Readings-"Its a good life if you don't weaken"

I picked this up after I saw it in a list that apparently had the 50 of the greatest graphic novels ever. At the time, I was in sort of becoming disillusioned with the whole Marvel-DC-Gotham stuff and wanted more than just comics. So, I ventured in search of some good graphic novels. My previous experiences with graphic novels had left me extremely gratified. I loved Watchmen and V for Vendetta. But I also loved the offbeat stuff like Logicomix, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Ghost world by Daniel Crowes.
When I read the reviews for Palookhaville and Its a good life if you don't weaken , I thought it would be something similar to Ghost World. But this read was nothing like what I thought it would be.
Quite frankly, I felt disappointed in this work. Seth is a genius when it comes to illustrations and you will understand it just by the cover page. The buildings and the weather he creates has a life of its own. And throughout this book, you can see several panels portraying just that. But where this graphic novel disappoints is, the story line. There is a very feeble, albeit true story of Seth's search for a cartoonist and glimpses of his life. There is nothing else. You get peeks into a few happenings such as his visit to his mother's home, his brother, his pessimistic conversations with his friend etc. For those who argue that there is beauty in it, i do not agree with you at all. If the story had developed into something more significant, it would have been good, great even. But left to its own, there is very little to be liked. A book should give you joy, sorrow, anger, hope or anything. But, most importantly, it should give you ideas. And for me, this book has been a huge disappointment in that aspect. I would love to see Seth illustrating a Good story line. I think it would just be marvelous. But till I find such a work, I would have to say his work doesn't quite cut it for me.

The Monkey Story!!

click to enlarge the image.

"SIX LESSONS OF LIFE"

Lesson 1: Naked Wife

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,…

“Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

"Lesson 2"

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the administration clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say

"Lesson 3" A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said,”Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his hand. But,changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity

"Lesson 4"

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.

...A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up

"Lesson 5: Power of Charisma" A turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.” “Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it wont keep you there

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story: 1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy 2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend 3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut !

Review: It's kind of a funny story

When I saw the movie title, I looked up the cast and Zach Galifianakis was in it, I thought that it was going to be another all out comedy flick. Was I in for a surprise! The movie was a total deviation from what I expected. It has Zach in a serious role.
The movie is about a 16 year old depressed teen Criag( Keir Gilchrist), who gets himself admitted at a psych clinic because he fears he might do something to himself. The attendant refuses to admit him, but does so after Craig's incessant plea for help. And so craig gets admitted for 5 days for evaluation. He meets Bobby (Zach), who he mistakes for a doctor initially, who is himself admitted there. The other main character in the movie is Noelle, who has been admitted for a history of several attempts of suicide.
The movie cruises through Criag's 5 days in the hospital. He opens up to his psychiatrist,about why he is so nervous. The movie follows the incidents and conversations that changes Craig's views and attitudes He becomes friends with Bobby. To see Zach play a semi-serious character is amazing. And of course, Craig and Noelle's budding romance also plays its part in the flow of the tale.
I liked the movie because I could relate to atleast some of it. And also, the movie is slow and breezy. And of course, its a feel good movie.
If you are in the mood for a casual, feel-good movie, then go for this.

Day 2: The train

The second day was a new experience in the sense that it was the first time I had spent an entire day in transit. An entire day on the Kerala express. I had planned to rise early so as to not get caught in the morning rush at the toilets. Train toilets! Oh bouy! do they teach you about life! I believe anyone who has had to travel long distance on the Indian railway and made it through a day or so, has passed a very valid survival test. You might as well laminate the ticket and look at it with pride. Because my dear friend, you have truly learned the art of survival! And the fundamental ingredients of this testing ground are of course the toilet and the cuisine. One can almost see a chicken-egg situation. Which dilemma came first? the toilet or the cuisine. Having undertaken journeys as far as Mumbai, I knew the rules of the game. Wake up early and I would have the toilet all to myself! I shall be king!..Well not quite! Going to the train toilets and coming out without any mis-happenings is a fine art. An art that is useless if your predecessors are not very good at it. On the bright side, you will witness the disappearance of finer human emotions,disgust and belief in human dignity, vaporize. Your dark side shall be aroused. Such unfathomable power soes the train toilet possess. Anyway, to get up early to visit the loo was of prime importance. But of course, I failed to do that. I woke up at 7. And hence, I was punished. After the queue, I brushed my teeth and at last entered the shrine of transformation. And returned to my seat to have my breakfast, somehow feeling a lot dirtier. And my breakfast awaited me. Bread-omlette, which was not bad and may have been good even, had it not been for my severely prejudiced mind.
And after breakfast I had no clue what to do. I tried reading one of the infinite novels I had on my phone, while others started with their card games. eventually I joined them. Many were grouchy after sleep, having to share berths very uncomfortably.
Desperate situations call for desperate actions! The next time the Ticket checker came, I saw Niby going after him. And after what I believe was pure seduction, he did it. We got our berths.
KRP bought a rail map in between and we traced our route. Initially I thought it was a very boring exercise, but soon, I became deeply captivated by it. It was incredible. We had traveled so much, covered so many states and home was away. We looked up the remaining journey and waited.
The cuisine part of the Survival test, had drastically improved over the course of the last few years. I didn't feel like complaining about dinner the day before or the breakfast. And the egg biriyani for lunch was also passable. But dinner shook me back to reality and made me realize that I was still in my survival test.
The day progressed boring us further and further. Some tried to bring in some energy, but in vain. We slept off, ate, played cards, made laughs at the expense of each other and again slept off!

Day 0 and 1: the 22nd and 23rd of November

We greeted the day of departure after a sleepless night. Unni, Manu, Afsal, Ajay and I (niby couldn't make it) got together at the place we had rented for the last 3 years of our college life. It was a beautiful night. Our friend Sethu joined us all the way from ernakulam after a busy day of work. The plans for the day had already been made. We would cook ourselves a fantastic dinner, play some cards and chat senselessly before we met again the next day. And of course, i would be allowed my pint of beer.
We were to reach our place by 12 noon, buy the necessary stuff and start cooking by 6pm. Well, as luck would have it, not everything worked out as planned. I managed to get my ATM card holding all my tour money blocked, that day. All my shares, which i was supposed to sell before the tour crashed. I hadn't started packing. And the errands at home, that i was supposed to take care of wasn't yet done. And last, but most significantly, the LDF had declared harthal in Idukki, on the day to protest the arrest of M.Mani. So, Unni(our chef) and Manu were trapped. But finally, by about 5, we managed to get together.
We had chosen Unni's brother's place as the site of our culinary experiments. The cooking ware was obtained from my home. Chicken fry, Noodles, ready-made Chapathi and Pepsi formed the Menu. And of course, my pint of Tuborg. Unni and Sethu, who was supposed to be our guest, did most of the work, while the rest of waited impatiently. Finally, the dishes were prepared and we stuffed ourselves as much as our tummies would allow us( having a bigger than average tummy presents with certain advantages during such times).
My plan was to return home, pack my stuff for the tour, get a goodnight's sleep and handle the errands the next day. But the night was good and the pointless chatter and laughter went on and on and so it was decided that i would spend the night there, at our place. But before we went to bed, we decided to play one of our favorite card games "least count". The clock showed 1, then 2, then 3, then 4. Only then did the yawns begin. Having lived with myself for the past 24 years and having fairly enough accurate knowledge of my habits, i promptly declared that I would rather not sleep because I had to wake up early the next day.My friends, who are always keen on weird ideas promptly took it up and so we didn't sleep till it was 6, when i finally went home.
At home, i realized how much I had to do before I reported at the railway station at 2pm. I hadn't even started my packing. I had stuff to buy. I had to go to my bank and transfer the money to an account with a working ATM card. I had to give my bike to Joe, who agreed to take care of it while I was gone. And to shit things up, it started raining. Somehow, I managed to get it all done, with a lot of help from my mom.
At 1pm, Manu came to my place, left his bike there and my parents dropped the two of us at the station. Rony's Mom and sis had also come to the station to see us off. All of us were visibly excited. And some opf us, severely sleep deprived. And one of us already missing Kottayam. And so, at 2:30 pm on the 23rd of November, we boarded our train, the Kerala express and our journey began. Once inside the train, i slept off, only to woken up to play cards and to have dinner.
Our ticket status was confirmed only for 10 berths. So, the 13 of us had to share 10 berths. Having a bigger than average tummy, again proved to have some advantages and I slept that night on the upper birth while 6 of us shared their 3 berths. And so we gave rest to our already tired bodies.

Zindagi mein ek baar.. our 20 day journey across india:-The beginning: 23rd Nov

There were 13 of us. The plans had been made a long time back. A journey to rejuvenate our rebellious spirits, waiting for a release after our final year MBBS, an year which seemed to go on forever and ever. Guided by our seniors who had undertaken similar journeys, we made our plans. We planned the places, the routes, the timing, the hostels and hotels. Most of the queries were made by Vaalan(Mathew) and KRP(Karthik). We did extensive searches on google. Google map as a useful tool has never ceased to amaze me. All of this was done right after our final internal exams, as we awaited the dates for our university exams, the final MBBS exams, the most dreaded exam of the 5 year course. Thoughts of the journey gave us hope, hope that something better awaits, at the end of those days of torture. Anything was better than having to sit in front of those textbooks. And so we planned. But we were confused about the date we should set out on our journey, thanks to our beloved MG university: 'man proposes, MGU disposes'. Because the university hadn't yet declared the theory exam dates and would declare the practical dates only after the theory exams, we had to pick our date carefully. After much debating, we finally chose the 23rd of November as the date to start on what would be one of the best experiences of our short lives. We booked all our train tickets and hotels online from KRP's place. Once that was done, all of us returned to the horror of final MBBS. Days dragged on. Hopelessness and fear found us on most of the days while a part of our minds tried vainly to convince that everything will go on fine. On those days, the trip was the only thing to look forward to. All of us counted the days to November 23rd and so the countdown began. I still remember receiving Hari's message on a day that i lay on my bed, paralyzed by fear and unable to do anything, let alone read anything useful. "75 days", it said. The thought that my agony had an end, made me rise from my bed, and forced myself to somehow read. And so, the days went ahead and the exams, some better than the others, some giving us hope and others despair.. All along, we waited for that day- the 23rd of November.