Something

I have loved the Beatles for the last 25 years!!!

They just have some of the most singable songs out there.  Some of my favorites memories are from being in a car belting out the numbers with my sisters with the windows open ( this was pre-air-conditioners in cars!)

A lot of their numbers are fast but some of my favorite are the slow ones

This is one- Something

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX92FJ-lwXI

It is just so true - when you like/ love someone - you don't know why - it's just "Somethng"

When I think about it - what is love? ( will not give the reference of the song by Haddaway - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1I

- here J )

It definitely has attraction but is it physical or mental?

Does it have be both or can it be either/or?

Some movies, books about people corresponding through letters - is that also true love? Is there something like true love or is it only true till it lasts?

Does it last?

( Again- no reference to Righteous Brother's - You’ve lost that lovin' feeling- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTvU3BELZEo

here J)

Much like the moon does it wax and wane?

So there have been these really interesting studies - heres one from Ted talks (I LOVE Ted talks)

http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html

So here they scan brains in love - they are seriously different from Normal functioning brains - so we do know it's true- that your brain is changed

It's also true that most couples don't retain that state of brain into the relationship - the beginning is always way more euphoric and frankly it's like a brain addicted!!!

But this study actually shows a couple of couples ( do pardon the pun) who have that feeling even after 25 years together!

Here is an image about it

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=your-brain-in-love-graphsci

Who doesn't love the idea of love? Or being in love? I do however think it is way over emphasized in the culture now a days - I mean the love between couples. Love as a whole can never be over emphasized - it covers way too much - feeling for parents, kids, family, friends, activities etc etc etc etc

I think doing the right thing - whatever it means for you - is important too. 

Nobody else can decide for us what we think is the right thing as it will always be different for different people. 

And sometimes what may appear to be the right thing isn't and vice versa.

Where do you draw the line between finding happiness and doing right by yourself and providing happiness and doing right by others?

All so deep and confusing !

Will leave you here - hopefully ponderous. 

Fables (and Manga)

Fables

This is pretty much comics part deux. My favorite comic series are the Fables by Bill Willingham ( one of the best Comic creators- ever!!). 

The premise is basically that some characters from our favorite fairy tales like snow white etc have been in exile from fable land since the 1700s and have been living in new York since. In plain sight but disguised among us non magical non fable Mundy's (A bit like Once Upon a Time- but totally different- WAY better)
At war with the guy who exiled them. Super super fun and frankly it is FABULOUS!!!
Some of the main characters are of all the options -  the big bad wolf and snow white for two!!,

I really am not doing justice to the series - but try them!

When I think about it - I think it's so great that people can make a good livelihood doing something like this - writing and illustrating Comics. How and when did it occur to them to choose this as a profession?

Coming from India I was actually quite limited in my thoughts. Saw only the standard options. I'm sure if I had thought of something cool I could have pursued it but coming from where I did - it just didn't occur

I think that's one great thing about the USA- You can seriously pretty much follow your dreams and if you are good in whatever it is that you are pursuing you  can make a living off it.

Also in the USA though there is a lot of materialism there are SOOOOOOO many people who have options and still pursue career choices that will never make lots and lots of money - like teaching kids, or social work etc.  But I know so many wonderful people who have done just this and so well!!

I find that a lot of people in the USA really get passionate about what they like and really follow it- like running, crafts or whatever it is. One way of gauging if a society is like this to see the number of specialty stores they have and the USA have them in all genres!

Another society like this is the Japanese. 

So a lot of my exposure to the Japanese society is through their ...............     COMICS!!!

Japanese comics are called Manga. Now a lot of people associate manga with porn. While some of it is (because it can be sold with less restrictions as it drawn and not photos) - most of it is not. There are many many genres within manga called Shonen, Shoujo etc etc aimed from Pre teens to teens to grown men and women. 

Some of my favorites have been (They have mostly had Anime and Movies made from them) I actually really dislike Anime- the voices are so squeaky and the movements so jerky- it sort of takes the coolness out of the story. I won't even get into Cosplay and all the other things that have come out of Manga!!

Nana- meant for grown women - about a rock band

Nodame Cantible- meant of teenagers. About classical music and a prodigy 

Skip Beat- meant for tweens - about this girl who gets into acting to win the love of her life- or so she thought.

One Piece- for pre-teen tween boys - about - what else - pirates! Yo ho ho - the pirates life for me.

 Fullmetal Alchemist- Fantasy for Tween Boys- all about fighting- has the 7 sins in it- as people!!

They can run into 20 - 25 volumes! Thankfully the public library close to me has them - they can be quite expensive as a hobby otherwise

Anyway - from them it really seems like People get very passionate about one thing and dedicate their lives to it. 

Another thing that sort of proves this is the documentary "Jiro dreams of Sushi"

Very interesting award winning documentary. Obviously about sushi! - duh

About a guy called Jiro who had a Michelin 3 star (the highest rating- probably the only restaurant without a private bathroom to get it!!!)- restaurant and has spent over 70 years perfecting the art of sushi and for him it is ART!

Worth a watch- This is a link by the makers- you can watch the movie for $2.99 J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqz7RSw5030&list=TL9v6Dz_29ngE

Again - interesting how I enjoyed it despite being vegetarian- when all they do is figure out various ways of eating various sea creatures - RAW!!!

Anyway - over and out! (like a fused bulb :))

Wolverine Immortal

So I love the comics genre- have since I was a kid. But what I knew as a kid - the Indian Indrajal comics, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle are as different from the genre  I now read, as  chalk from cheese!

Since the past nine years I have discovered the genre of comics written for the grown person- definitely not for kids!

The stories are fabulous and the art is too. One of my favorite books about the comic Industry was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Written by Michael Chabon - loosely based on how the comic industry really evolved in the US

His real story is pretty cool too- he was a video store clerk (highly educated, intelligent and okay looking) - his now wife, Ayelet Waldman, a high powered lawyer - would come in to rent movies. Lalalalala they moved to LA - He sold a script. Both now authors. One Pulitzer prize. Many kids. She got into a serious controversy as she said she would choose his life over her kids as she loved him more!

Anyway - that was so not what I wanted to write!!!

I wanted to write about X men and Mr.Jackman!

So this whole genre of superhero action movies is soooooooo cool. The stunts themselves are so well executed!

In this latest X-men - my two favorite scenes are the whole top of the train thing and I just LOVE  the Japanese martial arts genre. I love the whole double handed samurai fighting thing ( Kill Bill 2 has some great scenes!). I blame it on having watched "The 36 chambers of Shaolin" as a 10 year old!!! ( my strongest memory from that is when he is balancing the two buckets of water on his shoulders and trying to cross the water on the bobbing logs)

So if you read the X-men comics - the X-men in it are nowhere near as sexy as the movies. This is once when I love the movies a lot more - but given the hero - how could I not! So in the comics - wolverine is short and stocky and looks like a wolf. Seriously hirsute. But supposedly full of animal magnetism (presumably pheromones)

So  thankfully they went in a different direction in the movies as Hugh jack man is pretty cool as Wolverine.

But also as an individual! He is such a confident person it's amazing. One gets e feeling he is really comfortable in his own skin.

Grew up in Australia. Did TV. Broadway - can sing and can seriously dance. 

Obviously is a one of the biggest action figure icons of our time now. So look at this image of him from X-men

And now watch this song!!! ( from a Broadway Play he did- sort of put him on the map)

His part starts from 45 seconds in- GOLD PANTS!!!- need I say more??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3zU2IcVzbc

It's so sexy when someone can take themselves so not seriously! He is so confident about himself and his masculinity that he portrays this character perfectly. (based on Peter Allen)

Another thing not so well know about him is he dated and married a coworker from one of his first shows. Who is 13 years his senior! They have been happily married for 17 years. And when she married him she was the big star!

They have adopted kids and people use this point to say she's his beard- seriously ??- doubts about Hugh Jackman?

But  even if it was true - SO WHAT?

Actually apparently they had trouble conceiving and miscarriages etc.  Frankly I think people who adopt are super nice and super generous in soul and Actions. My respect for them is tremendous. 

You know people find it so easy to speculate about the state of people's marriages but I think the only two people who know how a relationship really is are the two people who are in it!

Also voyeurism has become such a socially acceptable pastime - hell - there is serious money in it - trashy magazines, Facebook anyone?

That boundaries are not observed at all - definitely not for celebrities and quite often not for personal relationships too.

Now we really have to decide what it is that we are comfortable with for ourselves in terms of voyeuring and try to stick with that!

So back to Mr.Jackman

To be honest - I haven't liked too many of his other movies though have heard really good things about Prisoners - on my playlist!

But all the best to him - and may he make many more X-men movies :)