Oppenheimer

Just back from seeing Oppenheimer. I don't know what I was expecting, but given all the hype around it, I was surprised.

The movie could have been shot in a drawing room, which it probably was. There's a lot of who-dun-it kind of suspense and intrigue, except that I could not figure out what was done. At random points in the movie, when two characters are talking, the music builds up to an insane crescendo, for what is, forget climax, not even a damp squib. 

The hero ultimately seems to have triumphed, but I don't know in what. 

The team that created the Bomb at Los Alamos is legendary. I think it is that awe that the Director is counting upon, for the audience to think that some epic things are happening. 

For about half an hour, just before the interval, I even slept off. 

The problem of course could be that I am not the intellectual kind. I need simple plots, some straight fights, a little bit of romance, and I am happy. I am not saying I like only Govinda movies, but Christopher Nolan may be too intellectual for me.

Wife and son were also there and they liked the movie, and as the  designated driver, I had to stay till the end. 

Perfect waste of a Monday  afternoon. Now don't ask me what I was doing watching a movie on Monday afternoon. A very good friend gifted us three IMAX gold class tickets, since he realised he had booked it at the wrong theatre. And on most Monday afternoons I am essentially doing nothing anyway.

Ruminations on a Tuesday morning

Your innermost beliefs are at variance with your speech and behaviour,  which is dictated by survival considerations. 

As a result, you suffer from severe internal conflict which warps your personality.

Society does not care if you are warped or not, so long as you talk the talk and walk the walk.

The inviolable spiritual law says that you will be at peace only if your thoughts, speech and actions are all aligned. 

Therefore, those who need to progress on the spiritual path need to distance themselves from society, family, and all such structures that being them into proximity with other people.

When you are young, a balance that is tilted more towards society and less towards spirituality seems more  rewarding and is probably essential. 

As you grow older, the balance has to shift. You need to tilt more and more towards spirituality. That is the logic behind the four "ashramas" in Indian philosophy, Brahmacharya / student life, Grihasta / fulfilment of worldly desires, Vanaprastha / giving back to society while being still in it, and Sanyasashrama / giving up everything and focusing on Moksha,  rather than Kama and Artha. Underlying the whole thing is Dharma, which one must not forsake throughout one's life.

But the template of "modern life", with its emphasis on "achievement", "wealth", and "success" keeps us trapped in the grihasta stage like a person on a hedonistic treadmill who is unable to step off. 

So, where lies the answer? How does one strike the right balance? That is an eternal question that needs to be constantly reinterpreted in line with shifting ages and times...

Oh, the chemicals we eat!

Ah there! One more article on food additives. This one  outlines how aspartame, an artificial sweetener, widely used in all the foods we eat, is a deadly poison. 

Isn't it depressing, reading all this? 

Actually no. Who said aspartame is poisonous? It is FDA approved!, you think. 

We insist on consuming chemicals. In what way is aspartame, a toxic mix of chemicals, food? 

But it is FDA approved, right? All that FDA approval means is that the stuff will kill you slowly.

This is just one food "additive". Our processed and packaged foods contain thousands of additives. In varied combinations. 

"Processed and packaged food" includes table salt, white sugar, and refined oils. And ready to eat foods. Maggi. Biscuits. Ready to eat ( add only hot water) kind of meals. 

No corporation cares for us. No government does either.  No regulator gives a damn. To all of them, we are "consumers", lab rats meant to consume their poisons in order to fatten their wallets. 

The food industry makes us sick, in body and mind, chronically, perpetually sick. And the Pharma industry stands ready to feed us more poisons that will make us sicker. 

The doctors, dieticians, nutritionists ( always add a prefix "so called" when you talk about them) further compound the problem. They are a product of the same system, and whatever they learn is guaranteed to further the interests of the chemical, food, and Pharma companies.  The system ensures that. 

All this is scientifically approved, you say. What science? The reductionist Western science is of no use when it comes to food and health. It is that same science that says that salt is sodium chloride, just a mixture of two elements forming a molecule. But it is, you say! What else is it if it is not sodium chloride! Ok, do one thing, have one box of sodium and one canister of chlorine in your kitchen. Just add both to all your food. You will be fine, trust me, it is scientific. 

But there's a ton of information out there. It's very confusing. What should I do, you ask. 

Well, for starters ignore what the system tells you. Listen to your common sense, and your grandmother. Unless your grandmother happens to be "educated" of course, in which case , don't listen to her.

And follow a few golden rules. Like this one: 

Today's golden rule: 

*Buy only things that grow. (Biscuits don't grow, and neither does Maggi). And cook them yourself, in your own kitchen.*

Did I hear you screaming at that nightmarish suggestion? And, to de-stress, reaching for the phone to order pizza and diet Coke? Since you are off sugar, sugar is unhealthy you see, and only have zero calorie diet coke which has aspartame, that has been approved by FDA as totally safe. 

You eat that pizza, drink that coke, belch, and you are happy... 

God bless you. May you live a long and healthy life!

A MAN CALLED OTTO

REVIEW OF MOVIE 

A MAN CALLED OTTO 

How to make a woke movie

I had read about how moviemakers are writing movies with woke themes in mind. Didn't realise the full extent of that till I saw this movie "A man called Otto".

The movie hit me hard with its cringeworthy wokeness. 

On the surface, it is a feelgood innocuous movie.

But this is how the scriptwriters went about it.

Want:

Wheelchair 

Crimes against the less able 

Sentiment

Check 

White man with one neighbour black family

Check

Bitter white man gets redemption due to immigrant  Mexican family,

Sentiment,

check

Woman is the savior,

Smarter than men,

Sentiment,

Check

Transgender 

Check

Transgender thrown out of his ( her, who knows) by dad, 

Golden hearted human being ,

Sentiment,

Check

Social media teenager fighting for rights,

Check

Evil all white builder / developers as villains,

Check

Weave everything together into feel good family drama,

Sentiment,

Check 

Watch the movie at your own peril. You may feel disgusted at the cruel, male, straight, able,  white dominated world,

Or you may feel disgusted at the woke kitsch being served up

One of the two is bound to happen

👆 there is always something more than meets the eye.

Seldom is fulsome praise showered,

On even the most deserving,

From a place unselfish and true - 

Most people who praise are self serving!

It is rare to find an altruist,

Even among men of saintly garb;

The grist that goes into the mill,

Enriches the Miller and the Mill! 

Beware of all encomiums,

Even the seemingly unselfish;

Especially those who are in power,

Are used to it and deal with it well!

Flattery is to the sycophant,

Just a tool in his arsenal;

Censure and praise are one to the savant,

Who takes both in his stride!