Thursday, June 23, 2011

26 years. 26 Perspectives.

The journey to 26. 26 chronological, human years.
It's been a ride. and a crazy one. 26 years of existence of which 20 i can clearly remember. Quarter a century of experiences that I've lived, but haven't yet bothered judging as good or bad. Mostly because that ain't my measure of life. Has it been interesting? i'd have to say definitely yes.

Every growing year has given me a lesson or two. but i wouldn't call them lessons. i call them perspectives. Cause they are not infallible or unchangeable - they are only views. Tinted views that i've found in or at specific moments of my life. And then managed to complete the toughest task of them all - persisting and withstanding the test of time.

If i were to break my experiences of life as i grew up to 26 into 26 such perspectives, what would they be?
i think these:

#26. Love your parents.
Believing that you will love your parents to the end of time is pretty much the first memory i have of life. And by parents, i don't mean just biological ones - i mean those people who 'raise' you from being a struggling, needy infant into the person you are today.

#25. Own up to your mistakes. 
It can get you into really deep shit. (like this time when i set fire to my building terrace). But in the long run, its kinda nicer to not have that weight on your shoulders. and its a weirdly happy feeling. No mistake is the end of the world. and that brings me to the next one...

#24. Be happy.
It sounds too simple. but the fact is, it is. It doesn't matter who you are or what you are doing or how deep shit you are in - its easy to be happy - all it takes is you choosing to be. Even if it is for just a moment or two, be happy.

#23. It's good to share.
i don't believe in altruism. never did. but its nice to share - whether its a piece of candy or your home, heart or multi-million dollar empire. it helps you keep the faith. in others. and in yourself. much later you might even learn that you've always had enough, no matter what.

#22. Understand animals.
the power to understand someone/something who cannot express feelings in words is an art. i cant even come close to explaining how powerful this one feeling/capability is. in someways, it is one of the most influential  human experiences ever.

#21. Create. Recreate. Create.
There's no destroy in this equation, cause even destruction is a form of creation. and there's hardly anything you'll find more fulfilling than creating something of your own. May it be toy houses and paper planes or ad campaings, paintings, films and actual planes.


#20. Nothing is impossible.
may it being overcoming dyslexia, social shyness or athletic in-capabilities. may it be manned moon flights, creating frankenstein or changing the world. nothing is impossible. the only factors that matter are EFFORT and TIME. ofcourse, with time you come to acknowledge the fact that some tasks may require more time and effort than the mortal human body has access to. but IMPOSSIBLE, it is NOT.

#19. More important than having 'friends' is having A friend.
its the smallest way in which you might learn the importance of quality over quantity. And you'll meet this choice at every point in life. Any given day, the person you are happy being yourself with is more important that all the people who are happy to have you around during fun times.

#18. Read books. Watch movies. and not just the bestsellers.
books and movies are essences of life dramatized in an interesting manner. they'll open your mind. or close it. depending on your approach towards them. Next to actual experiences, which as you shall discover may be not that easy to come by, these make a perfect portal to life across time.

#17. There are no rules. Only guidelines.
fact.

#16. Dance. 
even if it isn't for an audience. even if its not in a public place. even if it is only in your own space. dance. it's one of the most liberating forms of expressions you'll ever know.

#15. Imitation is the mother of originality.
it took Mozart about 15 years of practicing classics to come up with one worthy original. Took da vinci years of common scribbles and reworked artworks before his own Mona Lisa. The plane is shaped like a bird. The submarine like a whale. and there are a million other examples. The thing is, practice is the closest you'll get to having a guarantee of true success. And practice begins with imitations of known perfections.

#14. Respect your body.
push it. challenge it. improve it. maintain it. its the only life-long possession your soul/life will ever own. As far as material existences go, its the only thing you have as long as you live. and vice-versa.

#13. Love hurts. a lot sometimes.

no matter how free we are in our thinking, loving someone comes with its own parcels of human fears and limitations. and even some unsaid expectations. and as the Buddha says, it is human expectations that are the root cause of pain. Sometimes, the hurt is worth it. Sometimes, not. Roll with it.

#12. You will be judged. Don't bother.
Everybody loves you when you are winning. Critiques you when you lose. But you know what? 'what will people say?' is pretty much the most encountered question to everything you do. but if whatever you is driven by your own beliefs and with a clear conscience, the question and the consequences, very well find their deserving place - beneath your shoes, in indifferent existence.

#11. Your forgiveness matters only when you are powerful enough to punish.
One of the most important lessons in a material world is this one. One of the core teachings in every art of war treatise ever written. And a timeless truth. Cause true, you may be truly all-forgiving in your nature, but to a world that is conditioned to a cause-and-effect way of things, if your wrath isn't feared, your forgiveness isn't valued either. (this is by far the only art-of-war philosophy i follow)

#10. Sex is a form of expression. 
But having said that, like every other form of expression, it ain't necessary to express yourself just for one purpose or just in one form. Some times we talk just for fun, some times we rap, some times we sing, beat box, make nonsense sounds, rock the stage, talk rubbish, just chat up, make speeches, enact plays or have conversations that change the world. Through it all, we are still just expressing ourselves, right? Same as sex.

#9. Don't take life too seriously. It doesn't take you seriously either.
pooooof! here today. gone tomorrow. missed today. forgotten tomorrow. relax. life, goes on. :)

#8. Even superheroes have mentors.
honestly, even if you are a freakkin genius, having a mentor who's been down a similar path cuts down your need to make the same mistakes by atleast 50%. Upto a limit, the more mentors you have the better. Beyond a point, you'll only be busy avoiding their mistakes instead of making your own and learning from them. choose wisely - some may even be wolves in sheep skins.

#7. Institutions are pretty much a waste of time.
whether its schools, corporations, marriages, cults, jails or asylums,' institutions' are mostly material manifestations of human insecurities. What we humans get insecure about, we frame into a socially accepted institutions - whether its the fear of losing a person you love, being exposed to a murderer, sharing space with a lunatic or even facing 'change'. None of them really matter.

#6. Revenge is a sacred emotion. 
Few experiences in the universe will be sweeter than well deserved revenge. But be careful with this one. make sure its worth it. For its like nitrous in your engine. or steroids in your veins. too much, too long, and it will consume you. your life. and everything you love. even itself.

#5. Manage your time.
yeah superhero, even you have limited time in this human form. No matter who you are, time will take its toll. on a daily basis. on a yearly basis. and with age. So respect it. Prioritize.

#4. Money is only a medium. But an important one none-the-less.
money can't buy you happiness is cliche. and true. yet what i found out is that in a world based on a monetary system, money is the material equivalent of love and respect. if you work for free, you aren't valued. And it becomes a vicious cycle. So make all the money you can, and give it away to those who need it more or use it to create resources for the future if you don't want it. but MAKE IT. make as much of it as you can without compromising on your life and happiness.

#3. Your child's trust is the greatest responsibility you'll ever face.
explaining this would need a book of three volumes. at least.

#2. Love unconditionally.
people love 'being in' love. without realizing that they aren't really loving, but just re-living concepts created by us humans. Concepts are mental institutions popularized by society and media to sell goods and hide insecurities. True love to me, is the ability to love unconditionally and with absolute honesty. Irrespective of peoples pasts and habits, irrespective of whether it involves being in a relationship or not, having sex or not, being together or not, or any other material hindrance there may be in the world. That, to me is how love is. (and you are free to have your own view, this is mine.)

#1. You've always had everything you'll ever need.
it takes one lead bullet to kill a millionaire. one lead bullet to kill a pauper. the same for a rabbi. the same for a sinner. the same for everyone. Death is the greatest equalizer of all. What ever you have while you are alive, scarcity or plenty, less or more, is just a matter of perception. And perception only exists as long as you are alive. so really, what do you have? what do you need? everything material is possibly achievable with time and effort. and as long as you have a body and a mind, and some time, you'll get it sooner or later depending on the lengths you are willing to go to. Whatever efforts you make, sacrifices you make, time you put in and priorities you reshuffle in this quest, what matters most is that you are at peace with yourself amidst it all. That's the key to happiness. To life.

26 years of life have shaped these 26 perspectives. And as i step into the another year, i wonder which of these will change ahead? or will they? i wonder what new perspectives will be shaped in the coming years? will there even be coming years? i wonder how will these perspectives shape me?

Actually, i wonder, but i ain't bothering too much. Cause however life may be, its still beautiful. its still the same roller-coaster ride with its ups and downs. And i look forward to all it has with hungry gleaming eyes of a 7 year old looking at a pile of chocolates.

Happy Birthday, to me!

- Pushkaraj Shirke

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Creativity Films

Rethink Scholarship at Langara: 2011 Call for Entries:




29 ways to stay creative:
this could have been done much better - but this one's here coz its the though that counts.

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.


all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit www.go-fuck-yourself.com

SAMSUNG GALAXY - Unleash your Fingers


nodoubt this ad is beautiful and creative and therefore highly viral worthy - but why i love it even more is coz i was working on a similar film myself! damn! but the bondesque music in this really raises the bar to awesomeness!!! check it out:



all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit www.go-fuck-yourself.com

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Leaving Las Vegas

monkeyrating: 8/10 
# i would have given this movie a 7... but i gave it an 8 coz its one of the ONLY movies ever to deal with the concept of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

genre: romance drama


waddabout: a hollywood scriptwriter decides to move to las vegas and end his life - drinking, but unexpectedly falls in love with a prostitute, who's got problems of her own.

isay: MUST WATCH. for the fact that no other movie comes even close to this one on the topic of unconditional love. its a little morbid, and alcoholically hazy... but its beautiful. and very real. 


monkeyrespect to: Nicholas cage!!! what a performance! not once does he over do it - despite playing an alcoholic! 

trivia note:
 the movie is filmed in 16 mm and blown up to 35 mm... that's what gives it its natural look :) 

Watch the trailer: 


all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit www.go-fuck-yourself.com

X-men: first class

monkeyrating: 8/10 

genre:
 action adventure drama

waddabout: how the first batch of x-men came to be.

isay: THE BEST x-men MOVIE!

monkeyrespect to:
The villians -kevin bacon and michael fassbender,  are god-like! better than the heroes. the art direction is mindblowing. 


# minus points for editing and for january jones as emm frost. she looks like a porn star making a cameo out of her retirement! 

trivia note:
 the blue/yellow costumes in the movie a a tribute to the original x-men series of comics. the black uniforms seen in the previous movies evolved much later.

Watch the trailer: 




all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit www.go-fuck-yourself.com

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Art-direction Allstars : iconic objects that denote visual character in cinema

Title: Character is an Object #Cinema
Medium: Pen on paper
Style: Illustration
When it comes to cinema, the 'visual' medium, every object is a character.
Whether its Don Corleone's Cigar and Whiskey in Godfather, or Bruce willis's gold watch in pulp Fiction, or a Tube TV in Soylent Green, or a Zippo in the n number of action flicks. The 'objects' are a conscious choice cause they add to the character. they tell a story even when the character's face cant be seen or dialogues cant be heard. And within their own space on the screen, they are the silent heroes and villans and lovers and haters of the story.
This is a tribute to some of the best of them.

work in progress... at a cafe/post a shoot.

- Pushkaraj Shirke


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Are You Really FREE? and WHY Does The Inflation Never Cease?

Let's start with DEMOCRACY.
Democracy - the ultimate icon/symbol/epitome of PEOPLE's control...
Democracy, as a concept itself is a sham.


Think about it...
at any given time - in whichever country practicing democracy, there are only two prevalent bodies eternally in power. and they are actually one and the same - only divided so that people have the illusion of choice or control.
these bodies control the media, they have the funding to promote themselves - for which in turn they support and facilitate the organisations that fund them, and it is these two bodies that hog people's awareness. and given that AWARENESS is the greatest motivator in a democracy, and money can buy awareness - it is them that will always stay in power unless we shun the system - or replace it.
Every medium of awareness is controlled by financial bodies.
News, media, even the internet for that matter is FUNDED.
For the bodies in power, all that matters is staying rich and staying in power.
They create the borders, they create quotas and reservations and conflict to bag votes, they fuel poverty and scarcity, they create unrest - to stay in power. They are funded by companies and propagated by supporting media. Which in turn, they support when in power.
All the time giving people the illusion that they have been CHOSEN - for when you are given the feeling that you have chosen something, you are more likely to accept it.

This illusion of CHOICE applies to even India's independance.
Did India really WIN its independance?
or did the british just hand over the country because there was nothing more left to suck out of it?
And wasn't india divided on the need for power rather than for the people - into two countries, india and pakistan? hasn't almost every division ever been purely for power rather than the people?
Think.
Why did the British impose its own currency on its colonies?ponder over these words of a very very wise man, for they are true:
"i believe that banking institutions are more dangerous than standing armies - if the people allow banks to control the issue of currency... the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of their property until their children wake up homeless on the very lands their fathers conquered!" 
-Thomas Jefferson
Secondly, the SOCIAL STRUCTURE we live in. It is a system based on MONETARY LAWS - and as long as that continues, it will always be a downward spiral unless you choose economics over ethics to such an extent that we reach a point that the only survivors r those that are absolutely unethical.
Which is why CHINA is a flourishing economy - its almost INHUMANE.
The only way out of this whirlpool is slowly but steadily branching out on a system that's skill and technology based, over a system that monetarily driven. to a system that's more symbiotic and autonomous rather than fuelled by MONEY. the ideal case scenario would be a society where skills and capabilities have precedence over money. where for eg, doctors are doctors not because they come from families that are rich and therefore can afford high fees and then get rich by performing expensive surgeries... where doctors are doctors because they are capable of doing what a doctor needs to do.

Take note of this little clippet. These are priceless words from the movie NETWORK containing a VERY important truth - THE WORLD IS A BUSINESS:
not so surprisingly, all of these clips were disabled for embedding on youtube. which is why i've had to rip them and post them here.
( PS: You think the internet is FREE? go search the RSA animate video of INTERNET on youtube)

=========
ARE WE HELPLESS AGAINST THIS 'SYSTEM'?  
Understand this: The monetary system is designed in away that the pre-existent rich, take loans to AVOID taxes and therefore make MONEY out of taking loans. while the poor or the monetarily unprivileged, take loans and end up paying years of intrest on it - thus getting enslaved by the monetary system.the current system is a mechanism that was started ages ago to ensure that the pre-existent rich, stay rich. it is a disguised form of slavery - where now there are more slaves than ever - and more importantly, the slaves have an illusion of FREEDOM - which they cherish.

pay close attention to the words of the architect in this little snippet from the movie, the Matrix:

yes this, though a work of fiction, is true. cause the greatest works of fiction are those based on reality.
the movie itself is based on french philosophies founded on indian scriptures derived from ages of observation of human nature. and too bad you are indeed a part of the system is depicts.
You THINK you are FREE. but truly think about it - when was the last time you took a leave from work when you felt like it?
do you work to live? or live to work?

every single day the number of people who work day by day for their sustainance, is increasing. day by day more and more control of people's lives is going into the hands of govts and corporations.
the current system is a wheel that ensures that only 4% of the population (the rich) will always continue controlling 80% of the world's finances - allowing for a few upsets and anamolies to provide for hope, so that the wheel keeps turning the same way without any opposition/unrest.

So what can we do about it?
FOR NOW, the least we can do is AVOID TAKING LOANS - unless its for making more money.
the more you try to break out of the system, the more the system will try to encroach upon you. they NEED you to keep your money in their banks. they NEED you to be tracked at every expense. they NEED you to be DEPENDANT on them, and them alone. So ofcourse when you try to break away, it will not be taken easily. so even you have to tread cautiously and steadily towards your own self-governance.
coz our system is built in such a way that the RICH get richer by taking loans... while the POOR get POORER by taking loans.

- Avoid credit cards. Live within your means - dont fall for the encouraged stereotypes of 'SUCCESS'.

- Don't take loans for depreciating assets (cars, bikes, furnishing and other things that dont increase in value).

- Try to be as Self Sufficient as possible. Do not 'DEPEND' entirely on a JOB/GOVT/SYSTEM.

the biggest obstacle you might have to overcome is your own belief developed over years of conditioning.... "i need money to survive."money is a 'means' - a means that has convincingly and purposely been portayed as the GOAL by the systems of the modern world. What you truly need is only the skill and the desire to survive - excel - and pursue your happiness.
and that, is the unbiased truth.


 
- Pushkaraj Shirke

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Gattaca

"There is no gene for the human spirit"
monkeyrating: 8/10

genre:
drama romance sci-fi

waddabout: A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.

isay: the movie is slow - but steady - and as insightful into human nature as can be. i've never come across another movie that has dealth with the human nature to discriminate and the human will to pursue a dream in a better manner! watch it - atleast twice!

monkeyrespect to: ANDREW NICCOL - writer, director - and as i would call him - VISONARY! the man's unassuming yet astute insight into human nature is that of a sage! truman show, lord of war, simone, the terminal .... in every piece he has done, he is brilliant! definitely a man i'd love to have a word with /work with, someday!

in other notes, THE ART DIRECTION on this film is GOD LIKE! the futuristic minimalism of the sets and costumes seeps into you in way that's almost poetic - in line with the hollowness/shallow nature of the future depicted in the film! It didnt win an oscar, but in my books of hall of fame in realistic art direction - this's movie's right up there somewhere alongside Blade Runner and The Aviator.

# the music too is hauntingly beautiful. i dunno what it is exactly about this film that stays within you... not exactly able to point it out yet... but im sure the music plays a role in it. its a piece of beauty.

trivia note: All instances of the letters A, C, G, and T (representing the four nucleotides of DNA -- see trivia entry) are emphasized in almost all names of people and companies credited in the film. These
letters appear in a different typeface from the rest of the name; also, in the opening credits they appear onscreen a little before the rest of the name, while in the closing credits they appear in blue instead of white.

Watch the trailer:



all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit www.go-fuck-yourself.com

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