the Temp-Sample

we start in the middle of nowhere and this is where it will
all end too. There is a light in the window of the house
that is in the middle of nowhere. A shadow appears in the
window.

SHADOW
I have been sucking on stale donuts
all day. When will my misery end!!!

the house explodes! but the explosion cannot be seen from afar
as the the fog moves on! We see the hand of a man who walks up
to the remains of the house.

HAND
your misery ends when the monitor
is switched off and Alice walks
into the wonderland! GOOD BYE!

and that is how it ends...in the middle of no where.


....
I was trying a new scriptwriting service online and this is the temp-sample attempt I made while testing the features. Nope, not for me, I'd stick with Zhura for now... :)

The sound made by one

There's a peculiar habit I have. Whenever I read , I can't help writing down snatches of text that appeal to me. Not so much "quotable quotes" as "tasty text". I have several diaries full of such text now. If you read them, they appear like notes of a larger story - a celestial shaggy dog if you may, wet, sloppy, in your face and completely cryptic.
Speaking of cryptic shaggy dogs, I am always in awe of the Illuminatus! trilogy. Almost every other paragraph is a "tasty text" and most are too long to quote. Lately a single line from the book inspired an entire story out of me. I will post the story here in some time. For now here is another "tasty text" from the book:

How do we know whether the universe is getting bigger or the objects in it are getting smaller? You can't say that the universe is getting bigger in relation to anything outside it, because there isn't any outside for it to relate to. There isn't any outside. But if the universe doesn't have any out-side, then it goes on forever. Yeah, but, its in-side doesn't go on forever. How do you know it doesn't shithead? You're just playing with words, man.
- No I am not. The universe is the inside without an outside, the sound made by one.


...as I said...trippy!

A notable mention on #tweetcoding YAY!!!

post #twex I got really interesting in another experiment...

#tweetcoding was a kick ass code contest by Grant Skinner (thanks a lot @gskinner!)

prtcipnts hd 2 code sth. cool in ls thn 140 chrs!... and @machine501 setup an online compiler to showcase all the #tweetcoding going on... again thanks to @machine501 for making it so easy for me to follow it all up!
.
and now the results are out!!!

The Winners :
diagonal snake by @tomee6
Tunnel of Stripes by @piXelero (a personal favorite!)

The Runners-ups :
the drummer by @vectorcinco
Ghost Marquee by @dickwolf

Congratulations everyone! awesome work!!!

and there were some entries that got a Notable mention ...and My entry was amongst them:
The time-sketch by @shauryashaurya
happy happy - Wooohooo!!!!

To all the judges of the contest, thanks so much! This was really encouraging! :)

take a look at the #tweetcoding winners page.

1. Check out all of the #tweetcoding (compiled) entries online
2. the #tweetcoding rules
3. link to @gskinner's blog post on #tweetcoding
4. @gskinner says here that the next round should be in around next month: am eargely waiting!!!
   

S.

P.S. #twex analysis is still pending (my apologies!!! - sum dum projkts @ wrk I need to fin firs.) but results should be out next month! stay tuned :)

alluvial deposits

WOW! I had like four stories to write and no time.
(can't say how many times I have made this excuse, but I have still not figured a way to not give an excuse and get it done.)

The ideas came to my brain and left out the other way to mingle with the collective.
Like rivers rushing out to sea.
And now all I am left with are alluvial deposits...

These are real fertile, volatile deltas. There may be more stories germinating in these deposits, but they'd be closer to the sea and likelier to be washed away.

It may be this, there may be that, but the point in the mean time was - there was another January with a lot of stories in it, that never got told.

May the Gods accept the sacrifice (of these tales) and bless me with a better year ahead.

Stories giving birth to other stories, tales feeding tales...may the fabled ecosystems of imagination continue to thrive


:) :) :)

S.

Happy New Year!

Wish you a happy-shiny, shiny-happy new year.

by the way, here's a calendar just for you. Comment to this post, leave your email and I'll send a printable pdf to you. :)

DYNAMITE-SAMOSA

This one's about dynamite hot samosas, naughty missing children and the shopkeeper with the warm cold-drinks.

(hopefully) Coming soon...

started a total tweet of an experiment

Check out: http://blog.learningmate.com/wordpress/?p=21

I started a total tweet of an experiment at work.
lotsa people show lotsa interest. Key is keeping it alive. I hope it all works out.

big thanks to Atul for making it possible.

I love it when "it" makes a difference.

:) :) :)

emosanal atyachaar!!!

check out the Dev.D trailer!!! (http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=jpCxyL86zYQ)

bloody wow huh!!!

It looks like Anurag is all set to rock again!

too good Anurag! way to go... total emosanal atyachaar!!!

yay!

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AND WHY WE ARE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE

God created Life.
God, being a being several levels above Life.

The Life was given the power to control everything.
Life was magical. Wizard.

Life understood (and could make good use of):

• Gravity
• Elector-magnetism
• Strong Force
• Time
• Emotions
  

So whatever life would want, it would get, instantly.

Consider:
If it wanted a car below it's bum, it would not aim, and work and earn and yearn it.
If it wanted a car below it's bum, it would already have the car below it's bum.

If it wanted a golden lollipop while sitting in the comfy car, and cruise on a giant banana, it would already be doing so. Because that is all you can wish for, once you have magic and you have everything else that you can get from magic.

Life knew strong force, it could become any form it wanted and that is why it had no form.

Life was a mathematician, artist, linguist, computer programmer, film-maker all at the same time, and it did not need to be any of these at any time, since it understood (and could make great use of):

• Gravity
• Electro-magnetism
• Strong Force
• Time
• Emotions
  

Life existed for less than an instant of an instant and got everything it wanted from that minute minute of time. Just before Life would end, it would create more Life, so that every instance of every instance would be alive.

Life did not need God, at least that is what Life thought (we all do, don't we?).

God did need Life, for God needed to feel important (we all do, don't we?).

So the situation got uncomfortable.

There was a tussle that lasted for an instance of an instance and after the longest brief periods, a truce came to be (that is all it takes for a truce).

Life: Life would de-evolve.
God: In return, Life would live longer.
Over-all: It would be livelier than it was now.

So, all Life went to the future, and God turned back time.

Life would live and spawn a parent.
The parent had lesser control (and understanding) of:

• Gravity
• Electro-magnetism
• Strong Force
• Time
• Emotions

Over millions of billions of years, Life de-evolved, until it only understood (and could make good use of):

• Gravity
• Electro-magnetism

Since, it lost the strong force, it gained the first form.
It became a small single celled bacterium, living for a little more than an instant, living beneath the great seas.

And, then God let the time be.

The small single celled bacterium, over a few millon years has evolved into you.

And this is why most scientists cannot find the true origin of Life.

For Life did not come from before the bacterium, it came after it.

God is still a being being several levels above it all.

:) :) :)

ideate regurgitate

These are ideas, (I find them to be cliches) that I must get out of my brain, to get it working smoothly again. Maybe they can (I am sure they can) become good stories once they get out.
If you do make something out of it, do let me know. If I and up making something out of these I'll put it up here... :)


The 9th Hurry

Man named Hurry Prasad googles for his name.
Google points out 12 results.
He starts looking at them one by one.
Finds himself at #9. The link pointing to him is dead.
8 of the 12 men listed are dead too.
He decides to meet the other 4.
Then what?

I had read somewhere that you can connect to any other person in the world, and the chain would have at most five links (some hokey theory, I don't remember the source... probably true... like monkeys typing Hamlet etc.)e.g. I know a friend, who knows another firend, whose brother's wife's uncle is the president. So I connected to the president in 5 steps.

Who knows where these 5 Hurrys would go?

but why Google?
why not the local telephone directory?
Google is global dude!

It's probably just another cliche...probably better
THE END


The Real Reality

Unrelated Bunch of People (UBP) have issues in their lives.

"Can't solve it" is a proposed reality show for a TV channel.
The production company is shooting the pilot.
Reality shows need live audience to sit and clap.
This show is very strange ( what is the strange ness???)
This is a Strange Reality Show (SRS).

Our UBP lands up at the "Can't solve it" pilot.

The SRS really gives them a new perspective on life and on their issues.
You know, the old "finding yourself" plot, only done in the way love actually did love stories.

The UBP goes back home with a fresh insights on their nature and their issues.
Still, some "can't solve it", but some do.
THE END.

The SRS really needs to be Strange and still be Real.
Plausible. SRS should not look made up, instead blend seamlessly into the story, add value to the story.


The Small Path

There is a small path I saw today.
I walked up it, it hel the promise of unseen explorations.
But, my view was blocked with a curtain of coconut trees.
Blah!!! Blah! Blah...

This is well aged cheese, Rich and inedible.
But, it could be so many stories... so many cliches...
It could BE!
THE END
.
.
.




There...
nice brain release!
Ah!

say YES.

Look
say YES

You can't ignore me
I am going to try

I mean
Look
say YES

Just 'cause I go speechless
when you are there

Hey!
Look
say YES

You've never forgiven me
for not saying it when I could

but
Look
say YES

'cause I could never forget you
but never said when I could

and
Look
if you said YES

I'll get a chance I
don't deserve

but hey!
Look
before you say YES

'cause you'd give me a chance you
once wanted to

and I
Look
before I say

you have limitations
I do too

and
Look
say YES

no limit is as
limitless as your no

your
Look
your YES

its not about skin
its not about sex

your
Look
your YES

its about skin
its about sex

just
Look
say YES

for a mad mind
a madder heart

but
Look
DON'T say YES

I am in my senses
for a mo[ment]

no, no
Look
SAY YES

my senses just
went out the door

and
Look
I cry

for you
to say YES

and
Look
I long

you you would
feel YES

and
I, I
will cry

happy-crazy to see
your sweet YES

and
I, I
will die

crazy-happy if
you did someday

say YES.

let it be

how can it be
that the only words of wisdom
i see, i see
"let it be, let it be"

how can i
how could i
when i see, when i see
i want to be, i want to be

with all what i want
with all that could be
the only wisdom, i see, i see
let it be, let it be

i try hard hard
i try true too
for all there would be, i
let it be, let it be



don't know what tune it came from
can't say what song it'll be
this thought now amongst us
let it be, let it be

Un-Poem

I, sort of, can't stand writing poems.

1. It's easy to play with words.
2. It gives you a false pretense of being "deep", I don't want to be deep, I want to be good.
3. It's really hard to write a good poem, not that I am scared, I think I am still not good enough. I think I will be if I try hard enough. Everybody thinks that. ;)
   
4. I do not know the technicalities.
   
5. Not many people understand them, they can't see beyond the wordplay, not that these people understand prose either... I think I just wrote #5 to take the tally to 5 ;)

but still, I, sort of, love reading them a lot!

The other day I watched Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. It totally blew me away!!!
It used all of The Beatles' songs and used them well. And (blasphemy to The Beatles' fans) the one song I had never heard was "Let it be".
Once I heard it, I heard it again and again. And the song, and the film sort of pushed me to a point where I had to indulge in some word play.

What came out did look like a poem, but, it's probably too hacky-faulty to be a poem. Not that any of other work here is any better, but, it's just that I do not want you to think I am deep.

So, for the lack of a better word... let's call it an "Un-Poem"
I called it "let it be" inspired by The Beatles' song "Let It Be".
:) :) :)
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P.S. I do want you to think I am good, but, I won't say it out loud... hehe.

A Hope for the Lost Gray book

Lets hope I do manage to find another copy of the book.

rediscovering Alasdair Gray

Hello Shaurya?
umm.. uh! hehllow...

Yes, yes, okay. We need clarifications on today's events.
okay.

You do understand the gravity of the situation, right?
Yes, yes, sir, the gravity, the irony and the poetry of it, I understand it all...

Do not play words with us. Understood?
okay.

Right then we begin, where it starts.
okay.

One of your Favorite Authors?
Alasdair Gray.

Number of books written by this author?
several.

How many of these have You read?
ONE.

Title?
Ten Tales Tall and True.

Why not more?
Partly because his books are difficult to find.
Partly because the ones I found (Lanark, Book of Prefaces) were expensive.

What about the one you read?
It touched a vein. I connected to it. ______ fill this space with more clichés as possible to indicate that, the book rocked, and it rocked my world too.

...Aaaand?
After two years of:

1. dog earing the pages of the book,
2. trying (unsuccessfully) to write screenplays on 'loss of golden silence' and 'homeward bound' and 'you' and 'fictional exits' and 'ten tales tall and true'
3. how did he do it!!!
4. hero worshiping the author,
5. how did he do it!!!
6. trying (unsuccessfully) to write screenplays on 'loss of golden silence' and 'homeward bound' and 'you' and 'fictional exits' and 'ten tales tall and true'
7. dog earing the pages of the book.

We do not appreciate your incoherent rant! Keep your emotions to yourself, just say the facts please. What happened?
I managed to loose it...the book I mean, I am sorry.

Hmmm... go on. How did you manage to do this?
I went to withdraw money from the ATM. I left two things there:

1. The Book (Ten tales tall and true, Alasdair Gray)
2. A Cheque-book (UTI Bank, Bombay)

Classic pathetic. So What Happened Next?
Irony, Gravity, Poetry.

Facts Please, It's the last time we tell you this...

1. I lost the book, but, found the author.
2. Alasdair Gray writes a blog.
3. He writes it on blogger, http://alasdairgray.blogspot.com/

like I said, poetry, gravity, irony, in no particular order.

--------------------------------------------------------------
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P.S. I intend to block my chequebook and buy another copy of the same book, today. The old one was about 200 pages, 500 Rupees. A little more that 2 Rupees a page, too less for the great work, too much for my pocket.