1. Almost Famous (2000)
   
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
   
3. The Usual Suspects (1995)
   
4. Se7en (1995)
   
5. Fargo (1996)
   
6. About a Boy (2002)
   
7. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
8. Being John Malkovich (1999)
9. Terminator II - Judgement Day (1991)
10. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
    
11. Magnolia (1999)
    
12. The Matrix (1999)
    
13. Apocalypse Now (1979)
    
14. Fight Club (1999)
15. L. A. Confidential (1997)
16. Mulholland Drive (2001)
    
17. Forrest Gump (1994)
    
18. Casablanca (1942)
    
19. Sin City (2005)
20. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
    
21. Groundhog Day (1993)
    
22. The Sixth Sense (1999)
    
23. Unforgiven (1992)
    
24. American Beauty (1999)
    
25. Gladiator (2000)
    
26. Memento (2000)
27. Pulp Fiction (1994)
28. Kill Bill (2003)
29. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
    
30. The Lion King (1994)
    

I just realised that Coldplay's video for The Scientist is, along with being a splendid music video, a very clever and effective seat belt safety campaign.

Notice how the girl with Chris Martin unbuckles her seat belt to put on her jacket, and then forgets (or just doesn't care) to put it back on. So when the car careens off the road and rolls down the incline and comes to a stop at the bottom (without a single noticeable dent anywhere on the body), she goes flying through the (spotless) windshield, shattering it in the process, and falls to the ground, dead. She totally deserved it. And that is what is likely to happen to you if you go driving without strapping yourself in.

Do what Chris does. Chris is smart. He wears his seat belt. So he doesn't die. He just loses consciousness for a short while, and when he regains it, all he needs is a quick shake of the head to clear his vision and loosen his jaw and shake some dandruff off his hair, and he's all ready to stroll through the woods and the streets, jumping over walls, some real, some invisible. So much fun! And you can experience it only if you wear a seat belt.

Note: The video is reverse chronological. My instructive narrative is not.

On World Book Day, I read

1) India Today
2) India Today Spice
3) 69 pages of To Kill a Mockingbird
4) 2 pages of Blink
5) 7 articles on uncyclopedia
6) 9 articles on wikipedia
7) 5 reports in ndtv news archives
8) 4 newspapers (front page, puzzles, sports)
9) Latest post on al-lude.livejournal.com
10) WinRar usage instructions
11) Raiders of the Lost Ark spanish subtitles

Bore me a hole,
Call it a well.
Is that a boar?
I can't quite tell.
Bore me to death,
And him too.
He bore the pain
Better than me and you.


Bored : tired of the world; "strolled through Disneyland with a bored air".


I am not bored.


My latest project is the Times of India (Bangalore Times) puzzles section. This is after I completed the Hindu Crossword for the second time (last Saturday, no. 8572) - proof that the first time wasn't entirely a fluke, and a license to move on to higher things.

My days are so remarkably unremarkable.

Word of the season : Unapologetic