....and all that jazZ

Monday, January 09, 2006

Worth a check-out

Book

Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

There are good books and then there are brilliant books. When I finished "Of Human Bondage" - Maugham last May, I thought nothing could better it. Milan Kundera redefined brilliance for me. I read the book twice in the span of two months. Pay particular attention to the chapter titled "Words Misunderstood". Each of the four protagonist represent one of the two states "Lightness" and "Weight". Tomas and Theresa are exceptionally etched out characters. And then there is Sabina. Franz is probably the weakest link, but he had to be. There was no room for him really. The book is not so much about a story but about a philosophy. The characters are either examples of the rule or exceptions to it.

Music

American Edit - Dean Gray

For those of you who loved Greed Day's late 2004 Album American Idiot, you will love this one too. American Edit is a mashed up version of the former. MAshed up == Mixed with other songs to make very interesting songs. No, its not a remix. Particularly nice on this album are the songs "Boulevard of broken songs" and "Novocaine Raphsody" . These tracks are great on the original as "Boulevard of broken dreams and "Give me novocaine" but mixed with Oasis and Queen and Aerosmith they sound even better. Just trust me on this one and go check it out.

Movie

The Bicycle Thief

I saw this a while ago, but if you havent seen it I would very very strongly recommend it. This 1948 Italian movie is about man looking for a job in post war depression times in Italy. he pawns the very bedsheets to reclaim his bicycle from teh pawn shop without which he will not have a job. The first the of his job his cycle gets stolen. Ricci and his young little boy take off in search of the cycle which is so vital for their existence. Let me not tell you more. This one is an absolute masterpiece in terms of the story, the narration, the performances and above all it reaches out and tugs at your heartstrings.

Food

Mango Pie

I tried this at Sujata Auntie's house and fell in love with it. Its an amazingly simple recipe. And spectacularly delicious. Here is the recipe if you want to try it out for yourself. I plan to one of these days. Yeah, for the cook club :)

1 Pie crust
1/2 can - mango pulp.
3 tsp - sour cream.
1/2 cup - sugar.
1 packet - unflavoured gelatine.

Dissolve gelatine in hot water and allow to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients and slowly stir in the gelatine water. Pour into the pie crust. Decorate by sticking pieces of mango (or strawberry if you want to make it colourful)along the crust edges like a flower. Allow it to chill overnight andd set completely in the fridge.
Serve with cool whip.

1 Comments:

  • Recently got a chance to checkout the American Edit by Dean Gray. Truly amazing work. Liked "Dr.Who on Holiday" in addition to the songs "Boulevarde of Broken Songs" & "Novocaine Rhapsody"..

    Andy

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:45 PM  

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