tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30024817460222321072024-03-14T06:18:12.155-07:00Mobashar's Musingswww.mobasharqureshi.comMobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-19272983447080546452012-08-20T04:01:00.001-07:002012-08-20T04:01:55.158-07:00Best advice ever!
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<span lang="EN-US">In my second year of university I decided to write a full-length
novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until then I had only managed a novella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went out and purchased a 400-page
booklet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only had a rough idea of what
the story would be but I began nonetheless. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I wrote in that booklet everywhere I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote in between classes, on the bus and on
subway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote in the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote in the morning and at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even refused to take a trip with my family
in order to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By the start of my third year I had finished the manuscript.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was close to 250-pages, a decent size for
a novel. I then spent the remainder of the year transposing the handwritten
manuscript on to the computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did my
best editing the manuscript and when my fourth and final year started I had, at
least I believed at the time, a publishable novel.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I then began sending it out to publishers and agents (this
experience will be left for another blog post).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As expected I was rejected and rejected and rejected some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost a year went by and after dozens of
rejections I still had not found a publisher. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One day while reading book reviews in a magazine I spotted a book
whose premise sounded somewhat similar to mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I quickly went out and procured a copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I proceeded to read the book in a matter of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To my dismay this book had many similar elements to mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote them down and found there were over
15 similar themes and concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
shocked and disappointed! I had spent the last three years pouring my heart and
soul into my book and here it was published by this other author.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was angry!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In my query letters I had provided a synopsis of my book and during
this time I may have provided it to some devious agent who in turn had provided
the framework of my book to this said author.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He was a thief!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I sat down and wrote a nasty and scathing e-mail to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But before I could send it my brother
convinced me against it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I wrote another
e-mail outlining the 15 similarities and ended it by asking the author what I should
do next.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I received a response not long after and it was only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">two words</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While my e-mail was both long and emotional
the author’s reply was short and felt somewhat cold. At the time I didn’t
understand how important his advice would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I only cared about the book I had labored over for years, which I felt,
I could no longer publish.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In hindsight, I will say the book I had written and the one by this
author were not all that similar (there were some general themes) but overall
they were nothing alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But try telling
that to a 22-year-old at that time who thought he had written the next greatest
novel.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To cut a long story short, I took the writer’s advice and have now written
many more novels, and some are much better than my first novel. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’ve purposely not mentioned the author’s name or the book’s title
simply because I’m not interested in stirring up anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I assure you this event did happen and
the author is well known and highly successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I do remember his two-word advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is the best advice ever for any writer. And they were:</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Keep writing.</span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whatever happens in life, no matter how many hurdles you have to go
through, if you are passionate then you should keep writing.</span></div>
Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-61912744299420931402012-07-06T17:15:00.000-07:002012-08-20T04:02:46.147-07:00The Batmobile aka the Tumbler<div style="color: black;">
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<span lang="EN-US">If anyone has read my blog post ‘I’m Batman’ they can easily tell that I
am a HUGE Batman fan. With the
anticipation of the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman
trilogy (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) only weeks away I am posting a few photos of the Batmobile aka
the Tumbler when it visited Toronto.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> left-side </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">right-side </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">me & the Tumbler</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Has anyone seen my keys?”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-15594692779625171922012-04-29T06:19:00.000-07:002012-04-29T06:19:16.907-07:00Fantasy Casting Call<div style="color: black;">
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To have a movie made from a book is every author’s dream
come true. To have that movie garner
rave reviews, receive prestigious awards, and make a heck-of-a-lot of money is
heaven.</div>
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Every writer knows a good/great movie = a bestseller.</div>
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Those who enjoyed the movie may in turn seek out the
original source material. This is a
win-win situation for the author. Not
only does he get to see his work on the big screen he also gets to sell many more
copies.</div>
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With that in mind, I will indulge myself by picking the
actors that I would enjoy seeing play my characters on the big screen. </div>
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<i> </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></div>
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<i>A series of brutal
murders lead Chicago Homicide Detective Karl Whaler on the strangest and most
dangerous investigation of his career.<br />
<br />
How could the death of a promising young man be related to a tragic event
during the Vietnam War decades earlier? And why do a plumber, an electrician, a
caretaker, a locksmith and a butcher meet secretly in a downtown room?</i></div>
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<b><br /></b><b>Karl Whaler (Detective) </b></div>
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I would love for Brendan Gleeson to play him.
Gleeson was excellent in the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In
Bruges</i>. Whaler is quiet, soft-spoken, and shy, this would fit Gleeson
perfectly. Plus, Gleeson has Whaler’s body-type.</div>
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<b>Michael Lantern (Plumber) </b></div>
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When I was writing the book years ago I actually
had Clint Eastwood in mind but he would be too old now—the character in the book
is in his early fifties. Lantern is a man of few words and he is very
reserved. I think Liam Neeson would capture who he is.</div>
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<b>Barry Tarkovsky (Butcher) </b></div>
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This one, without a doubt, should be played by
Alfred Molina. I actually had Molina in mind while writing the book.
I loved Molina in the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Man
Who Knew Too Little</i> with Bill Murray. Tarkovsky is physically strong
but has a soft heart. <br />
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<b>Vince Crouch (Electrician) </b></div>
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This part should be played by Chris Cooper.
Crouch is angry, hot-headed, and stubborn. Cooper looks like he is
filled with p*ss and vineger, perfect for playing Crouch.<br />
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<b>Sam Patroni (Locksmith) </b></div>
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I think George Clooney should be Patroni.
Patroni is handsome, charming and funny. Even at his age Patroni is
capable of attracting beautiful women. Clooney has no problem in that category.<br />
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<b>Al Shorley (Caretaker) </b></div>
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I think Kevin Spacey would be the right person to play
Shorley. Shorley is introverted, quiet, and physically weak. I
loved Spacey in the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Usual
Suspects</i>.<br />
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For further indulgence I would love for Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Body
of Lies) to direct it. Ridley Scott is
one of the finest directors around. I’m
a huge fan of his and have seen all his movies.</div>
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<span id="goog_828526776"></span><span id="goog_828526777"></span><br />
Like many authors I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the movie
version. Who knows, maybe one day that
dream may turn into reality.</div>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-2633237156728358102012-04-28T11:14:00.001-07:002012-04-28T18:24:57.900-07:00Hey look he’s also Canadian!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">As a Canadian I figured why not mention
some books written by Canadian authors that I’ve enjoyed reading. Let me first lay it out that we, Canadians,
have a complex. This complex can be
identified as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘hey-look-he’s-also-Canadian’</i>. Being in a country that is second in land
mass (after Russia)
but with a population slightly over 30 million, we can’t help be proud of our
fellow comrades…um…er…citizens. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not going to mention books by Canadian
greats, such as Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, or even Michael
Ondaatje. Even though their books are exceptional they need no praising by me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m going to mention the relative unknowns
or those whose books have surprised and entertained me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Brad Smith - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One Eyed Jacks</i> - I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this book;
maybe it was the names of the characters. With names like Tommy,
T-Bone, Fat Ollie, how can you go wrong? Plus, it was set in Toronto in the 1950’s. It had the noir style of the tough guy novels
I’d enjoyed reading when I was a kid, but with a slight Canadian </span>flavour<span lang="EN-US">. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Brad Smith’s
other two novels are also enjoyable reads: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All
Hat</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Busted Flush</i>. If I had to describe his novels it would be
‘heavies with heart’ or ‘likeable tough guys.’</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I met Brad Smith
at one of his readings and he does look like the author who writes these types
of books. He wore a tight T-shirt, which
revealed his big muscles, his head was completely shaved and he had a French
beard (<i>hey, he could be a character in RACE!</i>). He looked more like a bouncer than a
writer. He was pleasant and he did sign
my copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One Eyed Jacks</i>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Yann Martel -<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Life of Pi</i> - The only reason I read this book was because it had
won the Man Booker Prize and guess what, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hey-look-he’s-also-Canadian!
</i> I started reading this with much
hesitation, hoping I wouldn’t like it and would go on to something else. But, there was something about it. It was the
voice of the main character Pi Patel. There was so much innocence in it, like
an eager-eyed kid who wants to learn and know everything about the world. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Pi goes through
a tough ordeal. He is stranded in the ocean on a boat with an orangutan, zebra,
hyena, and a tiger. If that doesn’t get
you excited about reading it then nothing will.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Rob Payne – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Working Class Zero</i> – Hilarious and downright funny is how I’d
describe this book. I read it prior to
being exposed to the TV series <i>The Office</i>, so it was new and refreshing.
The protagonist lands a job as a team leader at a call centre full of
temps. There are all sort of weird and
wacky characters. Those who have worked
in a call centre or in an office environment will totally relate to it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to be a Hero on Earth 5</i> and I wish I
had written it. It reminded me of my
trip to England (the real England and not the Earth 5 England in the book). It
was so interesting to hear the British accent and see the places I had visited.
The novel is more geared toward the YA reader but I think even adults will find it just as fun and entertaining.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And if you are interested in reading more
books by Canadians then might I recommend some books by…me!</span><br />
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<br /></div>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-9999022066870572032011-09-11T16:26:00.000-07:002011-09-12T16:20:47.233-07:00Book-to-Film<strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Along with being a writer I’m also a huge movie fan.<span style=""> </span>Most of my blogs in one way or another have some connection to movies.<span style=""> </span>So I figured why not write about book-to-film adaptations.</span></strong> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now, there are hundreds, heck, thousands of books that have been turned into films.<span style=""> </span>In most cases the books were better than the movies.<span style=""> </span>I have always wondered why that is.<span style=""> </span>Books have the capacity to evoke emotion, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">make us feel like we are right in the action, and even scare the daylights out of us.<span style=""> </span>So they would </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">easily translate</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> into movies, right? Wrong.<br /></span></strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">There </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">are many factors at play.<span style=""> </span>When an author writes a book it is solely his/her vision.<span style=""> </span>They are, in essence, the actors, the directors, the scriptwriters; they are everything they need to be</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to tell a story.<span style=""> </span>What they are not are producers, this title will be placed on the publishers.<span style=""> </span>On </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">the other hand, in a movie there are actual actors, a director, one or several scriptwriters, and producers.<span style=""> </span>What happens is that when a book is adapted an author’s story is then passed through several people: the scriptwriters, the actors, the director, and even the produc</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">ers.<span style=""> </span>That one person’s vision gets filtered through that many people and becomes something else entirely.</span></strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">There ar</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">e also other reasons why a great novel turns into a terrible movie: the scriptwri</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">ters may not understand the novel, the actors may not be suited for the parts, the director may be inept, and the producers may only be concerned with the budget.<span style=""> </span>This process can be very</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> frustrating for the authors.<span style=""> </span>For this reason authors rarely are hired to write the screenplay of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">their works.<span style=""> </span></span></strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Writing a book is like giving birth, it’s a long and painful process, but in the end the results are often beautiful.<span style=""> </span>So to</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> go back and change your ‘baby’ is something that most cannot do.<span style=""> </span>It </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">is better to write <i style="">your</i> book and then let someone else make <i style="">their</i> movie.</span></strong></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">There is a great quote from Ernest Hemingway about Hollywood: "Let me tell you about writing for films. You finish your book. Now, you know where the California state line is? Well, you drive right up to that line, take your manuscript and pitch it across. No, on second thought, don't pitch it across. First. Let them toss the money over. Then you throw it over, pick up the money, and get the hell out of there."</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">There are many books I’ve enjoyed reading but loathed the movie versions. My favourite author, Michael Crichton, his books never turned into good or great movies.<span style=""> </span>While the movies based on his books were successful (see <i style="">Jurassic Park</i>) they never came close to what the books were.<span style=""> </span>Whenever I read a Crichton book I always felt like I was watching a movie in my head, but unfortunately, what was written on the page never converted well onto the screen (see <i style="">Congo</i>, <i style="">Timeline</i>, <i style="">Ri</i><i style="">sing Sun</i>).</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Below are five titles (in no particular order) that I have enjoyed both the novels and their respective movies.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzvtlbTSKStLy-sk-9OLMdyO-q88DvhI4SQdnVrzU9Z0TZDCGtHzs7bsM92Bz3BVc21e46bOXE0y3lhRCAwpI77CDORxjV_C-4Tv6gy4YOUnOjsh8pFTmqKhsJ9uD_rTuvsVp1h2qTVnm/s1600/BR-movie.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzvtlbTSKStLy-sk-9OLMdyO-q88DvhI4SQdnVrzU9Z0TZDCGtHzs7bsM92Bz3BVc21e46bOXE0y3lhRCAwpI77CDORxjV_C-4Tv6gy4YOUnOjsh8pFTmqKhsJ9uD_rTuvsVp1h2qTVnm/s200/BR-movie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651248352184028946" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">DO ANDROID<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf_Z0ZHg7usQeEB4l2KTq4CXSublrPKfGgnotKXN8yGjWMUFYFC55Wy_JW7mkp8qYSKDKhqGo3lLUaKnuTI6akllypVTBgbS7A0QoFyP8JKOCrkaDDUKfBgO2ARH7DfQLN2WKCf3rZlzQ/s1600/BR-book.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf_Z0ZHg7usQeEB4l2KTq4CXSublrPKfGgnotKXN8yGjWMUFYFC55Wy_JW7mkp8qYSKDKhqGo3lLUaKnuTI6akllypVTBgbS7A0QoFyP8JKOCrkaDDUKfBgO2ARH7DfQLN2WKCf3rZlzQ/s200/BR-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651248021037047826" border="0" /></a>S DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?/BLADE RUNNER</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down andterminate 4 replicants who hijacked a ship in space andhave returned to earth seeking their maker. (courtesy of IMDB)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">SILENCE <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0zL2LZAJkO9Efgb7WL4OhifrA_-fKC83aM4asBtnTuGsuIvKmx5jDoaaUdZhUN1OWkFAisE6GxQKuXPlGPCbT8td8gXcKK5V5AnATayHaCrjFOS0AjoPCKwdsoxI6EHtfsr7HZNHu2SP/s1600/SL-book.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0zL2LZAJkO9Efgb7WL4OhifrA_-fKC83aM4asBtnTuGsuIvKmx5jDoaaUdZhUN1OWkFAisE6GxQKuXPlGPCbT8td8gXcKK5V5AnATayHaCrjFOS0AjoPCKwdsoxI6EHtfsr7HZNHu2SP/s200/SL-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651249111725296738" border="0" /></a>OF THE LAMBS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwVz61k_Ztmhy4AvvGHIWJ3fxLGHLWQC_bS5Itbg6gTk9_O5gse6Aa4onDjMffwz7_PrtLf8h5K5iWLnySsTLkJF-qJ94fS98toVhMR0i2zJQxI-pkpOCP_zVoHI4bvl_M8VZdWvmRueI/s1600/SL-movie.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwVz61k_Ztmhy4AvvGHIWJ3fxLGHLWQC_bS5Itbg6gTk9_O5gse6Aa4onDjMffwz7_PrtLf8h5K5iWLnySsTLkJF-qJ94fS98toVhMR0i2zJQxI-pkpOCP_zVoHI4bvl_M8VZdWvmRueI/s200/SL-movie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651249363934313010" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims. (courtesy of IMDB)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em>THE H</em><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF1DgV2ixGM7hoax3GEaGK__oh0WZBk3MbOECVItAW9iu7aXCAUtV-EJvj8OAFaRPsxSVqb8zfy4JCSMFkYDDXv0bUJ7L5sPSbziruW-voUThZj_o20Di3vPvYXt4xmUZHbmgYkALQM7X/s1600/HR-book.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF1DgV2ixGM7hoax3GEaGK__oh0WZBk3MbOECVItAW9iu7aXCAUtV-EJvj8OAFaRPsxSVqb8zfy4JCSMFkYDDXv0bUJ7L5sPSbziruW-voUThZj_o20Di3vPvYXt4xmUZHbmgYkALQM7X/s200/HR-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651249653320951506" border="0" /></a><em>UNT FOR RED OCTOBER</em><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNOfcneduj0FQ6QHOzpv1Sc4m9SzA3kiqiQGoWVe-Az2pOY-iwmJZQwpd7ziov1eFszj73TIO_DkWowFyWjXauHh9VAOzfZGPYzlVdGfTlaEI9ccoXaGRyWEfUBcx7ML78SVz6PZkav9n/s1600/HR-movie.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNOfcneduj0FQ6QHOzpv1Sc4m9SzA3kiqiQGoWVe-Az2pOY-iwmJZQwpd7ziov1eFszj73TIO_DkWowFyWjXauHh9VAOzfZGPYzlVdGfTlaEI9ccoXaGRyWEfUBcx7ML78SVz6PZkav9n/s200/HR-movie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651249820411599858" border="0" /></a> <em></em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">In 1984, the USSR's best submarine captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the USA. Is he trying to defect, or to start a war? (courtesy of IMDB)<em></em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em> </em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoECebkh-9UMXtxLvAYiDL7D_M4jHcVXmV5KMtOhODMYJRoBwkYTPgTR0FeezOmwCLdsErg6Ls2QkN3nrnBmYVnW6lV9ZXagb06-3JVBAgcBY6R95eDtqwGuFZvtDEDntf2cypQxkF_ys4/s1600/GF-book.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoECebkh-9UMXtxLvAYiDL7D_M4jHcVXmV5KMtOhODMYJRoBwkYTPgTR0FeezOmwCLdsErg6Ls2QkN3nrnBmYVnW6lV9ZXagb06-3JVBAgcBY6R95eDtqwGuFZvtDEDntf2cypQxkF_ys4/s200/GF-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651250467153086626" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcikwfrLRpVmNWu9V83VU0QhA5JXE1vr4nqdbsQXxtDZHz_QmIqeobaNOqXQzSPvwvPQ2ghNT2h2It6nWPkGDz0f0RK0I-zjxLA3LyRdvaXZU2itbtIfbwD2DAerw-wzhMNREfzInf5Ys/s1600/GF-movie.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcikwfrLRpVmNWu9V83VU0QhA5JXE1vr4nqdbsQXxtDZHz_QmIqeobaNOqXQzSPvwvPQ2ghNT2h2It6nWPkGDz0f0RK0I-zjxLA3LyRdvaXZU2itbtIfbwD2DAerw-wzhMNREfzInf5Ys/s200/GF-movie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651250998267015682" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">THE GODFATHER </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em></em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son. (courtesy of IMDB)<em></em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em> </em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em><br /></em></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-KxRdZiLlqBzwXa1spftefqXNCXP3hVzTWk_TcdLC112gIWqh5pqL9vK3fjXKZCrKzk7pCAmxtYjKOpPKF9N_m0WYa-enLsJ45uDY9ypV-Nb-zGqSQ8EXVgc8MEca6LHK8aa9wDLfJQl/s1600/FC-book.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-KxRdZiLlqBzwXa1spftefqXNCXP3hVzTWk_TcdLC112gIWqh5pqL9vK3fjXKZCrKzk7pCAmxtYjKOpPKF9N_m0WYa-enLsJ45uDY9ypV-Nb-zGqSQ8EXVgc8MEca6LHK8aa9wDLfJQl/s200/FC-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651251514481189250" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em>FIGHT CLUB</em><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KRriYg-antJw9k6LzWSCEVbAk5LY_gcUtjRnMZxebMMPLcsSur7HaMPvsPyQCRLbpvbbimKHt-8mxSr1tkor4X652MMgqA_l0lp8IlnMn8yf_gRKnQPez2zUUJaqmQh-zzPs3lakGHXk/s1600/FC-movie.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KRriYg-antJw9k6LzWSCEVbAk5LY_gcUtjRnMZxebMMPLcsSur7HaMPvsPyQCRLbpvbbimKHt-8mxSr1tkor4X652MMgqA_l0lp8IlnMn8yf_gRKnQPez2zUUJaqmQh-zzPs3lakGHXk/s200/FC-movie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651251740665397330" border="0" /></a><em></em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em> </em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression. (courtesy of IMDB)</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><em> </em></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"> </p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-40832813986267261712011-08-08T06:23:00.000-07:002011-08-08T06:27:09.958-07:00LOTR & the Troll<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnRJgzcgbQSifkMCYfk6Kj0X7cznm9qMdvxbDgGrAYFOeTzyVMn5nxEPaC6wfWNLe1X9IB2vH3qYwmUThN5wo_3pYYwHnXKYtiLAyh_xqiX85nRRNjoyHjINo_CwP8oOpqYNgPZZ91UhX/s1600/press_release_distribution_0174310_31366.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnRJgzcgbQSifkMCYfk6Kj0X7cznm9qMdvxbDgGrAYFOeTzyVMn5nxEPaC6wfWNLe1X9IB2vH3qYwmUThN5wo_3pYYwHnXKYtiLAyh_xqiX85nRRNjoyHjINo_CwP8oOpqYNgPZZ91UhX/s200/press_release_distribution_0174310_31366.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638475846993303954" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" lang="EN-US">I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a fan of fantasy books.<span style=""> </span>I just don’t understand them.<span style=""> </span>I do have great respect and admiration for those who write them, though.<span style=""> </span>It takes great skills and imagination to create entire planets and characters that are not from our world. </span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But like millions I do know about the Lord of the Rings books by J. R. R. Tolkien.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But let me go back a bit.<span style=""> </span>The year was 2001 and it was the year the LOTR – Fellowship of the Ring movie was going to be released in theatres. <span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For the release of FOTR there was going to be an exhibit of the costumes and props from the movie at Casa Loma (a castle-like-house built in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century) in Toronto.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It was also the year I turned 23 (not a big milestone, I’ll admit) and it was on my birthday that my brother decided to take me to the exhibit.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">My brother, his friend, and I took the subway on a Sunday morning to Casa Loma.<span style=""> </span>We were all excited. My brother and his friend were more so than I was.<span style=""> </span>They were both huge LOTR fans while I, being a history enthusiast, was happy just to see the castle.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We slowly made our way through the castle.<span style=""> </span>The props, sets, costumes, etc from the movie were scattered throughout the building.<span style=""> </span>We saw Bilbo Baggin’s home, the ring, the hobbit costumes, Gandalf’s hat, Legolas’s bow, and many more items that to name them would take too much space.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As we moved along I wanted to stop and admire the structure and history of Casa Loma but my brother advised me that we would do that after we had seen the LOTR exhibits.<span style=""> </span>This way we would have the rest of the day to do so.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The final exhibit was at the far end of the building, dubbed the stables, where, well, the horses used to be kept.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We moved through a narrow tunnel and made it to the end.<span style=""> </span>From there two short stairs zigzagged up.<span style=""> </span>We went up and began admiring the various props.<span style=""> </span>My brother’s friend began taking photos, which we had been doing throughout.<span style=""> </span>The camera belonged to my brother’s co-worker and it was an expensive model at that time.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Halfway through we were approached by a short, heavyset, miserable looking security guard who advised us not to take photos.<span style=""> </span>My brother and his friend protested that everyone else was taking photos too.<span style=""> </span>Why wasn’t he stopping them? But he wouldn’t listen and told us not to.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Seeing the injustice, my brother and his friend decided to continue on.<span style=""> </span>My brother and I were the lookout while my brother’s friend took the photos.<span style=""> </span>We made all effort to keep an eye on the security guard but it wouldn’t be. He caught us again. <span style=""> </span>My brother and his friend protested like before.<span style=""> </span>But he warned us, sternly.<span style=""> </span>If he caught us taking photos again he would confiscate our camera.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I said to my brother that we had seen the exhibit, and had taken enough photos so we should listen to the security guard. But my brother and his friend wanted to do no such thing.<span style=""> </span>They felt the security guard was picking on them because they looked like students.<span style=""> </span>They felt ‘the troll’ was out to get them.<span style=""> </span>They forged ahead.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I wanted no part of it.<span style=""> </span>Remember, it was my birthday and I didn’t want any trouble.<span style=""> </span>My brother told me to wait downstairs, which I did.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Half an hour went by and no sign of either my brother or his friend.<span style=""> </span>I went back up the two sets of stairs and found them.<span style=""> </span>They had taken all the photos and still had the camera!<span style=""> </span><i style="">Now we could go and see Casa Loma</i>, I thought.<span style=""> </span>But no.<span style=""> </span>My brother and his friend had other plans.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I begged them not to but they wouldn’t budge.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Again I went downstairs and waited for them.<span style=""> </span>I found a chair and sat facing the stairs.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Not five minutes had gone by when, from the second floor, my brother’s friend leaped over the railings and bounced to the first set of stairs.<span style=""> </span>He quickly disappeared down the narrow tunnel.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I jumped up, startled. My brother came rushing down the stairs and said, “Run!”</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We bolted through the tunnel, pushing and shoving passed visitors.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We exited the entrance of Casa Loma, not before hearing another security guard’s radio crackle.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">When we were a good distance away I finally asked what had happened.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">After taking all the photos, my brother and his friend decided to take a photo of ‘the troll’.<span style=""> </span>They watched and followed him until he went and sat down on a chair in the corner.<span style=""> </span>That’s when my brother’s friend jumped in front him, aimed the camera and snapped his photo.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Naturally, the security guard went after them.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Outside, my brother and his friend celebrated.<span style=""> </span>They climbed the walls of Casa Loma and posed while I took their photo.<span style=""> </span>They had defeated the evil troll and were victorious.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I, on the other hand, did not celebrate. I never got the chance to see the castle like I had wanted to.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I still have the photos from that day when I turned 23; of the shields, swords, axes, etc from the movie.<span style=""> </span>I also have the photo taken by my brother’s friend, before he leaped from the second floor balcony.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The photo only shows the feet<i style=""> </i>of the security guard. </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Apparently, when my brother’s friend jumped in front of the security guard and pressed the button the camera did not work.<span style=""> </span>By the time the camera flashed the security guard was up already.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Yes, I may not have seen Casa Loma entirely but I have seen the boots of ‘the troll’ of Casa Loma.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></p> Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-51635967454336658532011-07-17T13:11:00.000-07:002011-08-16T18:57:55.437-07:00Avoid Parking Tickets by Jon Rupret
<br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:small;"><em>(ten humorous ways to save money by the hero of RACE)</em></span></div> <ol style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" type="1"><li><span style="font-size:small;">Don’t block driveways. (Unless it’s your neighbour who refuses to return your lawn mover, hairdryer, rake, paper clips and other essentials in life) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Keep your distance from fire hydrants. (P</span><span style="font-size:small;">ermitted only if you are a dog) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Watch for signs on the street. (They are pictures on poles that tell you what you are supposed to be doing. They are also for people who are dyslexic) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Park safely at schools. (No road rage allowed in this area, some of these kids know karate) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Don’t leave your car idling. (Major cause of death for cyclists is second-hand exhaust smoke) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Don’t park in the disabled zone. (Seriously, t</span><span style="font-size:small;">hat is a crime, punishable by hanging) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Stay away from corners. (Going around them at high speeds can make you dizzy) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Check the meters. (Park on those that still have money left in them and when they expire go to the next one. Not only will it save you money but it is fun) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Parking at bus stops is not allowed. (Remember, you are driving a tiny Japanese model while the bus driver is on a ten-ton Godzilla. Chances of being crushed is probable) </span></li><li><span style="font-size:small;">Read RACE. (It’s funny but showing a copy to the parking officer will only get you a larger fine)</span></li></ol><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/RACE-ebook/dp/B004HO5XL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1313546248&sr=1-1"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDosJ439hssDBeq6GHiY9rItSjpeg9yk8m01RzNWMio_2xt_mjkjimauwRAkCaR1TaCCX12zq25ckoeUzKVKgKxbWYLG5ielLCvOBoYjSHjtNvc9r2f8aNImCOIxnwrAK0LWSzsUdct7ZM/s200/RACE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641638008801744370" border="0" /></a>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-10893329084726635072010-09-30T18:02:00.000-07:002011-07-17T15:05:21.419-07:00Why writers love serial killers<style>table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; }</style> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">What is it about serial killers that we find so fascinating?<span style=""> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>Could it be th</span><span lang="EN-US">at it is horrifying enough that someone would kill another human being, and then do it again, and again, and again?<span style=""> </span>Could it also be that when they do commit these heinous crimes they get away with it—<i style="">repeatedly</i>?</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This makes us question those who are bestowed with the responsibility to stop them: the police.<span style=""> </span>Had they caught the killer the first time they wouldn’t become a serial…<i style="">anything</i>.<span style=""> </span>The pressure is on them to solve the case quickly before there are any more innocent victims, which there almost always are.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The question that should be asked is why do writers of novel</span><span lang="EN-US">s prefer serial killers?<span style=""> </span>I can’t speak for every writer out there (that would be impossible)</span><span lang="EN-US"> but I may have some answers.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In general, characters are difficult to create so if you have one character whom you can use to do those evil deeds over and over again then it makes your job that much easier.<span style=""> </span>You can use his or her crimes to fill more pages (an entire novel, in fact).<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Writing is an escape—an escape to become someone else.<span style=""> </span>Now what would be more thrilling and utterly scary then to imagine yourself becoming a serial killer.<span style=""> </span>To get into the mindset of someone who kills without remorse and does it so wel</span><span lang="EN-US">l, can be a challenge, but all writers (of fiction) know it is not real but something conjured up in the back of their minds.<span style=""> </span>They know <i style="">no real persons were harmed in the making of this bo</i></span><span lang="EN-US"><i style="">ok</i>.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This knowledge allows them the freedom to transform into something vile, hideous and utterly despicable.<span style=""> </span>They are able to tap into a dark part of their soul, one that should (and hopefully never does) become real.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">There have been many serial killers: the Son of Sam, the Zodiac Killer, the Yorkshire Ripper, the Monster of Florence, and so on.<span style=""> </span>Books have been written about them, and in some cases, with movies following after.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The most popular fictional serial killer would have t</span><span lang="EN-US">o be Dr. Hannibal ‘the Cannibal’ Lecter by author Thomas Harris.<span style=""> </span>Here is a meek doctor who not only kills but eats his victims as well.<span style=""> </span>The characte</span><span lang="EN-US">r has been so popular that four books have been wr</span><span lang="EN-US">itten (so far) with him in them, with subsequent movies made, of which <i style="">The Silence of the Lambs</i></span><span lang="EN-US"> went on to win several Academy Awards.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfJDUiFz6VPZJD5eE7gkElp4cF_t-Q1LNjbqgqHOSeJSruLE0Pog87-0-YjSh-xSwpx97Sm63jpx49-xoXcXXkUvtkLvZ8Fkxb83Yrr7VJ4PBPHzJ1D_sL3O0-nZStTVKBQa1eF-ceqBO/s1600/lecter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJfJDUiFz6VPZJD5eE7gkElp4cF_t-Q1LNjbqgqHOSeJSruLE0Pog87-0-YjSh-xSwpx97Sm63jpx49-xoXcXXkUvtkLvZ8Fkxb83Yrr7VJ4PBPHzJ1D_sL3O0-nZStTVKBQa1eF-ceqBO/s200/lecter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522877336380120754" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But not all serial killers are evil or just pl</span><span lang="EN-US">ain bad</span><span lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>Jeff Lindsay’s likeable serial killer Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter expert for the Miami Police Department, who happens to kill those who he deems have escaped justice.<span style=""> </span>Yes, he is a psychopath but one with a moral code.<span style=""> </span>The character has been in five books (and counting) and has been turned into a hugely popular television series.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcqzmuxLnIqc2UhQRc9FghlEjhybrU5CAy3dRlByy7HuSNgAl7NtK6ySqOdNvPq2tugIAgiTz0hbN1_3jmnb7qBFbo97UAbPpXrX2uwY3V-udOnrUje3p191Ytf3XF21sVX7f6LG3truM/s1600/Dexter-Morgan-1574.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcqzmuxLnIqc2UhQRc9FghlEjhybrU5CAy3dRlByy7HuSNgAl7NtK6ySqOdNvPq2tugIAgiTz0hbN1_3jmnb7qBFbo97UAbPpXrX2uwY3V-udOnrUje3p191Ytf3XF21sVX7f6LG3truM/s200/Dexter-Morgan-1574.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522877699812810018" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Whoever said serial killers couldn’t be lucrative?</span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-44742959185291878242010-09-29T15:33:00.001-07:002011-06-27T16:03:29.311-07:00The Good, the Bad, and the Writer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I7pTzIyG5m3unA2eMTOjylAz_pzPZjemKIm9qWMANkPk2sxU_oSKOHL-bJ6ANRiEBMVkGgMXYEjHszF-fHBEBMwGF0nbBcijxv2G_Uybzk2e5lvmNq7kxsQwsoeWqWvRI6WX7-y9Y1XG/s1600/writer.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I7pTzIyG5m3unA2eMTOjylAz_pzPZjemKIm9qWMANkPk2sxU_oSKOHL-bJ6ANRiEBMVkGgMXYEjHszF-fHBEBMwGF0nbBcijxv2G_Uybzk2e5lvmNq7kxsQwsoeWqWvRI6WX7-y9Y1XG/s200/writer.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522467366509508498" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >If you type “How to write” in Google you will get almost 600 million results.<span style=""> </span>If you narrow it to “How to write a book” the results go down to 194 million.<span style=""> </span>Now if </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >you narrow further to, say, “How to write a bestselling book” it goes down to 462,000 results. (These numbers are surely to increase in the future)</span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">What’s so interesting is after narrowing it down there are still half a million sites that purport to teach you how to write that bestseller.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">I find this both fascinating and depressing.<span style=""> </span>Fascinating because there are so many individuals and companies out there who are in the business of teaching other writers to write that book that'll make the writer rich and famous. Depressing because there are so many writers who believe that if they read these 'secrets' they'll achieve that fame and fortune.<span style=""> </span>Now what these writers don’t understand is if these people did know how to write that bestseller they would be writing them instead of talking about how to write t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">hem.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">There may be a book with the title “How to write a book that sells a million copies” and that writer of this book may have actually sold a million copies, but you wanna guess to who?<span style=""> </span>Those would-be writers who want to write a book that sells a million copies.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Yes, there are those that have gotten lucky.<span style=""> </span>They wrote that one book that caught fire and sold a gazillion copies, but this is rare.<span style=""> </span>You have a better chance of winning the lottery.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">My high school economics teacher always used to say: <i style="">there is no such thing as a free lunch</i>.<span style=""> </span>Someone is paying for what you got for free, and they want something back in return.<span style=""> </span>The advice you think you are getting for a small price (perhaps the cover price of the book) so that you can achieve that literary stardom, well, let me tell you, if they really knew they </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">wouldn’t tell you and not for that price.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Now, I’m not a bestselling author, far from it, but if you look at the New York Times Bestseller list or any other list you won’t find those writers with books on how to write bestselling books. Instead, they are plugging away—day in and day out, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad—on their craft.<span style=""> </span>Their only objective is to tell a good story. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Hopefully the really good ones achieve mass success but really bad ones have achieved it too.<span style=""> </span>There is no one way of achieving it.<span style=""> </span>I have read great books by unknown writers and really bad books by famous writers.<span style=""> </span>You can call it luck or you can call it s</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">omething else.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">I am not going to give any advice—I wouldn’t know where to begin.<span style=""> </span>I do know, though, that writing is hard—it is almost always a labour of love.<span style=""> </span>But there is nothing more satisfying than finally finishing something that you have spent countless days,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> months, even years working on. If there is one thing I can leave with it would be this: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >writers write, plain and simple.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">This reminds me of a scene from the movie, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.<span style=""> </span>Tuco Ramirez (The Ugly) is taking a bubble bath when a One Armed Man</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> enters the room and aims his gun at him.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">The One Armed Man says, “I've been looking for you for 8 months. Whenever I should have had a gun in my right hand, I thought of you. Now I find you in exactly the position that suits me. I had lots of time to learn to shoot with my left.” </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Tuco kills him with the gun he has hidden in the foam. </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Tuco then gets up and says, “When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.”</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHUyifYBtMltN7CH7cPskPCU2L-xqNDHS7_Nm7tMHJQ9uruKhs7HrcfmJHbM87PhyeZ5FeAebrWPA5vKLi-KXCWSQeOteDUiBZts_1S4Zh_TJ7Qdf1mVHVe6huneioWXHqHCZhMvz0UF1/s1600/TucoRamirez.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHUyifYBtMltN7CH7cPskPCU2L-xqNDHS7_Nm7tMHJQ9uruKhs7HrcfmJHbM87PhyeZ5FeAebrWPA5vKLi-KXCWSQeOteDUiBZts_1S4Zh_TJ7Qdf1mVHVe6huneioWXHqHCZhMvz0UF1/s200/TucoRamirez.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522468365267782802" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">I say, “If you’re going to write, write,<span style=""> </span>don’t </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">read abo</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">ut it.”</span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-80124161614378825752010-09-26T08:37:00.000-07:002011-07-01T06:34:37.757-07:00Jason Bourne vs. James Bond<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >It’s interesting to see the debate of who would win if Jason Bo</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >urne ever met James Bond.<span style=""> </span></span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">These two literary constructions would be fascinating if ever they were on the same page.<span style=""> </span>Mind you, as far as what they are in on the actual page, by Robert Ludlum (Bourne) and Ian Fleming (Bond) they are entirely different on the big screen.<span style=""> </span>I will not focus on the literary creations but on the ones on the silver screen.<span style=""> </span>I think this would be more fun.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Descriptions:</span></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P0fH8GUYzAQ16wGYFowKXMfNvBtvAhZIDx8oOL4wa_JNfNNp3uFkDSFO-qtJh-AIaKTJwWX450gfVPxuCV6yUHu0IUNpGAomKAL81Wvpy5SkFsf5e7y2ZMy9UsWd7CHxmamTd3vjbLTo/s1600/Jason+Bourne.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P0fH8GUYzAQ16wGYFowKXMfNvBtvAhZIDx8oOL4wa_JNfNNp3uFkDSFO-qtJh-AIaKTJwWX450gfVPxuCV6yUHu0IUNpGAomKAL81Wvpy5SkFsf5e7y2ZMy9UsWd7CHxmamTd3vjbLTo/s200/Jason+Bourne.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521247752770074674" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jason Bourne: Rugged, gritty, and unrefined. Habitually monogamous.<span style=""> </span>Casually dressed. Relies heavily on intelligence and quick-thinking.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-w4hdTjL47TVBJYRsdYlk_6DzFXP2JexNOsKgbAFPVtG9_HeaDsmbUrto7PNybbnTIiQlnhmMim4kuM49LmOJzkIJ-4vS8qg3vWUBEBUMb5HrvHKcHjKFaDdVyYe90pcMamKRafDIFc-/s1600/James+Bond.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-w4hdTjL47TVBJYRsdYlk_6DzFXP2JexNOsKgbAFPVtG9_HeaDsmbUrto7PNybbnTIiQlnhmMim4kuM49LmOJzkIJ-4vS8qg3vWUBEBUMb5HrvHKcHjKFaDdVyYe90pcMamKRafDIFc-/s200/James+Bond.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521248340965013362" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">James Bond: Suave, debonair, and sophisticated. A habitual womanizer.<span style=""> </span>Imp</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ccably dressed. Relies heavily on his charm and fancy gadgets.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><br /></span></i></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Who am I?</span></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bourne suffers from amnesia and he spends the trilogy (<i style="">Bourne Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum</i>) piecing together his history. <span style=""> </span>Along the way we learn his real name (I won’t mention it for those who haven’t watched the trilogy yet—<i style="">what are you waiting for people?</i>).<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Bond…James Bond</span></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bond doesn’t have the same problem as Bourne. <span style=""> </span>Or maybe he does and in order to remember his name he repeats it.<span style=""> </span>What’s interesting is he’s a spy with no need of introductions but he still does it, twice!</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Stylistic differences</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bourne blows up things only when it is absolutely necessary, whereas Bond will detonate a building because, well, he’s James Bond, and he can.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bourne will avoid killing someone, instead will either knock them out, shoot them in the leg, or just break a bone or two (but nothing fatal), whereas, Bond will shoot to kill, his favourite:<span style=""> </span>the hard-working employees of the super-villains (those poor souls who show up with machine guns but never once manage to hit Bond).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bourne will do anything to avoid bringing any attention to him. He wants to be left alone. In <i style="">Bourne Supremacy</i> he hid in Goa, India and preferred a good run on the beach.<span style=""> </span>Bond on the other hand wants to be the center of attention, everything he does says ‘I’m James Bond and you’re not.’</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The big question is who would win if they were to go head to head?<span style=""> </span>If I were a betting man I would say Jason Bourne, hands down.<span style=""> </span>Here would be the scenario.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><i style="">Bond enters the room, dressed in a tuxedo, and announces he is James Bond, twice.</i></span></p><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>He gets himself a drink, Martini, shaken not stirred.</span></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>He spots a beautiful woman and charms her.</span></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>As he’s heading back to his room, unknown to him, a man has broken into the building through a window on another floor.<span style=""> </span>He procures a ball point pen, which he’ll easily be able to pass through security (if the building had one).</span></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>As an inebriated Bond gets to his bedroom door a man swiftly moves past him, and with the ball point pen, stabs him in the thigh and neck, and disappears, perhaps, scaling down the outside wall of the building.<span style=""> </span></span></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span>With his major arteries severed Bond is rendered incapacitated.</span></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now this may seem like a diss to James Bond, but believe me, it is not, James Bond is the epitome of longevity—a character who has endured decades of change.<span style=""> </span>Now why is that?<span style=""> </span>The simple answer is: James Bond is a male fantasy.<span style=""> </span>The common man wants to be James Bond.<span style=""> </span>He dresses well, he beds beautiful women, he kills with no repercussions, and he has all the fancy toys anyone could ever want.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Who do I prefer? I will have to say Jason Bourne.<span style=""> </span>Bourne feels real, there is something relatable about him. <span style=""> </span>He could be a spy in today’s fast-paced, complex and paranoid world.<span style=""> </span>He would survive any situation thrown at him.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">So James Bond can have all the clothes, women, and toys, I would not be envy of him, Jason Bourne doesn’t need them and he manages quite fine.<span style=""> </span>Well, maybe there is one thing I wouldn’t mind having. James Bond's,</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5cTJZUIFhu0dm9LOpBp4Vh6V3FrkpnpL4UM4CKltSyZslS0VGoZgL6L0gyxvo6BSPFT4i0vkrg95W7OBjGqHXIYrvQsQH7bw2xogx4Lll7yK4q6CSr5bZJgEKWutYSAewRF6ayIyXbfc/s1600/Aston+Martin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5cTJZUIFhu0dm9LOpBp4Vh6V3FrkpnpL4UM4CKltSyZslS0VGoZgL6L0gyxvo6BSPFT4i0vkrg95W7OBjGqHXIYrvQsQH7bw2xogx4Lll7yK4q6CSr5bZJgEKWutYSAewRF6ayIyXbfc/s200/Aston+Martin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521249323414941762" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Aston Martin<br /></span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-91106228320181919162008-11-16T09:13:00.000-08:002011-06-27T16:04:10.542-07:00Obama, Crichton & My Birthday<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >I normally don’t write something too personal, I find that those that do end up sounding too pretentious.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >But on </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><b>November 4, 2008</b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > three significant things happened. </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Birthday</u><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckvNzS53g8bBGXmp6udR6vWGnVLAm28S7hYY-qef8TWzuColhj4WdKBj0t0k6GtGEt6fSMzfD5dDITE7UhGO0vTHEbbHYrZagGMvvpReiNTupkzaDFrQAUpIVIUcIF79B3B-MxLbBJlHU/s1600-h/birthday-cake.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 103px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckvNzS53g8bBGXmp6udR6vWGnVLAm28S7hYY-qef8TWzuColhj4WdKBj0t0k6GtGEt6fSMzfD5dDITE7UhGO0vTHEbbHYrZagGMvvpReiNTupkzaDFrQAUpIVIUcIF79B3B-MxLbBJlHU/s200/birthday-cake.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269307717133544626" border="0" /></a><br />On this date I hit a milestone – I turned 30.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I thought turning 30 would somehow change me, affect me in some way, but it didn’t.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I can’t say I feel more mature or even wiser.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">But for some strange reason I feel more proud, proud enough to tell people I’m 30.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">In fact, being thirty is not that bad, it’s not the end of the world, I mean, Mark Twain published his first short story, <i style="">Jim Smiley and His Jumping</i><i style=""> Frog</i> when he was 30. And Danish novelist Hans Christian Andersen published his book of fairy tales when he was 30.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I have published a novel but hopefully like them I can keep writing and perhaps publish many more.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Obama<o:p></o:p></u></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m not American but just seeing Barack Obama elected President of the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United State</st1:place></st1:country-region><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">s</st1:place></st1:country-region> was<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmpWNckrsYjZkXPoE0c4xrdI3dLSSWQAhGVmzmKfevG0ISaJtzdQjnQmp6E6-gILTJFo_PNiN1Q_oVd0UiX_lDPmotGJHalaWqg7ydXqYyc03ocqLdz-_FF2vSD9GCdNXjLrqfNhJewaw/s1600-h/Barack+Obama.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmpWNckrsYjZkXPoE0c4xrdI3dLSSWQAhGVmzmKfevG0ISaJtzdQjnQmp6E6-gILTJFo_PNiN1Q_oVd0UiX_lDPmotGJHalaWqg7ydXqYyc03ocqLdz-_FF2vSD9GCdNXjLrqfNhJewaw/s200/Barack+Obama.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269305973680588594" border="0" /></a> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">overwhelming. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m not going to spend too much time on how significant this was, millions have done a far better job of this, but I will say this is not only great for the United States but also for the entire world.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Obama is the son of a white <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">mother and a black Kenyan father.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He was raised in <st1:place st="on">Asia</st1:place> and has a half-Indonesian sister.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">His middle name is Middle Eastern.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He is all of us.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Only time will tell whether he lives up to all our hopes and dreams, but this is a step in the right direction.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Crichton<o:p></o:p></u></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I was shocked to hear the death of author Michael Crichton.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">In my teens I was introduced to his books by my brother.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I remember reading them and being completely immersed in his world, whether they be about alien viruses or the 19<sup>th</sup> century gold heist in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">There was something about them; they were both ambitious and entertaining.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He made science digestible!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">What made him stand out amongst all the great writers was that he wasn’t afraid to write a different kind book: <st1:place style="font-style: italic;" st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Jurassic</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> (dinosaurs), <span style="font-style: italic;">Timeline </span>(time travel), <span style="font-style: italic;">Prey </span>(nanotechnology), <span style="font-style: italic;">Rising Sun</span> (Japanese/American relations) and so on. His books were controversial, yes, but at least they made us think. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I can’t tell you how excited I would get just hearing that he was coming out with a new book.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Just the thought of what other worlds or journeys he would take us on gave me goose bumps.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIe2ZL6b5icqp-u8FhgZoIqpOJbjowlsGDAA7D80H0WYyIAzcsFPm5ACwu-fb2B_ha3VKr-_9laT50Ucb0iSXOQZc77zYB9ORr3T-K7clW3xH8Vb0yygD4jYEFSqQ8hjz5xdkFIXgwHwC/s1600-h/Michael+Crichton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIe2ZL6b5icqp-u8FhgZoIqpOJbjowlsGDAA7D80H0WYyIAzcsFPm5ACwu-fb2B_ha3VKr-_9laT50Ucb0iSXOQZc77zYB9ORr3T-K7clW3xH8Vb0yygD4jYEFSqQ8hjz5xdkFIXgwHwC/s200/Michael+Crichton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269307869708896770" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Michael Crichton inspired me to become a writer and for that I am forever indebted to him.</span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-54029327724139850982007-08-16T14:18:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:04:46.951-07:00Titanic & the Stubborn Popcorn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WSOLaA-XxUybYthnHlmNgU80RRtaDtqr0dfAEpVIaWN8wqOhkhuBJ2xUCm6TwBg4iT-z4ARscdI_LzsUqz9jxZxgd0mcNIyuJfbDAeKGLuLZ33r_QTmEdvqh9E9b4dGaaF5XS4GuMVlw/s1600-h/Popcorn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WSOLaA-XxUybYthnHlmNgU80RRtaDtqr0dfAEpVIaWN8wqOhkhuBJ2xUCm6TwBg4iT-z4ARscdI_LzsUqz9jxZxgd0mcNIyuJfbDAeKGLuLZ33r_QTmEdvqh9E9b4dGaaF5XS4GuMVlw/s200/Popcorn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099411177665117682" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >I have always been a fan of movies and have seen my share of them in theatres. Obviously, popcorns and drinks are a must when it comes to the movie-theatre-experience. But one event changed all that.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was during the movie <i>Titanic</i>. I went, somewhat eagerly, to see what all the hoopla was about. This was early 1998 and <i>Titanic</i> had just won a whole slew of Oscars.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I buy myself a small size drink - small because I didn't want to get up and run to the bathroom during the movie and a medium size box of popcorn.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I am there early, about ten to fifteen minutes before the start, just so that I can get a good seat. I watch as the theatre slowly begins to fill. People move up the aisles, glancing first at the screen then at the seat they are going to sit in. Some may not think this, but choosing a seat is the most important and difficult part of the movie going experience. Choose the wrong one and you'll be regretting it for the entire movie. So arriving early is crucial.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">During this time the sweet aroma of the popcorns bombard my senses. I take one, then two, and then three and before you know it I am enjoying them even before the movie begins. The commercials come up, then the expected trailers and then finally the main attraction.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By this time my box is half empty and my drink nearly finished. I gulp the last drops as the opening credits roll.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The movie is slow but I don't mind, I know that it picks up as the ship is supposed to break in half and then sink (thank you, Internet Movie Data Base).</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Then something unexpected happens. A piece of popcorn gets stuck in the back of my throat. I reach for the drink and realize its empty. I try to conjure up some spit. Nothing. My mouth is dry. The popcorn had sucked up all the saliva. Now this tiny piece has become a big problem. It's irritating and agitating my throat.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I try to cough, or make a gurgling noise, but realize this is not the right time. Up on the screen Rose (Kate Winslet) has decided to jump off the ship and Jack (Leonardo Di Caprio) is persuading her not too. Let me say, this is probably the quietest scene in the entire movie. There is no background music, no special effects, no loud anything. It consists only of dialogue between the two actors and the slow (far away) sound of frigid water splashing.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I'm sure this scene is not that long but when you have an intruder that you cannot get out with your tongue stuck in the back of your mouth, this seems like an eternity.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I plead to the screen. <i>Jack, let her jump. Let her make some noise. It's only water. Once I get this popcorn out I'll save her.</i></span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But that would not be. He would not let her jump.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So I decide to get up, apologize for stepping on people's toes, and make my way to the bathroom.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Just as I'm about to do this I feel this wetness underneath my tongue. <i>Oh, sweet dribble.</i> I quickly suck in and wash the culprit down. I can't explain the relief I felt. It was as if I was the <i>king of the world</i>.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Then I proceed to enjoy the rest of the movie, which I found a bit too long and a bit too long. And of course, I do so without eating any more popcorn.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Moral of the story: No popcorns unless Jack is willing to shove Rose overboard.</span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-66739782169441140262007-03-30T17:03:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:05:07.959-07:00Soundtracks (Part 1)<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Music plays a big role in writing, at least it does for me. It helps set the mood and spurs the muse into action. I tried writing with the radio playing in the background but the DJs kept interrupting my thoughts. I tried playing CDs but found the lyrics distracting. Then I tried playing movie soundtracks and found that this not only inspired my writing but also helped me stay in the 'writing zone'.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>(I'm not a music </i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>writer so my comments are not indented to be a professi</i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>onal review but merely my take on these wonderful soundtracks)</i></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The following soundtracks, including some of my favorite tracks, were instrumental in writing my first novel, R.A.C.E.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><b><br />Gladiator by Hans Zimmer</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ws4mHNhhLLseaSFEjy9kyMaJuhKVcQe0164SCuRcqQOY63vT2FOdr6Nx98E0XTLZv8nBjV2mKustZrh-LxBv-u8g2WUgt51yoozo2yln5m3Hed_iS5uMRJOOgnY-X8y1cXybz4g5n6AJ/s1600-h/Gladiator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ws4mHNhhLLseaSFEjy9kyMaJuhKVcQe0164SCuRcqQOY63vT2FOdr6Nx98E0XTLZv8nBjV2mKustZrh-LxBv-u8g2WUgt51yoozo2yln5m3Hed_iS5uMRJOOgnY-X8y1cXybz4g5n6AJ/s200/Gladiator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047873233863804882" border="0" /></a> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Track(s): <i>The Battle, Elysium, The Might of Rome, Honor Him, and N</i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>ow We are Free</i> </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What can I say about this soundtrack? It has everything. From the pounding and inspiring track, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Battle</span>, to the peaceful and soulful track, <span style="font-style: italic;">Elysium</span>, containing the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> melodic voice of Lisa Gerrard. This soundtrack is grand</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and personal.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><b><br />Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers by Howard Shore</b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPPQRaly287_CyjjlwQWsK6sh25ht0zILcGuGFj55CyAwBOZBPIeQOe3x-PvWuNLMUo8d05tHn2TWyVoJwvdBF-KgRaDObF2KgszYXI5YBgFIPDdKoK1IyVRYWXf1yE7vzGhBQrnKIcyt/s1600-h/Two+Towers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPPQRaly287_CyjjlwQWsK6sh25ht0zILcGuGFj55CyAwBOZBPIeQOe3x-PvWuNLMUo8d05tHn2TWyVoJwvdBF-KgRaDObF2KgszYXI5YBgFIPDdKoK1IyVRYWXf1yE7vzGhBQrnKIcyt/s200/Two+Towers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047873431432300514" border="0" /></a> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Tracks(s): <i>E</i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>venstar, Forth Eorlingas, Riders of Rohan, </i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>Samwise the Brave</i> </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Enya sings in <span style="font-style: italic;">Evenstar </span>and being a fan of hers I was thoroughly enchanted by the track. The track, <span style="font-style: italic;">Riders of Rohan</span>, is both majestic and has a feel of urgency. The rest of the soundtrack reminds you of a world that is not ours, but is magical and far, far away.<kp> </kp></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Road to Perdition by Thomas Newman</b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQRv038mszPxYaqxQ3rzVxHhSDZYnKwXFTHWitZXH0w2z8N-lkHRRrsNbBSshPbzNwvy-seGnqhsiMOIw0SK3k5I4Hfpl9EIzLeaZswgH5u95shfdHinrQC9O8VrEpyw0x8MHgOxyDf-r/s1600-h/Road+to+Perdition-a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQRv038mszPxYaqxQ3rzVxHhSDZYnKwXFTHWitZXH0w2z8N-lkHRRrsNbBSshPbzNwvy-seGnqhsiMOIw0SK3k5I4Hfpl9EIzLeaZswgH5u95shfdHinrQC9O8VrEpyw0x8MHgOxyDf-r/s200/Road+to+Perdition-a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047873671950469106" border="0" /></a></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Track(s): <i>Road to Chicago, Road to Perdition</i></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The soundtrack is propelled by the sound of the piano and violin. It evokes the atmosphere and feel of the 1930s. The track, <span style="font-style: italic;">Road to Perdition</span>, is heart wrenching and powerful.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Braveheart by James Horner</b></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUvVQxwcZWiioCwRPx-b_VKC7z_wbwmjby2zBwWtAVAP7P_zOdFECNuL9UF8lZSQs0wcsS5aU5F9jO1GrDsRWCdRILvG7AmDBxlqzKyxa1kYvARhL5kNG320zZONgcjmt3WCVsn_B_XZc/s1600-h/Braveheart-b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUvVQxwcZWiioCwRPx-b_VKC7z_wbwmjby2zBwWtAVAP7P_zOdFECNuL9UF8lZSQs0wcsS5aU5F9jO1GrDsRWCdRILvG7AmDBxlqzKyxa1kYvARhL5kNG320zZONgcjmt3WCVsn_B_XZc/s200/Braveheart-b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047873976893147138" border="0" /></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Tracks(s): <i>The Love of a Princess, Freedom/the Execution/Bannockburn, End Credits</i> </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The scores are mixed with bagpipes, flutes, and drums. The soundtrack goes from powerful to reflective. It has an incredible choir chorus that is both sad and empowering.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams</b></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Track(s): <i>The Raiders March</i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqeN4eB06DoDLwlvAi5trbF4nHr1WtgyRvTilnP_wlC8hvYxOtCsrE1oA_vaEwZ-1kilrs1UOd0jA17SucmQpCItr4IwjU8M9Sdrye8RAW2F8_UvwNhcOIX8IZUnmSxJtmePkZ8hyphenhyphenOP83/s1600-h/Indiana+Jones.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqeN4eB06DoDLwlvAi5trbF4nHr1WtgyRvTilnP_wlC8hvYxOtCsrE1oA_vaEwZ-1kilrs1UOd0jA17SucmQpCItr4IwjU8M9Sdrye8RAW2F8_UvwNhcOIX8IZUnmSxJtmePkZ8hyphenhyphenOP83/s200/Indiana+Jones.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047874105742166034" border="0" /></a></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Raiders March</span> track is distinct and universally recognized by an Indy fan. For those who have never heard of it, it has drums, cymbals, trumpets; the entire London Pop Orchestra, the same orchestra that did Star Wars. When <span style="font-style: italic;">The Raiders March</span> starts up a chill of excitement goes up my spine. What more can I say?</span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-49552255102623408652007-03-30T16:33:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:05:23.979-07:00Soundtracks (Part 2)<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><b>Seven Years in Tibet by John Williams</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHGTchm1OzCtLRMjSLM0ClozJtu5xViyPzt1VGFn-WYJbCDHlySAu8nxUWsDEeSeGjKjd0PbwM9hjDBn0GxLk620agPQHZ1v0BFpmNSUmfiZGeGUOolKbqnqBDimwsXZmUfFCo2UyyE2m/s1600-h/Seven+Years+in+Tibet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHGTchm1OzCtLRMjSLM0ClozJtu5xViyPzt1VGFn-WYJbCDHlySAu8nxUWsDEeSeGjKjd0PbwM9hjDBn0GxLk620agPQHZ1v0BFpmNSUmfiZGeGUOolKbqnqBDimwsXZmUfFCo2UyyE2m/s200/Seven+Years+in+Tibet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047865520102541154" border="0" /></a></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Track(s): <i>Seven Years in Tibet, Regaining a Son</i></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This soundtrack started my love for the movie score. The cellos by </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Yo</span><span style="font-size:100%;">-</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Yo</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Ma are both beautiful and sad. Listening to the track, <span style="font-style: italic;">Seven Years</span>, puts you in a dream like state of enchantment. Both Western and Eastern sounds are blended together gorgeously.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><b><br />Last Samurai by Hans Zimmer</b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffPyCYsx9vrfU_iNS8jKe7GwdMuAIm4AbawrBTB4SvhwaDxvlJLkrmpsQwmNU9-h_HvX-kTN1XxgxWkBbh69CH4b31G3GIx_NSZjKrrM98B9XQMJBirlch_DgoaYon_csxtsE-Va6H7Cu/s1600-h/Last+Samurai-a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffPyCYsx9vrfU_iNS8jKe7GwdMuAIm4AbawrBTB4SvhwaDxvlJLkrmpsQwmNU9-h_HvX-kTN1XxgxWkBbh69CH4b31G3GIx_NSZjKrrM98B9XQMJBirlch_DgoaYon_csxtsE-Va6H7Cu/s200/Last+Samurai-a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047865812160317298" border="0" /></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Track(s): <i>A W</i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>a</i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>y of Life, Spectres in the Fog, Idyll's Hands</i> </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A delicate and emotional soundtrack, that infuses Eastern sounds with Western beats. The middle of track <span style="font-style: italic;">Idyll's Hands</span> is so forceful that it leaves you feeling empowered.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Tan Dun and Yo-Yo Ma</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs0PysBfBI8eQZ8runufQzDhGOALlqL5M_WXuj7RCVAFM6snK6Uw6cWgHkX0PK3fF0Wo_4tHUvBI8QdXE1j_i7Qx55wCR4F9Gsj_GQv30SiUIqoLSZywmxBi6u2n78qSJM8flKe6CCMoT/s1600-h/Crouching+Tiger-a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHs0PysBfBI8eQZ8runufQzDhGOALlqL5M_WXuj7RCVAFM6snK6Uw6cWgHkX0PK3fF0Wo_4tHUvBI8QdXE1j_i7Qx55wCR4F9Gsj_GQv30SiUIqoLSZywmxBi6u2n78qSJM8flKe6CCMoT/s200/Crouching+Tiger-a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047866151462733698" border="0" /></a></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >Track(s): <i>The Eternal Vow</i></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The track <span style="font-style: italic;">Eternal Vow</span> is a deeply moving and haunting track of unrequited</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> love. The cellos by Ma are mesmerizing, leaving the listener heart broken and yearning for more.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre</b></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN7R4mbY5gB1WL64Png45XF-lb50m80dRUKVGaCAEg0Lgs7gUTtLUb67xLrBZ6TQoUVr-GFquUm-qh26LdRPEPZsRWACzcKe4nibZHuC-40fOh5T2LjdahTDS8UnG_WXiOHl_i2H05DFw/s1600-h/Lawrence+of+Arabia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN7R4mbY5gB1WL64Png45XF-lb50m80dRUKVGaCAEg0Lgs7gUTtLUb67xLrBZ6TQoUVr-GFquUm-qh26LdRPEPZsRWACzcKe4nibZHuC-40fOh5T2LjdahTDS8UnG_WXiOHl_i2H05DFw/s200/Lawrence+of+Arabia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047866482175215506" border="0" /></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Tracks(s): <i>Overtures, Main Titles,<br />On to Akaba/the Beach at Night</i> </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">My praise of this movie is evident in my first blog, so why wouldn't I love the soundtrack as well. <span style="font-style: italic;">Overture</span> immediately starts of with massive drums and moves to cymbals and trumpets, then followed by a hypnotic Arabian melody.</span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Jurassic Park by John Williams</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkd5TAsk9tC47dtSN4FHWct0hHbf5FszTBj5ovgtMElkkUbOeZXKMONGJGE6SoE02uteLmsH6hQEVvitb4IgqTUZCTnRtKAdUrGOYqWHL5ELysNLuGGo5PGQ_Hrus3PkVXz20FPoA1kPh/s1600-h/Jurassic+Park.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkd5TAsk9tC47dtSN4FHWct0hHbf5FszTBj5ovgtMElkkUbOeZXKMONGJGE6SoE02uteLmsH6hQEVvitb4IgqTUZCTnRtKAdUrGOYqWHL5ELysNLuGGo5PGQ_Hrus3PkVXz20FPoA1kPh/s200/Jurassic+Park.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047866877312206754" border="0" /></a></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" > Tracks(s): <i>Theme from Jurassic Park, </i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><i>Welcome to Jurassic Park, and End Credits</i></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is a light and entertaining soundtrack of a highly successful movie that was based on a book. What more inspiration do you need for a writer?</span></p> <span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" > </span>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-76604934262893196222007-03-29T15:30:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:07:17.471-07:00Why Write?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU54BNEmjdK6kg4Uje3Krg93yZxmRmwFwqDPzFZwmhdYMeHSRBTdoEtjP0gser17Hj_wqk37dImCDlzkcJfGzPMjaP3-_fq_gcOTQtkBcSLTmur8sOLg738yfy5ydLY8i8tVeBZq5omyjB/s1600-h/typewriter-a.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU54BNEmjdK6kg4Uje3Krg93yZxmRmwFwqDPzFZwmhdYMeHSRBTdoEtjP0gser17Hj_wqk37dImCDlzkcJfGzPMjaP3-_fq_gcOTQtkBcSLTmur8sOLg738yfy5ydLY8i8tVeBZq5omyjB/s200/typewriter-a.gif" alt="" 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style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-US"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >I have always wondered about this…why do </span><i style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" > write? And I think this question relates to who reads today anyways?</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;" > </span></span></span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Times are changing.<span style=""> </span>There’s the vast internet, the good old television, the hot video games, the expansive DVDs with hours of extras, there is so much out there to occupy our time, so who would spend the time to sit alone and be immersed in the written word?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As a writer you always battle with this last question, because it has a great impact in what you do.<span style=""> </span>If no one read than what is the point of writing.<span style=""> </span>No one will appreciate all the hard work you, as the writer, has done. Then the second question is even if someone did read would they enjoy reading <i style="">your</i> work?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Writers spend countless hours sitting behind a blank computer screen or a blank piece of paper, hoping, fearing, that what comes out of their mind is nothing short of readable.<span style=""> </span>They know they have a story, even if it’s only vague, and they want to share this story with the rest of the world.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have battled this too.<span style=""> </span>There were oh-so-many times where I had quit, sworn to whatever is holy that I would never write again, only to find myself back in front of the blank screen.<span style=""> </span>Why do I torture myself?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I think the answer is simple: as writers, we know, that the story lurking in the back of our subconscious is good and must be told, even if it isn’t, by the time we put it on paper it will be.<span style=""> </span>We think, through our sheer determination we will transform that thought into something tangible.<span style=""> </span>It is then that we will be praised as geniuses, deemed society’s moral compass, or even heroes to have written something that no one had to courage to write.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">When I started out I struggled with this, what if something I write is not good.<span style=""> </span>What if it is not worth the piece of paper it is written on, meaning who would want to publish it? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">These kinds of thoughts can cripple a young or new writer.<span style=""> </span>There is just too much doubt that lingers when one is working on his/her craft.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Then one day I read something that kind of gave me solace.<span style=""> </span>I think of this whenever the doubt creeps back into my subconscious. I read it years ago and I can’t seem to find out who said it, but with all due respect to the author, I’ll paraphrase:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">“No one is going to miss a book that’s not written.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >So there, if you have a story that’s worth telling and you don’t tell it then we’ll never have the opportunity to appreciate it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-52021799390963360902007-03-24T18:22:00.001-07:002011-06-27T16:07:53.322-07:00Groovy<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">People ask me who my favorite actor is and depending on which movie I’d seen at the time, I would spew out names like Leonardo Di Caprio, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks…etc.<span style=""> </span>But in reality there is one actor that whenever I see him in a movie (and most of the time he’s playing a very, very, very minor role) a huge smile crosses my face.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbJ-Za16HOMNG3tjREVRlGq9sADWrE64zZi2e9zHPva1h_KktDnZ0oMQ99Tm2uY-1zPwNW5JWvwWd82swngbvGIG4DpnSWQzS6p8-G349BAPsJ-lWqd6jNBAKr0NYOtB_ZbYgwoSkAsmA/s1600-h/ArmyOfDarkness(A).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbJ-Za16HOMNG3tjREVRlGq9sADWrE64zZi2e9zHPva1h_KktDnZ0oMQ99Tm2uY-1zPwNW5JWvwWd82swngbvGIG4DpnSWQzS6p8-G349BAPsJ-lWqd6jNBAKr0NYOtB_ZbYgwoSkAsmA/s200/ArmyOfDarkness(A).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047095170473363074" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The actor I’m speaking of is Bruce Campbell.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">For those who are not familiar with the name he is of the Evil Dead trilogy fame.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>He starred in <i>Evil Dead</i>, <i>Evil Dead II</i>, and the <i>Army of Darkness</i> as Ashley ‘Ash’ J. Williams.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I remember watching the first two movies as a kid and being scared out of my wits.<span style=""> </span>I had nightmares for a very long time.<span style=""> </span>You could say it was because of <i>Evil Dead</i> that I stopped watching horror movies and to this day will avoid them like the plague.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">There was this one scene from <i>Evil Dead II</i> that I replayed in my mind over and over again as a kid.<span style=""> </span>It was a cool scene.<span style=""> </span>Through the course of the movie Ash is beaten, punished, and tortured in every way by the demons haunting the cabin he is in.<span style=""> </span>After a demon possesses his right hand Ash has no choice but cut-it off.<span style=""> </span>Angry and pissed, Ash goes into the tool shed where he replaces his right hand with a chainsaw.<span style=""> </span>He saws of the front of the shotgun (to make it more lethal), twirls it around and puts it in his back holster.<span style=""> </span>Now armed and ready to do battle with the demons, he raises one eyebrow and says, “Groovy.”<span style=""> </span>(No matter what happens to him, he’s still cool and hip to let it slide and get on with it)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Many years later, when I was in my teens Bruce Campbell starred in a short series called, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"><i>Brisco</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype st="on">County</st1:placetype></i></st1:place><i> Jr</i>., a western where Brisco (played by Bruce Campbell) is a bounty hunter who goes after the gang that killed his father.<span style=""> </span>It lasted only one season about 27 episodes but at that time I couldn’t wait each week to watch it.<span style=""> </span>There was something about the show… it was fun!<span style=""> </span>It had a horse named <i>Comet</i> that had an attitude.<span style=""> </span>Even now I still remember that show fondly.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> 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<w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:lsdexception> </w:lsdexception><!--[endif]--><!--> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <!--[endif]--> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Many years ago when the Internet was just beginning to catch on, my brother, who happened to have an e-mail address at the time, found Bruce Campbell’s e-mail.<span style=""> </span>Excited, he and I sat down and wrote a long, glowing letter to him. We were like school kids drooling at the prospect of finally getting a chance to connect with our hero.<span style=""> </span>We wrote in the end that <i>we hoped he would get better roles in the future</i>.<span style=""> </span>Once we were done, we decided to save it and come back later and re-fix.<span style=""> </span>This letter had to be perfect the last thing we wanted was to say something inappropriate to him.<span style=""> </span>The next day we received an e-mail—it was from Bruce Campbell!!!<span style=""> </span>(How did the e-mail go through? We thought we had only saved it?) He thanked us for writing to him and at the end wrote that <i>he was proud of the roles he had done</i>.<span style=""> </span>We were devastated…was Bruce Campbell (aka Ash, aka Brisco County Jr.) offended by what we said?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I guess what most people are still wondering is what is it about Bruce Campbell that puts him ahead of some of the heavy weights in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:city>, in my opinion?<span style=""> </span>The simple answer is…Bruce Campbell looks like he is having fun.<span style=""> </span>I can’t describe what that means, except that he’s someone you wouldn’t mind hanging around with because you know it’ll be fun.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So that brings me back to my story, do I think Bruce Campbell was offended by our comment?<span style=""> </span>No, I don’t think so.<o:p></o:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And somehow if I ever met him and told him of the story, I bet he’d say, with his one eyebrow raised, “Groovy.”</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-51946083040631299682007-03-24T12:46:00.000-07:002011-06-28T16:47:20.433-07:00I’m Batman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuca11OuFfU1aUi4m9Zpw0oCnxKiyc-tgjevR9CgN4hB0GgmW2bf9OZ1iswo8ZncAAC1XbCsyZCOSkyLQBykyaSoczbKiz94Od5llvH6JfzUcUpMEkM-vL3bcTnXbulkJv0AaaIoQhVCO0/s1600-h/BatmanBegins8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuca11OuFfU1aUi4m9Zpw0oCnxKiyc-tgjevR9CgN4hB0GgmW2bf9OZ1iswo8ZncAAC1XbCsyZCOSkyLQBykyaSoczbKiz94Od5llvH6JfzUcUpMEkM-vL3bcTnXbulkJv0AaaIoQhVCO0/s200/BatmanBegins8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047096682301851314" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Growing up I read comic books.<span style=""> </span>And lots of them.<span style=""> </span>X-men, Spiderman, Superman, Spawn, and in turn also watched their subsequent movie versions.<span style=""> </span>Some I liked while others I didn’t.<span style=""> </span>There’s one character whose comics I never got into reading but greatly enjoyed the movie versions.<span style=""> </span>And that’s <b>Batman</b>.<span style=""> </span>Okay, let’s forget the last one <i>Batman and Robin</i> with George Clooney as Batman.<span style=""> </span>That one was a mistake and should never have been made but <i>Batman Begins</i> with Christian Bale as Batman makes up for it, and in a big way.<o:p></o:p></span> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">So what is so appealing about Batman?<span style=""> </span>Here is a character that has no super powers but yet is as old as Superman.<span style=""> </span>He can’t fly, but glides.<span style=""> </span>Can’t dodge bullets, but has a bulletproof suit.<span style=""> </span>Can’t magically disappear, but uses diversions (smoke bombs, shadows) to escape.<span style=""> </span>Then why is he such an intriguing character?<span style=""> </span>Maybe, he is dark and at times just as vicious as the villains.<span style=""> </span>Maybe, that is why he is referred to as the Dark Knight.<span style=""> </span>Maybe, he is more human, and therefore, more flawed than any superhero out there.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> 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Who wouldn’t want to be filthy rich and be the owner of a company like Wayne Enterprises? Wayne Manor looks like a mini Medieval Castle. Not only does he get to do charitable work through his company he also has money to spare on toys.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">2) With that extra cash he can develop whatever he wants, and he does, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Batmobile</span>. Here is a hot rod that looks super cool and also has a jet engine in the back that can blow fire! Not to mention the numerous concealed weapons this vehicle has. Speeding ticket? Shazaam! Tailgating? Kapow! Parallel parking between two cars? Bang! Problem cleared. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">3) Obviously, where is he going to park his Batmobile? He can’t just pull up in front of his driveway, open the garage door and park his one-of-a-kind vehicle without having some annoying neighbour ask him stupid questions, like, how much gas does it take or fast can it go, or even how much is the insurance. So, he creates the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bat Cave</span>. A secret, state-of-the-art underground hideaway, developed underneath Wayne Manor, where he can park his Batmobile without anyone knowing. The Bat Cave also has a huge TV screen.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">4) He’s rich, has the Batmobile and also the Bat Cave so what does he do? He goes and helps those that are in need. But he can’t just do that looking like an average Joe. So he gets himself the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Batsuit</span>. A full black, Kevlar suit, with muscles already chiseled out, and a mask that would strike fear in any super villain. Plus, the Batsuit comes with a utility belt that has all the gadgets he’d ever need: grappling gun, smoke bombs, batarangs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">5) He’s got everything he needs, but he still needs someone to watch over him, someone to confide in, and someone to mentor him and get him out of tight spots. He needs <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alfred</span>, his butler and surrogate father. Without him Bruce Wayne would be nothing but a rich, spoiled kid. It is Alfred who guides him and is there for him when he needs him.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> Above all, Batman feels real. If you get the above YOU too can be Batman.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> As a kid when I saw the 1989 Batman movie with Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, I remember getting chills and excited with those now immortal lines when Bruce Wayne in costume is holding a thug off a ledge and the thug asks him, terrified, “W-who are you?”</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> Bruce Wayne pulls him closer and calmly and icily says, “I’m Batman.”</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> 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Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002481746022232107.post-22893251024108469792007-03-23T14:51:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:10:58.980-07:00Greatest Movie of All time<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">As this is my first entry I figured why not start of by making a bold statement.<span style=""> </span>I know there is no such thing as <i style="">the</i> greatest movie of all time, just as there isn’t one great book of all time.<span style=""> </span>All books in general are great, that however can’t be said for all movies.<span style=""> </span>Movies nowadays are laden with special effects combined with fast-paced-in-your-face action.<span style=""> </span>This movie that I’m talking about does not contain a single second of special effects and by today’s standards (or perhaps even from its own time) can be considered extremely slow.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">This movie won 7 Academy Awards.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This movie was released over forty years ago, many moons before I was born.<span style=""> </span>Calling it long would be an understatement. The director’s-cut version is over 216 minutes – that over 3 ½ hours!<span style=""> </span>Who would want to watch a movie that long, unless it’s another movie by Peter Jackson, which happen to have hobbits or gorillas?<span style=""> </span>No.<span style=""> </span>This movie has no such creatures or characters.<span style=""> </span>It is neither fiction nor fantasy.<span style=""> </span>It is based, perhaps loosely, on true events but those events are extraordinarily riveting.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">This movie has lots and lots of sand.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was shot in <st1:country-region st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Morocco</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, spanning over 2 years.<span style=""> </span>It was shot in the most ungodly climates with temperatures that could boil, melt, and fry a brain.<span style=""> </span>It was shot in the desert.<span style=""> </span>Did I mention not a single frame is computer generated?<span style=""> </span>This means all those desert scenes could not be created inside an air-conditioned room.<span style=""> </span>It had to be on location, regardless of how devastating nature could be.<span style=""> </span>Steven Spielberg, who, according to reports, watches this movie before starting working on each and every one of his films, has said if this movie was shot now it would cost over $300 million.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">This movie has lots of camels.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is a vision to see, with its long canvas scenes that fill the entire screen and evoke a sense of being there.<span style=""> </span>It has perhaps one of the most beautiful and heart-stopping scores ever written.<span style=""> </span>At the time it contained an ensemble cast that was the envy of it’s time.<span style=""> </span>It has action sequences that would rival any movie today, excluding those with computer special effects, of course.<span 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:lsdexception> </w:lsdexception><!--[endif]--><!--> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} </style> <!--[endif]--> </p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-US">By now you’ve guessed which movie I’m talking about, unless you’ve spent your entire life with no TV, no magazines, no newspapers, no movies, no internet, no nothing. In short you’ve been living underground like a mole and have just come out and somehow stumbled upon this website (how you learned to use a computer or the internet I don’t know).<span style=""> </span>This movie that I think is the Greatest Movie of All Time is…David Lean’s masterpiece <i style="">Lawrence of Arabia</i>.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs32taaiFZYlwfPw52cfvN9Tm21T3xrvVYGiEMqpA6JehQh7jQgTOdW_nbRO_Ldlb8FJwU3Ie3cvxcCFvT4x-JQ5wunjYJk7PkBo8dH-dfxIZoVg39ss_F2gQ2bc943bDE5HgRz_SHRM8M/s1600-h/LawrenceOfArabia(A).jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs32taaiFZYlwfPw52cfvN9Tm21T3xrvVYGiEMqpA6JehQh7jQgTOdW_nbRO_Ldlb8FJwU3Ie3cvxcCFvT4x-JQ5wunjYJk7PkBo8dH-dfxIZoVg39ss_F2gQ2bc943bDE5HgRz_SHRM8M/s200/LawrenceOfArabia(A).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047096970064660162" border="0" /></a></span></p>Mobashar Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200498619726072694noreply@blogger.com0