The Sane Lunatic

Hello folks! As we're coming to the end of 2016, a year that...hasn't been the most pleasant one of the last few, and that sentiment resonates across the globe, I hope you all are doing okay. I have a couple of updates for you all, starting with the fact that the Loon has now relocated to the city of Mumbai, to pursue a career opportunity that I have been rather fond of, for a long time. Now, there's a lot to get used to when you shift to a new city, particularly if you're a Delhi man moving to Mumbai where the difference in lifestyle comes as quite a shock. Even more so, as this is the first time that the Loon will be living in an accommodation that is not his own, or to himself, and has to be shared with multiple people, so many rants can be expected. Though I suppose the posts of woe of that experience will be a series of its own, and that's the second update. An obvious change would be how the frequency of posts from the Loon goes down whenever new employ...

When the movie starts and I heard the all too familiar tune from the Harry Potter movies when the big WB logo comes on screen, my heart began to flutter, an excitement similar to the little me when I sat down to see the Potter movies. I will say this before I share my review, if you are a fond fan of the world that has been part of our childhoods, the one woven by J.K. Rowlings, you should definitely give this film a watch. The plot of 'Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them' begins with our lead character, Mr Newt Scamander ( Eddie Redmayne) arriving in New York, a city where the wizarding world was working hard to stay hidden from the Muggle world, or the No-maj folk as they refer to them here, while some protest that the strong should not have to live in hiding. Set in 1926, Mr Scamander has just completed his global expedition to find, research and document an array of the most magical and fantastic creatures, to expand his peers' understanding of them and eve...

So, at the point of me starting this piece, I'm watching the polls coming in for the US 2016 elections and it seems fairly evident that Donald Trump will be the next president. And by this point, he is. Yeah. Fuck! Now, the google search for the definition of "Democracy" says, 'a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives'. And what the 'majority' elect, is what everybody else has to agree to as well. Now, by mathematical understanding, if 100 is representative of everyone possible, 51 constitutes a majority. But does that mean that if the remaining 49 don't agree, is it still a fair system? Let's put some approx population numbers to put it into perspective, focussing on USA. If the total population in a country that is eligible to vote stands at 200 million. 110 million people vote one way, which is something that the remaining 90 million are not in favor of ...

Visually orgasmic and well cast, this highly anticipated movie of the Marvel is a treat to watch. Like it says, "Forget everything you think you know". Rich, egomaniac, brilliant neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch) has his life turned upside down after a car accident robs him of the ability to use his hands due to extensive nerve damage. When traditional medicine fails him, he starts exploring outwards in search for healing, and hope. Following up on a case of miraculous recovery of a man suffering from paralysis, he is led to seek an ancient enclave somewhere in Nepal. He is saved from muggers by Mordo ( Chiwetel Ejiofor) who takes him to see the supreme guru known only as the Ancient One ( Tilda Swinton).  Swinton does an excellent job of playing the role of Strange's mentor in the magic arts, a teacher of Zen with a touch of life's cruelty. Her screen presence really adds to the superhero origin story of Strange. Mordo and Wong ...

National Geographic has just released the film "Before The Flood" that tackles the subject of climate change, its effects, its causes, the options to deal with it and the obstacles in the way of the solutions to the problem. Directed by Fisher Stevens, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, a U.N. Messenger of Peace, on his personal journey over the last three years as he interviews and interacts with individuals from different sections of society in both developing and developed countries, like USA, China, India, Indonesia and more. DiCaprio talks about the main causes of Global Warming, its noticeable effects, the gravity of the situation and what the future could be for the human race. The people he interviews, locals, scientists and World leaders, offer their own unique and pragmatic views on what needs to be done, starting now, to prevent the predicted catastrophic changes to our lives on this planet. This is a review of that documentary, and my views on the matter are best sa...

Many people would be aware of the connection between colors and the emotions they evoke. Sometimes the connections get established in traditions, while many are experienced throughout the different phases of our lives. In this post, I would like to share my thoughts and feelings about the color white. From the little bit of physics, I did understand and remember, all the other colors in our visual spectrum originate from white, making it the source of all colors, thus its relation to the concept of neutrality and fairness. If you were to Google about the color white, most results will speak of how it is a dominantly positive color, often associated with purity, rebirth, starting afresh, cleanliness, safety and so on. While I agree that I too often associate the color white with those emotions and concepts, I am somewhat surprised not to find a piece that covers all the generic bases of emotions that I associate with white. I find white to be a color, that while being positive, d...

They say that if you keep trying and keep thinking about it, you believe in it hard enough, and then it can become a reality. But what if what it was something that you never really wanted for yourself? What if someday you suddenly find yourself questioning when exactly was it that you decided to do what it is you're doing and you just can't remember when did you ever say "This is what I want to do"? Odds are you were trying to figure things out for yourself like everyone does, and you found something that seemed closest to your interests at that point in time and you thought "Yeah, okay. I'll do that." And that's the kicker, the gap between "I want to do that" and "I'll do that", and how so many people go through their entire lives in denial of the gap's existence. Others realise it but have found a way to be happy with it and enjoy the good things in life. But the moment of realisation, when the illusions shatter an...