Contemplations and Ruminations

The title is a line from The Chosen , a TV series about Jesus and his disciples, that has taken me by surprise. Many portrayals of Jesus depict him as a solemn man who walked around preaching and talking to his nondescript bunch of disciples. You couldn't tell one from the other, only Jesus stood out from the rest of the characters and everything else was pretty standard story telling from the bible. But The Chosen is a world far away from the one we've usually seen or heard about Christ. For starters the disciples are wonderfully fleshed out; the impulsive and brash Simon, his dashing brother Andrew, the delightfully odd Mathew who has Asperger's Syndrome, the open minded Nicodemus who really wants to know more about what cannot be explained or understood. And Jesus, just one look at him and you can feel the warmth in his gentle eyes touching you. There's so much depth to the characters that now when anyone talks about Simon or Mathew, the actors who play them pop into...

So this is the November issue of the magazine with a few articles by me. Thomas Rhett's 'Beer with Jesus ' has been included here and I wrote something about the entertainment industry which might be a bit preachy...   Entertainment is not what it used to be When you switch on the TV or listen to songs by the biggest names in the music industry, you cannot help but cringe and wonder at the abasement of it all. How did this degradation seep in? When did it become cool to objectify women and let derogatory comments pass off as comedy? Most of the famous shows today have this cool character whose life revolves around drinking and sleeping with different women, perfect examples would be Charlie Harper and the legendary Barney Stinson. These characters are the epitome of being cool and having it all, and they have the best lines on the show. This is the idea that is being propagated to young people who watch these shows, that your life is enjoyable only when you drink...

Well, it was supposed to be a post about Lausanne ... but all we saw here were churches. Lausanne is a bustling city, so not much to see nature wise... maybe if we had gone towards the lake side, we would have seen vineyards and the beautiful shoreline of Lake Geneva. But we mostly strolled around the old town, which is quite a nice place...  So anyway, this is the Protestant Cathedral... With beautiful designs on the ceiling...  A mermaid carved into one end of a bench...  The altar... A ornamental covering over the pulpit... The church organ... The doors of the cathedral... I like this angel the best... Have you seen ' Happy Days ', the classic TV show? It's one of the best comedy shows ever created. How can you not love  Richie, Fonzie, Chachie, Joanie... you can see them on  the walls of this restaurant (click on the image for a larger view) Some artsy fountain right in the middle of the path that leads to the old...

The game kinda went off track in season 3 of Sherlock, don't you think? They focused so much on the relationship between characters there was no time to portray any real case, that's when Sherlock is in his element. I kinda felt lost and at times bored during this season, I couldn't believe what they had done to the Sherlock that set our screens and our minds ablaze with his brilliance and wit. The way he arrogantly went about solving cases and putting people in their places was astounding to say the least. The third season started off pretty well though with a James Bond-ish like opening scene in slow motion. That scene led to this conversation with the cousins on whatsapp: Zak : Would you have liked Sherlock if it was played by Vijaykanth? Jude : Molly would have jumped off the building if Vijaykanth had kissed her.  So getting back to season three, I don't know why the creators and writers did such a shoddy job, they already had a formula that worked, I don...

So the mayhem and massacre in Egypt speaks volumes about the Muslim brotherhood and what they represent. Apparently they value neither their lives nor the lives of other innocent people, read this   and this   to know how terrifyingly volatile the situation is out there. These extremists organisations are a bane to peace and progress everywhere, they should be rooted out and... I don't know what should be done to them. Put them all in an island somewhere, from where they cannot escape, and put all our imbecile   corrupt politicians there, throw in the rapists  too... let them kill and fight each other to their hearts content. Then the normal and innocent people can have some peace and sanity.  Pictures like this, instill hope though...  (click on the image for a larger view) Talking of Egypt, just when you think you couldn't love and respect Benedict Cumberbatch any more... he does something like this.  This is so in tune with his charact...

The past few weeks have been traumatizing and Games of Thrones is partly to blame for that. I started reading the book and watching the show recently, and I can't say which I hate more. Let's start with the book, the author, George R. R. Martin, seems to have written the book in some drunken stupor and all his sick, lurid not to mention porn-ish fantasies have been given free rein here. There are too many plot lines, and too many deaths... each time you really start to like a character and BHAM! he is killed immediately. What is that, you kill off all the main characters and let the dregs of society dictate the rest of the book. When Ned Stark dies I was like what the... heck, he was the only person with integrity and values and you kill him off and let his family flounder. And I was so hoping Ned Start would tell Jon Snow, who his mother was... was hoping for another beautiful love story there. I don't know if that ever materializes, I read only the first book 'Game ...

So I started watching ' Suits ' and since then it has been like falling down a ravine to limitless depths. Yeah, that's how it was with Bobby Donnell and now its Harvey Specter , luckily Meredith ruined the whole Dr. Derek Shepherd experience for me (I couldn't figure out what he saw in her) and I didn't have it this bad for him. Anyway, Suits is a pretty cool show, its a legal drama series based in a high end firm where power struggles between partners also come into play.  Harvey Specter is the incredibly handsome, atrociously witty and roguishly charming attorney who is the quintessential male. He hires Mike Ross as his associate who has a photographic memory and can remember anything he has read once, but the only problem is Mike didn't go to Harvard and he doesn't have a license to practice law. While running away from the cops during a drug deal, Mike gets into the hotel where the law interviews are being held and Harvey, fascinated by this boy...

After being impressed by Thomas Hardy in Under the Greenwood Tree , I saw another brilliant adaptation of his novel,  Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented . Even though this is a Victorian tragedy, I really loved watching the story unfold amidst breathtaking landscapes. The folks at BBC who produce such period dramas have a keen  aesthetic sense, the setting is the most striking feature of this four part BBC undertaking.  Lush green fields as far as the eye can see, it's nature at her best in contrast to the nature of man at his worst. And this in a nutshell is the crux of this classic novel.  The story obviously revolves around a young, pious and naive girl; Tess Durbeyfield who faces cruelty and betrayal by the men in her life. Tess is first betrayed by her alcoholic irresponsible father whose main job seems to be producing kid after kid without the paternal instinct to hold on to a job long enough to provide for his l...

So there were a lot of apples at home and by lot I mean at least 3 to 4 dozens. I wanted something that uses a lot of apples but with less fattening stuff like butter and white flour, yet at the same time should taste awesome. Came upon this Martha Stewart recipe and tweaked it a bit to suit my taste. You should try this, it's impossible to go wrong with this recipe and its totally healthy, taste's great too. Like my cousin said, 'It's so full of joy, it's the apple pie equivalent of a baby's smile.' Yeah, me thinks he was smoking something too.  Ingredients Wheat Flour:  3/4 cup Oats: 1 cup Salt: 1/2 teaspoon Cold Butter: bout 50 gms (you can substitute apple sauce or plain vegetable oil) Apples (peeled, cored and sliced): 6 or 7 medium sized ones Cinnamon powdered: 2 to 3 teaspoons Granulated Sugar: 1/4 cup for the crumble topping and 1/2 cup for the apple base Orange: juice of half an orange Take the wheat, 1/4 cup sugar and ...

An old flame is back... after more than a year. Been reeling under the influence of the new season of Sherlock, can't seem to get him out of my head. That's the beauty of this immortal character created by legendary author, Arthur Conan Doyle. From the very first time, I picked up his most famous book, I was hooked; heart, soul and spirit (okay, may be an exaggeration but you get the drift). This season is as enticing and perfect as the first was, Benedict has nailed the role. It was pure joy watching his arrogant self reel off things about people he has just met or rankle the people who put up with him. I love how the deerstalker hat was incorporated into the story, well done creators. I love how he deduces the code to unlock the phone, my heart almost skipped a beat. John is pretty amazing too, all the brotherly bonding was great. Here are a few videos... The introduction of his famous hat Detective Lestrade having some fun at Sherlock's expense... John...

One of my favourite Oprah shows used to be the home make over stories, I  loved watching how they would tear down a place (which wasn't really that bad to begin with) and turn it into something stunning with gorgeous furniture and luxurious drapes. I think anything can look better if you just drape some flowy rich material somewhere near it. I remember Nate Berkus was in charge of the home makeovers on Oprah and he sure knew how to spruce up a place... I liked his blend of earthy and neutral tones, it lent a great deal of elegance and grace to the place. Wonder why they don't air Oprah these days... anyway, I just thought of giving you a glimpse into my home...  Here's the living room and I love the way sunshine floods into it... The rest of the living room...  My own little space... my bedroom (check out the framed picture, its the same as my blogger header and the other is a picture of my home town). My charming little kitchen... The poster in my kitchen...