Opportunities for introspection

I loved travel as a young adult. And by travel I don't mean going to new places that I've never been to, exploring cultures and all that good stuff. That is the essence of travel most people enjoy. What I enjoyed however was the journey to a destination. I have lived away from home since the age of 16, so I've done my fair share of travel. To me it represented idle time for contemplation. For catching up with friends, my own thoughts, jotting down ideas. I loved sitting by the window seat on the little red bus that took me from Chennai to Chittoor every Saturday morning. The morning breeze relieved my stress from hectic days working in IT and the freshness of the early mornings prompted positive thoughts inside my head. This would be the time I would think about my happiness, my well-being, my hobbies and what I'd do with my life. All these thoughts came to me in a not way that was not prompted or made-up. This is when I'd read a books that made me feel fulfilled. And the trip back to Chennai would be on Sundays and this is when I would catch up with friends. I'd call them and spend hours catching up.
As I write this blog I realize how I've always enjoyed traveling long hours on the road (preferably; we all know how annoying proximity with other people can be on airplanes). At the moment I'm sitting here in an airport looking out at the beautiful mountains in Phoenix and it only brings positive thoughts to my mind. This is the first trip away from kiddo...and she has done a fantastic job. All thanks to the hubby and how well he keeps her engaged. So proud of him and so lucky to be married to a guy like him. 
Here's hoping to more long drives on road...may be one in Winter.

Book Review :: 1984

A big difference between books and movies is that books often times get recognition much later in time. Movies, however, rarely get delayed recognition. The feedback on them is instantaneous. They are a success or flop or cult favorite - all within a week or month of  the release. Despite this difference, both have something in common - revival. Sort of a second life when contemporary life makes the older book or film relevant and hence worth indulging in, again. '1984' is one such example. 

If you followed the news late January / early February you know that 1984 is seeing somewhat of a revival. It was the #1 most selling book on amazon for one week towards the end of January. Having never read the book I decided to pick it up. I thought, reading someone's coherent thoughts on a dark political situation was going to be more enlightening thank reading people's frustrations on social media. So I looked it up on the library website and there were copies available - I put one on hold and picked it up the next day. 

Orwell most likely took inspiration from the question of what would happen if the outcome of WWII was different. He chose to picture the world as 3 segregated political states each under dictatorship. In '1984' Democracy is non-existent. Freedom is only perceived and is fleeting. History is manipulated to suit current needs. There is no 'family'. Sex is only for procreation. There is only one loyalty, loyalty to the party. 

In this dark and grim world, he builds a couple of complex characters - in Winston and O'Brian. He uses these to play with omnipresent, timeless ideas such as the 3 class system ( the low, the middle and the high), corruption, freedom. There is corruption of the soul, torture of the physique and decay of the human spirit. The book successfully shows that even the strongest of human spirits can be broken, albeit slowly and persistently.  

I appreciated the variations of loyalty shown across generations. Winston, having lived through a free world during his childhood has seen how free one really can be. He clings to whatever memories he has of those times and they keep him alive and hopeful. They even continue to fuel his silent revolution. On the other hand Julia, who was born much later and in the newly formed state of Oceania, understands the idea of freedom, but never expects it to within her reach. She has no hope of it. So she chooses to play with the system. For her there is no ideology, there is only individual interest translated to corruption. She openly defends the party all the while cheating on its ideologies. And then there is the lost cause of the youngest born into a well established party philosophy. This generation, depicted in the kids of Winston’s neighbors, is completely brainwashed …rather their minds have been fabricated, to make believe that everyone is capable of becoming a traitor and we need to watch out for the party.

To me, the most important theme of the book is individuality. I found this a bit similar to Ayn Rand’s view of individualism. The difference though is Rand’s books have heroes who overcome adversities and thrive; they succeed. But Orwell’s book is too pessimistic, (...or it closer to reality?). There are no heroes in 1984. Here’s to hoping that there are some in real world. 

Vacation reflections

Exactly a week ago, the winter break ended. As a working adult I feel privileged to have this 'break' in winter. My employer shutsdown for a good one week between Christmas and New Year and normally we take a trip to India meeting family. This year we decided to do the trip early and chill at home over the winter break. And this has been one of the best decisions in past several months !

I decided to completely unplug from work ( have had a hectic past 3 months and needed a clean r n r to rejuvenate). So I set-up an OOO and moved onto setting up a personal to-do list. I manged to complete over two thirds of the to-dos all the while taking time out to get back to reading and tv. No, no this wasn't the mindless TV watching at the end of a routine day - this was deliberate, considered choices of movies and books.

I read 'Still Alice' by Lisa Genova. I have not watched the movie and the book thus maintained an unfamiliarity that was enough to sustain my interest. The story gives a rare first-hand look into being a patient of mental illness. The story is so detailed into the science and so true to what the person going through the situation is feeling like it almost makes me wonder if the author is in Alice's head. It feels like this can't be fiction.  Loved the book and all the characters - Alice,
her husband and of course her actress daughter. I have decided not to spoil it for me by watching the movie. Not yet, anyway.

Hell or high water - Having just taken a road trip across the entire West Texas area, watching this movie was looking at people I recently got acquainted with. It was tremendous acting all of by the lead characters, especially Ben Foster. This neo-wild wild west story is true to to the spirit of all those heart-wrenching westerns that appealed to the male and female emotions of audiences. Highly recommend this film to serious audiences. These are the kinds of movies we need to see more - ones that deal with real people. I am sick of the science fictions and action thrillers. Bring on the story people !

I didn't want to watch Fuller House S2 until after Thanksgiving, so did that during Christmas time. The first seasons was a bit cheesy, but I loved this second season. While I did enjoy the nostalgia and throwback scenes, I  thinks what will make the series stand on its own again , and not just as a re-union one-off, is to carry on those themes of developing honest kids and what goes into it. In this time of social media and narcissistic crazines our kids can really use that. Even adults can.

Lastly, I tried Game of Thrones. I guess I am late to the game, but gotta admit I am happy being late. It did not look like I've missed out on a lot. I really don't understand why people are so ga-ga for GoT. Yes, there are some really good characters, but I've seen better. And the excess violence is too much of a bargain for a select scenes. The story itself is soooo slow! I frankly feel that shows like The Tudors, The Whtie Queen have done so much better in carrying on plots and plots of royal carnage and politics. And they did not need a dragon to make it that interesting. I watched until mid Season 3 and I'm never going back.  I'd rather read the books.

That is the resolution, for 2017, read more books - more than 2016 at least.