Monday 31 December 2012

Happy new year!

2013 is here!! The apocalypse failed!! I guess this time I better stick to my resolutions!

Not aiming high. Just want to keep on writing.

Happy blogging! And a happy new year to all!

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Digital Art

sketch by namita_kumar
sketch, a photo by namita_kumar on Flickr.
A sketch I created using the sketchbook app in Samsung Galaxy note2. It is the same app I used i to create the images in the-art-of-doodling and my-first-try-at-digital-art. The only difference is that this time I had the help of a stylus.

Friday 7 December 2012

Predictability

Ever wish life was predictable? Sure you have! Well I just thought of way of making predictability plausible!

Oh I really do hope I didn't get your hopes up. My justification is hypothetical and involves amateurish science. Here I go.

Anyone who attended highschool would know a bit of science. They might not remember or even have understood most of it. But they will have some idea regarding it. In layman's terms science involves the study of us and our surroundings. Now, this study helps us understand how objects react to changes. Once we've got that figured out, its easy to predict what change would occur in an object when subjected to that change.

For instance, an object at a particular height will fall under the force of gravity if not supported sufficiently. If it were to fall, we can predict its position from the ground at each instant by our basic laws of physics. Isaac newton discovered the phenomenon of gravity. On further study of objects under free fall, he came up with laws that govern the action of gravity on bodies. These laws helps us predict certain things.

Let me take up another branch. Chemistry is full of chemical reactions. These reactions were put together on study of components under different conditions. During any reaction, we can predict the state of the reaction, temperature, the phases present, the composition of the components in the reaction.

Its clear that due to our extensive study, we can predict certain things in a chemical reaction. Now let's apply it to a larger scale. The universe began with the big bang. The big bang is nothing but a chemical reaction. So, in other words, everything in this universe is a chemical reaction. Even the lives we lead are chemical reactions. So, if were able to study the entire universe, we'd be able to predict its characteristics at every instant just like we do in chemistry. Ergo, we'd be able to predict our lives.

What I've said till now is only hypothetical. In our chemistry labs, we can entirely study a reaction only after its completion or on reaching a steady state. The universe is vast and is still growing. Life on earth is still developing. Since the universe is no where near a steady state or completion, we cannot conduct a complete study about. Hence making life unpredictable.

Maybe one day we will be able to predict life. "The theory of everything" which many scientists including Stephen Hawking are working on might actually succeed in doing so. It would be marvellous if we new what the future held!

But think about it. If life were to be predictable, we'd be able to lead an idle life. We could avoid mistakes and there would be only success. Basically it would be a roller coaster that just kept climbing up. Now, where is then fun in that? I might want to predict what will happen in my life. But I want it only by a wee bit.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

007

"The name is bond, James bond"
I have lost count of the number of times I have repeated the dialogue. Most of the times trying to modify it to fit my name. "The name is Kumar, Namita Kumar". Sounds wrong, doesn't it?
Along with that dialogue, the bond series brought along with it other epic lines like the "License to kill" or one of my favorites "Vodka martini, shaken not stirred".

I guess there no longer exists a need for me to specify that I am a bond fan! Everyone has a favorite when it comes to a bond, mine being Sean Connery. Connery brought the entire package. He had the charm, the looks, the slight humour. In other words, he was the perfect choice to be the first Bond. He allowed us to visualise Bond to be the most ultimate spy.

Apart from Connery, I loved Roger Moore's version of Bond. No other bond could match up to him when it came to the subtle sarcastic comments. Most of my friends prefer Pierce Brosnan. According to me, he failed in bringing something new to the character. But he did manage to reinstate the touch of Scottish accent in Bond's speech.

 Finally there is, Daniel Craig who is considered by many to be a disappointment to the role of bond. He lacked the dashing looks and the flair to carry out the role. Also his movies were considered to be boring and lacking the qualities that made Bond films what they are. This is where my opinion differs from those of my friends.

I believe Daniel Craig was chosen with an initiative to show the vulnerable side of bond. As much as we'd like to believe against it, Bond is human. His debut as Bond was in Casino royale. Bond falls in love, something we haven't seen since Lazenby's "On her majesty's secret service". Who would have pegged bond to be willing to give up his career and settle down. The second, Quantum of Solace focused on Bond's hurting, which I agree was a snoozer.

I understand that its a bit to late to give my review on the latest Skyfall, since most of you would have already read reviews or written some of your own. But, I just had to voice out my take on it. Just a few words.

While watching skyfall you need to take into consideration two critical points. The first, this is the end of Daniel Craig series. So it is only apt to make this movie a bit more dramatic by having Bond return to his home in Scotland. It is the only way to tie up all the loose ends created in the first two Craig films. The second, this was the last movie we got to see Judi Dench as M. In other words it was an end to an era. This justifies the dramatics involved in the film. Taking in the two points made above, it makes sense that the movie focussed on Bond's childhood insecurities and the relationship between M and Bond. One thing I'd to applaud them on, is how they gave us an insight into the new Q without the showy equipments. Also the introduction of Ralph Fiennes as the new M did get me excited. Another thing that I liked about the movie was, the subtle manner in which they managed to explain the story of Ms.Moneypenny. I couldn't come up with it in any better way. It was unexpected and innovative!

Hopefully the next bond movie will be better. Maybe we might be in for a classic Bond movie because by the looks of it, they are starting over. New characters like the young and quizzical Q, Ralph Fiennes as the new M, and not to mention a new Bond leave me wondering about the new series. And maybe just maybe we might get to see a younger bond, combining the accent and the acting skills of Sean Connery, the looks of Timothy Dalton and the wit of Roger Moore!