Shikhar Nigam's Blog, page 2
May 13, 2015
The Kingsman
This ain't that kind of movie.There is a lot of things right with this movie. One, the villain is not evil. Well, not entirely. His intentions are good. He's not a simple stereotypical caricature as seen in most movies. Die Hard 4 tried something similar, having an antagonist who was trying to 'better' the world - as do so many other movies - but few rarely get it right. This movie does. It honestly does make you think about if you wouldn't support the villain's 'nefarious' plans. I probably might have.Two, there's a measured restraint in the self-referential humour - something that Scary Movie(s) started to get really wrong. So, did Two And A Half Men. The movie has its moments in its solemn tongue-in-cheek moments where they refer to the overblown theatrical plot. The characters know it and like it. The audience knows it and likes it.
Three, the fight scenes are brilliantly choreographed. There are three main long fight scenes - each quite different from each other - and yet snazzy. It isn't realistic like Jason Bourne, but then again this movie isn't trying to be Jason Bourne unlike the new James Bond movies - which brings me to my fourth point.
This movie takes you back to what was the essence of James Bond. and similar movies. There's the martini joke, being a gentleman, sex with the beautiful woman after saving the world and the most important of them all - gadgets! Over-the-top but god-how-I-wish-it-was-real gadgets. At the same time it also brings to the table the kind of genre-bending film you expect from Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Kick-Ass). While abiding closely to the rules of the genre it breaks away from them just enough to not be cliched. "This is where I tell you all about my evil plans," says the villain when he has the super-spy cornered. "And then find a convoluted way to kill you, and you find an even more convoluted way to escape," he continues. "That sounds good to me," says the super-spy. "But, this ain't that kind of movie," says the villain. And kills the super-spy with a bullet to the head. The villain is smart. The movie is smart. You'd be smart to watch it too.
May 8, 2015
1984
1984 es un libro de ficción de George Orwell. Es un libro importante para la sociedad. Todo el mundo tiene que leerlo. Es la historia de un hombre Winston Smith que trabajo en el Minesterio de Verdad en el país llamado Oceanía. Después de una guerra nuclear, quedan solo tres países en el mundo - Oceanía, Eurasia y Eastasia. Los tres países estan siempre en guerra con otros. En Oceanía, el gobierno está socialista y todos es en bajo de control del gobierno o del Hermano Grande.
Hay un crimen en Oceania. Es llamado Thoughtcrime. Hay también una lengua nueva en Oceanía llamada DoubleSpeak. Ambas cosas son usadas por el gobierno para controlar los pensamientos y las vidas de las ciudadanos.
1984 es la historia de Winston que trata luchar contra el gobierno para romper las reglas del gobierno pero al final no tiene éxito.
May 1, 2015
Las Historias De Perry Mason
Perry Mason es un abogado. Su secretario es Della Street y Paul Drake es su amigo. Paul Drake es un detective que tiene su oficina en mismo piso al igual que Mason. Las historias de Perry Mason y su clientes fueran escritas por Erle Stanley Gardner. Escribió ochenta y seis libros. En cada libro, el cliente de Mason es acusado de matar a alguien. Perry Mason trata de salvar a su cliente con la ayuda de Drake, Della y su ágil pensamiento. A menudo su adversario en el tribunal es Hamilton Burger. Mason siempre derrota Burger y salva su cliente de ir a prisión.
Lo mejor de las historias de Perry Mason es que toda la información necesaria para resolver el homicidio está en la propia en la historia. Entonces, puede resolver el misterio antes de Mason si está listo. En las historias de Agatha Christie, ésto no pasa siempre. A veces, Christie no da todas las pistas para resolver el misterio, pero Gardner no es así.
April 29, 2015
Fragrance
Waking up each morningHoping, for the fragrance of morn
To breathe some life
Into my depressed soul
To learn to break the bonds
Break away from the thorns
Of my lingering loneliness.
This lovely morning smell
Shows me a new life
A better one to strive for
A fresher one to try for
And even though that other life
Cannot yet truly be mine
Breathing in, in deeper breaths
This morning fragrance rejuvenates
My will to be happy
My will to be happier.
Originally written on 18 August, 2010
April 27, 2015
6 Games To Play With Just A Pen & Paper
While there are the classic pen and paper games like Dots, Hangman, Tic Tac Toe, Connect4, Raja-Mantri-Chor-Sipahi, Paper Cricket etc. the following is a list of some of of the more unusual pen and paper games that you can play.
1. Ultimate Tic Tac Toe
The aim is to win the big tic-tac-toe.
2. Telestration
At the top of a piece of paper write a sentence. Don't show anyone except the person immediately next to you. That person then illustrates the sentence and folds the paper over so that the next person can only see their illustration.
That next person writes a sentence to describe the illustration, folds the paper over and passes it.
Once it goes around to everyone you unfold the paper and have a laugh.
You can play the online version here: http://doodleordie.com/
3. Cow & Bull / MastermindPlayer 1 chooses to form a four-places pattern from 8 building-block designs, writes it down and does not show Player 2. Player 2 must guess the two lettered word. At each guess, he is given feedback by Player 1 in the form of x Bulls and x Cows, where a Bull means a correct letter is at a correct position, while a Cow means a correct letter is at the incorrect position.
4. JottoA variation of the above in which instead of a 4-places pattern, a 5-lettered word is chosen. The only feedback given is the number of letters common between the guess and the chosen word.
5. Attack and Defense
You start by drawing two people on a piece of paper. Then one of the players will "attack" or draw some means of killing the other stick figure ( for example a bow and arrow shooting at the opposing stick figure). The second player will then take a turn to defend and draw something like a shield to stop the arrow. The second player then gets to attack. This repeated with the first player then getting to defend and attack. You win if you can kill the other player, this is usually done by defending and attacking with one move so that you can have two attacks. It is great for killing time.
Pretty, soon you will have to come up with a list of things not allowed - like time travel to kill the parents or impenetrable force-fields etc.
6. Shape
Start by drawing a circle on a piece of paper. Make it fairly large, because a lot is going to be happening inside of it. Now, have one player - of which there are two - designate themselves as being either Light or Dark.Before the start of the game, the Light player draws a secret shape on another piece of paper. This will be important later on, so they keep it hidden from their opponent. Once that is done, the contest begins.The Light player goes first, drawing a straight line through the circle. This line can be anywhere and any length, provided that its points both touch some part of the initial shape. The Dark player, having seen this initial line, draws their own secret shape, which they keep hidden from the Light player. Then, the Dark player takes a turn on the circle, choosing to either draw another line or fill in some portion of the circle. The only caveat is that they cannot fill in a section that is more than half of the overall shape.It's the Light player's turn again next. Once again, they can draw a line through any section of the circle... except for a shaded area. The two players go back and forth like this until one of two things happens:[*] The Dark player fills in a section that mirrors what the Light player drew.[*] The Light player creates a shape - with the line touching a shaded area - that mirrors what the Dark player drew.Things can be a little bit confusing at first, and there are plenty of ways in which one player can end the game rather more abruptly than the other... but that just means that you'll have to adapt your strategy for the next round. [Credit to inventor: Source]
[Source]
1. Ultimate Tic Tac Toe
The aim is to win the big tic-tac-toe.
2. Telestration
At the top of a piece of paper write a sentence. Don't show anyone except the person immediately next to you. That person then illustrates the sentence and folds the paper over so that the next person can only see their illustration.
That next person writes a sentence to describe the illustration, folds the paper over and passes it.
Once it goes around to everyone you unfold the paper and have a laugh.
You can play the online version here: http://doodleordie.com/
3. Cow & Bull / MastermindPlayer 1 chooses to form a four-places pattern from 8 building-block designs, writes it down and does not show Player 2. Player 2 must guess the two lettered word. At each guess, he is given feedback by Player 1 in the form of x Bulls and x Cows, where a Bull means a correct letter is at a correct position, while a Cow means a correct letter is at the incorrect position.
4. JottoA variation of the above in which instead of a 4-places pattern, a 5-lettered word is chosen. The only feedback given is the number of letters common between the guess and the chosen word.
5. Attack and Defense
You start by drawing two people on a piece of paper. Then one of the players will "attack" or draw some means of killing the other stick figure ( for example a bow and arrow shooting at the opposing stick figure). The second player will then take a turn to defend and draw something like a shield to stop the arrow. The second player then gets to attack. This repeated with the first player then getting to defend and attack. You win if you can kill the other player, this is usually done by defending and attacking with one move so that you can have two attacks. It is great for killing time.
Pretty, soon you will have to come up with a list of things not allowed - like time travel to kill the parents or impenetrable force-fields etc.
6. Shape
Start by drawing a circle on a piece of paper. Make it fairly large, because a lot is going to be happening inside of it. Now, have one player - of which there are two - designate themselves as being either Light or Dark.Before the start of the game, the Light player draws a secret shape on another piece of paper. This will be important later on, so they keep it hidden from their opponent. Once that is done, the contest begins.The Light player goes first, drawing a straight line through the circle. This line can be anywhere and any length, provided that its points both touch some part of the initial shape. The Dark player, having seen this initial line, draws their own secret shape, which they keep hidden from the Light player. Then, the Dark player takes a turn on the circle, choosing to either draw another line or fill in some portion of the circle. The only caveat is that they cannot fill in a section that is more than half of the overall shape.It's the Light player's turn again next. Once again, they can draw a line through any section of the circle... except for a shaded area. The two players go back and forth like this until one of two things happens:[*] The Dark player fills in a section that mirrors what the Light player drew.[*] The Light player creates a shape - with the line touching a shaded area - that mirrors what the Dark player drew.Things can be a little bit confusing at first, and there are plenty of ways in which one player can end the game rather more abruptly than the other... but that just means that you'll have to adapt your strategy for the next round. [Credit to inventor: Source]
[Source]
April 25, 2015
Mi Película Favorita
Mi película favorita es "In Bruges". Es la historia de dos hombres. Ellos son asesinos. Ellos han sido enviados por su jefe a Bruges (que está en Belgium) para ocultarse. Uno de hombres, Ray ha matado a un niño. Él se siente muy culpable y triste. Aún cuando van a los diferentes lugares de Bruges, él siempre está triste. Hasta que encuentra una mujer que a él le gusta. Cuando ellos tienen una cita romántica, el otro hombre, Ken recibe un llamado de su jefe. El jefe manda a Ken a matar a Ray. Ken no quiere hacerlo, pero tiene que seguir la orden de su jefe. ¿Qué pasará luego? Para saberlo, tiene que ver la película.
April 20, 2015
6 Ice-Cream Flavours Based On Your Last Relationship
1. Distrust.
It would look like chocolate but taste like black liquorice.
2. Nuts.
90% nuts, 10% vanilla, and the company will text you every 5 minutes if you do not reply
3. Bland
Comes in a vibrantly coloured packaging and looks extremely enticing. But, when you open the lid, it's all one colour. You pick up a scoop and it's okay, not bad, kinda good. But, the next few bites are all exactly the same. About a third of the way through you notice things won't change.
4. Short & Sweet
One bite of the best ice cream you've ever tasted and then it's gone.
5. Whatever
Nothing's wrong and it tastes FINE.
And finally,
6. Non-Existent
It comes in white box with nothing inside.
Source
5 Ice-Cream Flavours Based On Your Last Relationship
1. Distrust.
It would look like chocolate but taste like black liquorice.
2. Nuts.
90% nuts, 10% vanilla, and the company will text you every 5 minutes if you do not reply
3. Bland
Comes in a vibrantly coloured packaging and looks extremely enticing. But, when you open the lid, it's all one colour. You pick up a scoop and it's okay, not bad, kinda good. But, the next few bites are all exactly the same. About a third of the way through you notice things won't change.
4. Short & Sweet
One bite of the best ice cream you've ever tasted and then it's gone.
5. Whatever
Nothing's wrong and it tastes FINE.
And finally,
6. Non-Existent
It comes in white box with nothing inside.
Source
The Patronus Charm
J. K. Rowling has given us so much creative fodder, I've decided to misuse it for my personal purposes. I'm going to be thinking about my Patronus.
So, for my very first attempt I am going to have to use a happy memory. Now Lupin makes an important distinction in the third book while teaching Harry this spell about the difference between a happy memory and a joyful memory. So, the memory that I'd go with is my first climb on Brighu in Manali when I was in eighth standard.
The night before twenty of us were all huddled in a tent while heavy rain poured down on us. I still vividly remember drinking hot tomato soup while the temperature kept dipping. Girish sir (our guide), then enters the tent and tells us that because of the rain, there will be snowing up top which might make the climb a bit dangerous Who's still up for it? I was.
Next, early morning, we left for a hike along the snow-laden slopes of the Himalayas. There were moments where I slipped and fell, sometimes for slipping down a precipitous slope for metres with my heart stuck in my throat. I survived (obviously).
Us on our Brighu TrekAfter the harrowing experience, finally reaching the Brighu peak and taking in the spledour of the frozen lake up top with all of my friends standing besides me - that was happy. That memory for me is the epitome of what that trip meant for the 13-year old me.
As for what shape I would like my patronus to take, I'd want it to be a dragon. Because they're cool.
April 17, 2015
Mi escritor favorito
Mi escritor favorito es P G Wodehouse. Era inglés y escribió muchos libros. Sus mejores libros son los de Jeeves y Bertie Wooster. Jeeves es ayuda de cámara de Bertie. En cada libro, Bertie está en problemas - usualmente comprometido para casarse y al final Jeeves resuelve los problemas de Bertie con sus mentiras. Todos los libros de Wodehouse son muy divertidos. Aunque mi escritor favorito es Wodehouse, mi libro favorito no es suyo. En su lugar mi libro favorito es de Douglas Adams y se llama Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy o en español, Guía del autoestopista galáctico.
