Now, I am a Liebster Award Winning Blogger! :D

First things first , I would like to thank Bhumi from “Hey Listen Wait” for nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award . Can’t  tell you how content I am right now. Being a newbie with a 2 month old blog..this truly means a lot.:D

Last weekend , to be exact on a Saturday ..I have been confronted with an awesome opportunity from my fellow blogger. I am one of the nominees for the Liebster Award. I feel happy , honored & privileged to have been chosen & I am equally excited  to choose my nominees for the same. May I also take this wonderful opportunity to thank the Indiblogger community for their support :)

I am ever grateful to you fellow bloggers  for your stamp of confidence…your visits…kind comments & now with this award..I feel super encouraged & can’t wait  to write the next post  of the many more posts to come . Carpe Diem! J

WHAT IS LIEBSTER AWARD ? – Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. It is said that , the Liebster Blog Award started in Germany(probably) & is used to highlight new/recent/lesser known blogs or let say blogs with less than 200 followers.

HOW A LIEBSTER AWARD WORKS ? - The Liebster is an award you accept with the intention of paying it forward. When you get nominated ,you have 10 questions to answer .Answer them ,then create 10 more questions &  choose 10 more bloggers whom you feel are deserving of more subscribers & you pass the award on to them.

So here are my answers to the questions asked to me by Miss. Bhumi of “Hey wait listen!” at http://howdypancakes.blogspot.in/2013/10/liebster-my-first-blog-award.html

1. If you were to write the story of your life, what might be the title?

Hmm…the title would be “Hey there! Nikhil here”

2.If you could have lunch with any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Sachin Tendulkar because I never gotta chance to meet him , so if this award’s trivia gives me a  chance to then I’l take it :D

3.If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be and why?

Dog’s my favorite animal anytime but if I get a chance to be an animal I would certainly choose a flying one maybe an Eagle so that I can cover most of the places in a day that I have planned on visiting. Would certainly save some air fare .:p

4. Item on your “bucket list” that you would be MOST upset if you didn't accomplish.

Skydiving or maybe the travels that I wish to do in the future.

5. What’s something you regret, and how would you change it if you could?

Would have loved to start reading from a younger age which I have changed now by doing reading on a regular basis , so that I can cover many books.

6.Name any 3 blogs you like and read everyday and why?

Time constraint doesn’t allow me to read blogs on a regular basis but I do check out a couple of blogs every once in a while if I get a chance to. 1> the POSITIVITYBLOG by Henrik Edberg..’coz this is one of the first blogs that I read & made me wanna go back to it  2> writetribe by Corinne Rodrigues…I guess most of us just love this blog ‘coz it gives us bloggers a lot to write & think upon 3>  Aficionado…..by me :p :p…’coz whatever I write ,I love reading it later as an audience/viewer to check whether it is really worthwhile J.Sometimes I feel it is & sometimes I don’t, that is when I edit or hit the delete button :D

7.Name one thing you would like to do before leaving this earth.

I better check my fuel & then cross check the essential things as per my checklist  that I cannot live without .:p

8.If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life what would it be? Why?

Navy blue ,it is then forever .

9.What's the last dream you had that you remember?

I actually have a tough time when it comes to remembering the dreams. The last one had something to do with a gathering or more like a reunion with my friends in a park or a jungle…who knows for sure :p :D.

10.Morning or night person?

Night person for life, I guess :D…keep me awake the whole night, I would be glad to do so but when you ask me to get up before sunset then you are actually killing me, mate. O_o

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I have tried my level best to be honest here & answer all the questions straight from the heart.

Now choosing the nominees & the questions ,,,that’s one hell of a task.

So, the nominees(in no particular order)  are….

Parvathy - http://silentdrizzle-parvathy.blogspot.com/

Anita - http://anitaexplorer.blogspot.com/

Subroto - http://subrotopant.blogspot.com/

Harshini - http://talkinginmydream.blogspot.com/

Sugandha -  http://somethings-sugandha.blogspot.com/

Cynthia -  http://blogatcynthia.blogspot.in/

Suraj - http://www.freepaperbook.com/

Neha - http://svahvritant.blogspot.com/

Jeff - http://jeff-dawson.blogspot.com/

Apurva - http://apurva-desai.blogspot.com/

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Note: To the people I have nominated above: This may or may not be your first liebster but the reason behind me nominating you is: I enjoy reading your blog & you guys do deserve a lot more subscribers J.Keep Blogging & Write on!

Now the questions compiled for you guys.

1> If you get an option to change your name ,what would be your new name?

2> Why do you blog & what keeps you going? (actual reason)

3> Of all the places you have visited so far, Your favorite place & why?

4> Anything that you would change about yourself?

5> 5 rare random facts about yourself that most people don't know?

6> Your favorite TV show/movie/book? Answer one or two or all.:)

7> One particular thing that you miss from your childhood days?

8> If you had one wish, what would it be?

9> An awesome moment that you can never forget?

10> Now a cliché one: If you had one superpower ,what would it be?

Let’s pass it on & see what others have to say….

Keep Blogging J

Carpe Diem!

Traveller : Haiku

                                                       “ Backpacked and all set

                                                     Felt as if I missed something

                                                       Maybe spirit’s enough “

Gravity (2013) : Movie Review

To begin with  , you are in for a visual treat that you haven’t experience before.

Won’t give out any spoilers ,so you guys  don’t have to worry about anything spoiling your movie watching experience. What I am gonna do here is : Convince you to go watch this movie ASAP ‘coz it is one of those movies that when watched later on Television or your PC on a Blu-ray print can make you think “ Damn , should have watched it in the theatres!”.

This movie starts off with a space scene … obviously ..:p.

You see Sandra Bullock , George Clooney & an Indian guy talking blah blah to a guy who’s down here at mission control I guess. "Blah Blah" is supposed  to mean some research & NASA stuffs .The movie never feels as if you are watching it , it feels as if you are experiencing it. You find yourself floating  in outer space & trust me as exhilarating & thrilling as it sounds , it is scary as well. You don’t want yourself to be floating miles away from where you are right now & that too all by yourself. Think about it & the next moment you will realize the scary part that I was talking about.

Direction….my oh my!...this was one hell of a presentation by Alfonso Cuaron. Remarkable cinematic experience in every possible sense &dimension. He has probably left no stones unturned for this one. Frankly speaking I still strongly feel that some of the shots are indeed taken in outer space . As ridiculous as it sounds , this is what makes his direction so great. So real , attention to details & was able to capture the true beauty of the planet earth. While watching this, you get a glare or two at times & that  feels surreal.  You feel as if you are watching a blend of fantasy & facts. Can’t decide between you want to believe it or you need to. So what more to say about the direction , it’s simply amazing or I must say class apart.

George Clooney is the charm in this movie. His dialogues are funny ,nice ,straight & deep at the same time. A well acted role played by him. You enjoy watching him act/float/play an astronaut . Coming to the leading lady of the film , Sandra Bullock. What can I say about this wonderful actress . We all know how amazing an actress she is. As flawless as her beauty is , her acting is the same. This is definitely an Oscar nomination role. Can’t say “An Oscar Winning role” because what if there are some better roles to come our way in the near future , so saying that at this point of time is not justified I guess. But she’s going to be a tough contender for the academy award this year. Acting was simple yet so engaging. Clooney’s wit and charm is a lighter force of our dark tale, and is a perfect balance to Bullock's frantic demeanor.

This movie makes us question our existence ,roles that we play in our lives and is our life worthwhile in all phases.

Throughout the movie we don’t know whether people are gonna survive or not, either ways, we know one thing for sure :“It is gonna be one hell of a ride & we will have one hell of a story to tell” .

All in all this movie is remarkable, outstanding , captivating ,visually stunning, engrossing , heart-warming , heart-stopping, jaw dropping  & definitely  one of the best sci-fi movies one ought to watch .

This Gravity has an intense surreal emotional pull indeed.

P.S. - James  Cameron said “ Gravity is the best space film ever made” &to that  I would say “True that!"

Camaraderie

This is a total impromptu post.  Like they say “One fine day , while I was looking out the window , a thought struck my mind:What a wonderful day it is! What is today's date by the way? – “Shit , I forgot my friend’s birthday..AGAIN”…I am dead meat now”.

As usual the call went the same way as it goes every year..

I say “ Where are you busy these days?...ssup with your life lately?”

Reply “ Dude! Come straight to the point”

I respond with Many many happy returns of yesterday. Belated Happy birthday!

Forgiving is a quality that easily&naturally comes when you are friends with someone. If  you don’t believe me then try it on a stranger . You can never forgive a total stranger if he/she  really pisses you off some way or the other. The first immediate automatic reaction is “Wht the…” . The reaction maybe the same when it comes to a friend but it still is a passing one & specially a cool ,casual and an at ease one . You really don’t mean the words but with an unknown you actually do.

To this particular day , I strongly believed that jotting down how you feel is lame. Writing or acknowledging someone via a post or a status update is a bit cheesy but that is definitely not the right case. It is ok to express some things or let say most of the things. Things are never better left unsaid. Things left unsaid is just not correct and  that is actually lame. So yeah , it’s absolutely ok to acknowledge the one’s who make your day/week/month/year/life  free of anguish.

We socialize in this hustle bustle world full of cacophony because that is how we human beings are. That is how we roll :p.  We are definitely not our best left alone. Camaraderie solves all our issues. May that be social, personal, official or anything. You pal has got all the solution. They somehow are able to release you from your agonies.  We all have plenty of people around who are there for us whenever we need ’em & we are there for them as well.

Long story short : Friendship…companionship….camaraderie … keeps us all alive and going. You fight , you argue , sometimes you beat the living hell out of each other, sometimes you forget to show him/her the care he/she deserves but all is well & back to normal  when you just “Hug it out!”

Small chunks of camaraderie at some phase or the other is what composes our complete life. Some smaller ones eventually &unexpectedly turns out to be larger than life.

The Lunchbox : Movie Review

The Lunchbox:

The movie starts off slow & slowly catches pace. Not that ,it’s a thriller which needs to catch up pace or something . The movie starts off with the scene where a housewife makes a meal ,packs it in a tiffin & a dabba waala(tiffin guy) fetches the box (dabba) & delivers it to a specific office place.

So starts the story which weaves  beautiful , outstanding & fantastic things all together.

It mesmerizes you at times, making you think and realize how two lonely people who are total strangers can find company & love in each other in this hustle bustle world.

The film keeps you interested through out . Some may find it as a drag (the one’s who went in for a masala movie despite the trailers shown repeatedly on every possible channels which shouts that “IT IS NOT A COMMERCIAL MASALA MOVIE”) , for them it may be boring. Not judging anybody here. Everyone has a right to like or not like something, right. It makes me feel immense happy to see how Indian cinema is evolving to a place much beyond our sights & thoughts. There are some film makers around us who do believe that their viewers deserve  decent ,sensible stuffs & are mature enough to digest it.

Story is simple but the execution makes it a brilliant watch. I come across many people who have given up on Hindi Cinema due to the commercial masala movies being the top priorities here. This movie’s for those who think bollywood movies have become nothing more than 150-180 minutes of non-stop senseless action/drama which is just not worth the time or money.

Acting was kept simple & effective. Irfaan Khan no doubt ,delivers as promised as per his reputation & female character named “Ila” played by one Nimrat Kaur does justice to her role. Does a great job. Not to forget Nawazuddin Siddqui. Wonderful acting by him as well. Again, simple yet effective.

This film is simple , captivating , beautifully shot with average cinematography, heartwarming & definitely one of the finest movies to come out this year.

A lunchbox with a meal lingering your taste buds & satisfying you to the core , leaving you with no space for deserts.

P.S. – Brilliant ending is something to watch out for. It will keep you satisfied & at the same time wanting more.

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Hello Everyone!

I am so glad that I finally read Fahrenheit 451.This was the reaction that i had somewhere in the back of my mind moments after I read the last page. FYI I read this book sometime back, last year maybe but i had this review scribbled down minutes after I finished the book but never got a chance to post it .But now today’s the day. No more delay. J

 I am not the kinda guy who just reads classics ‘coz they are classics & you are suppose to read them sooner or later. I want them to be atleast interesting. I read the plot “Guy Montag , a fireman & his job is to burn books. A world where Firemen start fires & specially burn books as they are outlawed” & man , I thought this is definitely gonna be my next read.

                        

                                        

Starts like:

“It was a pleasure to burn.

It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed “ .....

And I was hooked. It’s pretty rare that you develop interest right away from the first couple of pages. For years people are trying to decode or atleast understand the true message behind this classic work by Late. Mr. Bradbury. The visionary piece of writing is what grabs your attention throughout. This book was published in 1953 & the writer was able to assume & predict the things 50 years from then . At that time it was just fictional but if you read it now i.e. 60 yrs from its publication then you are surely gonna be astonished to see how the writer was so sure about where the world is headed. Poetic writing is what I like the most about Mr. Bradbury which in this book lacked a little making it a quick & an easy read. Writing is crisp though. This book never feels as if you are reading a classic(in a “doesn’t bore you” sense)  because it is so fresh & way ahead of its time that anybody who prefers staying away from classics can also give it a try. As most of you must have heard , this book is about censorship & a dystopian world that reflects our present &future. I certainly didn’t feel anything irrelevant about it. Book is short & to the point. It is certainly gonna be a great read for a bibliophile because ???..hmm??...Read it & know it for yourself :p. Saying more about it would just be a spoiler & that would do injustice to this great book.

A classic which reads like as if somebody travelled 50 yrs into the future &  jot down this amazing work.

I personally felt Mr. Ray Bradbury’s writing was visionary, unique & captivating.

R.I.P  Mr. Ray Bradbury. Great Work!

Some quotes from the book :

“The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.”

“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”

P.S. – Mr. Bradbury wrote an early 25,000-word draft of Fahrenheit 451 in nine days on rented typewriters in a basement at UCLA.

A fact I think you guys should know J

Read on!

A few Mind-bogglers

Here are some movies that can make you go/think "Wht d..."
Won't add the movies that has an awesome twist or a climax that you never saw coming like Fight Club , Sixth Sense to name a few but would add the movies that though complicated were a satisfying watch ,made u think alot & left a strong impression on you for days after watching it.

> MEMENTO

> MULLHOLLAND DRIVE

> STAY

> Mr. NOBODY

> EYES WIDE SHUT

> LOST HIGHWAY

> BEING JOHN MALKOVICH

> JACOB'S LADDER

> VANILLA SKY

P.S. - To be continued....

Go-to websites:Movies/TV Shows

So when it comes to movies there are people who just can't get enough. Not in a lame way but in a complementary way ofcourse.
You always wish to invest 120-200 minutes of your time in something that is worth it.
I myself tend be a lot choosy when it comes to movies n stuffs. I believe movies do play an important part in your life , it varies from person to person , how they perceive things. Certainly there has to be a reason why maximum percent of the world population tend to choose movies as their prime source of entertainment . "Ahh , weekend.. nothing better to do , let's go to the movies". We all have been there & i guess we still are.
So , in this hustle bustle world where technology is involved in almost every aspect of our life, we do require a mode of recommendation so that we can invest that 150 minutes wisely. We do right.
Following are some go to websites that can help you decide easily,wisely & quickly what movies/tv shows to watch/download & what not to.

http://www.imdb.com/

http://www.nanocrowd.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

http://www.criticker.com/

http://www.jinni.com/

Go-to websites:Books

The following are the frequent sites that i refer to inorder to come to a decision regarding books
The first choice is probably the most frequent site that i visit in the category & the others that follow are also pretty good to help you choose.

> For deciding my next read or to plan which one's to pick up on my next visit to the book-store, my go-to sites or i must say here's our go-to sites as can be seen from the membership itself.
All the below mentioned sites in this category are equally good & preferring which one of ' em is totally on one's taste .All these sites have a large community to help you decide your next good read.

http://www.goodreads.com/

http://www.shelfari.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.librarything.com/

 http://www.yournextread.com/

The first book

Most of us who are new to the world of books often start our wonderful journey to this awesome world getting to know about various authors via various sources.

People always get confused & tend to skip or take a pass when it comes to choosing the first  book written by a specific author. Even I had this dilemma  , so I used to do a lot of research & stuffs on the internet , used to visit a couple of blogs but still if I couldn’t decide the first book to read then I would just go with the ratings. Sometimes it worked & sometimes it didn’t .

If you don’t choose the first book of the author that you always wanted to read wisely , then that could really deprive you of the better work of that same author & you happen to regret about it  later after many years.

So I felt like composing a list of 10 authors with at least two options for starters from each …I have provided 2 books for almost every author in the list just inorder for you guys to have a back- up if someone ends up not agreeing to the first choice.

And i’ve added a couple of bonus books that you oughta read if you get a chance to in the near future…

So the first question that pops up in your mind is how would I narrow down a list to 10  when we have so many great authors to check out sooner or later…There are some authors who’s best work is known to many…like everyone knows Tolkien for writing “The Lord Of the Rings “ or J.K.Rowling who created Harry Potter…so why to state the obvious right…so I decided to put up a list of authors who had a lot of bestselling books..the authors in the list  may/may not be classic writers…may or may not be genre specific but they are definitely worth checking out..or let say this is a random list of certain authors that you stumbled upon & found something worthwhile…

The following list is made on personal choice & after a lot of research on the net.. I respect & appreciate everybody’s individual choice ..have tried my level best to not be biased here on personal favorites basis..So I’ve restricted my list to genres like Mystery, Suspense, Thrillers, Sci-fi as these are the widely read ones …. So the list goes as follows :

Stephen King –The world’s greatest living  suspense, science fiction, horror and fantasy fiction writer, with well over 500 million copies of his books being sold worldwide. Plenty of his novels have been made into movies .That being said , his  best work till date is considered to be “The Stand “ …& the other option that you can check out for starters is “Different Seasons “ which is a combination of 4 stories , so everyone can start with ”different seasons” thinking that they would atleast like 2 or 3 out of the 4 or all the 4..depending on the respective tastes..

Ray Bradbury – “ Fahrenheit 451 “ ..this one is definitely the best book to get in touch with the writing style of Mr. Bradbury…& the other option for starters can be “The Martian Chronicles “…it depicts his beautiful way of writing combined with a sense of poetry… both books complement the writing style of Ray Bradbury.

James Patterson – “Along came a spider “…this has to be the first book of his that you pick up ‘coz it is the first book of the series featuring the character that made Patterson famous:Alex Cross….Other option being “1^st to die “ is equally thrilling for a James Patterson ‘s first book..i felt you do ‘ve so many options to choose from on the basis of genre..can choose “The Angel Experiment ” if you like young adult fiction or can pick up “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas “ if you like  romantic & melancholous stuffs.

Jeffrey Archer – I personally could never choose which is his best work…some may say “Kane & Abel”..some may say “A  Prisoner of Birth “…but for starters I’d say “A Prisoner of Birth”..it being a stand-alone  novel & it truly keeps you wanting to read more from the very author…”Kane & Abel” is considered to be his best work by many.. a great book to start ..it is the first book of a trilogy..u ought to check out the trilogy as well..gr8 author indeed…

Agatha Christie – Often referred  as “The Queen of Mystery “ has so many great works to choose from..So “And then there were none” being a stand-alone novel plus one of her best works known becomes an easy 1^st choice…other option can be obviously the first in the series of  her widely known character Hercules Poirot  “The Mysterious affairs at  Styles”….Her Miss Marple series are also widely known to readers across the world.

John Grisham –…One’s who are into thrilling courtroom dramas tend to prefer John Grisham(I personally don’t lyk this genre )..Many of his works are adapted into Movies..many of us must ‘ve heard about “The Firm” starring Tom Cruise or “A time to kill” starring McConaughey..as these movies indeed did do justice to the books so it is ok to have watched the movie first ..u don’t ‘ve to regret about it..So a good book to pick up not adapted to a movie is “The Street Lawyer” (made into a TV movie but who counts that as a movie & it is not that good too so.. :p :p) . Not considering this as his best work but u would know about Grisham’s way of writing.

Harlan Coben  – His books are widely known for suspense & the twist factor. His books no matter how long are always considered a quick read. To start with you can read “ Tell No One ”…gr8 story..nice plot & keeps you guessing  throughout… Another good book to start with is  “Gone for Good”.

Isaac Asimov  - I decided to read this writer’s work ‘coz I loved the movie I-Robot ..He is famous for his foundation series . His “Robot” series are nice & intriguing too. So for starters it is good to start with “Foundation” the first book in the foundation trilogy.

Michael Crichton  – The creator of Jurassic Park . Need i say more!..Seen the movie Jurassic park ( everyone has ) ,so i started with “The Andromeda Strain” . So that would be my suggestion as the

first book to the ones who don’t prefer reading a  book  after seeing a movie adaptation of the same.

Dean Koontz  – Known to most of us as one of the most popular & successful suspense writers alive .His tales of horror , mystery , adventure has earned him the praise of critics & readers worldwide. So for a dog-lover the first book ought to be “Watchers” & for the ones otherwise checkout  ”Intensity”. His “Odd Thomas” series  are the best for people who wanna start a series right away.Trust me you won’t regret it.

So that concludes the list…

Bonus books as promised with the cover that I own .. These are some of the awesomest books that I ‘ve come across lately!!! :

City Of Thieves by David Benioff – Definitely in my top 10 favorites. Highly recommended.

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss – Once u start with this , I am pretty sure you can’t stop yourself from continuing the series.Reads like a wind indeed.

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards, #1) by Scott Lynch – Same goes with this , the first book of the trilogy would urge you to continue. A superb read.

 

P.S. – I will keep updating the above lists  as I continue reading …