I finally started a new photolog. Its an attempt to make a fresh start and have fun while doing it as well.

Yeah, that’s right. I have the GTA IV NO DVD Mini Image. Obtained from GameCopyWorld. You can download it here. (The link will initially show an ad and then take you to the rapidshare page).
Instructions are as follows

1. Install the game – Make sure to make it a Full Installation.
2. Install Daemon Tools.(here)
3. Mount the GTA IV DVD 1.MDS Mini-Image in Virtual IDE drive in DAEMON Tools.(Included in download)
4. Use an anti-blacklisting tool, like Y.A.S.U v1.5.8111, to avoid blacklisting of DAEMON Tools.
5. Play the Game.
6. Enjoy!!

So , while stumbling yesterday I came across this blog ! I think Project Death Note is a fantastic idea ! Especially because Death Note happens to be one of my favorite graphic novels of all time ! So , yes I joined up with him and have started the marathon reading thing. Let’s see who finishes it first !

Adios.

I caught the movie first day , first show. In fact , this is the only movie that I have ever caught on the 1st day and that too the very first show. So how was the movie ? Just one word ‘ refreshing ‘ and I could probably add to that ‘awesome,cool,nice,nice,nice’.

This movie introduces Imraan Khan , Aamir Khan’s nephew. Well , from now on Aamir is going to be known as Imraan’s uncle. He does a smashing job as Jay Singh Rathod , the most non-violent Rajput of Ranjhor. Genelia D’Souza is equally amazing as the passionate,angry and vicious Aditi. Accompanying the duo are their friends – Rotlu , Juggu , Bonu and the other girl who’s name I can’t remember. Fantastic acting by each and every one of the actors. Not to forget the awesome music supplied by A.R. Rahman.

The story begins with a group a friends in a car , heading to the airport. They are their to receive their friends who are coming back to India after 3 long years. But due to a bomb threat the airplane is 1 hr late. So to spend time , 4 of the friends begin telling the story of 2 of their other friends to a new member to their group. The story of Jay and Aditi.

I don’t want to spoil it for the people who read this but I just want to say that it is a fantastic movie. I’ll just put a brief synopsis..

Jay and Aditi are best friends in college. Their other friends know that they are in love with each other , their parents know that they are in love with each other , but they don’t know that! Aditi always rues over the fact that Jay never takes up a fight and always tries to remain non-violent. This is because his mother made him promise not to fight because according to her , his father was a very peaceful man who could not tolerate violence and this was his dying wish. But this happens to be absolute balderdash , a lie cooked up by his mother because she didn’t want to see her son become as proud and violent as her husband. The Rajputs of Ranjhor have an initiation rite for the boys to become men. The rite says that they must do 3 things… Ride a horse , beat someone up and go to jail at least once. But does Jay do all these ?

Yes , he does. He beats up the man who hit Aditi and as a result is sent to Jail. And he rides a horse because of a public transportation strike in order to get to Aditi in time to confess her feelings. Of course this happens towards the end. Throughout the movie they believe that they are just friends and actually try to find love for each other. In the process Jay gets another girl-friend and Aditi gets engaged to another man. But they realise that they really love each other.

A very different love story. A must watch.

I finally got my hands dirty with Photoshop again. And the result is posted at the header of the blog and the end of this post. Wow , I can’t believe that it’s really been six months since I last fiddled with Photoshop. The latest result might not be that impressive , but at least I know that I’m not completely out of shape.

On the other hand , I’m using a lethal combo of Windows Live Writer and OneNote 2007 to complete all my web research , organisation and publishing tasks. More importantly , I think I can go back to participating in Gfx forums once again. My favourite forums are GFXBB and the Garena Gaming Community Gfx section. I’ll keep on posting my fresh works from now on.

Blimey , looks like I’m going to need a new category and some more tags. So , here it is. My latest tag featuring Dante of Devil May Cry fame.

Adios

Yes , I’ve finally started work on a new header image . Getting my hands dirty with Photoshop after a long hiatus makes me feel like I’m starting all over again. But hey , that’s that ! Hmm , would the people care to suggest a couple of themes for the header. Maybe I’ll ask Karthik.

Update – testing If I can add WordPress tags through Windows Live Writer…

Adios , for now !

Ah , it’s been so long since I last blogged. My blogroll had become a pile of junk with tons of dead links and stuff. So , I just cleaned it out today. I’ve finally managed to weed out all the dead links and replace them with new ones. For once , I’d really like to get back to blogging. Anyways , I’m going to be a college student now. So that’s something to be really excited about. I’m totally looking forward to it. I just hope that I get decent room-mates. I haven’t exactly done my shopping yet , but I plan to pretty soon.

Here’s some other totally unrelated stuff -

I’m high on movies right now. I’ve watched 19 movies in the last 4 days. Among all the movies that I watched , I thought the following were truly exceptional.

1. Children of Men (2006) – Has to be seen to be believed. One of my friends suggested that I watch this movie and I just brushed it aside because I wanted to watch the ultra gory Hostel. This happened a year ago. Now a year later , when I’ve finally seen the movie , I feel like kicking my 16 year old self. Superb story , superb direction , superb cinematography , fitting music and Clive Owen at his best. This is probably the best movie ever made. The last 20 minutes are totally intense , it actually made my mother cry. Just go and watch this now , if by some sick , twisted ,weird chance of fate , you haven’t already.
2. Cloverfield ( 2008 ) – Yes , yes. Cloverfield. Another story about a monster trashing Manhattan. When I first heard about , I thought be sick with déjà vu. I mean , where the heck was the originality. Huge monster trashes town… Come on! Godzilla did it , T-Rex did it in The Lost World , heck even the baby did it in Honey I Blew Up The Kids. But then I saw the movie. I was forced to eat each and every single one of my words. Fantastic , awesome , splendid ! The story wasn’t about a monster trashing Manhattan. It was about a group of friends , reaching out to each other in an attempt to survive in the chaos. Of course there’s the usual BIG FUCKING MONSTER! But the presentation is so different it should be made a whole new type of cinema making. The entire story is a flashback , seen through a handheld camera cartridge and it’s just AWESOME.
3. Fight Club (1999) – I know that cinema lovers around the world want to give a good solid kick to my rear. And god knows that I deserve it. I mean , not having watched Fight Club is like being a guy with 1 ball(no offence to cancer patients). Edward Norton pulls off an extremely awesome performance. Personally , I think Fight Club has one of the best endings ever made. Brad Pitt fits the character of Tyler Durden like a sock. Do you know what to expect when two , no three (There’s Helena Bonham Carter as Maria) incredible actors come together…. FIREWORKS.
4. Zodiac (2007) – Another movie about the Zodiac killer. Yes , but it is miles apart from the 2006 attempt , both in presentation and perception. Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. give an incredible performance. A must watch , even if you are not a movie buff. The movie is a bit longer than the normal Hollywood movie ( 2hr 30 min) but every second is worth it. You can actually feel the fear that the people in San Francisco felt when the Zodiac killer was alive amongst them. A must watch.
5. 1408 (2007) – This is one of the most effective horror movies that I’ve seen since the Grudge. Based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name , this movie portrays the basic underlying fear of every man. John Cusack carries the movie from beginning to end. Against the manager’s advice and compulsion , he decides to spend the nigh in room 1408 of the Dolphin in New York. ” No one has ever lasted for more than an hour in that room .”, Olin(Samuel L. Jackson) tells Mike Enslin(Cusack). What ensues in that room with Mike Enslin resuts in a very effective horror movie.

Right now , I think these are the best , I’ve seen from the 19. But then there’s Superbad , Shoot ‘Em Up , Sin City, Fracture….

And I still have to see No Country For Old Men , The Departed , 3-10 To Yuma , Juno and There Will Be Blood. Maybe , my choices might change after I’ve seen these.

Adios…

I’m just trying out the built in blog posting system in MS Word 2007. Dunno how this is gonna turn out , but I’m optimistic. Just a bit skeptical about what platforms this thing might support. Nowadays WordPress and Blogger is a must , but Livejournal support would be a pleasant surprise. Maybe I’ll toss in a couple of pics as well…

OK , testing picture no. 1 …

Himura Kenji and Hiko Seijurro from the 2^nd Rurouni Kenshin OVA , Seisho Hen.

Hmm , there are tons of in-built picture editing options and the results are pretty decent to look at as well. I guess I should give good old clip art a try now.

Hmm , nice.

Time to test our equations and symbols….

, a simple area of circle equation. There are tons of equation templates to choose from.

Now to test out SMART ART –

Seems pretty fine to me and Calibri is a pretty fine font as well.

Once more I’m back to where I started … Nowhere …
My PC has gone bust again and I’m stuck using my laptop. Sigh … I miss Warcraft and Halo and Gears of War … and COD 4 ….

On the other hand I’ve been working 12 hours a day lately and In 12 days I’ve studied more than I could have studied in 12 weeks during normal time…
I hate procrastination , especially when I do it….

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Tags: scream, terror, pain

Yes, this should have been the title of the 7th book. To all HP fans and particularly to Jo , I have a confession to make…
I gave in to my temptations and to my impatience. I downloaded the carpet version of the *leaked* Deathly Hallows. As soon as it was done , I started feeling guilty.I wanted to wait till Saturday , read with the world and relish every word , every line , every chapter of Harry’s last adventure. I started reading and I was engrossed. I finished the book in 8 hrs. I was left feeling quite not that full. It was like I was reading some fan-fiction. Plot inconsistencies , conflicting lines and most importantly , the final duel between Harry and Tom Marvolo Riddle was only 1 paragraph…?! The sharp words (arse – Hermy to Ron , bitch – Molly to Bella) left me wondering if you (Jo) had written this . It is highly unlikely for a responsible mother like Molly Weasly to use such a word in front of her children.
What I did get from the book , was the explanantion of the Deathly Hallows. Or maybe not !? In today’s world of Photoshop and morphing , it’s hard to tell the real from the fake. And being an amateur digital artist , I know the power and responsibility that comes with using a software as versatile as Photoshop. I could see that some of those pages had tell-tale signs of being doctored.
And to the arse , who put those pictures up….
Moron , why don’t you go shove your ass up in a Jet Plane’s turbofan. Fag , even if this is the real thing , then you had no right to take our fun away. You thought you’d be clever and try to impersonate Jo..?! You idiot , no one can do that , not even with Polyjuice. Do you even know what that is ? You thought you’d fool us into believing that it was Jo’s writing ?! You moron, you forgot to be consistent. You just don’t feel the way Jo does with words. So,just shut the fu*k up and melt away into nothingness.
Why does this always happen in America ? I didn’t see the UK , Bloomsbury version being leaked. And if Scholastic is doing this for publicity , then I think it is very cruel on their part.
Finally to the fans ,
We just have a short time to wait , so why don’t we take our mind off spoilers and sing the Hogwarts song…. All with me than … ” Nitwit , Oddment , Blubber , Tweak”….
Hogwarts , Hogwats ,
Hoggy Warty , Hogwarts,
teach us something please.
Whether we be old and bald,
or young with scabby knees.
Our heads could do with filling ,
with some interesting stuff.
For now their bare and full of air,
dead flies and bits of fluff.
So teach us things worth knowing ,
bring back what we forgot.
Just do your best,
we’ll do the rest,
and learn until our brains all rot.
- In loving memory of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore ; Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ; Order of Merlin , First Class, for Grand Sorcery; Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot;Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and the best possible wizard ever to have been born.

Ever wondered what the Avada Kedavra looks like when it is heading for you….

I call this Dumbledore’s End – The Green Swirl…

I made this in Photoshop and Apophysis. Aah ! With great power comes great responsibility…

No more spoilers please , let us wait with bated breath for the hour to come at last…
In the meantime , why don’t we share our experiences, fights , etc with out parents /siblings /cousins as to who gets the Potter first. Why don’t we all share what we had to go through to get a Potter book…

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Tags: harry+potter, fake, spoiler, joke, horcrux, albusdubmledore