I just survived an accident :(

This incident...er...accident happened on September 6th @ 4:40 p.m. There were 3 lanes and I was driving on the extreme left lane. All of a sudden the car in front of me swerved to the right lane which surprised me and the next thing I saw something rolling down the road from the middle lane which is nothing unusual coz there have been instances when some plastic sheets/paper/ etc...gets strewn on the road.

I slowed down a bit and on closer examination of the rolling down object I realized that it was made of metal and it was huge. I imagined the worst if my car would have run over the object. I thought of changing the lane but the speed of the car and the fact that the road was a bit sloped meant that the object would have ended up in my lane anyway and I was right. I was 10 ft away from the rolling object when I quickly slammed the brakes and was just about to heave a sigh of relief when my car got hit from behind by another car. The impact was such that my car shook and I imagined the back of my car to be a mess. I got down from my car to assess the damage when the driver of the other car requested me to pull over. Luckily for my car, the bumper took the maximum impact along with one of the car exhaust. The vehicle behind me was badly damaged as can be seen in the pictures.

It's puzzling that even though there were two passengers in the car which hit my car, the airbags didn't get deployed.

We called the cops and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrived after an hour's delay and took down the details.

The driver of the car which hit my vehicle from behind was a middle aged guy who accepted his fault, profusely apologized to me and gave his insurance details. He was surprised that his car didn't stop even though he had applied the brakes and there was sufficient distance. He praised my vehicle as a well built car which withstood the impact of the crash. He said that it was his first accident in 35 years. I felt sorry for the guy but the fact is that I was not at fault and as the CHP officer stated that it's the California State Law when a car in the front stops, the car behind must come to a complete halt.

I am proud of my car and happy that I was not hurt in what could have been a life threatening accident but at the same time sad that my car which was nearing it's 2nd anniversary got hit :(

Lessons from this incident:
- Always wear seatbelts. They save lives.
- Keep a safe following distance while driving.

The wolf of the wall street

A new post for the new year :) The movie's tagline says it all "Naked women, Naked greed". The last movie directed by Martin Scorsese I had watched was "The Departed". It was beautifully made with excellent performances. I was expecting the same from "The Wolf of Wall Street" and the movie doesn't let you down. Based on a true story, Leonardo Di Caprio playing the character of Jordan Belfort slips effortlessly into the shoes and deserves an oscar nomination. Like the principal character, the movie was a roller coaster ride high on drugs.

What surprised me was the liberal dose of sex and expletives. Some women in the audience just got up and left. I guess it was too much even for them. As one of my friends had mentioned, the movie definitely isn't for family audiences rather I would suggest it's for mature audience :) (References: https://www.google.com/search?q=wolf+of+wall+street+images&)

The miracle thumb drive

Our fear about most of the electronic gadgets that we use is for example: What will happen if the cellphone or any device for that matter comes in contact with water? The best result one could hope in such situations is to get the device serviced and restore it to it's near original state or the worst one could imagine is to write the obituary of the device.

I have one such story to narrate. This is the story of my red coloured thumb drive. The drive had precious data saved on it. During my usual weekly routine of laundry when I came back to collect my clothes, I could hear some noise when taking out my clothes. On closer inspection of the dryer, I was shocked to see my thumb drive.

My mind went blank thinking about the precious data on the thumb drive. On reaching home, with a prayer on my lips when I plugged the thumb drive into my notebook pc and tried to access my file(s), much to my relief and delight the file(s) were still intact. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief considering the pounding the thumb drive took after being washed. It's nothing short of a miracle that the thumb drive managed to withstand the intense heat in the dryer. Truly it's a miracle thumb drive :)

D-Day

Kal Ho Na Ho, Nikhil Advani's debut movie as a Director gave him a lot of critical acclaim. It also remains one of my favorites. However as we all know when you exceed expectations with your debut movie be it as a director or an actor the bar is set that much higher for your next assignment. With Nikhil Advani whose major forte was movies with romance and a lot of family drama unfortunately from my view point it didn't work out. Movies like Chandni Chowk To China were slammed by the critics and was a disaster at the box office. I liked Patiala House which was a shade better.

Anyway coming to the point, what I mentioned above could have colored anyone's opinion about a particular director. As usual before going for a movie when I googled to see the reviews for D-day, the ratings were mixed. However what tickled my curiousity was Nikhil Advani directing a movie about India's dreaded gangster and the most wanted terrorist who is on Interpol's Red Corner Notice. So when I went to the watch the movie D-Day, the expectations were minimal.

I reached the theatre a bit late and was cursing myself for having missed the initial 5 minutes of the movie however when I settled in my seat, I realized that thankfully I didn't miss much.

The verdict? Nikhil Advani comes up with a winner. The movie didn't have a Salman Khan or an Aamir Khan to carry the movie on their shoulders. What works for the movie is the taut screenplay, editing, script, good casting and impressive performances by lead and supporting actors. The action scenes are credible, songs are situation specific and do not act as speedbreakers.

What caught my eye was the depiction of cities in Pakistan. Take for instance Karachi, while it's anybody's guess whether Pakistan would ever give permission to shoot a movie about their special guest, I was surprised to see in the film credits that most of the scenes were shot in Gujarat.

It's the familiar story of Inter Services Intelligence (Pakistan) and Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). This has been dealt with in the recent movie Ek Tha Tiger. What makes the D-day watchable is the director's ability to narrate the story without being overtly jingoistic. The movie depicts characters across both sides of the border, good and bad. Take for instance, the RAW chief Ashwini Rao (Nasser) who has his own intra-department rivalries to tackle or the Pakistani Army General Raza(A K Raina) who is not happy with the special treatment given to Goldman (Rishi Kapoor). The opponent i.e. ISI is shown to be extremely shrewd and ready to capitalize on the mistakes made by the RAW agents. Tension builds as the movie nears the 2nd half. You're virtually on the edge of your seat agonizing whether the mission would succeed or fail. The twist in the tale is in the climax.

Personally my view is that the movie belongs to Irrfan Khan (Wali Khan) and Rishi Kapoor (Goldman). Wali Khan is the RAW agent who has made Pakistan his home for the past 9 years. The movie shows Wali Khan's vulnerability when he is torn between the affection towards his family or the loyalty towards his country. Rishi Kapoor (funnily named Goldman) reprises his baddie role after his last outing as Rauf Lala in Agneepath. His was a strong negative character in the movie Agneepath and he betters it in the movie D-day playing the dreaded gangster. I have not seen the real Dawood but Rishi Kapoor's makeup and his mannerisms make him a close match to the dreaded gangster. I liked the dialogue "trigger keech mamla mat keech" translated in English "Pull the trigger but don't stretch the matter".

Nasser who is quite popular down south plays the role of RAW chief admirably and so does his counterpart A K Raina as General Raza. Other notable performances include Arjun Rampal (Captain Rudra Pratap Singh), Huma Qureshi (Zoya Rehman), Shruti Hassan (as Suraiya the prostitute with a golden heart), Aakash Daahiya( Aslam), Shriswara (Nafisa,Wali Khan's wife) and a host of other characters. The movie is replete with references to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, 2001 Parliament attack and the 26/11 attacks. There is also comic relief when someone whispers in the Prime Minister's ear about the call from "Madam" (an obvious reference to Congress President Sonia Gandhi) which sent the audience into peals of laughter.

Stories about Dawood Ibrahim have long been the staple of media in India and Pakistan. It's been the dream of government, law enforcement/intelligence agencies in India to get their hands on Dawood but with not so encouraging or rather dismal results. This might be wishful thinking but our government should take a leaf out of this movie and end its hunt for the elusive treasure of gold...man...aka Dawood :)

(Image courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D-DayPoster.jpg)

A weekend to remember...

It was a long weekend that I won't forget in a hurry. Monday being a holiday on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, I had planned a short trip to South Lake Tahoe just to see the snow.

I did remember the last time I made the trip to South Lake Tahoe however that was in summer. I found a parking spot for my car in the public parking lot. The weather then was clear and the lake was blue. It was a carnival like atmosphere with a music band playing.

Cut to the present, there was a chilly breeze blowing across and the steps towards the lake was covered with snow. Mom was a bit adventurous as she climbed down the frozen steps gingerly holding onto the railing however as she was about to get down the last step, she slipped and sprained her arm. Ditto with dad who slipped when trying to cross the road. The cold weather proved too much for them and we had to beat a hasty retreat after spending just an hour. What transpired then was something which I hadn't dreamt of. I went to the parking lot to find my car missing. What I did remember was that I had parked in front of a restaurant.

It left me feeling giddy and I started imagining the worst and berated myself for starting the new year on a bad note. On seeing the tow-away and no-parking signage(s) I started getting tense.I went inside the restaurant and inquired with the restaurant staff whether they had seen a car being towed away. They replied, they weren't sure but guided me by saying that there is a number for the towing agency behind the restaurant.

I called up the number and the lady on the phone asked me about the car make and the registration number to which I responded. She said that there is no such car with them. That made me even more tense. My parents were equally worried and mom was literally in tears. I then called up 911. The emergency operator asked me whether the car was stolen or towed away to which I replied I wasn't sure. She said that an officer was on the way.

My heart skipped a beat and I started wondering what happened to my brand new Nissan Altima if it was towed or how come the much vaunted intelligent key system couldn't stop the theft if it was stolen. Then somehow deep within, my instincts told me to walk further. By force of habit I always park my car with rear facing the front. As I started walking, I could see the alloy wheels and the white hood of my car and boy there was such a huge relief on my face. I immediately called 911 and informed the operator that I found my car. There was a big sigh of relief and also joy on our faces however next time I would make it sure that I park my car in a legally permitted spot and not take short cuts. Lesson learnt :) When I returned to work the next day and narrated my story at the team meeting, my boss and other team members couldn't stop laughing their hearts out :)

4 more years...

Rewind 4 years earlier...it was a historic occasion when Barack Hussein Obama swept to victory as the first african american President of the United States. Fast forward to November 6th 2012, Obama is once again the toast of the nation and the world by securing a second term.

When Obama began his first term as the President of the United States he symbolized hope and the harbinger of real change. He did accomplish some major success like his pet healthcare reform which mandates insurance for all americans, bailing out the auto industry which helped save 150000 jobs in Ohio and neutralizing the threat of Osama Bin Laden. However his first term also meant a lot of unkept promises like the closure of Guantanamo bay where terror suspects are held without trial. Personally I have been disappointed with the continuing tirade by Obama and his administration against outsourcing of jobs to countries like India and China.

Agreed that the unemployment rate is high and a weak economy isn't helping but making the villains out of countries like India and China isn't going to solve the problem. U.S must solve its fiscal deficit, avoid getting involved in unnecessary wars, refocus on education, reform immigration and encourage innovation.

Coming back to the election, Obama has mastered the art of getting the non-white voters and the women to strongly back him. Is there a lesson in this for the grand old republican party? For starters, the grand old party should take a leaf out of Obama's book and start focusing on the changing demographics. In the coming years, the United States will see a sharply rising demographic trend of ethnic minorities of african americans, hispanics, asians and of course young men and women. It's this ethnic bloc which has delivered the numbers for Obama.

The republican party which still banks on the dwindling white voter should seriously introspect and undergo a major overhaul if it really fancies itself of having another shot at capturing the white house. If it would have been someone else the 47% comment would have sunk their chances but Mitt Romney miraculously survived. Also comments from Romney's republican party contenders about rape didn't go down well with voters especially women. Romney's 47% comment sent a message to the voters that here was a person who belongs to the elite club and who didn't care about the poor and the marginalized sections of the society whereas the perception of Obama was that he was one of their own man in the white house who came up the hard way.

Honestly speaking Obama looked good because the opposition to him was weak. Obama was hardly in trouble except for the bounce which Romney gained after the first presidential debate. However Obama had the last laugh when he fought back tenaciously in the second and third debate.

Obama winning 332 of the 538 electoral votes is pretty impressive but he will also be mindful of the fact that it was a mere 1% difference in popular votes between him and Romney.

Congratulations to Obama for defying history and convention by winning the presidential election with an unemployment rate of 7.9% and beating all odds even though his republican rival had outspent him.However Obama is pretty much aware of the challenges that lie ahead due to the divided congress.

On a lighter note, I couldn't help but laugh seeing the animated cartoon of the democratic elephant and the republican donkey fighting each other on the comedy central channel. The elephant is so exhausted beating the crap out of the donkey that it's huffing and puffing for breath. In the end, both collapse to the floor :)

(Image courtesy: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0881985.html) (Image courtesy:http://hotbedinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Romney-Obama.jpg)
(References: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Americas-ethnic-makeover-routs-Mitt-Romney/articleshow/17135097.cms)

Ice and coffee