Wordless Wednesday: Mars Vs. Venus
Here's more in "Wordless Wednesday"!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wedding Memoirs
It's been a long month.
After a lot of rough patches, sister's wedding eventually culminated in some fine celebrations.
Everybody liked the final arrangements. The food, the décor, the service, the way the bride looked, even the way "yours truly" looked... it was all just purrrrfect!
No unforeseen delays or mishaps. No bottlenecks anywhere. Everything went through like a well-rehearsed play.
Still waiting for the wedding photographs though. Here are a few taken by my camera.
That's my sister with UV (who was the 'vinayak')... during the 'Ganesh Puja'.
And this is me... patiently getting my hands painted with 'mehendi'! :D
This is the dais at the venue of the wedding...
And here's dad with the beautiful bride! :D
And in case you're wondering, I wore a sari at the wedding. A white one. I know. It's a very non-standard color to be worn at a wedding, but when you see the pics, you'll realize it was actually a very good choice. People simply couldn't take their eyes off me! Even those who usually like to put me down for my appearance couldn't find anything to criticize!
I found it a bit awkward to walk in the sari initially, but by the time of the reception 2 days later, in which I wore a different sari, I got kind of used to it. Sitting down and standing up still gets a bit fussy though. But overall, I like the feel of it. And I think I'm going to add saris to my regular wardrobe too now.
Coming back to the wedding, I always wondered how it would feel... going through the wedding without mom. But as it turns out, I had nothing to worry about really. Mom was there with us that night. There's no way everything could have worked out so smoothly otherwise, in the light of all that had happened prior to the wedding! And there's no way I could have felt so safe and strong otherwise! Invincible. Haven't felt that way for years...
Well, there's a lot more to be penned down, but this is all for today. Got to get back to work now...
Monday, November 21, 2011
Book Review: Haunted by Douglas Misquita
Haunted
Author: Douglas Misquita
ISBN: 978-9380154954
Buy from amazon: Haunted
Buy in India:
Two things made me go for Haunted by Douglas Misquita. One. It's penned by an Indian author. And two. It has absolutely nothing to do with romance and mush.
My good blog buddy, Roshmi, asked me if I would be interested in reviewing this book. I was a bit tied up with the arrangements for my sister's wedding, but the thought of all that thrill and adventure promised in the book was too tempting. I figured it shouldn't be too difficult for me to find time to skim through the 370-odd pages of this book. I am, after all, a fast reader. So I signed up for the offer. Ahh, but what a mistake!
Haunted, by Douglas Misquita, canNOT be skimmed through! Nope. Neither can it be read in small parts. This book, with its innumerable characters intricately woven together in a very complex plot, must be finished in one sitting, lest you find yourself flipping back through the pages repeatedly, in order to "connect the dots".
That's exactly what I was doing initially, until I finally gave up on it and decided to start afresh after I was done with the wedding and everything. Well, guess what. I finished the book this weekend, back at my "home sweet home", although my suitcases from the trip are still waiting to be unpacked! [grins]
Blurb from Haunted:
FBI Special Agent Kirk Ingram's life is torn apart when his family is brutally murdered before his eyes. Devastated physically and psychologically, he vows to destroy organised crime in all forms. Across the globe, an international trade house brings terrorist activities and organised crime together in a deadly nexus that threatens to bring the world-order to the point of anarchy. And only one man stands in the way of global terror and paranoia-one man seeking redemption, and waging a personal battle against the demons of his past...
If you dig action movies like Die Hard, Bourne, Mission Impossible and Lethal Weapon, then Haunted is just the book for you. All the action sequences -- the chases, the gunfires, the blasts, and even the underwater scenes -- are perfectly choreographed and reflect the author's in-depth research. You can actually visualize the scenes unfolding right in front of your eyes, like you were watching a movie rather than reading a book. In fact, I'm usually against movie adaptations of books, but this is one book I'd love to see a movie made of!
Coming back to the plot, terrorism isn't a new theme, and it comes with a set of standard ingredients: a bunch of bad men, drugs, weapons (mechanical and chemical), bloodshed, explosions, power-thirst, hostage situations, and of course, a few good men, trying to restore order. So it's totally in how you "package" these "standard ingredients" that makes the difference. And the USP of Haunted is its fast pace and crisp editing, that adds another dimension to the action sequences.
The title of the book is perhaps the only thing that "sticks out" for me. The entire "haunted" past of Kirk Ingram wasn't really required to explain his relentless drive against organized crime. (John McClane, in Die Hard, didn't have any personal vendettas fueling him against terrorists. Neither did ACP. Rajveer Shekawat a.k.a. Radhe, in Wanted.) Not that Ingram's past is interfering in the plot in anyway or creating any character discrepancy. It's just that this title is a bit misleading for the actual plot of the book. For instance, I'm an all-time fan of action thrillers. But if this book hadn't come as a personal recommendation from someone I knew, I wouldn't have picked it up from the stands on my own, because the title would have conveyed the impression of ghosts and after-death para-normal activities.
That being said, overall, Haunted by Douglas Misquita, is an excellent action-packed book, and nowhere does it give the impression that it's the first published work of the author. Also, the perfect international setting of the plot makes it really hard to believe that the book comes from an Indian author! I, for one, am looking forward to other such adventures with Kirk Ingram. And why not? I'm sure the guy is still "haunted" by his past! And there's obviously no dearth of organized crime in the world! (So what say, Mr. Misquita? Any plans of building a series on this one? [wink])
My rating: 4.5 out of 5. Highly recommended to all action-lovers.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for reviewing, but that has, in no way, affected my rating and opinions.
Here's more in Books.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Which Social Networking Platform Is For You?
There are so many social networking websites today that it becomes very confusing to decide what update to post on which site. I actually stopped using all of them finally, except Facebook! But, for those of you, who are still juggling your accounts on multiple social networking platforms, perhaps this flow chart will help you decide where to post your updates. All in good humor. :D
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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