An Old Samurai Saying

I was browsing through an old book when I came across an old Samurai saying which I thought I'd share here:

"No matter what it is, there is nothing you cannot overcome"

Hector Ruiz's father's advice

Just watched this video on TED. This is the first time I've heard Hector Ruiz, the head of AMD, and I like the way he talks about his two passions in life, children and education. In fact, his rise from modest beginnings reminded me of our very own Subroto Bagchi of MindTree Consulting.

I particularly liked the way he ended his speech by talking about how his father inspired him to constantly improve. He says his father used to tell him that for mankind to move ahead, every generation must do better than the previous one. So, when Hector went to college, his father advised him to do well. Later on in life, when he was getting married, his father reminded him of the old advice and told him that now he must be a better husband than what his father was. A few years down the line, when Hector became a dad, his dad just walked up to him and reminded him the same thing; that he must now become a better father than what his father was.

Simple, yet sagacious.

P.S. Kinda busy these days, so posts might be sporadic. I do plan to get regular in a few days and also plan to update the blogroll and the links on the right.

Dreams vs. Vision

Dream is what you see in your sleep.

Vision is when you wake up and attempt to make that dream a reality.

Bachelorhood Bliss

Bachelorhood bliss is cooking Maggi at 10 o' clock at night, while 'Yun Hi Chala Chal Raahi' is playing on the laptop and you know that you gotta sleep early since you've got office the next morning. :)

Rear Window (1954)

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) is a masterpiece. It tells the story of Jeffries, a photographer who has recently met with an accident and is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg. To overcome boredom, he keeps looking out of the rear window of his New York apartment from where he can observe the lives of the occupants of various houses. While keeping himself thus occupied, Jeffries gets convinced that the salesman living in the building across his apartment has murdered his nagging and bed-ridden wife. How Jeffries overcomes his own guilt of spying on unknown people and later how he convinces first his nurse, then his girlfriend and finally his detective buddy about the murder forms the rest of the story.

Most of the tension in the film is derived from the manner in which the film is shot. Hitchcock again makes the viewers feel claustrophobic by offering them more or less the same view that Jeffries has, i.e. of the apartment which he occupies and the view from the rear window of the apartment. Although the action does sometimes shift outside, the shots are still from inside the apartment, making the viewer see and feel almost exactly what Jeffries feels. (In my humble opinion, Hitchcock had used the same claustrophobic effect with more brilliance in his 1946 film Rope.) Towards the film's climax, one can almost feel the helplessness that Jeffries feels by being tied down to his wheelchair. Two scenes bring this out brilliantly. One, where Lisa, Jeffries' girlfriend is being attacked by the salesman and two, when the salesman comes to murder Jeffries himself.

James Stewart puts in a decent performance as Jeffries. Maybe it is just me, but somehow Jimmy Stewart has always had a very sophisticated air around him, something which just doesn't go with a rough-and-tumble character like Jeffries.

Thelma Ritter as Stella, Jeffries' nurse, has perhaps the best line in the film. "Intelligence?" she asks. "Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence." Ha ha. How true is that?

And then, there's Grace Kelly. ~sighs~ That, ladies and gentlemen, is classical beauty for you (Apart from Elizabeth Taylor in 1963's "Cleopatra" of course). When she walks out in front of James Stewart in this satin nightwear, she is the picture of grace, glamour, beauty and sensuality all rolled into one. She brings to life the character of a New York socialite who is excited about the prospect of running dangerous errands.

I loved the moral dilemma that Jeffries offers regarding voyeurism. Instantly addictive, voyeurism presents a dilemma for each one of us, especially when you're in a condition like the one Jeffries' finds himself in where you think you can actually help / do what is right by spying upon people.

All in all, one cool film.

My rating: 4 out of 5