The last day of my life - Jim Moret

(Long time overdue post)

I was reading this book during my trip earlier this year and remember tweeting one quote from the book that caught on with friends:
"Who are the few people you can really count as your friend? Have you made sure they know how you feel about them?"

Last day of my life is one of those books that as you read through - you nod, you smile, you are saddened, but at the end of every chapter you are inspired to think and act differently.
Jim Moret, the author is a TV correspondent who has hosted/anchored shows on CNN, Fox, MSNBC. Most popular of his work is his coverage of the OJ Simpson trial.

Jim starts the book by saying all his life he has been telling other peoples' stories and he reached a point in life where he stopped to think about his own life.
"I issued myself an unusual challenge: to imagine that I had been told in no uncertain terms, that I had only 24 hours left to live. What would I do? Who would I want to see? where would I choose to spend my last hew hours? Would I make apologies or offer forgiveness? Would I use it as a time to seek out one last great adventure?"

Jim breaks up the book into chapters with titles like Friendship, Gratitude, Love, Sacrifice, Commitment...
Below are some interesting quotes from the book, each followed by a story from Jim's personal experiences:
~True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it is lost - Charles Caleb Colton
~Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else - Mitch Albom
~Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do apologize, you apologize for truth - Benjamin Disraeli
~How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong - because some day you will have been all these - George Washington Carver
~If at first you don't succeed, before you try again, stop to figure out what you did wrong - Leo Rosten
~After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music - Aldous Huxley
~Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face - Victor Hugo
~The most wasted of all days is one without laughter - E.E.Cummings

Movies, Books

Frost/Nixon:
Though the movie starts off like a documentary, expect nothing but sheer brilliance from director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Da Vinci Code et la).
The movie revolves around the interview of President Richard Nixon by a British TV show host David Frost. After the Watergate scandal that lead to the president's resignation, Frost wants to interview the president and get him to admit the truth to the public. He finds it difficult to get American producers to back him. How he prepares for the interview, how every question of his is shot down by the president with a very politically correct answer and how one telephone conversation turns things around... is the flow of the movie.
A good movie to watch for the brilliant acting and great dialogue delivery.

Milk:
After watching I Am Sam, I'd close my eyes and choose a Sean Penn movie over any other. In Milk, Sean portrays the role of a gay rights activist. All through the movie, Milk talks into his dictaphone giving a recorded account of how things are progressing on the personal front, the political front, the problems faced by the minority group, issues that he faces being the fore runner for the cause. Not just another weekend movie. Its an inspiration.

After two serious topics, moving on to comedy...
Sidin Vadukut's DORK is absolutely hilarious. From start to finish, the book puts you on ROTFL mode. This is Sidin's blog and @sidin is his twitter handle
Am now reading No Onions Nor Garlic. Though this is also of the humour genre, it has way too many expletives for my taste. But this is just me :)

Of classics, literature and other things

I enjoy reading fiction. Its been ages since I read a novel but there used to be a time when I devoured books one after the other. In this quest, I have often picked up a classic, only to put it down too quickly, for its language was too heavy on my brain.

Shakespeare's works - I have only read the abridged version (Tried reading his sonnets and original works, only to give up in despair). It would be great if some one could read out the original text, the way it was meant to be read and explained what the underlying intent of each statement was therein. Wonder if we have any reading sessions of such works...
And yes, when I think Shakespeare, I'm also thinking Danny DeVito in Renaissance Man... one of my favourite movies :)

In the movie 'Definitely Maybe' there is a character who owns multiple copies of Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte). She explains that every time she reads the book, it gives her a different meaning. Instead of picking up the book, I downloaded the audio book and have been listening to in parts over the last couple of weeks. Charlotte's style of describing the smallest of details, words/comparisons she uses to express emotion is very impressive. The words play with your mind and torment it, making you want more and seek to now what happens next... thoroughly enjoying it.

Flashback again: When we were kids, thatha had bought us audio story books. I remember my favourite story was that of the Alhambra (red fortress in Spain). The entire story was read out, along with background music and sounds to go with the words. Made such an impact on the story-telling. Not sure if they make these any more.... Need to find that tape and make a digital copy of it for keepsake....

Ending the post with this piece from Jane Eyre.
Context: Jane finds out that her master (who she has fallen for) is getting married to someone she does not think fit. She plans to leave her place of work. Before she leaves, she expresses her feelings thus:

Tuesdays with Morrie - Part 1

Morrie was Mitch's college professor and mentor. After college, Mitch plunged into work and was 'busy' with life. He had forgotten who he was, what he liked doing, had lost contact with his friends and mentor... until one day nearly twenty years hence, he saw an interview of his mentor on TV. Morrie was dying, but he wanted to make the best of the time he had left.

Tuesdays with Morrie is about Mitch and Morrie's last sessions, where Morrie teaches Mitch how to live. A true story, the experience in writing...
Thought I'd read the book completely and then jot down the points that I liked. Going by the amount that I'm jotting down, I'll have to repeat the entire text :) So breaking up the post into two. Here's the first part:

What happened to me:
Back in my university years, when I thought rich people were evil, a shirt and tie were prison clothes, and life without freedom to get up and go - motorcycle beneath you, breeze in your face, down the streets of Paris, into the mountains of Tibet - was not a good life. What happened to me?

Tension of opposites:
Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. you take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted. A tension of opposites, like a pull of a rubberband. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.

Find meaning:
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing something they think is important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

Self Pity:
"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things in my life... I don't allow myself more self-pity than that. A little each morning, a few tears, and that's all"
How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day.

Belief and trust:
Sometimes, you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel.
And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too - even when you're in the dark, even when you're falling.

Quotes from Illusions

Read Illusions - The adventures of a reluctant Messiah, by Richard Bach - the author of Johnathan Livingston Seagull. Not sure if it is the subject or the way the book is written, I was not too impressed with it. However the author had some very interesting quotes, like the ones below:

• Quit anything you want, if you change your mind about doing it. Its better than keeping the job and hating it.

• The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work

• If you want freedom and joy so much, can't you see its not anywhere outside of you. Say you have it, and you have it. Act as if its yours and it is.

• Live never to be ashamed if anything you do or say is published around the world - Even if what is published is not true

• The best way to avoid responsibilities is to say "I've got responsibilities"

• There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.

• Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours

• A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed. It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.

• You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.

• Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.

This one's my favourite:
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you're alive, it isn't.

Shantaram

Shantaram is the story of Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, who escaped from Australian prison and came to India. He lived in the Bombay slums, learned Hindi and Marathi, started a free clinic for the slum-dwellers, joined the mafia, procured drugs for foreigners tourists, spent time in Indian prison and fell in love - amongst the others things he did.
It is said that Roberts had to write Shantaram three times because prison guards thrashed the first two versions.

The author's style of writing, is very descriptive - you can actually visualize the sights, smell the scents and feel the change in mood and facial expressions of the characters. Another thing that I like about the book is lines/statements that make you stop and think. Here are a few such lines from what I have jotted down thus far:

• The past reflects eternally between two mirrors - the bright mirror of words and deeds, and the dark one, full of things we didn't do or say.
• Sometimes in love, your heart starts to feel like an over-crowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out - your friends, everyone you used to know. And its still not enough. The life-boat is still sinking, and you know its going to take you down with it.
• The future is like anything else that's important. It has to be earned. If we don't earn it, we don't deserve it, we have to live in the present, more or less for ever. Or worse, we have to live in the past.
• If you could be happy, really happy for a while, but you knew from the start that it would end in sadness, and bring pain afterwards, would you choose to have that happiness or would you avoid it?
• If you have to ask the question, then you don't have the right to the answer.
• Often, you have to surrender, before you win.
• There is another kind of river, the one that runs through every one of us, no matter where we come from, all over the world. It's the river of the heart, and the heart's desire. It's the pure, essential truth of what each one of us is, and can achieve - that is our true nature.
• If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you just don't get the joke.

Don't be put off by the size of the book. Once you start reading, you will just not feel like putting it down, until you're down with the 900 odd pages.

The Movie: With Mira Nair's direction, Johnny Depp playing the lead and the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Irfan Khan slated for the cast, the movie would be an interesting one to wait and watch.

Books - more books

Current Mood : Chilling... In anticipation (of what - is the big question)
Playing in the background : In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein and Jashn E Bahaara in a loop. Just cannot stop listening to these two songs. With the whole hype and a lot of controversy surrounding the movie, would like to see what the final outcome is.

Is it just me or did last week seem to go on and on for ever? Not just the week but very single day seemed never ending. Starting with Monday, the mantra was - one day down 4 more to go. Is that a sign - a sign of saturation/a sign of frustration or just one of those things that come and go?

After a long time I felt the need to read books. Picked up a few books last week.
~ If Morning Ever Comes - Ok time pass. You can skip this one.
~ Zero Coupon - This book I'd read a couple of years back and loved it. Financial Thriller is what I call it :) With so many frauds/scandals going on these days with the big names...like the recent Soc Gen one of $ 7bn - this is a very interesting read.
~ Nights in Rodanthe - The cover said "You'll cry in spite of yourself" and I wanted to see what the book had that would make me cry... and I found out :) A simple, realistic and beautiful tale of emotions. If you are in a mood for a warm story about relationships, this would be an ideal one.
~ False Impressions - Another one of Archer's fast paced novels. Not very easy to put down.
~ Interpretor of maladies - I really liked The Namesake so picked this one up. Read the first few stories, well written but I'm currently not in the mood for sad depressing stories. Will save this for some other time :)

There! that's what I've been up to off late...of course apart from all the photo shopping :)
Hope the weekend's been good for everyone.

"G" for Genes

Michael Crichton's latest book NEXT is all about genetic engineering. I'd got a hint of what the book was about from Kishore's review. The book has covered a lot of ground - but has way too many characters and so many things happening simultaneously that its hard to keep track.
But still, the book is an eye-opener.
I was telling my mom that she was petrified after reading Coma - she should try reading this book.

The most ridiculous idea that I found in the book, which could be true and be happening anytime soon (if it hasn't been initiated already) is this:
"The Natural World being used for advertisement. Imagine a coral branch reading "BP Clean", a school of fish winking "Vodafone, Vodafone", a shark with "Cadbury" across its snout... so on & so forth... all these creatures genetically modified.
The justification behind this as one of the characters in the book explains "Corporations will be asked to sponsor species as public service. Corporations can stake their reputations on the survival of animal species as they once staked their reputations on the quality of dull TV programs. Its a win-win for the environment, for the corporations for advertisement"

After reading the book, I started looking up the net for more information on the GE topic & these are some interesting links.
The human genome project
Green Peace says NO to genetic engineering
Patenting of genes
Human-mouse hybrid in the making

It may be very uncertain... but its important to be wary of what the future holds in store for us & the generations to come ....

The Namesake

I watched the movie a couple of weeks back and was very impressed with the story-line.
The actors had played their role so perfectly, it was as though the story was made just for them... but still, there was still something missing. A few loopholes that I cold not understand - So I picked up the book.
I finished reading the book yesterday. Yeah I finished it in a day :)
Its again one of those books that you just cannot put down. The ideas, the narrative style, the reality of the story, the true portrayal of feelings and emotions - makes you want to go on.
Movie Vs The book
I liked the book better as it has the complete picture. The book revolves around the life of Gogol, the others just being 'other' characters in the movie.
In the movie, I felt more importance was given to Ashima and Ashoke's characters. At the end of the movie, I wasn't able to fully comprehend what the story teller was trying to put across...

But now, reading the book, its all clear. Any movie which is adopted from a book cannot capture all that the book has to say. Same is the case with this movie/book.
But then, I loved the book and would now love to watch the movie again :)

Book time again!

The book for this weekend is "Who will cry when you die?" by Robin Sharma, the author of "The monk who sold his Ferrari"

I thought I'd just flip through the contents of the book and read it later on, but once I read through the 1st chapter I just could not put the book down. So I finished reading the book & am jotting down points that I found interesting.

The book starts off with - We live in an age when we have forgotten what life is all about. We can easily put a man on the moon but we have trouble walking across the street to meet a new neighbour. We can fire a missile across the world with pinpoint accuracy, but we have trouble keeping a date to go with our children to the library. We have email, fax and digital phones but yet we live in a time when human beings have never been less connected. We have lost touch with our own humanity, have lost touch with our purpose & have lost sight of things that matter the most.

Key points in the book to live a better and more fulfilling life:

• Everyday be kind to a stranger
• Every second you dwell in the past, you steal from your future. Every minute you spend focusing on problems, you take away from finding solutions.
• Talk to yourself - choose a phrase for a day and keep repeating it to yourself. Your phrase could be anything like "I am a confident and strong person"
• Worry breaks - assign about 1/2 hour each day to ponder upon your worries and to brood over difficulties. Do this only during the assigned time, any other time during the day is for you to be positive and efficient.
• Take more risks - On your deathbed, it'll not be the risks that you took that you will regret the most. Rather what fills you with greatest amount of regret and sadness is for the risks that you did not take, the opportunities you did not seize & fears you did not face.
• Master your time - Every person is given an equal share of 24 hours in a day - so what separates people who create great lives from the others is - how they use their time.
• Keep your cool - Anyone can get angry - but to get angry with the right person, at the right time for the right reason, to the right degree & in the right way- that is not easy.
• Get good at asking - Ask for a better table at your favourite restaurant, ask for a 2nd free scoop of ice cream, ask for a complimentary upgrade to your flight seat. The person who asks, gets... or at least has a chance of getting.
• Develop your talents - There's a difference between simply existing and living. The deepest personal defeat is the difference between what one is capable of becoming and what one actually becomes,
• Get a coach - Talk to a person who has followed steps to reach success. Learn and follow those steps and success will be yours too. Find your mentor.
• Become a volunteer - "I wept because I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet". Find time to spend with the less fortunate & you will realise how blessed you are.
  
• Stop complaining start living - The people who get on in this world are the ones who look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them - they make them.
• Increase your value - You will be compensated not by how hard you work but by how much value you add to the world around you.
• Be the CEO of your life - I love this mantra which I've read sometime earlier also "If it is to be, it is up to me"
• Don't be so hard on yourself - Accept your mistakes, learn from it and move on
• Live fully, so you can die happily
  

This was a truly great read :)