the point across, Love is the effort you make to improve someone’s life even when you do not necessarily find them attractive. In other words, those days and moments when your spouse stops being attractive, it is Love which will see you through the storm which could otherwise wreck and sink the marriage.

The whole attractive thing is so flimsy, it is foolish to base your most important decision (who to marry) on that criteria. And familiarity breeds contempt, unless you have Love by your side. Attractiveness walks out of the door so fast, it leaves you gasping for breath.

So, what is chemistry? It is exactly what the name means. It is about chemicals or more precisely hormones. It is that wave of joy and excitement that overwhelms people. It comes fast. It goes away even faster. It is the whole chemistry game that is behind failed marriages (not always, but more often than you can imagine). You find someone with whom you have chemistry and you decide to marry. What you do not account for in this chemical equation are the keys to a long term relationship. The soul of a person, the human side, commitment, loyalty, strength of character, sensitivity, and honesty. None of these make up chemistry. And each of these is what makes a person.

Chemistry is like lip-smacking good fast food. Love is like home cooked full course meal. I do not need to tell you which is healthier or which you can eat for a lifetime.

Most people start from chemistry and end up thinking they are in Love. Rarely the case. When you start from something flimsy, it is only the very fortunate who will truly end up with something as stable as Love. But, if you go the other way round – that is, you first connect with the soul of a person, and when that happens you let chemistry into the picture – then even something like chemistry gets elevated to a higher level.

I am led to believe that even chemistry is of two kinds. The chemistry without reason and the chemistry with reason. The former is utterly dangerous. The latter is healthy. The former blinds you from seeing the true person. The latter encourages you to explore the true person.

… to be continued.

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Revolutionary Road (Movie Review) February 27, 2009

Filed under: Movie Reviews — gurdas @ :

Revolutionary Road

Amazing. Stunning. Spectacular.

It has been some time since I saw a movie that so carried me. And it has been even longer since I saw a movie with dialogues that make you want to pause and replay.

Sample this: “If being crazy means living life as if it matters, then I don’t care if we are completely insane.”

There is no grand story line and yet the movie scales great heights. It is a peek into the life of a married couple (The Wheelers), who must go through internal turmoil to come to grips with their expectations from Life, their spouses and most of all, themselves. It is about truth and how beautifully expressed in this dialogue between Kate Winslet (April) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Frank):

“Tell me the truth Frank. Remember that? We used to live by it. And you know what is so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is howsoever long they have lived without it. No one forgets the truth, Frank. They just get better at lying.”

All characters in the movie are baked to perfection. In just one or two scenes, the director takes you into the mind of the character, and you start feeling their thoughts. Kate and Leonardo and well supported by a fine ensemble of actors who play their parts down to perfection. And there are so many shades given to each person that they appear completely real. Like you and me. Like the neighbours who cannot come to terms with the courage of The Wheelers to live the life they want to. Like the estate agent who wants her neurotic son to meet nice people. Like Leonardo’s office mates using sarcasm to hide their disappointment with their own lives. And finally, both Leonardo and Kate. Both deeply in love with each other. Both struggling to walk the tightrope of love for another and love for their own self.

With a movie such as this, you have scenes that explore a vast range of human emotions. If I have to chose one kind that this movie excels in, it has to be the scenes where Kate and Leonardo are fighting it out. And there are quite a few of these. What makes the scenes special is that you are always reminded that they love each other. The arguments presented are so cogent that you sway back and forth between the two, depending on who is talking. One moment you feel for Kate, the next you connect with Leonardo. Amazing, absolutely stunning.

Tight close-ups, warm living room settings, and personal angles all add up with the surge of emotions from the protagonists to deliver what I found to be a wave after wave of high quality story telling. Like gems strewn over the floor of a dense forest, the movie is full of nuances, small things the actors do, the way they look up, the way they turn their head, or the way they hold hands, or move their body.

If you have been itching to see a movie that will take your breath away, I recommend you go down this road at the first opportunity.

ps: YC, thank you for making the movie available to me.