Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Time to brag.... Oh yeah!



Hey people!!! I almost forgot, that 'Phantom Star..." that i mentioned last post... well here it is!
I made it from scratch!!! (i.e, from a blank canvas without using anything else except basic photoshop tools and filters) Would love to hear what you think about it!!! And if you think anything looks outta place or could be better, please tell...

Monday, June 25, 2007

Anime - Janani!!! This time, its personal!

The Scene - House, 9.00 PM. I'm clearing the dishes after dinner, Dad's on the phone and Jan's on Orkut. The sweet sound of wailing fills the air as the daily sob show continues on 'Kolangal'. Abhi says 3 dialogues 3! ways and 'Thols' replies to all of them with a grunt. In short, a typical night at F6, MJ. Right?

Wrong.

"Sharuuuuuu!!! That thingy you made in your photoshopingy totally rocks da"
"Enna?"
"That last photo in your album! That AMINE inspired stuff"

The last microwaveable container with the sorry remnants of yesterday's food fell SPLAT on the ground. Dad shouted on his phone. Abhi slaps Aadi in Koolangal. Desi-heavy metal fills the air. I open my eyes, and strangely, everything looks red.

"ENNA?"
"Adhaan da... that 'Phantom star..."... you only said it was Amine inspired no!'
"Its ANIME. AN - E - MAY! You nerd! Dont you ever stop nerding! Cha!"

I snapped. The neighbour dropped his cup of coffee. The baby downstairs starts wailing. Kolangal's music reaches a Cresendo as Abhi FINALLY reaches the top of that flight of stairs she started climbing ten minutes ago. Dad smashes down the phone on his office people.

"Ya whatever. It looks good!"

At around this time, i figured out that the red colour from my eyes had lowered itself quite graciously to my nose, and was now trickling out and falling on the ground with a steady 'SPLOTCH SPLOTCH'

Okay... enough exaggerations. Forgive me, but Mom always says i talk in hyperboles and circles. And go off on a tanget sometimes... Quite the Con(ic) artist me, eh?

So here's wat bugged me about wat Jan said.

1. She mispronounced a word. I hate that happening. Especially if i like the word.
2. She dragged a chemistry related term into a conversation with ME.
3. The word is Anime.

You see... i think most people dont realise what Anime stands for. This bugs me. I hate people calling it 'Cartoon'. I hate people saying 'Tsk tsk' at the violence. I hate people exclaiming at the mild sexuality. I hate it sooo much that when I'm watching anime, i lock myself up, put on headphones and switch off my cell.

There's more to anime than violence and protagonsists who look cool and say corny one liners. And no, its not just a cartoon either. Anime is perhaps the ONLY... yes ONLY 'Cartoon' which puts so much emphasis on characters, their lives, and their relationships with other characters. It's not just goodguys saving the world. It's how they save it and who they save it for. In that regard anime is a perfect caricature of the real world.

It teaches morality, perseverence and the importance of competition... why Naruto wants to be Hokage even when he's being battered into the ground by a third grade ninja.

It teaches you why sacrifice is a part of life... why Ed is ready to go to the Gate if it means Al gets his body back.

It teaches you teamwork - why Goku defeats EACH enemy worth mentioning with a 'Spirit Bomb', 'Super Spirit Bomb' or 'Ultimate Spirit Bomb'.

Importantly, it teaches you to toughen up and be content with wat you have... because at the end, all animes have to end. *cries*

So basically... Never dismiss anime as a violent cartoon... or else...

Or else wat? I have to sit here and crib about it while you ppl sleep peacefully... which reminds me... now where was that rubber cockroach... oh jannuuuuu....

Hehehe... later!

*Around five minutes after this post, jan wakes up screaming and sharu goes to bed grinning. You figure out the rest*

My Life - Part 1 - Retrospection

Hola everyone... Life is boring and thats about the right time to take out old photo albums gathering dust and relive those special moments.

Good... now that I've given you a perfectly corny intro to the post, lets get down to business...

You would think that in 17 years on this planet, I have something of note to say about life, some special memories. I do... and today reminded me how much. Chuck that opening line about boredom and photo albums... this post is inspired by the building next door.

Mandaveli, and Chennai in general, has fallen prey to that bane of comfort and peace in all 'homely' localities - the Apartment Complex. Big words, you would think, for a guy who's lived in apartments for as long as he remembers... but 'it is but the truth' ;). I looked outta my window today... and BAM, there's this complex that didnt exis the last time i looked! This of course, set off a train of thought, as Holmes would say, that crashed right into 'Shreyas'.

No no no no, 'Shreyas' isn't a guy... or a gal... or even human. It is... or was... my grandfather's house. In Nanganallur... *Thats on the way to the airport...* That's where I literally grew up... and the birthplace of both my greatest passion and my greatest fear.

Life in 'Shreyas' was fun... here Sharu's playground wasnt two sides of a garage gate or a strip of cement in a basement... it was 1/5 th of two grounds of trees, flowers, lush (yes, LUSH) grass and carepeted halls that could house a small army. Not to mention a dog, the complete collection of 'Asterix' Comics and the best masala dosais ever. You're probably wondering about the 1/5th part. That's because i had 4 other people to actually spend time with... yes, four. And yes, the entire day. And no, I'm not lying.

It was in this place.... nay this veritable heaven on earth, that i blissfully playeed, laughed, cried, threw tantrums and got my first computer lesson. This was where i felt the thrill on absolute control and esctasy when you first play 'blocks' (tetris for the snobs out there). This was where i learnt why you typed in strange stuff like "cd games | dir *.exe /p | cd.."... and this was where i learnt that no code is without logic and no logic exists without intrinsic code. In short, this was where I first touched part of the growing universe that Computer Engineering had become... and i was hooked. Instantly.

It was also in this place that I learnt how scary it is to feel ignored. You see... when there are 8 people inhabiting that aforementioned world called 'Shreyas', try as they might not even the kindest grandma or the most loving mother can look after you all the time. I can remember many occasions when a simple 'Later' or 'Dont disturb now' would send me into the depths of depression... when i would think 'To hell with everyone' and go sit all alone in the unused rooom on the first floor reading 'Asterix' and vowing never to speak to anyone again. Ahh yes... at the tender age of 8...

Today 'Shreyas' is no more... in the place where that grand old building, the garage, the kennel, the 'Computer Room' and the 'Lawn' stood, there are now apartment blocks A, B, C, D and E+F respectively. I havent gone that way after Thaatha moved out... have never taken that flooded subway or the railway crossing of infinite tantrums. I have not gone to see these testaments to 'India Booming', nor have i gone to see the spanking new roads built on the pathways that my Thaatha helped carve. I have yet to see the 'souped up' well, which can supposedly supply water to all the residents of the complex. I have not seen all this for a simple reason. It would be too painful.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Hi...

*Mike testing 1 2 3.... *
*Good to go sir... you're online*
*Clears Throat*

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

*Egg lands squarely on face*

Oh wat the hell... chuck the glorious eloquent stuff... i'll have lots of time to kill you people with that later... anyway first meetings warrant introductions... so lets begin. I'm Sharu... the guy who started this blog and God of this humble piece of virtual (fourth) estate. And you, dear readers, are my dear readers.

*Like they didnt know that... Sheesh you are SOOOO corny!!!*

You're probably wondering what the deal is... And after scrolling up to check the title of the blog which you were nice enough to miss earlier, you're thinking, "What kind of a psychopath is this guy???".

Sorry to disappoint you... I'm just another ordinary guy with an ordinary life bodering on the wrong side of mundane. But wait... what happens in my life may be ordinary, but my take on it isn't... so thats what this is all about... I take anything from my life, and start off on a tangent from there....

*Okay people, this is yor cue to evacuate the place... MOVE IT!!!!*

You're probably wondering who that guy is.... lets just say its my alter ego... he'll be performing the highly valued and sought after role of snubbing me every few lines...

*Muwahahaahahahahahaha... Now they'll like me more than you*

Err.... Whatever... Anyways... Enjoy yourselves here... Can't guarentee you the most educative or language rich blog on the net... but i CAN guarentee you an honest, cynical and at times hilarious look at life... because thats how i live it....

Ciao!
*Ciao... Sheesh wat a dork...later!*