A splendid tale of an explorer’s love for his dogs

The last post about a faithful dog generated lots of comments and interest. The post was even more popular than the one in which Nidarshana sports a moustache with elan! (58 comments vs 54 comments). The dog post put to rest some rumors in my blog world which were on the lines of “Spike and Nidarshana are pretty tight!” My response to these rumors is “We are just friends. There is nothing going on between her and me… although she still has the “it” factor, we are JUST friends”. She is a happily married mother of a kid and a dog. And I…. well, I share my name with a popular dog name! So there.. the moustache sporting Ann Dee and I are just friends! But I digress… this post is not for quelling rumors… It is about being loyal and faithful. When a dog can be faithful to its master for 10 whole years (Mind you, thats 70 years in dog-years), its only fitting that we humans give a respond equally to our best friend’s faithfulness and loyalty!

It is said that spending time in extreme climates like a desert and a cold barren wasteland OR experiencing near death situations will leave a lasting impression on a person … people who have undergone such an experience prefer to stay secluded in the more civilized world. At the same time they develop an innate bonding with all the beings they interact with in the wilderness – human or animals – probably because these beings have provided him with social interaction when it was most needed.

Dogs have been an integral part of Human civilizations and were one of the earliest animals to be domesticated along with wolves, the earliest records pointing to 100,000 years back. There are numerous stories involving man and his best friend and the bond between them.

Set in Antarctic, the movie is one such splendid tale of an explorer’s love for his dogs in the wintry wilderness of the south pole.

A scientist visits a US base station on the South pole to collect Mercury meteorite fragments that will help researchers know more about the planet and such. The mission involves going south from the base camp and further away from civilization. The ice being too thin for an airplane to land, the trip must be made by dog-sled. Although reluctant to make the trip for safety reasons, the explorer – Jerry – has no choice when he is ordered by his boss to assist the scientist.

The duo take a sled pulled by eight dogs to collect the meteorite. En route, they face problems and hardships as the Antarctic weather can be very unforgiving. To make their matters worse, a storm is about to hit them. They need to cut the trip short. The scientist reasons with the explorer that he needs to find the meteorite as it means the world to him. being an explorer and a man driven by feelings and used to doing what he likes, the explorer understands the scientist. even though knowing the weather and the intensity of the storms, he agrees to take the risk in order to fulfill the scientist’s dream.

The mission is successful, the discovery is made – but the trip back is no joke and someone nearly dies! On reaching base, evacuation is ordered as the storm has increased its speed and intensity. They need to go to a safer location that is 3 hours away by plane. The evac plane is small and the dogs need to be left behind in the storm and will be retrieved in the second trip. At the larger base, things change. Weather reports show that the storm is the worst storm to hit the South Pole in 25 years!! They have to evacuate this larger base too. The Dogs are not a priority anymore…!

Jerry is disappointed and heartbroken. He cannot find peace within himself as he knows it was not right to leave the dogs behind. But the people in power have other thoughts as the rescue of Dogs is unimportant to them. The risk and the costs are not justified and Jerry’s requests of a rescue effort are denied.

Although the movie is very exciting and engrossing till this point, this is where the real story begins…

~Will the dogs survive the storm? ~Who nearly dies? ~Why does Jerry have such a bond with the dogs? ~Will they be able to brave the -50 degree weather !!!!????? ~Will the dogs have enough food to survive for months? ~Will they be hunted by other animals? ~Will the dogs be rescued before they die? ~Will man return the favour to his best friend who love and serve him with their life? Directed by Frank Marshall, the movie has the Walt Disney label attached to it. Paul Walker plays Jerry Shepard. having starred in movies like Fast and the Furious, I always found him to be lacking finesse. Its like he does such movies bcoz he likes the adventure more than acting. He is not disappointing, but he is not impressive either. In this movie, his monotonous dialog delivery actually does some justice to his character as it is expected to be dry and monotonous and humbled by his surroundings – nature can be very humbling – his character knows it and Paul conveys that well on screen by being hilmself. Bruce Greenwood plays Davis McClaren. His character is foolhardy and slightly ego-centric. He has the brains, but like a scientist, he does not understand emotions too well and tries to find logic and reasoning in everything. Moon Bloodgood plays Katie. Her character is a pilot. She looks very lovely and provides a subtle romantic angle to the movie that though present, is not overbearing to the main plot. She has done a lot of TV like CSI, Daybreak and recently, Journeyman. Jason Biggs plays Charlie Cooper. He provides some comic relief in the movie and thus, his character is vital to the movie as it is vital to the base station. He keeps the viewer laughing. Now for the true actors and the real stars of the movie and My Best Friends ) The Dogs !! There were 3 breeds used for making this movie - Siberian huskies – 1)Maya 2)Jack 3)Shorty 4)Max A native breed known as the Greenland dog – 5)Truman 6)Dewey Alaskan malamutes – 7)Shadow (gray) 8)Buck (red) The numbers denote their order in pulling the sled. All three breeds come under the category of “working dogs” – extremely task oriented, these dogs will literally work themselves to DEATH before quitting! They are also genetically adapted to frigid temperatures of the Antarctic. They share their gene pool with Wolves and also resemble them in looks, nature and size – the differentiator being the cunning nature of the wolf. The dogs show enormous courage and belief in one another and feel betrayed when they are left alone. Their bark changes when they want to communicate different feelings. I have always wanted to own a dog! And watching this movie has brought me one step closer to having one as a pet. The only thing stopping me right now is that I am unsure I’ll be able to devote enough time for its care. This movie has to be in your collection if you have kids! Watch it with them, answer their questions and it will be an excellent way to bond with your children while teaching them about life, nature, human and animal emotions – all this while sharing an adventure in the comfort of your living room! rating for movie – 4/5 rating for dogs – 5/5 I want one as a pet …. sighhhhhh !! Note: I found the title of the movie to be clever – set in Antarctic, the 8 dogs are left behind – hence Eight below ! How apt…! !! Spike !! Dedication – This one is dedicated to friendship!! References - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Husky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_dog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Malamute http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pa_film_set_eightbelow http://imdb.com/title/tt0397313/

As my fans friends were clamouring for a post, I decided to migrate this post to my blog.

Ann Dee’s Challenge and Spike’s response!

Yesterday, my new and sassy blog-friend Ann Dee had challenged me to find her identity on MS.

I was reluctant initially since I don’t visit that site much these days, I asked the challenger for a prize. She was sweet enough to buy me a cool, crisp, foamy, cold and refreshing glass of beer… !!

(I thought the girl in the center was a dude! Guess I was distracted by the……..

pearl necklace!!)

The spoils were agreed upon, but there was a slight problem…. we are both in a different geographic locations, so to keep things simple, I agreed to a virtual beer that I can display on my blog along with this caption -

“Ann Dee bows to thee and promises to never ever mess with the smart and cool dude, eye-in-sty-in, at least in this lifetime”.

If I am not able to find her ID on MS, I’ll buy her a virtual beer and she get to display it with the caption, “eye-in-sty-in bows to thee and promises never to mess with the sassy Ann Dee” – after all, the deal should work both ways, right?

But when I asked her for the prize, she told me that the link to her profile was already on her blogger profile. However, I DID NOT go there as I was already in my “challenge” mode!

But Ann Dee refused to trust Eye-in-sty-in… “I dont know you well enough” she said and went to hog on a tuna sandwich before she chickened out when I raised her wager! So I thought…. Hmmm….. a chicken hoggging on a tuna sandwich makes for quite a zooo!! I digress!

Since the hype was built up, I said to myself, “So what if she chickened out! To heck with the prize… I’ll do it just for the joy of sleuthing!”

And off went the Spikemeister to trace down this damsel who goes by the name of Ann Dee!

A little sleuthing revealed that “Ann Dee” was a jazzed up version of ND! Searching for Ann Dee on MS was now a waste!

“What have you got yourself into this time, Spike!!” said Eye-in-sty-in. “How could you put my reputation at stake like this!”.

“Chill out dude! How can I refuse a beer man! That too when its offered by a pretty and sassy woman! Besides, it was a challenge dude. What was I supposed to do? Back down?!”

“Oh pipe down!” retorted Eye-in-sty-in. He didn’t sound happy at all. Spike now had to make sure the damsel’s profile was found!

But then, poor Spike had no clues! No leads to follow… just … Wait a minute! Didn’t Ann Dee comment on Eye-in-sty-in’s previous post about traffic signs? Lets look there!!

With a smug look on his face and armed with this new found info about her location, Off went Spike in the hunt of this saucy sassy damsel who goes by the name of ND!

He took his hand,

pulled up his pants!

He pulled out his wand,

and stuck the sand!

He cast a spell,

into the well!

“Google me this… Google me that! Show me a big blind bat”

Thwack!

“What the…. Why did you hit me, Eye-in-sty-in?”

“You were saying it all wrong!” said Eye-in-sty-in.

“What was I saying wrong?”

“The spell. You were saying it wrong! You We are looking for ND, not a big, blind bat”.

This Eye-in-sty-in was such a know-it-all! thought Spike, muttering under his breath!

“I know that!” he said out loud and went back to casting the spell again…

“Google me this… Google me that! Show me a dandy Ann Dee”

We have found 500 profiles matching ‘Ann Dee’ …… proclaimed MS!

Grrrrrrrr!! Spike should have known… Mouthshut search sucks!

Spike and Eye-in-sty-in look at each other in surprise…. and thats when it stuck them!

“Wait a minute” they said at the same time, looking at each other – as it finally dawned upon them!

“Google me this… Google me that! Show me a dandy ND“

Voilaaaaa!!

So here she is… The soon to be All-New-And-Fantastically-Awesome One…..

Scrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

That’s not Ann Dee! That’s Eye-in-sty-in’s friend B!!!

Beep-Beep! Go back go back!

(Note to self – Give wand for servicing after finding Ann Dee’s profile and getting the beer trophy from her!…. maybe….)

Poof!

And, there we have it folks!

The oh so sassy,

and not so naughty!

The one with the almond eyes,

and the lovely smile!

She has no beard,

just a moustache!

What???????? Curse this wand!!! It is definitely going for a checkup!

Whaddaya say folks! Doesn’t Nidarshana have a lovely pair of eyes!

O Sassy one, I’d like my beer chilled and inscribed please! That is, if you are still game

However, if you sulk, lemme know and I will remove all traces of the moustache… Althought I must admit, you carry it with elan!

PS: No hard feelings, eh? )

!~~~ Makes heads turn ~~~!

When my gf made a comment that my Honda Accord looked “too executive”, I decided it was time to change my wheels. Although I did like my Accord, it was indeed tad to comfy for my taste. Which is what started my hunt for a car. The criteria was quite simple. I wanted all the safety features of the Accord but in a sportier car that was also economical and reliable.

The search on google brought up 3 names – The MINI Cooper (those who have seen The Italian Job know what I mean), Volkswagen GTI (loved the fact that it came with a built in TURBO !!) and the Toyota Celica (loved its low profile, sleek shape and muscular styling…. the dials and the seats …. ok… I’ll stop now).

Search as I might, I could not get a Celica within my price range and if I did, the car was not in my color choice. When my birthday arrived, I decided that I was going to sell my Accord to put additional pressure on myself to make a decision. Having done that, I said to myself – If I’m going to be denied a Celica and have to pay high maintenance anyways, I’m gonna treat myself to a Merc or a Beemer!! Having said that, I went to the local car dealer and there…. Sitting demurely and yet commanding attention was a Honda. It felt quite at home with all the classy cars. As my love of Japanese cars is well known, I decided to go for a spin.

The first thing I noticed from the outside was the distinctive shape. It has a lot of curves and slopes in the hood, but as you progress towards the boot, the car gets more and more muscular and leaner. I guess the idea was to make people think that the car is a puny kitten, but when they take this pocket rocket up for a race, the boot is what they’ll see most of the times which will make them have new found respect for the vehicle!

The first thing I noticed on the interior was the inviting trim on the vehicle. Black cloth seats with red stitching is the theme of the vehicle. The dials have a white background with black letters and a red glow to them. The seats are meant to be comfortable and hugged my body well for aggressive cornering and driving comfort. The head rests have a hole - the kind you see in sports convertibles or in rally racers. Such is the attention to detail here, that the rally style shifter and the leather steering also have red stitching - like a base ball- to match the seats. The silver center console lends a touch of class to this sporty vehicle. Again, the door knobs are made to match the console and have a matt sliver finish to them. Full points to Honda for the interiors. They even have 3 cup holders in the front seats with the driver getting 2 – one on the left that pops in and out and another in the usual place below the center console; this was to help make the car comfy for left handers and for subtly saying “we are designing this to be a drivers car“!

The 2.0 liter iVTEC DOHC 16-valve 4 Cylinder with Continuously Variable Cam Timing has 3 distinct sounds to it – A low grunt in the 1.5K – 3K RPM range, A gentle purr in the 3k-4.5K range and a throaty Roarrrr in the 5-7K range!! The power delivery can be felt accordingly in each of the ranges. The thing I love the most about this engine is that it is very happy to redline!! In the initial days of owning my car, I loved revving it and feeling the surge of power propel the car at the whims of my right foot! It was a beast that needed to be tamed and we got along perfectly!

The iVTEC technology means that when you are not revving the engine you can get 26 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the freeway. I get 24 in City and 28-29 on the freeway. If revving it, the fuel economy drops to 21-22.xx range, but the fun had while doing it more than makes up for the measley gas milage )

The engine generates 160 horses @ 6,500 RPM and can propel this beast to 60 MPH in 7.9 Secs!! This makes the Civic Si an under 20,000 Dollar vehicle that is an under 8 second car!!!! All this while looking good too! If the Civic’s your wife, you wont need a mistress!

The front suspension of the Civic is a MacPherson Strut design to allow room for a high-mounted steering box with longer steering arms for improved stability. The rear suspension is the double wishbone type biased toward handling. The suspension is calibrated toward a firm ride at the expense of comfort (again, this is a sports car). The longer steering arms for improved stability mean that you can take corners at insane speeds without going over the edge as I found out in the 1st week of driving it. I hit an on-ramp designed for 25 MPH at 50 MPH and the car was riding on 3 wheels, but the rubber didnt leave the road and the corner was conquered without a scratch! I got my money’s worth right there!

It comes with an electric power steering for better control and improved fuel economy. As you speed up, the computer reduces the power steering effort in one MPH increments up to 99 MPH. This is done to provide the best steering feel at highway speeds, while providing a light steering effort during parking maneuvers. Very intelligent and very effective.

Being a driver’s car, it comes only with a 5-speed manual tranny. An automatic option is not available in the Si version. The clutch is very light and the short throw shifter is rally inspired - this is a boon because the engine and the gear box are mated in a way that will require you to shift gears often in the city, but the Honda engineers have made shifting a breeze.

The car comes fully loaded and there is no other option available for this vehicle.

Now the bad - After an year of driving, the car feels under powered, especiallly in 1st gear. The 2.0 engine feels small and at highway speeds, you feel the need of an extra gear as the engine revs are very high at highway speeds. A 6-speed gearbox would have improved gas milage and will also be easy on the engine because the ideal cruise RPM should be 2.5K and not 3.5 K on the freeway. The car lost points only because of this little nag that is important to me.

The verdict on this car – It is a head turner for sure. What looks like a demure cat easily turns into a beast if you wish it to. The car will get you noticed as you arrive in style!

4.9/5 on style
3.9/5 on performance
4.5/5 on the X-factor

Action packed adrenaline pumping movie !! Movie Review: Crank (2006)

When the movie is “Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use”, the audience is pretty much forewarned that this movie is not a family drama, right? So whats the point in trying to write a clean revu of a dirty movie. Here is your warning then….

Warning ! This revu is only for adults. It contains crude language along with references to drug use If you cannot handle foul language, better stop reading right now – no sh!t !!

“Crank” is a smelly, yellow form of “meth” that is usually snorted. However, this review is about the movie by the same name and not about the crude form of “crystal meth” used for addiction and for getting high. For news on crystal meth see – http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/drugs/crystalmeth.html

Cast
Jason Statham … plays Chev Chelios, a professional assassin who gets poisoned and has to keep himself pumped with adrenaline to stay alive

Amy Smart … plays “Eve“, a dumb blond bimbo who is slow in getting things in perspective but good for sex !

Jose Pablo Cantillo … plays Ricky Verona, a rival of Chev Chelios

Efren Ramirez … plays Kaylo, a gay-funny-filler-type character in the movie

Dwight Yoakam … plays Doc Miles, a smart resourceful doctor who fixes up Crazy Chev and likes getting massages from nude ladies

Carlos Sanz … plays Carlito, a two timing syndicate leader who deals in drugs, guns and prostitution

Reno Wilson … plays Orlando (I forget who the hell he was…. must be unimportant… )

Edi Gathegi … plays an Haitian Cabbie driver who gives Chev some Haitian drug made from plants (he refers to Chev as a crack-head and calls the drug “Haitian plant sh*t”…. LOL)

Keone Young … plays Don Kim, another syndicate leader and a rival of Carlito whom Chev is supposed to kill

Valarie Rae Miller … plays “Chocolate” (yeah.. that’s her name). She is Doc Miles’ assistant cum receptionist (pun intended) and is unscrupulous

Yousuf Azami … plays an Arab Cabbie (he has a scene involving a reference to Al-Quaida that happens so suddenly, its funny)

Written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Produced by – Lakeshore Entertainment, Lions Gate Films, Radical Media and GreeneStreet Films; Crank is a bad-a$$ action packed adrenaline pumping funny movie that will get you high !!

In the plot, the lead character gets poisoned with a Chinese drug called “the Beijing cocktail” that has no antidote. The drug is inhibiting the absorption of adrenaline in his body eventually shutting down his heart and killing him. To stay alive, he has to keep himself pumped with adrenaline. This leads to a series of crazy events as the protagonist tries various means to stay pumped up while trying to stay focused at the same time and extract vengeance on the people who have poisoned him. While this is certainly not a whodunit, I’ll still only say this much about the plot as you’ll want to see and enjoy the rest yourself.

The plot is slick and simple ! No need to use too much brains… This is a movie that you can just sit back and enjoy. However, its not brainless either – It has repeat value !! I have seen it multiple times and it has managed to keep me in splits each time !! That’s how a good action movie should be. It should keep you well entertained amidst all the violence and Crank does just that and does it beautifully !! There is not dull moment in the movie. Once you get into its groove and move along, the thrill ride it’ll take you to is spectacular !!

I liked the movie as i’m a fan of Jason Statham. He is like our own Sanjay Dutt (an actor from India) – A cool bad a$$ who is like able !! His movies are crazy, but they are guaranteed not to bore you and the action is cool, humor is dry and sarcastic and the dialogues are even cooler. You will be entertained… period !! Fultoo paisa vasool !!

The movie has its share of goofs and some are very obvious. The lead character gets shot, but is later seen walking normally. While falling from a chopper, he has enough time to call his GF and leave her a message on the answering machine … (yeah right !!) Point is – This is not a technically perfect movie and you have to take some scenes with a grain of salt. Although existent, the goofs are few and far in between and I still recommend the movie in spite of these goof-ups.

Top 10 reasons why should you watch this movie ?==============================================================
1. There is a car driven thru a shopping mall that winds up sideways on an escalator.
2. There is a sex scene where the protagonist screws his literally Blond girl-friend in a china town with a bunch of teenage school girls watching and cheering him on !
3. There is a lot of drug use in the movie.
4. It has a Nokia phone in it with a really cool ring tone that generally wakes up the lead character after he has passed out while doing his many crazy antics in the movie.
5. It has a lot of gun action and a couple of cool car chase scene.
6. It has 2 hand chopping scenes and one scene where a sewing machine is used on a hand – Tatopoulos Studios has done the special effects just for these two scenes.[note: one of the hand chopping scenes is actually very funny - After chopping the hand from the arm, Chevy tells his side kick - a f@g - "Wanna hold hands ?" and throws the chopped hand at him - Now you tell me people -- to be able to make a joke like that when you are dying - isn't that funny and cool... !!]
7. If you can handle crude language and drug abuse, along with the start to end action, the movie is interspersed with a lot of humor for the audience.
8. If you want to learn how to steal a bike from a cop at a traffic light !
9. If you want to have some cheap but cool fun
10. If you are a Jason Statham fan. Though I must warn you, if you are not, there is a good chance you might become one after watching this movie

Question- Why are you still reading the fcuking revu, punk !! Get your b#tt to the store, pop the dvd and get your adrenaline pumping, but do it after leaving a comment else you’ll get a bullet in your a$$… punk !! – The movie is full of such dialogues n lingo.

Fist published here by me.

Lives upto its name – Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi Review (2006)

The swift is a marvel of Japanese Engineering, European styling and Indian Manufacturing!

~ How did I choose? ~

It was It was difficult to buy a car from overseas – but it could be done, I said to myself. I started by calling some friends and checking reviews on Mouthshut. Having owned an Esteem, choice was to just buy a sedan for their sheer handling. But dad said no! With his age, getting in and out of sedans was a problem for him. A jeep or a minivan was out of the question in Bombay. So the only option was a hatchback! I primarily dislike all hatchbacks in India for their high centre of gravity. You see, I like to speed and a high CoG can be a little problem… Diesel vehicles were out too as the travel is not more then 1500 km/month.

I dislike Hyundai bcoz their cars look good on initial value, but maintenance costs are higher and they get you on spares – said my mechanic and also neighbour who owns one. I said to myself, let me just get an Indica and be done with it – sasta, tikau and patriotic too My gf’s brother had just got his Xeta and even she suggested it to me. I booked one!! However, having sat in one earlier, I knew it was not the car for me. I want performance and good looks too !! A quick family vote and out came the results – dad didn’t want to go for a petrol Indica, His words “Petrol car should be a Maruti” – Also found sis and mom didn’t like Indica. Out goes the Xeta and the booking was cancelled. The Zen Estilo is ugly and looks cramped; Wagon R feels unsafe above 80 KMPH. The popular choice by elimination was Swift, which was my preference too in the first place!! It also had a few extra BHPs over the Xeta. It’s just a testosterone thing ladies

A quick look on safety features and the natural choice was the top end model – ZXi – why settle for less!. It has a plethora of features that enhance safety and also includes air bags. Did you know air bags are not even an option on any of the Tata vehicles? Simply appalling! The colour once again was settled by a quick vote and the winner was “Red” – mom’s choice. A few calls around the city and the car was found. Comment from gf – “I knew you would go for Swift” *how wicked* !

I liked the car the moment I saw it. With its contemporary European design, it looks so inviting, almost begging me to get behind the wheel. The features are great and the seats are a delight!! Before buying, I had thought of putting in sportier seats in my next car, but the OEM seats are already comfy and sporty too…. I loved them!! Points to Maruti for not cutting corners here!!

The Electronic Power Steering is superb. The wheel feels like guiding a butterfly – effortless and it makes city driving a breeze!! The engine is super and is nicely mated with the gearbox. The car has a sturdy feel to it. The quality of interiors is also very good. Once you get in, the vehicle seems to wrap around you and isolates you from the outside world. I like the fact that it has small windows and an even smaller rear windscreen (with a wiper too). I read in some reviews people have complained about not being able to see while backing up, but it’s a plus for me as I love privacy!!

For me, not having electronic side mirrors or a factory fitted sunroof was a bigger negative. What I agree with the other reviewers is the nagging rattling from the left front door. Why are so many people complaining about these rattles from new cars – MARUTI LISTENING? Fix it guys!!

Other than this – I have nothing to complaint about and I’m very picky when it comes to cars. Ask the dealer I bought the car from. I kept them on their toes because of the poor customer service they gave me.

Why should you go for ZXi? Here are some reasons – It has an auto climate control, wider tyres and the ZXi label on it! Besides offering you a superior ride and handling, people notice it Not enough ? Here are some more experiences.

~ It can avoid you an accident ~

Pls see comments section on how ABS and EBD in the Swift and some quick thinking on my part, a cyclist and a cabbie save the day! {Posted at the end}

~~~ ZXi with ABS and EBD is the way to go ~~~~

It can render your girlfriend speechless ~

I was on my drive to Pune and having been on the expressway twice in 3 days already, I knew the road pretty well by now. It was on my 3rd run that – if I may use such a reference – I really “found” the car! The gf was talking n talking about something that was quite trivial to me and I was enjoying the drive at 120kmph. Seeing a traffic-free road ahead, I floored the pedal – talking was still on – reached 150 – talking was still on – reached 160 – talking was still on – reached 165 (my previous best on the expressway!)… I was really excited now.. the excitement however was misunderstood for interest and talking increased – reached 170… 175… 180… 185 .. I stayed there for about 10 seconds and I knew we were maxxed out – nirvana was attained – I was one with my swift! If the swift were an airplane – I was maverick – I was supersonic baby!!

I pointed the speedometer to my gf and it may sound ironic, but the speed put the brakes on her incessant rambling and rendered her speechless. I was thinking – I’m glad I have a witness. When we reached saner speeds, I planted a kiss on my Swift – I could sense a twinge of jealousy from the passenger seat – It was a “sweeeeet” drive!! You know the money is well spent if the drive makes you feel so good!!

Point to note is – the car was so stable even at high speeds as it was not noticed by her till I pointed out the speedometer!!

~~~ ZXi with its wider tyres, quite ride and stability is the way to go ~~~

~ Engine ~

The 1.3L 16V 32bit Hypertec engine produces 87 bhp and torque band starts from a low 1500 RPM range and stays flat till 5500 RPM – very good for city driving as it minimises gear changes. Being all Aluminium, its lighter, it has better cooling ability and a better acceleration then the Getz.

Mileage – 10-16 KMPL with AC. +0.5-1 without.

~ Award Winning Drive ~

Look at the number of awards won by the car. It has won car of the year awards in 9 countries, the 10th one being India!! http://www.marutiswift.com/awards_inter.aspx – With all these awards backing your purchase, you are surely driving a winner!!

While on the website, done forget to check out the “Super 6 advantage” and the “Evolution links” that describe the Swift’s birth from a motorcycle to a concept vehicle to a stylish passenger vehicle that retains the “Gotta have it” flavour of the concepts. You can also check out the complete specs of the cars and models and prices on the site.

Thanks to Maruti Suzuki for bringing a truly international quality product to India !!

Hope you enjoyed the drive – let me know your thoughts

!! Spike !!

The incident !

It was night and the headlights were quite ineffective in what lay ahead due to the ambient light and the incessant Bombay rain. As I approach the narrowest portion where the car will just fit in the gap b/w the barrier and the taxi, I see a cyclist spring up in between the left headlight and the centre of the hood about 15 feet in front of me. I must be doing 45-55 kmph. I hit the brakes to avoid hitting him, but there are loose stones and gravel on the road so the car skids. The ABS kicks in and it stops the wheels from locking up – Its a situation when the ABS can somewhat be your nemesis….. I hit upon the realisation that the car was not going to stop or even slow down….. I made a decision that its better to hit the taxi than the cyclist as it will not cause human harm. It is at this time that I thought of a gamble…. I can turn the wheel!! If I cannot stop, it will make me slide on the gravel with the wheels not pointed straight and this will slow me down…. So I turn to my right – to hit the right side of my Swift to the left side of the taxi…. and I start the slide – This causes 4 things to happen –

1) gravel and stones start flying to the left

2) the car starts to turn slightly right unwilling

3) I slow down a bit and buy me more time

4) the cyclist – who I could now see was a bhaiyya on a black Hero ’doodhwala / tiffin-carrier’ cycle with hooks on the back carrier. – He hears and maybe even feels the stones on the cycle and immediately swerves to the left as the barrier curves making the lane wider.

It was this move on his part that relaxed my heartbeat a little as the worst possibility of hitting and injuring a person was out of the way.

This gave me more time and space to deal with the reluctant right hand turn into the taxi.

I now turned the wheel to my left to try and straighten the car and shift from 3rd to 2nd gear to apply engine braking and this causes me to slow down further and to send a slew of gravel and stones flying into the side of the taxi. This makes quite a sound that even I can hear with closed windows. The taxi driver, with his slightly open windows, would have had a much more pronounced sound effect and he swerves a little to the right giving me room to move ahead. My right foot is off the brake and pat on the gas – I zip thru the melee – unscathed!!

Welcome to Bombay

~~~ ZXi with ABS and EBD is the way to go ~~~

PS: The original article written by me is here.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Movie Review: The Departed (2006)

One question whose answer remains doubtful in the movie is – Whose baby was it? I put my money on Leo Caprio – whats your take…

The movie is rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material – The review is rated only PG-13

When the stakes are high, Insurance is everything! And when you are a mole for the police in the mafia that already has a mole in the police – you can never have enough insurance!

A quick review of the movie would be that it was released in 2006 and it won 4 Oscars in 2007 for Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay. Mark Wahlberg was nominated for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. These awards alone would be reason enough to watch this movie. For a complete list of awards, pls see http://imdb.com/title/tt0407887/awards

Even with a cast like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga can you be sure the movie will be good? Not unless you have a director like Martin Scorsese putting it all together.

The plot is simple. The Irish Mafia and the Massachusetts State Police both have their moles in each other’s organization. The execution is complex – this is where the movie won its Oscars. The irony shown in the story is superlative – Leonardo Caprio (William M.’Billy’ Costigan Jr.) comes from a crime family that he hates, so its relatively easy for him to penetrate the mafia. hailing from a rich family, he hates his roots so much that he prefers to join the police even if it means leading a life of poverty and hardship. Matt Damon (Det. SSgt. Colin Sullivan) hails from a poor family and since he was a kid, he has been granted numerous favors by the mafia don who treats him like a son – even he joins the police force, but not to serve and protect, but to act as a mole for the Irish crime boss – Played by Jack Nicholson – flamboyant, gutsy, crafty, womanising drug dealer, Frank’s character shows considerable amount of flair that suits his role as an Irish mafia boss. His character is the one to watch out for in the movie – even after so many years, he still has tremendous screen presence and will entertain you in his inimitable style. The casting was perfect as Billy, played by Caprio was cast along side Frank, because Matt Damon certainly could not have played Billy’s character as convincingly and craftily and stood up against a capricious Frank as well as Leonardo did.

But for me, it was Mark Wahlberg as Det. SSgt. Dignam and Martin Sheen as Det. Capt. Oliver Queenan who impressed me much. Together they both played the good cop – bad cop extremely well with Dignam constantly teasing and taunting Billy to keep the fire alive in Billy when he gets tired after living a dual life as a mole. At those times, Queenan plays a father figure in Billy’s life and earns his trust convincingly. Credits to Mr. Scorsese for showing this scene, along with many others, in a few frames that would take 3-4 pages of intense writing for a good author to aptly describe. Indeed, if The Departed were a novel written by a dead author, the writer would be lying peacefully in his grave knowing that justice has been done to the book thru this movie!

All the actors – again, thanks to Scorsese’s direction – get into the skin of their characters, which makes this movie almost like watching a 5 star rated play on the screen. But as this is a movie with opportunities of retakes, it cannot be given 5 stars by me – even though the director is good enough to be compared with other top dogs competing alongside him. I say that because I have seen better directors in Quentin Tarantino and Stanley Kubrik who have managed to satiate the film-freak in me more than Mr. Scorsese did. I cannot help but place The Departed next to Pulp Fiction and it manages go neck to neck with it in terms of entertainment, repeat value and suspense (that in itself is a big compliment to this movie). However, the suspense in The Departed is very tautly managed – I was watching it for the second time, and yet the movie seemed very fresh to me and the ending gave me immense satisfaction – which is why I chose the opening of this review carefully.

The sound editing, the film editing, the screenplay, the casting, the art-direction, the special effects is all top notch – the movie makes all these aspects stand out. The spray of blood shown during executions is very realistic as is the sound of guns being fired during a fight. The “popping” sound of the fire exchange changes when heard thru the police radio – excellent attention to details! Eyes used to convey the lust and lunacy of a mafia boss in a scene was shown extremely well without making the scene gross or showing excessive skin. The craftiness and complexity shown in the only strong female character in the movie was superb (played by Vera Farmiga) – credits to Mr. Scorsese for handling the emotions and the on-screen passion very well and tastefully. The change in the face of a tired and exhausted pill-popping mole Billy is very much noticeable, thanks to the make-up that was done just right.

All in all, this is a brilliant piece of movie making that can be watched over and over every couple of months and it’ll keep entertaining you – but as I had already seen movies like Pulp Fiction and A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrik) that were made ages ago this movie, I cannot give The Departed a 5 star rating – It still gets a stellar rating of 9.8/10 – definitely worth keeping in the collection of all movie connoisseurs!

!! Spike !!

PS: This review is dedicated to my very good friends Lalit (MS id – bildebej) and Ipsi (MS id – ipshonlu) for our Italian discussions that sparked the writing of this review – cheers mates !

Note: This review was originally written by me here. I watched the movie again today and that gave me the perfect opportunity to use my best friends, copy and paste to migrate it to my blog. I’ll be moving my stuff from the old site to the blog as and when time permits.