The Blue Lady broken- Kelly & Cal movie

I recently watched a movie "Kelly & Cal" which was released in 2014 and is based on story of a married mom named Kelly having a short relationship with a disabled teenager named Cal which ultimately does not continue due to social circumstances and choices. The movie was somewhat light-hearted but one particular scene really captivated me and I think its worth sharing about as it struck a deep chord in its whole sensitivity- especially the scene in which we see Cal escaping with his "blue lady" on the wheelchair- for one moment I was reminded of the sculpture Pieta by Michelangelo where the dying Jesus lay in the arms of the weeping Mary..

Read through this lovely piece of dialogue between them when Kelly stops Cal in the scene above.

Cal: "I had unrealistic expectations. i should have never broken down my wall of illusion. You paint a picture of someone that you want to see and the reality never measures up.

i took my blue lady off her pedestal."

Kelly: "okay, i hear what you're saying, all right, and I completely understand you. but, you know, why don't we go get some coffee and we'll continue this conversation? we can go to the diner or something."

[Cal then throws the blue statue down the bridge]

Cal: "See? now we're both broken"

Kelly: "Why do you do that, cal? destroy everything that you make?"

Cal: "I don't know. I was thinking that maybe i'm a buddhist and i'm highlighting the impermanence of things, you know. could be like -- like a hindu, you know. reminding everyone the other half of creation is destruction. brahma and shiva"

The dialogues above were taken from the online script available below:
http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=kelly-and-cal

The moment when both Cal and his blue lady are broken seems to be a divine moment which symbolizes unison- pointing to the deep hindu philosophy of Shiva and Shakti where both coexist...

A tribute to Robin Williams

Almost sixteen years ago, my earliest memories of actor Robin Williams date back to my sixth grade , perhaps in school, when I watched the movie "Jumanji". Juvenile as I was, little did I decipher the deeper meaning behind that fantasy movie where Robin could go into a fantasy world full of strange animals and unrealistic places, just by rolling a dice on a magical board, which could take him to a different time altogether. This movie showed his finesse in being able to make one laugh and forget the world and go into an imaginative, adventure-filled world and enjoy life like a child.

Almost a year ago, I watched his movie "Dead Poets' Society " which demonstrated his depth in being able to inspire with the gravity of a philosopher and poet, fighting to instil that spirit in juvenile students who were waiting for that "captain" to direct their sinking ship. And I, a student of poetry and philosophy, apart from other things, could connect with his finesse once again.

And today, as I read about his sad demise, the poet and the child in me are both sad, but they speak to me something else too. Perhaps, for a soul like Robin, the child in him wanted to try something new and adventurous and in that attempt, transported himself to another world, away from the travails and troublesome realities of this world by the roll of dice, though the dice was rolled by destiny this time. To put in the worlds of Shakespeare, the philosopher in him realized that , " Life.. is a tale, Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"

In the words of Walt Whitman, He did indeed "sound his barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world".
I can hear it now, can you?


May his soul fly to uncharted galaxies in the other world and continue to shine beacon of humor and inspiration...

The whales who struggle with sounds

Hi,

If you read my previous blogpost, I talked about the idea of freezing sound as it may help to prevent harm to those who find it  disturbing or deadening- equivalent to a noise.

Recently, I have been battling lot of noise concerns in my own residential apartment complex on campus.
And I realized that the walls of the building seem to lack reasonable sound proofing. I read that there are decibel meters which measure STC (Sound Transmission Class) ratings and most buildings only have a minimum STC rating of somewhere around 50dB.  So, there are many people who jostle with this problem in highly populated big cities where space is a problem and one finds apartments next to each other or sometimes, not having a good sound proofing. And the problem worsens, if you are on-campus. The residential rooms will not assist in improving the construction or help with reinforcing sound proofing on any walls- and to add to the distress, one cannot by his own, modify or add any furniture in the room.

Since I totally love my current room except the noise sources which come up, I began to explore ways to block noise or reduce it. Getting noise-cancelling headphones, ear plugs, etc. Changing room was not an option I wanted to do as there was more risk associated with that too.

But then I realized that what I am going through is nothing compared to the daily disturbance which becomes deadening and even lethal to the marine creatures- particularly the WHALES.
I came across this news of many whales who rely on hearing underwater, have been found deaf and dead as part of ongoing naval efforts of sonar use and explosives for military training. It is predicted almost 1000 whales may die during the 5 year marine navy testing planned.

Read the article for the details:

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonar.asp


I wondered how those creatures of  the universe, majestic and gigantic as they are, are left at mercy of the navy and its ongoing efforts of  military training.
I was so moved that I signed up a petition  for this and made small donation.

Somewhere, in my heart I felt, perhaps I may in some small way contribute to prevent the sound (noise and disruption for whale- endangering their safety) of deadly sonars to reach their highly evolved ears,
because sadly, I cannot freeze sound and it has not been attempted too....

I thought  what if the whales could be relocated or moved to another ocean! But, thats something one can suggest but I dont know how practically possible it it. I remember having watched a movie (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen)  where salmon fishes were relocated from Scotland to yemen coast, but then salmon fish and whale size are on the opposite end of the spectrum.

This post is dedicated to the highly sensitive people who value the meaning of quietness and how crucial it is to have your own space and silence amidst the noisy industrialized world of today...

So Scientists froze light for a minute- and what about sound?

I read about this scientific breakthrough where German physicists succeeded in freezing  light for a full minute!

Read the news article here:

News article- Scientists freeze light for a minute


I wondered to myself- what if scientists also succeed some day in future to freeze sound?

Wouldn't it be amazing?  In fact, it should be possible as speed of sound is far less ( ~ 330 m/s) compared to light which travels at 3,00,000,000 m/s !!

Freezing sound is different from recording sound.

If we could freeze sound, we could make it halt, and it could help in cases when sound becomes a menace- becomes a noise...

Look for my follow-up blogpost as I am going to talk more about the sound and noise thing..

What a PIETY

Hi,

A Strange coincidence, or perhaps spirits messaging me:

I had joined PETA and recently signed a petition for some horse drug abuse few days ago

I had been reading about Michelangelo's majestic sculpture PIETA in Rome


And I had been eating PITA bread with hummus which I purchased few days ago..


What a PIETY!:)

Miracle on 34th Street- Christmas Movie

"I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I I I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt."

are the lines which Kris or Santa Claus tells to the doubtful woman in this lovely Christmas movie.  I especially loved the scene of Santa communicating with deaf and dumb girl in sign language.

I would like to write about some ideas which I observed in this movie. The movie seems to have themes of New Age Spirituality in addition to the Christianity:

1. The little girl when asked by Santa what she wants for  Christmas , gives him a paper which is actually a sort of vision board which shows her wishes clearly and visually- so a sort of hinting towards Santa as symbolic  representation of the Universe.
2. Moreover, in the very endearing scene of the deaf and dumb little girl who goes to see Santa in the store with her mother just to see him and not to ask anything for Christmas, we do see that in the end when wishes of all others are fulfilled by Santa, she is not shown anywhere, because she never "ASKED" for anything in the first place. This again  alludes to the idea of "ask and you shall receive from the Universe"

3. The idea of reincarnation exists in this movie.  We see that Santa Claus who claims he is the real Santa, but he is walking this earth and goes through the earthly trials and troubles such as being punished for a fake crime.  So clearly Kris is the incarnation of St. Nicholas who we call as Santa Claus.
4. When asked if Santa could make the reindeer fly, when being tried in the  court for a so-called felony, he replies , " I cannot make the reindeer fly, they  only fly on Christmas Eve ." These words seem to contain a hidden message which is that miracles happen on Christmas and perhaps it is not Santa who really makes the reindeers fly on his sledge, but in fact it is the reindeers who fly in faith all by their own.

American Mary- Movie Review

I recently watched a movie, intrigued by its title and the story line. After watching any movie, I tend to google the critical reviews of the plot and summaries to understand the interpretations. And I  like to write about my own interpretations which I believe are novel and not written before. 

It is one of those rare movies which is both sad and inspiring at the same time but the feminine power outshines the sadness which it harbors. As one of the online movie reviews says,  Mary was a "sculptor with a scalpel".  Themes of male domination and male abuse are rampant in the movie. The evil and immoral nature of male has been pitted against the good and innocent nature of Mary. The movie also mocks at a sad truth which exists in many medical schools in which there are stories of medical female students resorting to sex trade in order to pay their medical college high debts.

The surgical scene of the nipple being removed and the vaginal opening being stitched shut surgically , appear to be a harbinger of closure of what defines the true femininity and womanhood. In a way, that forewarns the closing of the feminine energy which is nourishing and stimulating.  And in fact, we do see that after this Mary is brutally raped under the effect of a spiked drink by none other than her teacher at the medical school, and then she transforms herself into a revenge-seeking body who becomes  a channel for doling out revenge at its gravest, and also enhancing her under-appreciated talents of surgical skill. 

What was sad was that she faced failure in her professional life and personal life which went together throughout the film, hence, at the end I do feel sorry for the downfall and abrupt twist in the plot which leads to murder of Mary. Personal trauma included financial crunch, shock of  underworld surgery and brutal molestation.  That was followed by quitting her medical school when she almost was destined for success as a surgeon so a professional fiasco. The scenes in which she discovers that Billy also could not be trusted as a potential lover, she is shown heartbroken and resorts to the sharp scalpel. The scene showing death of her only personal relationship which was of help- her Nana (grandmother, I suppose) and the scene showing her deleting her name from the contact list was very appealing and subtle.Her transformation as a  sort of single handed super surgeon who miraculously performs intense surgeries all by herself speak well of her intelligence and inherent talent. This is reiterated in the last scene when she has been stabbed and  is shown holding two surgical scissors and suturing her own wound , but, sadly  she dies.  This scene is the culmination of what a real artist or a surgeon can be. I believe in this scene Mary transcended her medical expertise to go on to achieve status of a real artist. As one of the actors remarks to Mary in one of the scenes," you are truly an artist"

In a way , just like the spiked drink, any bit of promise of happiness or love was spiked or poisoned in her own life,  Like when we see that she began to find solace in Billy but then discovers his promiscuous act and she feels stung , and later when Billy talks to her about possibility of driving down to LA for a break and a better place, that hope was cut short by the climax in which we see her abrupt murder at the hands of an unknown person. I thus believe that the  themes of "spike" and the "scalpel" are what appears throughout the movie symbolically. Her fate, just like the real spike showed immense rise and immense fall towards the end too. To summarize the movie in few lines, I'd like to say:

"She did body altering surgeries and in the process every time with the scalpel which she uses on the patient, she cuts out a bit of her own soul each time, all under the spiked influence of revenge"