Days of Future Past – The Effect Lingers. Still

I went for the movie for one reason. One man: Hugh Jackman.

And when I left the theatre, my thoughts were exactly this, “What I want is what I got” (Westlife is so incredibly relatable) I was awed. And so was the rest of the audience. I didn’t know I was the only one. Until… Bobby’s entry was met with rapt silence, Charles Xavier’s entry was met with more silence. And the Wolverine’s entrance was marked by a cigar and loud applause, coupled with cheers.

Half (more than that, really) of the audience was there for the same reason we were: Hugh Jackman.

Incredible it was. Not just Hugh Jackman, but also the dialogues, and the scenes. There was a brilliant scene of Quicksilver as a kid. (Magneto’s son) That scene was the hardest I laughed in a long time.

The attitude was unmistakably brilliant. Not the Wolverine’s, that’s obvious. I mean the kid’s. It shook me, what a little attitude can do. A piece of mind, you know.

My popcorn lay forgotten. It was the first time that had happened, and mind you I love popcorn. And it was a 3D movie. I didn’t see that coming.

The glasses were too big, even for the bespectacled me. But I wasn’t in the mood to complain. I went to have fun and fun, I had. Good day out in the city, with great company, a perfectly brewed cold coffee and an out-of-this-world movie experience.

Good day? Hell yes!

P.S: Here’s a little something I brought back from the movie. Particularly for the X-Men fans.

What would you do if you needed to locate a mutant and Prof X’s powers were out of the question?

Use a phonebook.

I’ve been using the wrong dictionary all my life

Back in school, when I got bored, I’d take my copy of the Oxford dictionary and look up random words. You can always trust me to have a dictionary. I even influenced a few of my classmates to start referring to the dictionary.

Now though, I mostly use Google dictionary.

I read an article recently and it made me realize a lot of things about dictionaries. It was a long, but good read. The main reason I’m posting it here is because I couldn’t not talk about it.

I found it on the new Longreads series on WordPress. Regular WordPress followers would already know about this. And if you’ve come across other articles that you think I must read, please let me know.

“You’re probably using the wrong dictionary.” The title jumped out at me. I’m a great believer in compulsive titles, and I couldn’t resist. Even before I opened it, I knew it would be long. 1500+ words. I had my doubts. I was at work, could I manage it?

I decided I could. And I’m glad I did.

Read it if you can. If you’re a lover of the English language and literature, you will surely enjoy this article. And once you’re done, you might want to check out Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 and 1828 editions.

You’ll find a sense of the word that is somehow more evocative than any you’ve seen. “2. To convey as by a flash… as, to flash a message along the wires; to flash conviction on the mind.” In the juxtaposition of those two examples — a message transmitted by wires; a feeling that comes suddenly to mind — is a beautiful analogy, worth dwelling on, and savoring. Listen to that phrase: “to flash conviction on the mind.” This is in a dictionary, for God’s sake.

And, toward the bottom of the entry, as McPhee promised, is a usage note, explaining the fine differences in meaning between words in the penumbra of “flash”:

… Flashing differs from exploding or disploding in not being accompanied with a loud report. To glisten, or glister, is to shine with a soft and fitful luster, as eyes suffused with tears, or flowers wet with dew.

Did you see that last clause? “To shine with a soft and fitful luster, as eyes suffused with tears, or flowers wet with dew.” I’m not sure why you won’t find writing like that in dictionaries these days, but you won’t. Here is the modern equivalent of that sentence in the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster: “glisten applies to the soft sparkle from a wet or oily surface <glistening wet sidewalk>.”

Who decided that the American public couldn’t handle “a soft and fitful luster”? I can’t help but think something has been lost.

Read more…

Since it’s Mothers’ Day…

childhood

It happens to us all.

No matter how old you are, there are always bad days. Days when someone calls you too fat to fit in the doorway. Days when you lose the keys that you shouldn’t have. And particularly those days when you’re too depressed to do anything but slouch on the couch, eyes closed.

It’s happened to me loads of times. But just knowing that there’s someone out there, only too eager to listen, can raise me up.

Of course, I’m talking about my mother. (You didn’t think of anyone else, did you? (this being Mothers’ Day, an’ all))

Funny how mothers always seem to listen without judging. (Ya, you can say the same thing about fathers, siblings and even some friends, but that’s not the point) Mothers are always a league apart, no denial.

That one thing I can never talk to anyone about? I can talk to my mother. Sometimes, you don’t need advice, you don’t need a multi-tasker, who listens to you while watching a movie.

Sometimes, what you need is someone who gives you her full attention, without cutting you off, saying she’d call back, or nod off to a slumber. My mother might not starve herself, waiting for me to eat first, she might not stay up all night watching me sleep like a log. But when I need her, she’s just there, listening.

But that’s not the best thing. Even though I’m away from home, I can always reach out to her. Not just by phoning her, but by just thinking of her.

I talk to my mother, just imagining her sitting next to me. Nodding, smiling, understanding, saying “oohs” and “aahs” just at the right time. And when I’m done ranting, I can imagine her patting me in the shoulder and saying, “ok, go eat something.”

No one else can ever do that.

Celebrating mothers. Happy Mothers’ Day. Any day.

Student, Teacher. And me in Between

Game-changer

This is something I witnessed, and it surprised me how easily some kids take advice. I was travelling home, along with a friend.

There was an eight year old next to us. He was reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. From what I heard, it was his school library book. And so, as library books go, it was in a pretty bad shape.

But I was more surprised at his involvement to worry about the book’s state. Just looking at him read, brought back old memories of myself. I’ve read that particular book no less than 12 times, before I laid my hands on the others.

I was smiling to myself, thinking about my younger self, when I noticed that boy bookmarking the page he was reading. He made a big fold on the top right corner of the page. It was a bit painful. (I am touchy about cruelty to printed books.) But I held my silence. I didn’t think it was right to correct that boy. Afterall, his mother was a little grumpy. No saying how she’d react.

But my friend stopped him.

She told him to take a piece of paper, when he got home, and make a bookmark. She told him, that folding the page will damage the book. I’ve seen her advise her sisters loads of times and observed, “you should stop being a teacher all the time.”

She smiled, as always. And for the next couple of minutes, we forgot about it. Then, suddenly my friend tapped me on the shoulder and said, “He listened to me.”

I gave her a what-the-hell-are-you-saying look.

The boy had left the book lying between her and me. She mutely opened the book and gestured me to look. I did.

There was a piece of old newspaper in the page the boy was reading earlier. And the folded page was back straight.

Well, well well.

That child taught me, that if you say it right, kids will listen.

Some people are game changers. And sometimes, they’re called teachers.

This post is for the Weekly Writing Challenge: Student, teacher

High on Haiku

It’s quite unfortunate that just when I began trying my hand at Haiku, my inspiration site, Haiku Heights is gone for good. But I did find this post buried deep in my drafts.

The prompt was clap, and the date was something I don’t remember. Anyway, here goes,

For Haiku Heights

Prompt: CLAP

———————

Clap, clap, clap

he saw them do,

unhearing

——–

She clapped; young saw

wide eyes winced

as pain seared

——–

The bird clapped wings

the girl, she watched

wonder eyes widen

——–

The mother left

soared, clapping and flying

while waited the nestling

——–

Palms come together

applause — you and I,

joy

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this: