The Flash And The Arrow

I must write this post before I watch too much of the Arrow. I have already watched 9 episodes of the first season and I've got to say what a refreshing change from The Flash. The weirdest thing is that it has essentially the same writing team as The Flash (I checked) but the characters and events in the Arrow are so much more sensible. I don't have contempt for Oliver Queen even when he makes a bad decision. His bad decisions come from being human not from being stupid. Like his decision to trust Helena, for example.

Even when I watched the Flash there was some cross over from The Arrow I could see then that I'd enjoy watching The Arrow even before I knew that he was a real character and there was a show called the Arrow. In the first episode when Flash goes to see Oliver to find his way, the Arrow made an impression on me. Then Felicity came to see Flash and oh yeah, that was love at first sight for me.

When I saw the episode name Flash vs. Arrow, I kind of cringed because I don't really like to have hero against hero. But that episode was amazing! And once again the Arrow earned my respect. Another episode where the Arrow came to help the Flash. Every time he appeared on the Flash he dominated the scene, both from an actor's performance viewpoint and the character's screen presence.

So, I am really happy that this show exists, that it has 4 seasons on tape and that it's amazing.

The whole approach here is different. I can't help but compare it with the Flash for obvious reasons. Here Oliver Queen gets as much screen time, more in fact, than the Arrow. Here, his name is still "the Hood" even after 9 episodes. Here his team is building slowly, growing organically as such a team would in real life. He still has only Diggles to help him. I am eagerly waiting for Felicity to join him. Soo, I hope.

Well, I will cut it short and just say, I am really, really enjoying the Arrow and I recommend it highly to the viewers of this genre.

The Flash Season 1 Finale - The Bullshit Continues

SPOILER ALERT: Dude, I am gonna discuss the whole plot of the season 1 finale of The Flash, so major, major spoilers. 

As I mentioned in my last post on The Flash, I find Barry Allen stupid. But not all of his stupidity comes from his character, quite a lot of it comes from the writers of the show. This episode is an excellent case in point. So I will discuss the episode with special focus on Barry.

In this season finale Barry goes back to 15 years ago to save his mother from being murdered. Back to the Future 2 style. Before the move is made it is discussed and discovered that if he goes back and saves his mother's life, the timeline will change drastically, his father would not go to jail, he would not live with Joe, he would not meet Iris, etc. etc.

Some of the characters say he should do it, some say he should not, and there are a number of sappy scenes for all them, so many that it gets annoying. Only saving grace there is that the actors are all good and don't hem it up despite the opportunity to do so.

We get to know from the beginning that this is a very risky experiment and if Barry can't go as fast as needed he will die instantly. Then as preparations progress we find out that not only will he die but the whole world as we know it may be destroyed. Despite all of this Barry decides to do it. I mentioned in the last post on The Flash that he can't make a difficult decision. This is a case in point.  Although he makes a brave decision to risk his life but he risks the whole world for a personal gain.
Other than destroying the whole world, there is a risk that the alternate timeline could lead a to a terrible world for mankind but he doesn't care about that.

But, on the other hand, there are no paradoxes in time travel therefore if his blood was on the scene that means he did go back that means he will go back. The decision has already been made. Fine.

Then we come to the point which irritates the hell out of me! Just because it's a sci-fi show doesn't mean it has to be scientifically correct in every technical detail, especially on the future technology. So, the writer/director will take creative licence and that's fine. But on conceptual level it should not try to fool the audience with mumbo-jumbo. Time travel is a concept with which even the non-geek audience is familiar and at least the geeks know what a causal loop is.

Now, listen to this. Just before Barry is getting ready to go back in Time, Cisco tells him that there will be THREE of Barry Allen's there that night. One, the young child, the other as The Flash who gets the young Barry out and fights Dr. Wells, and the third, this one who's listening to Cisco just before going back. I will number them so we can discuss them without running into our own backs. Barry1 - the small child, Barry2 - The Flash fighting the man in yellow, Barry3 - who is just about to go back and save his mother. All clear? Now raise your hand if you can answer the next question.

Barry1 - The child lives there in his current time line, wakes up by the noise and comes down.
Barry2 - Went back in time to save his mother.
Barry3 - Where did Barry3 come from? 

Why are there 2 grown up Barry's or Flash's there on the scene? One is going back from the current year, but where's the other one coming from? My understanding was that the Flash going back now is The Flash fighting the man in yellow. How do they ADD a Flash? There's no mention of another time journey by a Flash and no explanation why there's a third Barry there on the scene.

I hope someone has the answer to it because it irritated the hell out of me when I was watching this episode!

For a bonus question try this. In the episode "Out of Time" when Barry goes back in time by a day, there is NO OTHER BARRY. He is the only Barry in that world and he has to live his day exactly that same again. So what happened to the Barry who is actually living his life on that timeline? They mention particularly that the Flash "Did not turn back the time" but "Traveled back in time" which means that that timeline should have a Barry/Flash already there that the Barry/Flash from future can see. That's how it works in all the sci-fi in the universe and that's how it make sense. But no, not for The Flash.

And then, they change the rules completely in the finale and add an extra Flash. What annoys me even more is that they keep mentioning Back to the Future, so they do know these things, or should! In BTTF 2 you can see the Marty from BTTF1 and the Marty from BTTF2 avoids being seen by the other Marty. Makes perfect sense. When Marty and Doc go to the future, they can see and hear the future Marty. Perfectly clear. Here however, the rules of Time Travel in the Flash are neglected and played with.

I have 3 theories to explain this kind of writing, feel free to choose one or add a new one if you like.

1. The writers are not real geeks and do not really know about these things even after watching sci-fi like BTTF before.
2. The writers are idiots who can not comprehend anything as complex as time travel.
3. The writers think we are idiots who do not understand something as complex as time travel.

In the end, he doesn't save his mother. He waits off-screen and lets the man in yellow kill her. Okay, that made me admire him as that is THE MOST difficult thing in the world to do and he does it to save the timeline. But then I remember that he risked the whole world and the future of Mankind to say goodbye to his mother and it makes me mad again!

When he goes back, he crashes Dr. Wells' time capsule and doesn't let him go back. What a stupid moron! Instead of letting him go back he stops the one person he cannot beat and traps him in this time. What an amazingly stupid thing to do! And there's no point to it except his personal feelings! There's no real reason for stopping him from going back!

A fight ensues, as expected. At the climactic point, Eddie, Iris' boyfriend, shoots himself as he knows he is the ancestor of Dr. Wells/Ebart and this way he kills himself to kill Ebart. Once again a moronic decision by someone who is supposed to be an intelligent person. Does he not recognize that it would not "Kill" Ebart, it would "ERASE" him completely from the timeline, which means all of his influence on the events of the past will be erased - no particle accelerator, no accident, no Flash, and that's just the obvious things. A change of that magnitude would endanger the whole world! And it does!

So, you can see why I am not pleased with this slipshod way of writing science fiction.

Don't worry, it looks like this will be my last post on The Flash. I finished watching season 1 and have no desire to carry on in season 2. However, what I do like in The Flash, is the cool fast motion effect and how the show reminds me of Sheldon in Big Bang Theory doing Flash. :)

P.S. I am going to watch The Arrow next. That's been my gain from watching this stupid show - I found out about the Arrow and the adorable Emily Bett Rickards! :)

The Flash - Stupidest Man Alive?

Spoiler alert: This post contains major spoilers for The Flash season 1.

Okay, so I am watching the first season of The Flash the first time and I have some stuff to moan about.

The show is well directed and it's easy to watch. While it's not as amazing as Firefly (nothing ever is or ever will be) where you actually care about the characters but at least you can watch the characters with interest. So, let's talk about some of them.

The Flash. I know he's doing a great thing by being The Flash and fighting crime and what not but seriously if you look at him he's stupid, naive and he's a pussy. It looks like he has trouble figuring out the simplest of things and that he has never taken a tough decision in his life. Dude, your mom died when you were young, murdered, didn't you learn anything in the 15 years?

Whenever he's faced with a villain, he rushes in. Even when he knows the villain has powers that can kill him. Yes, they want us to think he's brave, but that's the kind of bravery that's called stupidity. He makes no plan, he just bumbles in like an idiot. This is demonstrated very well in the episode "Flash vs. The Arrow."

Second, his body moves very fast, but his brains seems to work like a malnourished moron. In any situation, he'd do the thing that an idiot should do. Take the episode where he travels back in time by a day. Harrison Wells tells him specifically not to do anything different as that would have serious repercussions and he just goes and does something so big that it can't but have the granddaddy of repercussions. I mean, doesn't he read science-fiction, he's a geek, right? And it's shown in previous episodes that they have all watched Back to the Future. WTF, dude?

The supreme irony is that even after changing his behaviour so drastically from the first instance of the timeline he expects everything else to happen as it did the previous day. What a jackass!

Take the episode "All Star Team Up". He's up against the main villainess, she unleashes her robot bees at him. What does he do? Instead of using his super-speed to cuff her, take control of the computers, and win the day, he starts running around like a schoolboy to escape the bees. And then when he comes to a glass window, instead of using his super-speed to break the glass and get away, he's like "Oh, Cisco! I am trapped! There are bees all around me!" Gimme a break! Didn't he learn just in the last episode "Tricksters" how to go through solid material? And now he can't go through a huge glass window that a 5-year old would break by hurling a chair at it? Jeez!

Enough about the super moron. Let's talk about Iris. Absolute bitch!

Right from episode one I can see that she's a selfish bitch. Selfish, self-centered, near-sighted, stupid bitch! Way too many examples to give so I will try to restrain myself.

Barry has feelings for her. They both grew up together and still she doesn't see it. That takes some serious neglect of the other person because girls are a wizard at noticing these things. Look at how she treats Barry, how she treats Flash, how she treats her boyfriend, you will see what a selfish bitch she really is. Still, I don't blame Barry for loving her, because love is blind, and we just proved that Barry Allen is stupid.

In the episode "Out of Time" she confesses she has feelings for Barry and kisses him WHILE she is in a live-in relationship with her boyfriend AND AT THE VERY SAME MOMENT her father is tied up at the mercy of a super bad villain type person. Awesome girl!

Her blog - what a stupid idea! Endanger yourself and your family even after multiple warnings from multiple people. Even after finding out that the newspaper gave her a job only to exploit her as a "Flash person" and knowing she has told Flash to never contact her, she doesn't leave the job on moral grounds. Selfish, manipulative.

I think by episode 18 everyone should be able to see her true colours when she's like a dog with a bone about how her boyfriend should tell her everything. Even giving him an ultimatum. WHILE at the same time, she never tells her boyfriend about Barry's feelings for her and actively tries to hush it up a couple of times. Double-standard, cantakerous bitch! (I realize I am using the B-word too many times. Can you suggest some juicy synonyms?)

The character I like in this is The Arrow. The actor (I can't be bothered to look up his name now) has brought him to life as a mature, experienced vigilante, who has done it all and seen it all. I was dreading the episode "Flash vs. Arrow" from the title but I loved it when I watched it because I got to see The Arrow in action. And it was worthwhile. He also understands human nature and plans for it.

And my favourite person on the show is "Felicity". I say person because I love both - the character and the actress! Having worked with actors now I am aware of how much a good actor can change themselves to adapt to a role. Therefore I don't know how much she's really like "Felicity" but I love how she portrays her. Felicity is a breath of fresh air in all the drama. She's gorgeous, she's funny, she's witty and she has mad hacking skills. She's just adorable!

(And now you know why I chose that picture with this post!)

When she first appeared on the show I didn't even know who she was but I loved her at first sight. And the more I got to know her the more I loved her. Emily Bett Rickards. Yes, her name I googled even before the episode was over! She plays Felicity so well, I can't tell where her own personality finishes and where Felicity starts. It maybe the producers picked someone who was like the character or it maybe she's completely opposite of Felicity but she does a hell of a job as Felicity. When I finish Season 1, I would probably re-watch only those episodes where The Arrow and/or Felicity are in the picture.

So, a rant and a rave in the same post. Breathe!

My Sorrow My Music

I have realized that even though I listen to at least 10 different genres of music in at least 8 different languages, when your mood is pensive and you don't know why (or even if you do know why) there's nothing like Urdu ghazals to suit that mood. Urdu poetry feels like the a warm hug from a dear friend. It holds you, supports you and makes you feel better without saying a lot of words.

Try this ghazal if you want to see what I mean.

https://play.google.com/music/m/Tufujfpshaf3uq6px4gimjkenky?t=Kisko_Aati_Hai_Masihai_-_Jagjit_Singh

Dude, Where's My Personality?

"You didn't have a personality you had some TV shows you liked!"

This line is said by Leonard to Sheldon in "Big Bang Theory". They are having a discussion about girlfriends and how they change a person. Sheldon suddenly realizes the effect Amy has had on him and says that he has unwittingly allowed her to change his personality. And Leonard responds with the line quoted above. It's quite funny but also not entirely true.

If you think about it, the TV shows and movies we like are an integral part of our personality. We like a show because it resonates with something in us. Either we like its humour or we are entertained by its action or we like how the drama on the screen provokes the thoughts in us. Some of the most animated conversations I have had with friends, and sometimes with complete strangers went something like this:

"Did you watch xxx? It was hilarious!"
"Oh yes, I loved so and so in the such and such character. He was amazing!"
"And did you know he did a movie recently where he played the xxx?"
"Really? I must watch that!"

And the thing just takes off from there.

In "How I Met Your Mother" when Ted is dating Robin he makes her watch Star Wars and he really wants her to like it. To the extent that she pretends to like it. Similarly in "Big Bang Theory" the guys get really flustered if the girls mix up "Star Wars" and "Star Trek".

Penny: No, no, that's Star Trek. They get really bothered if you mix them up.
Amy: Why? What's the difference?
Penny: There IS NO DIFFERENCE!

I watch these and I am like "Come on guys, they are just movies. Lighten up."

But then suddenly this morning I realised would I really have a future with someone who didn't like "Firefly"? Can you imagine the arguments? Would I knowingly date someone who is not into science fiction?

Imagine the first date.

Me: Have you seen Firefly?
Her: No. What is it?
Me: Oh, it's an amazing science fiction show made by Joss...
Her: Science fiction? No, no, I don't waste time on that stuff.
Me: Check please!

I do sincerely think that science fiction, the good kind at least, opens up our minds and broadens our horizons.

And do our heroes, (the super and the normal kind) not inspire us? We learn a lot from the characters that we admire, how to do the right thing, not be a douche, with great power comes great responsibility, these many other things we have learnt from our favourite shows and movies.

So, that's my epiphany from this morning. Thoughts?

Keep Your Damn Approval to Yourself

That's sounds quite nice and straightforward, doesn't it? This quote in the image? And it makes sense we should be comfortable with who we are and what we do rather than base our sense of self-worth on the opinion of others. Am I right?

Wrong! All those sensible sounding words sum up to one thing - Bullshit! Utter and pure bullshit!

We, all of us who are considered social animals, are programmed to seek the approval of others whether we do it consciously or subconsciously. Yes, even those people who make it a point to tell the world they don't want anyone's approval do actually seek approval. Sometimes more than the others.

There is noone that I know of, not one person, who violates this rule. It applies to poor and rich, downtrodden and powerful alike. We live in a society, we live by its rules, or we face the consequences, so we are constantly seeking its approval, we just don't think about it.

Otherwise, it would be common knowledge (without the expose) that the Pope was guilty of child molestation. The Pope is a powerful man, and by no means poor, why would he hide his activities? Simply because he knows what he is doing is not approved by society and law.

At an other extreme, take Mother Theresa. I am sure she didn't help the people in need because she wanted to get any applause, but I'd be 1 to 100 that it did make her feel good when the society took notice of her good deeds and appreciated her for the wonderful person she was!

This programming starts early in our childhood, remember the "good boy" "bad boy" concept? What is that? Simply seeking your parents' approval. Then it goes on to school, with the grades actually quantifying how much approval you have got.

Some people who don't go to school or drop out, they get the approval in other ways. By making money! Bill Gates maybe be a high school drop out but he is a very rich and successful (read: has money) therefore he meets the society's approval

It is everywhere. When you are keeping your car under speed limit, you are doing things the approved way. I know some people would point out that they do go over the speed limit. Sure. But do you do it in front of a police car or speed camera? You are not defying shit, you are just sure you won't be caught.

Approval comes in various flavours and styles. When people laugh at your jokes, when someone clicks Like on your Facebook post, when your boss says "Good work!", when your girlfriend says "Oh, you are so romantic!" they are all forms of approval and you eat all of them up!

But why do we say we don't need the approval?

Because it makes us feel better. Even though we all conform, we all also want to be known as the Rebels. It makes us feel good! And we always back it up with little acts of rebellion that don't cause much harm. Unfortunately I can't expound on this theme without giving away my little professional secrets.

But seeking approval is not a bad thing. Much as we would all like to be bad boys and bold girls, civilisation as we know it could not handle it.

Imagine if nobody followed the law, nobody cared about the social conventions and noone gave a damn about appearing nice, ...well, we would be worse than animals. And we would perish.


Now, I don't give a damn if you like my blog post or not since I only write for myself but...;-)

Wrong or More Wrong?

You decide!

Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Movie Review - Awesomeness Exemplified

In all honesty, it would be unfair to call this a review. It should be called a rave. And here I feel the need to put the disclaimer, I have not been paid any money by Joss Whedon or Marvel for this review, I have not been sent or offered any inducements and all the four times that I have watched this movie I have done so with my own money.

Having said that, I did absolutely love the movie! Not surprising considering I have been a hard core fan of Joss Whedon ever since I watched "Serenity" follow by "Firefly". You can read how that happened in this post: http://sunilgoswami.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/firefly-i-joined-cult.html

I was in India when Avengers 2 was released. I watched the trailer and was immediately convinced that it was not a movie to miss. I should clarify here that my main purpose in watching movies is entertainment. Any messages or learning has to be incidental. And Avengers promised to be super entertaining.

(trailer)

With great expectations I booked the second most expensive movie tickets in Delhi with my kids. (And to this day I regret not booking the most expensive ones. If any movie was ever worth it, it's this one.) Usually, I am not a big believer in 3D. It was good for the first few movies that came out as a novelty feature but after that I feel that it's become more of a gimmick, a buzzword to lure the audience and (in some cases) hide the poor storyline.

However, I am not one of those who sleep with their back to the future. I do know that it can be a powerful aid to storytelling if used right. That's the trick, if it's used right by the director, it's an amazing aid to storytelling, if it's used just to add a buzzword to the movie, it's arduous and boring. If I am peering through glasses for hours just to watch a movie you need to make it worth my while.

I would like to give two examples here. Final Destination 5 (2011), 3D is used as a gimmick, throwing things at the audience and such similar stunts. I walked out of that movie a little before halfway through. Three Musketeers (2011) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1509767/) the director has used the 3D technology that lends itself to the storytelling. I was spellbound till the very end. Watch them both if you haven't and see if I am wrong.

So, giving Marvel and Joss Whedon the benefit of the doubt I booked the 3D show, on the day that it was released. And I was right. The 3D aspect of the movie has been planned as carefully as the rest of the movie. The screen is used as a stage for the action and it feels all real that way but there's no gimmicky action and no stupid things being thrown at the audience.

Now about the movie itself. If you loved "Avengers" you are going to absolutely love "Avengers: Age of Ultron". In my personal opinion it's even better than the first. And here's why I think so.

There are more awesome characters in it, but all the characters have been giving enough screen time to do justice with them. Because the movie is part of the Marvel series you know the characters well by now and you know what they are all about. And they are all true to themselves in this movie which makes the audience identify well with them. Also we already know the actors playing those characters and it makes it easier for us to like them.

The story is complete in itself but also fits well as part of the large story arc that has been going on including Avengers 1, the 3 Iron Man movies, the 2 Captain American movies, Marvel's Hulk movie, the 2 Thor movies (did I forget any?) and the comic books.

You don't need to know anything just to enjoy this movie, but the more you know Marvel's characters and the back stories the more you enjoy the film.

The dialogue is so amazingly witty and lively that you would remember it and it would haunt you. I have watched this movie 4 times by now and every time I have been impressed by the dialogue. This is especially true as I get more of the dialogue with each subsequent viewing. For example some of the lines that get lost because they are delivered under the breath or are absorbed in fade out's you get them in the second, third, fourth time of watching. And they are witty and amusing!

In the dialogue and in the rest of film, references to the characters and stories are carefully preserved and utilized.

As a director myself, (granted that I director miniscule things compared to Hollywood), I do pay attention to and notice the things a director has to plan with his DoP and 1st AD. And I loved to see that each and every shot in the movie was planned and directed to add value to the storyline. I can't talk about those shots without spoilers so I would leave it at at that.

There is real depth in the movie. I am talking about the depth in terms of human drama, well-defined  characters and richness of the landscape, locales, building and gadgets..and pretty much everything that's part of the movie. I recently bought the Avengers 2 artbook and it's mind-blowing to see how detailed is the planning for each part of the film.

I make films myself (short, low-budget, not like Marvel) and I can hazard a guess as to how much effort and work goes into something this huge. I was wrong! The planning and pre-production work is beyond my imagination! Actually, it's more than was needed, to be honest. I mean I was curious about things like what kind of features does Hawkeye have in his bow? What powers and features does the current Iron Man suit have?

Looking at the artbook I can see they plan things in much more detail than even my curiosity. And that makes the movies so much more interesting than just something that was based on a Hollywood formula.

I didn't do this review for over a month because I didn't see any value in a review that only raves about a movie. I mean, it's Avengers you should know it'd be an awesome movie and go watch it. You don't need me to say it! Ultimately I decided to write it simply becaues *I* wanted to talk about the movie. In order to make it a balanced review, I should point out some of the weak points of the movie as well.

Sorry, don't have any. I went into it as a fan of Joss Whedon and came out as a super-fan of Joss Whedon.

Since watching Avengers 2 the first time, I have re-watched Captain America 1, Thor 1, Avengers 1 twice and of course Avengers 2  three more times and I can say with confidence that they are all immensely re-watchable.

Conclusion: If you haven't watched "Avengers:Age of Ultron" yet, you should and watch it in 3D if you can.
I myself plan to buy the blu-ray when it comes out. Actually, I have already pre-ordered the Blu ray 3D version and I don't even have a 3D TV. Don't worry, I am not crazy, the pack also contains a normal Blu-ray of the movie.

Big Bang Theory - S04E06 - Logic Hole

Nerd alert - this is like splitting hairs but it's a logic question and I am going to ask it.

It's an old episode so I won't say spoiler alert.

In this episode Leonard sleeps with Raj's sister Priya and tries to keep it a secret. The truth comes out when the four friends are having lunch at the university the next day and Raj asks, "So what did you think of the new episode of Caprica last night?" To which Leonard admits that he didn't see it.

The implication here is that Leonard didn't see the episode because he was engaged in coitus with Priya at the time...BUT....in the previous scene when Priya comes to Leonard she says that Raj had finally gone to bed before her sneaking out.

So...when did Raj see the episode? If he saw it BEFORE going to bed then Leonard could have seen it as well at the time because Priya wasn't with him (Leonard) yet. If Raj got up AFTER Priya had gone to meet Leonard then he would have noticed that his sister was missing.

Thoughts?

Samsung Galaxy S6 - Samsung Taking a Piss

I hope Samsung have some shepherds on  their staff or at least they plan to hire some soon because they have got my goat and I suspect they will get a lot of people's goats with this S6 announcement.

The reason I hate, nay despise Apple, is not personal. They make high-priced, crippled, unusable shiny tech products and try to use marketing to sell them to mostly gullible, non-tech-savvy users. And that gets my goat. Samsung has done the same with S6. Non-replaceable battery, glass back, no-SD card…I wouldn’t buy this phone if they paid me to use it! No Sale!

It's nice to see when a company listens to its consumers. On the other hand, it's frustrating to see when a company completely disregards what their users like and try to copy their competitors. The plastic body Galaxy phones were light and popular. So, why go for the aluminium body because some reviewers ask you? The glass back?  WTF, Samsung?

I love the edge on a phone, I currently own the Note Edge and love it to bits. The edge screen is good-looking and very useful. It's so handy that I can't go back to non-edged phone now. But two edges? No, not good. Especially, as according to CNET reviewer the edges are not used in the same way.

People make light of the lack of expandable storage and say stupid things like use the cloud or 32GB is more than enough. No, it's not. And cloud is not the same thing as a micro-sd card in the phone. I currently have a 32GB phone with a 128GB microSD card and for the first time in my life, I am happy with my phone storage capacity.

Same goes for the replaceable battery. I could carry a charger or a powerpack or even a solar charger. None of it compares the convenience of just popping out the battery and putting in a charged one.

Honestly, I was not even thinking to buy the S6 as I am going to wait for the Note 5 Edge but this just pisses me off. If they do this kind of BS with the Note 5 series I will just stick to my Note Edge or shop around for a different phone from another company.

You can read the specs for the S6 here - http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge/

Why everyone loves a Salsera

Ever since I started to learn salsa I have been meeting so many new people. By the very nature of salsa you get to meet and greet more girls than guys. In the class you dance with them and after the class you want to practice with them. When I was good enough to go to the socials I met even more. So, in the course of less than a year I have had the good fortune to meet many remarkable women.

There are some things common to all salsera's no matter what the age, background, colour etc. I wanted to write a post on the salsera's but I didn't know how to go about it. I was worried that it might come across as cheesy or sleazy or even sycophantic but then while browsing about salsa I came across this fantastic article on that very topic. Although the article is about "Why you should date a salsera" I think it's an excellent character sketch of a salsera and I am really glad that I found it. Now, I don't have to write it and the author has done a much better job than I could hope to do. In addition to being a better writer, she's a salsera herself and as such has insights that I would not be privy to.

As you can guess by now I really love this article and would like all salsa people to read it. So, with that much ado, here's the link:
https://cairogypsy.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/date-a-girl-who-dances-salsa

Salsa is a woman!

My reasons why I think salsa is female:

1. Has various moods and speeds. 
2. Is sexy and spicy with a lot of glamour. 
3. You need to find the right music for her. 
4. Takes work to first get familiar with her. 
5. Is complex but fun if you love her enough to put in the time and effort. 
6. Needs constant attention from you. 
7. You love to dress up for her. 
8. She keeps you on your toes. 
9. Is more intoxicating than any wine imaginable. 
10. Makes your heart beat fast. 

And... 

She does leave you all hot and sweaty ;) 

Salsa Addict in Action

Jinke hothon pe hansi paanv mein chhale honge,
Haan wahi log tere chahne waale honge.

Translated from the original Urdu it means,
"Those who would have laughter on their lips and blisters on their feet,
Yes, those people would be  the ones in love with you."

Obviously a sher as deep as this can have multiple meanings where "you" could refer to a multitude of entities or concepts. But today, I would like to have it refer to Salsa.

5 days and evenings. I knew this was going to be a long streak of dancing and it was. I knew it would be legendary weekend+ if I survived it. And it was and I did! Barely.

Here's how it played out. Friday night, Tapton Hall social with SalsaBeat. Amazing night, lots of dances. That was a masquerade ball so some added fun there. Plus they have a regular Kizomba room at the same time so you can imagine that that makes me happy as a dog  with two tails.

That finished at 2 AM.

After a night (early morning) of a little sleep and a day of "cleaning my room" I was back in Sheffield on Saturday night for another social - this time by Parranda. Not as crowded as Friday (some people just can't handle two nights in a row - lightweights! :P ) but still a lot of fun.

So, that finished at 0100 or so. After half an hour of saying farewell to everybody, then I tried to find the Kizomba after-party that was happening in another part of the town. That was supposed to last until 4 am. Well, didn't exactly find the club but found the area and didn't like the looks of it. No good place to leave my car.

Missed that one then. Another night of short sleep (I find it hard to fall sleep quickly when my mind is all keyed up.)

Back on Sunday to Sheffield for a  3 hour Bachata workshop. That was quite an awesome workshop and overran by half an hour.

A quick supper and then off to my regular Sunday evening Salsa classes with Richard, followed by social dancing.

By now my left ankle started to hurt where the edge of the shoe touches the foot. But kept on dancing. Exit from there was almost at midnight.

Overslept on Monday morning and had to miss breakfast to make it to work on time. But still went to the Monday evening classes and social at Clowne. That was another great party. Even though the ankle was still hurting, I kept dancing and enjoyed it so much that I did not want to leave even at 23:30.

Overslept yet again on Tuesday morning. Yet again, missed breakfast to make it to office on time. But still went to the Kizomba classes and social in the evening. That was also fun regardless of the ankle that kept hurting. But I knew I could rest the next two evenings.

The moral of the story is, well, there is no moral, I am just proud that I made it through this long schedule and so happy with all my dancing opportunities that I had to share this since I could not create Facebook posts for all the fantastic events.

Now looking forward to the next weekend after 2 nights of rest!

My favourite Big Bang Theory Quote

I just find it so funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3jxdGZshpo

Why Salsa people are good people.

One of my reasons for loving salsa is that it gets me to socialise and meet a lot of nice people. I am not one for socialising or going out to meet strangers. But going out to learn salsa has the great side effect of meeting a lot of lovely people. In this post I want to quickly list out why I think Salsa people are nice people as opposed to say going out to normal nightclubs.

- Salsa people are social
Why else would they be out dancing and chatting with other people? Even the introvert people (like me) enjoy meeting other people and having nice conversations. Even in the short time that I have been learning salsa I have a lot of salsa friends, not because I am such a great guy but because they are such friendly people. They reach out to a stranger, reassure a nervous beginner and are friendly as a rule.

- They are open to new experiences
They come to the salsa class because they are open to doing something they haven't done before.

- They are about self-improvement.
Learning a new skill like dancing Salsa I would count as self-improvement. It takes a lot of practice and perseverance to learn salsa so essentially salsa people are the kind of people who are willing to dedicate their time and effort (and money) to learn a new skill. I am not counting those who give up after a few classes but I am counting those who realize they have got the bug and come back to Salsa to try harder (I am one of them.)

- They are capable of laughing at themselves.
Even in the beginning of the learning process you find out that learning to dance Salsa means making a lot of mistakes while you learn. And all the successful Salsa dancers learn to laugh at their mistakes and keep trying. (Those who don't learn this cannot be successful in salsa. It's just that kind of dance.)
[Caveat: I have heard about these "LA" style dancers who take things very seriously and are irritated by mistakes. I haven't met any of these myself so I will stick to my point.]

- They are not heavy drinkers.
At least not when they dance. Although it's not a teetotallerian environment, alcohol doesn't flow as freely around a Salsa dance floor as in a normal club. Some people abstain as they find it counter-productive for their learning in the class while others (like me) get high on the dance itself. Whatever the reason, I haven't seen any drunken behaviour or bar-fights in a salsa event yet.

- They come from varying ages and backgrounds
And variety being the spice of life it makes it things very interesting. Doing salsa I have met people from 20 and younger all the way up to 60 and above. And I have loved chatting with all of them.

- They are usually modest
During the early period of learning salsa we come to realize that it's not a quick and easy skill to acquire. On the way to learning this skill we go through a period when we are not any good and we watch more experienced dancers burning up the dance floor. I think that makes us humble.
That's not to say that there is no vanity on the salsa dance floor but that's not the norm. Most salseros are modest, friendly people who salsa because they love to dance not because they want to show off.

- They are good dressers.
This is a given considering that half of the salsa people are ladies, but even salseros make an effort to dress well for the occasion. The result is that in any salsa social you spend an evening with a bunch of well-dressed, friendly, fun people.
What could be better?


So there you have it in a nutshell why I think Salsa people are some of the best people you could meet socially.

I would love to hear what you think...

Salsa - The First and Most Important Rule - PYP

Instead of continuing with the story of how I started to learn Salsa I want to talk about something I think is more important.

PYP - Protect Your Partner

I have seen it mentioned in many forum posts, blogs and advice articles but where it made most impact was in Don Baarns's book (www.unlikelysalsero.com). He says that this has to be your top priority. If you remember only one thing on the dance floor it should be this.

After having had some dance floor experience, I agree. Wholeheartedly.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If a lady gets a foot perforated by another woman's stilettoe heel while dancing with me, she's very unlikely to class that as a good dance no matter how many fancy moves I did or how well I executed them!

Why is it our job?
Because we are the leads. It is in my control to initiate and lead a move. The lady does what I lead her to do. And with great power comes great responsibility. If you are in-charge of her movements then you are responsible for her well-being on the dance floor.

Although, if she pushes her arm to style and pokes someone in the eye, that I would leave as her responsibility. Fair is fair.

Here are a few Do's and Don'ts based on what I have read and what I have seen and experienced on the dance floor so far. My Salsa experience is quite limited and these lists are given here more as my own checklists than advice to the world in general. Additionally, I don't take credit for all these items, they are my compiled list from many sources including Don Baarns' book, peppered with my own thoughts.

Do's
- Your partner can't look behind her. You must look behind her and act if there's a threat.
- Leave any move in the middle and pull your partner away from the threat if need be.
- Change a move, stop a move, shorten a move, leave a move, stop dancing, do whatever is needed to keep her safe.
- Do tighter cross-body leads if it's crowded.
- Take very small steps if there's no room.
- Do the simplest moves you can if the room is limited.
- Look to see there is space to send your partner there before you start a move.
- Look where you are sending your partner just BEFORE you send her there. Things change fast on a dance floor, that place may not be free now.
- If you can take the hit to save your partner from a bump, be a man and do it.
- Smile and have fun even when you are navigating the space around you like rocky waters.
- Use a Freeze not just as a musicality move but also to avoid bumping into another couple.
- Watch not just for your own moves but also when another lead maybe flinging his partner towards your partner.
- Think "Shields up" from the moment you lead your partner to the floor until you lead her back.
- Have a margin of safety around you and your partner or don't do a move.
- Use the same precautions when practicing partnerwork in a class as on the dance floor.
- Her styling is her responsibility everything else is yours.
- Be light on your feet. If a move fails and you happen to step on her foot, you have a better chance of stopping before your heel comes down on her toes.
- Watch out for drunks on or near the dance floor. Salsa folks usually don't drink when they are dancing but other people do. A splash of beer on a favourite dress can be as traumatic to a lady as a kick on the shin.
- If despite all your precautions, something does happen make sure the lady is okay and wants to continue the dance. Just because you can't see any visible damage doesn't mean she is completely ok.

Don'ts
- Don't lead complex moves if the space is too crowded.
- Don't expect your partner to know what's behind her.
- Don't follow on with moves (of a sequence) if you or your partner are about to bump into another couple.
- Don't take big steps if the floor is crowded.
- Don't think of your partner as you think of your car bumper.
- Don't think that your partner is more advanced so she can fend for herself on the dance floor. You are still her protection.
- Don't even think of dips and tricks on a dance floor that's packed.
- Don't EVER say "Oh, well!" if your partner does happen to get bumped or stepped on. Make sure she's ok.

So far, I have not been as aggressive about protecting my partners as these lists suggest but I would like to be and hopefully these lists will help me get there. I haven't had anything more traumatic than someone stepping on my dance partner's foot or her stepping on someone else's but it still makes me feel bad. Even when the lady doesn't assign the blame to me I feel responsible. Because I am.

My Own Experience
I have only had a few socials and social nights but each one has been great for learning stuff and I don't mean just moves. In the beginning I used to take a certain amount of bumps and step-on's as part of the day when dancing in a crowded club. My eyes opened after reading those articles and Don Baarns' book. Now, I take it very seriously.

The worst I have had was another lead falling on me while I was dancing and I remember thinking, "Thank God, he fell on me and not on my partner!" :) No damage though, I have fast reflexes and was able to get out from under without letting him bring me and my partner down. He went down though.

Why now?
There is no way I can say this next bit without sounding "holier-than-thou" so I am just going to say it.

Another reason for posting this before my other planned posts is not just to remind me of this but also because even in my limited Salsa experience I have seen many leads ignore the PYP rule.

I don't know why but people seem to think that a few collisions and step-on's are all part of the day in dancing. Not newbies like me but even experienced leadds. I have especially noticed this in classes. If the space is crowded and during the practice sessions your partner steps on someone's foot or someone steps on her foot, it just doesn't register with the lead as anything noteworthy.

That's a big reason I am writing this post. This should really be Rule 1 in our Salsa etiquette book.

The only exception is teachers. I have never seen a girl dancing with a teacher bump into others or vice versa. I guess good teachers develop this skill as part of their salsa skills.

What I am going to do about it?
I would like to develop the PYP skill myself. In fact, now that I am able to do a handful of moves I can get on the dance floor. Which makes me equivalent to the driver who has just got his driving licence and is getting on the motorway to driving among more experienced drivers. They may have held the licence much longer than the newbie but that doesn't mean they follow the same safety rules. Remember the big 18-wheeler flashing his highlights in your rear-view mirror driving at 60 in a roadworks lane on a rainy night? The safety of my passengers and myself is in my hands.

My Priorities
Now that I can "dance", I have pushed learning new moves as priority 4. It goes like this.
1. Protect my partner
2. Have fun in each and every dance
3. Polish the current moves (own footwork, lead, timing etc.)
4. Learn new cool moves
...

The post ran on longer than I had planned but some of that stuff needed to be said and some of it I had to get off my chest. Thank you for reading this far. I hope I get some good tips on this topic from the more experienced leads and follows. That would help me develop the PYP skill myself. Please use the comments form below. Thanks. 

Sunny's Salsa Saga - The Beginning

So I finally decided to write about Salsa. Let's start with why I didn't want to write about it at first and why I decided to write now.

Why not?
- Because when I started to learn Salsa I didn't think I had much to say.
- Then it took over all my spare time so I didn't have any time to write about it.
- Then I found that I had way too much to say about it and didn't have that much time.
- I didn't think I was qualified to write about Salsa, especially things that would sound like advice or teaching.

Why now?
- I just gotta!
- There is so much to say about it that I can't keep it in and can't say it all to all my friends for fear of boring them.
- I am really passionate about Salsa.
- All the advice and teaching stuff is just my experience and opinions based on my learning journey. If I can make that clear to my audience and not pretend to know more than do I will be fine.
- I have a lot to share and who knows some of it might even be useful to somebody somewhere.

What next?
There's way more to say than can be done in one post so this will be an ongoing series on my blog.
I would absolutely love to hear from my readers about what I write. Any comments, criticisms and above all their own experiences on this topic would be very welcome.
I am hoping that salsa people will comment and share their thoughts.
In this current post I will only give the background of Salsa in my life.

So we start...
I first started learning Salsa about 5-6 years ago. Why did I start? There's a story.

Once in a while I used to go to clubs with friends. Like normal nightclubs. And even though I could not dance to save my life, I still used to get on the dance floor and "dance". No, alcohol was not involved, I just get more courageous when I am with friends and the music is good.

Every time I went to a club, there would be one brief period, like maybe a few minutes when I would be a dancing and I would be totally in the zone. At that moment I connected so well to the music that I disconnected from my surroundings. Even at that moment, I wasn't doing any amazing "take back the streets" steps, in fact I don't even know what steps I did, if any. But that few minutes period was worth the whole effort of going out...call it Nirvana, meditation, happiness, what you will.

After a while I started thinking about how I could extend that period to more than a few minutes and achieve it more frequently. I don't really like going to clubs, so when I started looking for dance lessons I didn't look for that kind of dance. Salsa was very popular at that time in the UK and a friend of mine told me about this place on Charing Cross Rd. where you can have an intense one-day class in Salsa. Kind of like a crash course. A good place to start.

One Google search told me what there was to know about Salsa Rapido at Bar Salsa in London. I took the first 5-hour long beginners class and loved it! After paying for the class once, it was free to repeat during the next two months and I did it a few times.

Then I found a 10-week Salsa course with City Academy with a weekly class. After the intense-information-overload type class with Salsa Rapido the one-hour a week class that taught one or two moves every week seemed too slow even though the teacher was really great. I did meet several good people in that group though and it was then that I created a Meetup group called "City Academy Salsa" to connect with my classmates and other people who wanted to go out and practice together. The group still exists even though I dropped out of the course after 6 weeks. I made it open to join by anyone so it has more than 150 members today.

But, my Salsa journey did not continue that smoothly. After dropping out of City Academy I dropped out of Salsa. Honestly, I don't remember what changed. But I work as an IT contractor and move around a lot. So something like that happened and my Salsa stopped. I never forgot it though and wanted to get back to it. Recently when I moved again and it seemed like I would stay in one place for at least 6 months this time, the first social thing I sought out was Salsa.

Fortunately there was a local class every Wednesday and it was close enough for me to walk to it. So my Salsa journey started again, and this time for realsies.

More in the next post...

A beautiful song - Como Me Duele

Currently absolutely in love with this song. It's not Salsa, it's Bachata, but such a sweet and haunting song that I don't even care that it's Bachata.

Gloria Estefan's voice is enough to make it a great song, but after I found that I was falling in love with this song, I looked for a translation of the lyrics and they are heartbreakingly beautiful!

The title of the song is "Como Me Duele Perderte" which means "How it hurts me to lose you." The damn thing stirs up so many memories and emotions..:-)

I haven't seen the video though, I bought the MP3 from Amazon and have listened to it many, many times, almost non-stop on Friday in a loop.

I'd like to know what my readers think of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clMVaEvq0JA

Lata Mangeshkar Enjoyed Amitabh Bachchan's appearance on Kapil Sharma's Comedy Nights with Kapil

Being an immense fan of Amit ji, Lata Di, and Kapil Sharma, I really liked this small but sweet piece of news. Is it really news if it quotes Twitter? I don't care. It made me smile.

http://www.bollywoodlife.com/tv/lata-mangeshkar-enjoyed-amitabh-bachchans-stint-on-kapil-sharmas-comedy-nights-with-kapil/

I also want to do a longer post on the two episodes of Comedy Nights with Kapil where the legendary Amitabh Bachchan graced the stage but I am afraid it would be a really really long fan rave as I am a big fan of both Amit Ji and Kapil Sharma. But I will try to write it anyway, since it's something I want to do. 

The Day the Amazon Went Stupid

I used to think the Amazon was a sensible service which was all about the customers. And then they go ahead and combine their video streaming service with their Prime membership. So when my Prime membership is renewed in a couple of months I'd be paying £30 more per year for a video streaming service that I don't need and don't want. I can cancel my Prime membership but I can't opt-out of the video streaming service. How great is that?

Well, being the vindictive person I am, I will not only cancel my Prime Membership I will start looking at other web-based shopping services for the things that I used to buy at Amazon. I am sure there would be other people who would be looking elsewhere. And while this is true that Amazon would not be crying at the loss of my business, as we all know "every little helps."

Way to the lose the trust of your loyal customers Amazon!

So, I went to my Prime Membership page and clicked "End Membership". There is an option to end it when it comes to renewal. I chose that. Mine was due in renewal in about 2 months. I could have waited until then to cancel but this way I make sure they can see this as a result of their stupid, fascist decision. If enough people thumb their noses at Amazon this way, there's a chance, albeit a very slim chance, that the Amazon management may regain their senses.

Now since I won't have the Prime benefit of free one-day delivery, I will have no special reason to buy everything from Amazon. I am pretty sure there will be a lot of other customers who will have the same kind of behaviour change following Amazon's one-sided decision to force their video streaming down their customers' throat.

And later in history books when the question is put to the students what brought about the super-successful online shopping giant Amazon.com they will be able to point to this date and this decision.

End of angry rant!