Young sheldon

So those of you who are familiar with The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) must know the character Sheldon. Young Sheldon is a spin off. 

When I first started watching Young Sheldon some years back, I didn't like it. Then I started watching after a break... and this time found it interesting. I think it depends on what phase of life you are in, to enjoy / understand some things.

Some parts of the series is funny... but most of it puts me into deep thinking....

For example, Sheldon enters high school and is unable to understand that why some people don't follow the rules in the rule book. But the bigger problem is... when he complains about it, no one takes it seriously... He thinks it is the correct thing to follow the rule book. And those who don't follow it, have to be punished.... the pilot episode then unwinds, as he tries to fit in.

Many dialogues make you think ... how difficult things are in his perspective... and now, while watching TBBT, I am able to understand about why Sheldon is like that....

So what do you like watching? 

Musings of motherhood

Am back to blogging after a really long break.... I don't even know if anyone is blogging anymore, with the number of insta reels and YouTube shorts... I guess many prefer videos to express their views... but I find this comfortable....

I have just begun the journey of being a parent... My kids are about 6 years old and why do I say that I have just begun the journey ... why??? 

Now that kids are growing up and forming their personalities , I am able to understand that there is so much to learn .... and unlearn. Not just about kids ... about me...

So now I will be sharing my thoughts about how much I am changing and understanding myself and the world better... If you have reached till here, well, good luck and fasten your seat belts!!

I had a long journey waiting for kids...  almost 10 years. The phase that I was waiting for ... the cuddly, cute, singing lullabies phase got over about a 2 years back... my kids were about 4 years old when we were in their nighttime routine and I was singing some lullaby (which I thought was their favorite) and my daughter told me... "Amma, please don't sing. I want to sleep."

I had a mixed reaction to that. 

1. Shock... what!!????!!!

2. Happy... that my daughter is able to tell me what she wants

3. Sad... have I been torturing this poor soul with my songs all these years???

I remember this incident as it shook my beliefs on many levels... and also, I started to observe my kids and their opinions and realized so many things which I thought were important, were not... so many things which I thought were good, were not... in fact, what is good and bad... 

More in the next blog !!! Bye for now 😁

Fitness Blog

What is fitness? Everyone has their own definition. But everyone wants to be fit. Come new year and everyone wants to lose weight and transform into a new person. Loads of hoardings of gyms offering discounts. Some go to the extent of telling that you can pay "x" amount for losing "y" kgs. (Whew!!!) Losing weight without losing health is important. It is all about being healthy and fit with good stamina.

I started my fitness journey, the same way most of us do. I "had" to lose weight about 4 years back. So I joined a gym nearby for aerobics. Then I started doing strength training. The results were amazing. Over the last 4 years, I have gone to The Quad's fitness program, lots of aerobics and strength training classes at Fast Track. (I have had the wonderful opportunity of being trained by some great trainers, who have a no-nonsense approach to fitness.)

Fitness was no more just cardio and strength training when I wanted to lose weight. It became a daily activity, an investment for my health, thinking about what to eat, when to eat, what to do and importantly, what not to do in gym.

Now, after various sessions, once I have understood the workouts, going to gym is no more a burden. Working out is not a punishment. It is all about the feeling when I workout. The satisfaction when I complete. The perfection with which I do each rep, each set.

I would like to make you all a part of my fitness journey.

I just want to share my experiences and thoughts on fitness. So, I will be starting a separate blog . Right now am preparing some drafts and deciding on what to name my new blog.

Would like to have suggestions from you on the name of the blog and also on what type of content you would like to read (I am planning to focus on various workouts and do's and don'ts in gym)

Thanks :)





 

"Veeram"ana Pongal Vaazhuthukkal!

Well, it all started when we planned to go for a movie on Pongal!
Didn't have much to choose from... Jilla and Veeram... So, I thought it will be a better choice to go for Veeram... Well, I wont know if I was completely wrong before watching Jilla!

The movie has a standard story... Nothing more, nothing less. But it is the other things which made the difference. As usual, I saw before reading other reviews, so that I wont have any expectations about this.


Plus
Ajith ... only if you are his fan. Otherwise it is a minus... Because seeing him in different angles with the same expression becomes boring, after the first time.
Tamanna - She does not look very young (another way of saying that she is looking old!). This is a plus only because our hero does not like to colour his hair.
Santhaanam - After a series of flop movies and pathetic comedy track, the least I expected from him was to make me smile....But I had good laugh, thanks to him!

Minus
Ajith
Ajith's Hair - Oh please ! We don't want any explanation for his grey (or white hair). Atleast colour your hair while singing duet with Tamanna in exotic locations. She s looking like his daughter in those songs... Sample pic

Music - Usually, I like music by DSP. But this time, it was a big let down. Almost all the songs are so similar to his old songs... Nothing creative.
Length of the movie - This could have been reduced by one hour, atleast. I lost my patience in so many places. Too many lengthy fights(probably to justify the name)

Overall, a watchable movie , good entertainment here and there. Veeram... Konjam goram!




 

Happy "New" Year!

Starting with the wishes, crackers, expensive buffets, cultural programs, special TV shows... The list of how we welcome the new year is endless...

This year, we welcomed the new year at home... Just a quiet celebration with family . I decided to make some nice dinner at home and all of us were cooking together (even my nephew, Pranav was helping me !) It was fun to bond with everyone in a different way. Cooking, serving and eating dinner together... Then sometime spent chatting with them... Then wishing everyone...

I really enjoyed it. Much more than some times when we used to go out for the "special" new year buffet, in some nice hotels. Of course, "special" means just the usual fare.. except that it is twice(or thrice) more expensive and oh! the names of the dishes should be exotic (e.g. Paneer sabji sounds so boring.. How about Paneer Lajawaab or Paneer Nawaabi).

I was just wondering... why so much excitement during this ? WHY?

Probably...we are all just so excited by something new. New job, new dresses... etc...
(Maybe we would be excited about the new month, if it didn't occur so frequently!)

New year brings us so much to get excited about. Like the resolutions... (Oops!!)
So many people would have made resolutions. But the list will be almost the same every year (Obviously, because people would not have done anything...)

**Only for F.R.I.E.N.D.S fans....Remember, how in F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Rachel "keeps up" to the resolution of writing in diary. In fact, I don't remember any character who sticks to it... Joey never learnt to play Guitar, Monica never took photos, Chandler didn't stop teasing his friends, Ross didn't do a-new-thing-everyday and of course, Rachel didn't stop gossiping ....**

Probably, we are excited because we take it as a chance to turnover into a new leaf.
Probably, we think we will set all things right.
Probably, because we are happy about the next year, because, we don't know anything about it.
Probably, we think it as starting afresh... avoiding or, atleast try to avoid the mistakes.

There is so much positive energy around.

Finally, I realized, instead of wondering why we are happy, I would rather jump in and soak in the happiness... After all, is that not the most important thing in life??? Is that not what we all want??? Is that not why we all do what we do??? Just to be happy...

So, wishing you all a very Happy New Year! :)
 

Arrambam.... "thala" diwali to "thala vali" diwali!!

Expected a stylish flick with a decent storyline from VishnuVardhan

First half was ok.
I went to see this movie without reading reviews. So, the storyline was interestin.
The only unbearable feature being Taapsee Pannu... Yemma ponnu... yenna ma panreenga???? I think she s the upcoming Laila (loosu ponnu image) . Sema kodumai. Her accent, her voice, her acting ... thaangale!

First half raised the expectations for the second half.

Second half was too long.
Maybe it felt longer because of the stupid scenes and dumb story

Overall... rating 2.5/5

Plus
Ajith - For his acting ... stylish performance
Some scenes were good.

Minus
Ajith - Intha "salt-pepper" hairstyle with thoppai... Please boss....!
Story - very weak, lots of logical confusions esp towards the end
Taapsee (enough said)
Music - songs and BGM... a big letdown
Editing - Some scene lacked the flow... Like they cut abruptly. Also, length should have been reduced by atleast an hour
Comedy in serious scenes.

For example ...
Hacking the system of Swiss Bank was a piece of cake.... But hacking the system of a bank in Dubai... Oh Gawd!
Our Software geek, not only is able to find out that money has been transferred out of the Swiss bank, but also, is able to locate the account to which the money has been transferred.
To transfer the money... Both people should be in the same place. And , of course, the bank manager HAS to be there. Dont worry if he is some other new guy. Everyone believes a guy in suit and Ray Ban!
The time taken for money transfer is directly proportional to the amount that is being transferred!!
You can go to Dubai, hack the system, cheat a big shot there and kill lots of people... and just safely get back home in no time!! Yeppppudi??? (Antha ooru police yenna leave le poittangala???)

Lots more. But guess this is enough!
Looks like the director worked around the basic elements first and then found a story around it.
Like... Ajith, suits, sunglasses, arya, computer, nayanthara, guns, bank, money.... and ya, now we also need bike, car, boat chase... and hmmmm... ya, a foreign location... Ok... So, now we write a story around this!

Overall... Go if you like ajith... sorry... if you are a big time thala fan .... and dont expect anything else !

Onaayum Balakumaarum!!

Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum Vs Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara

First OA

It did not have most of the things that the usual masala stuff...
Almost for 70% of the movie, I was clueless about the story. But still, the screenplay was so nice and story was so gripping, that time just flew...

Great one by Mysskin.

I have liked his Anjaathey and Yutham Sei. But OA is just too good.

Plus
Mysskin - The actor and director
Shaji - Amazing acting. Just perfect for the role
Raja - Great BGM
Sri - Another good one from him, after "vazhakku yen 18/9"
Screenplay - Special mention , again for Mysskin for making an intense, gripping, no-nonsense movie... Keeping our interest for 3 hours is not an easy joke!!

Minus
Nothing about the movie...
This movie is not getting the attention it deserves.
Like all Mysskin s movies, I think this one will also not do too well ....
Guess,only "mokkai" movies will do well at the theatres...

Talking about mokkai... we come to IAB... the next movie
This was just what a movie should not be..

I don't remember the last time I saw a movie this bad...
It was just a big headache.

It starts with a hilarious track of Sumaar Moonji Kumar(Vijay Sethupathy).... Oh sorry, did I say hilarious? I meant supposed-to-be-hilarious.... Pasupathy, Robo Shankar and Pattimandram raja ... try to make this an ROFL comedy scene... But sathiyama solren, it only starts a headache... Lets say, this is level 1 headache....(1 being least)
Whenever Vijay Sethupathy says "Kumudha Happy", I wanted to scream... Not me!! Yennaala mudile...
I am not sure how irritated the heroine was... But the hero's tactics and idea of romance were just %^%O&*JHB%... Phew!!

Then, comes the track of Bala...
I don't know what was happening... but this seemed to be the longest movie . I thought they forgot to give a break during the interval... But no no no!!  This track with the bank and their lies... Just clueless about what is happening (Yenna da solla vareenga???) Headache reaches level 2

Now , we have a track happening in the bar... Nothing much to say about this except, headache level 3.

Now, comes the best ... chi chi... worst part... The one with painter rajendran... Aiyo aiyo... I was forced to bang my head against the wall...

I had so much hopes with this movie... I just wanted to laugh ... But no...It just kept getting worse... And now, we have this don's wife... Parotta Suri....Worshhhht track ever...  Now, headache reaches a level, which cannot be tracked!

The ending... speechless...

I found this in rediff review..
"Amidst all the fun and boozing, director Gokul has also cleverly managed to give an important social message through the film."

I was like... what???
Anyways, let me get to summarizing

Plus
You got to be kidding me

Minus
1. First, please don't make a crappy movie... and if you do, stop trying to become a hero by adding a social message, completely dumb... You make a movie, in which 90% of the characters drink booze 90% of the time and at the end, you say why people should not drink... What????

2.If you have a ten minutes script, please make a short film for "Naalaya Iyakkunar".Don't make it a 3 hours long movie. 

3. What is the story that is being told? The whole story line has so many characters .... Mokkai dialogues and irritating screenplay...

4. Someone needs to teach the director not to take any joke too far. Some scenes (I mean one or two) are hilarious for the first time. But you obviously cant laugh for the same joke when you hear it for the 5th time !!

5. Don't call this movie a comedy - in fact, don't call this a movie ....please!