Ramblings on Oscars and Top Movie Quotes

Being such a movie buff, I think it's high time I write something about movies. I watched Oscars last night and now a few random impressions:

• Ellen DeGeneres was awesome as the Oscar host. I always liked her. Her style and humor was very refreshing right from the monologue till the end.
• I jumped with joy when the Best Director Award went to Martin Scorsese. I loved his movies, especially "TheDeparted" and I am very glad that he finally got the Oscar after three decades and 6 nominations.
• It's sad to see Peter O'Toole not wining the Oscar again after being nominated for the 8th time.
• I wonder when a Indian film will get an Oscar.
• "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Little Miss Sunshine" got the recognition they deserved.
• It's funny that the king (Then Last King of Scotland) and the Queen won the Oscars for the best Actor and Actress.

I was having this discussion with my friend about the Top Movie Quotes of all time and these will be my picks: (not in that order)

1. The Departed
Frank Costello: When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying to you is this...When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
2. The Godfather
Don Corleone: I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.
3. As Good As It Gets
Carol Connelly: When I first saw you, I thought you were handsome. Then, of course, you spoke.
4. Serendipity
Dean: You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?".
Dean: ...if we are to live life in harmony with the universe, we must all possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call "fatum", what we currently refer to as destiny.
5. Rudy
Father Cavanaugh: Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and I'm not Him.
6. Notting Hill
Anna Scott: After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
7. Jerry Maquire
Dorothy Boyd: I love him! I love him for the man he wants to be. And I love him for the man he almost is.
Jerry Maquire: I love you. You... complete me.
8. The Shawshank Redemption
Red: ..I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
9. The American President
President Andrew Shepherd:..I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other 'cause I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now....If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President.
10. Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
Forrest Gump: (referring to Apple Computers) He got me invested in some kinda fruit company.

There are many more memorable movie quotes, but only these came to my mind first.

Why do I blog?

Many people including my friends ask me this question. If I think about this, one more question comes to my mind. Why Do People Blog? I guess there are many motivations/reasons for blogging like: documenting one's life, providing commentary and opinions, expressing deeply felt emotions, working out ideas through writing, and forming and maintaining communities or forums. For some, writing is just a passion. Some are writing for others to read. And some are writing for one of the various above mentioned reasons.

I started blogging just for the heck of it. Little did I know that it will grow into one of my favourite hobbies. I blog because I like it. I am definitely not blogging "to be heard". I blog because I have something to say. It gives me an outlet to express my enthusiasm. I can rave and rant all I want and it feels good. A technology consultant, called blogs "be-logs" because he believed that blogging was used to "log your being". I guess that holds true in my case too. My blog serves like a not-so-personal diary for me. Its like a personal reference..to not forget certain events/thoughts/travels in my life.

They say that bloggers are people with attitude. I am ok with that. I feel that attitude is always good as long it's positive. Also, blogging for me is a great excercise which is food for thought.
Thinking and writing are somewhat synonynmous. Blogging can be "thinking by writing" or "writing by thinking".

All in all, I am very glad that I started blogging!

Goa Trance

I saw 'Dil Chahta Hai' long back and since then I always wanted to visit Goa. Finally, last december when I was in India, I managed to squeeze the Goa trip with bunch of friends in my schedule. I wanted to rent a convertible and drive to goa, movie style. But, due to lack of time, we ended up taking a flight from Hyderabad to Goa. Usually, before visiting any new place, I will do lot of research. But, this time I had no clue as to what to expect in Goa. A friend of mine was taking care of logistics there and so without much preparation, we just hopped into a flight and went there. I heard a lot about Goa and I was very excited.

On our first day, we stayed in a hotel near Baga beach. Since, it was impossible to cover whole Goa in 3 days, we decidedto just see the best places in North Goa. Baga beach is one of the most popular beaches in Goa and it lived up to its name. It is a long beack with lots of shacks serving great food and drinks. I really liked the tables on the sand, very closeto water. We just spent the whole day walking on the beach and just watching the crowd there. It was an awesome place to see the sunset. From the beach, we went to our hotel for a quick shower and then we were on our way to Flea Market. Saturday night's Flea market in Goa is really famous. It starts after 10pm and it is a heaven for hardcore shoppers and good bargainers, to bid on wonderful trinkets and handicrafts. I realized that after coming to US, my bargaining skills have diminished drastically.

My friend asked me not miss the Taj Village in Goa. He wanted me to atleast go and have a cup of tea there to experience the place. So, next day, we went to Taj Village. It was love at first sight. All of us liked that place so much that we decided to stay there for the next 2 days. Situated in close proximity to Fort Aquada, Taj Village is a charming place with pretty cottages, pathways, fragrant gardens and a great spa. We just pampered ourselves there for coupls of days and I spent quite some timelazing around in one of the many hammocks there. Somehow I really like visiting churches and I make it a point to visit one if it is famous. So, later that day, we went to see the Basilica of Bom Jesus. It is a very old and beautiful church with great architecture.

We wanted to visit the Fort shown in 'Dil Chahta Hai' movie. But, the problem was that the Goa has some ten forts and no one there knew which one of them was shown in Movie. So, the next day, we rented a car and went in search of that elusive fort. We travelled till Maharastra border in narrow Goan roads and ended up in Tirakol Fort. It was a nice fort with great views, but it was not the one. But, in our long drive we discovered many villages, secluded beaches and great vista points. Our quest for the fort ended on the final day. We found out that the fort we were looking for is right beside our Taj. So, we decided to see that place before leaving for airport. But, that fort was closed when we went there. What an irony!! Anyways, I was glad that we found out what we were looking for and we managed to take some snaps there. And then, it was time to say adios to Goa.

Goa has it all - history, culture and cuisine. Goa exhibits a strikingly different culture from the rest of India. There's no place better to fall off the wagon than Goa, a sandy string of laid-back, choose-your-own-adventure beach villages, each with its own personality and a cure for whatever you're craving. Goa is a mix of Andaman's beaches and Kerala's palm trees &backwaters. It is a great place to relax beneath swaying palm trees on idyllic beaches, head up back roads and discover tiny villagesand to expend your energy dancing till dawn. My holiday was over, but I knew my memories would definitely linger for a while. There’s still lots of places, crazy Goan food and culture to be explored in future trips to Goa.