Excursions

I have finally setup my Trakt profile with history from all the shows that I could remember. Thought the list is not complete yet, but it’s a start at least.

I enjoy my evening walks with Snoopy. This guy continues to get all the attention from folks I have never met. I often hear someone call out his name, run to him, play with him and walk away with a smile. Completely ignoring my presence. As if I don’t exist. Such is the charm of cuteness, I believe.

He has also made new friends. He knows where he will find them. He walks to the place and waits for them to come to him. These are the regulars.

There’s a corner towards the end of our walk that both of us adore. It’s usually quiet. A cold breeze always flows through. It’s neither too light to expose us nor too dark to hide us. I make sure we halt there and sit next to each other. Nothing in my hand. Nothing on my mind. Nothingness. A bare moment of a void. Amidst the bustling #life.

And I like to believe Snoopy feels the same. Unperturbed. Many people walk by, but no one disturbs us. Maybe they acknowledge the tranquillity we feel.

Today’s walk was no different. And yet was slightly different. After sitting through the quiet moments, I realized it was a full moon in the sky. Pink moon. It looked big, majestic. My hand went to my pocket to pull my smartphone out as it often does. I wanted to take a picture of the magnificence I was looking at. I wanted to capture the moment.

How futile was the thought? The day there exists a technology that can capture such moments of calmness, their significance will dwindle. Such moments are rare; they need to be lived and felt. And in that feeling, in that rarity, lies their essence.

Wonder how people use Drafts. I keep hearing about the app without knowing how to use it. Is there some guide? Has someone written about it? Shall I ask ChatGPT?

A key concept to understand in the “Why are modern movies so dark?” debate is “motivated” light

Source - Why movies today look so dark today, in theaters and at home - Polygon →

Sometimes, all that matters is to hit that publish button. Do not worry about whether the subject makes sense. Or whether the way it is written does.

Whether there are too many adverbs. Or whether there is too little to say.

When words not published burden my mind, it is worthwhile to make way for them. To make them public. To not let them sit idle as a draft. I won’t return to them anyway. After all, writer’s block boldens itself in the drafts section.

So to unshackle my mind, I pick some draft and publish it in its form. What’s the worse that can happen? It would just be another terrible post in the ocean of terrible posts on the internet.

The good? It would be one post that I publish on the internet. For at least myself to read.

I have slowly grown to like Letterboxd - now at least I know what movies I have watched. What’s a similar service for TV shows? I tried TV Time - but it’s such a frustrating effort to add shows.

Am I writing enough? Am I writing too much? I cared a lot about these two questions in my early blogging days some 15 years ago. At that time, blog pundits filled the internet with suggestions on the posting schedule or the posts’ length. With Twitter and Facebook dominating soon, all those suggestions became futile.

As online presence became a popularity contest, a burst of short meaningless quips became the norm.

Throw more at the wall, and something will stick.

I could never play the social media game. It needed the zeal to always stay connected. I instead felt burdened by the pressure of participating non-stop. No surprise, then, that I kept writing on my blog. A lot less frequently, but I did.

With Twitter and Facebook dropping in popularity, I expect blogging to attract a few new users as an outlet for their voice. And I also expect the pundits to pollute the internet again with their suggestions on the best ways to blog.

Let me spill the beans. There isn’t one.

Write anything. Write anytime. Write anywhere.

Don’t worry about followers. Don’t worry about likes and reposts. There aren’t any. Some see this as a limitation – I find it liberating.

I need not fight to make my words stand out because only I write on my blog. Everything I write is always visible.

Say I download the Wavelength Messenger app. And I also provide it with my mobile number. What next? Who will use this? Who do I connect with?

I was pretty excited to watch A Man Called Otto since I saw the trailer. Having loved the original character Ove, I was looking forward to watching Tom Hanks play the lead. And as expected, he made Ove his own.

When spectacle and larger-than-life characters are ruling the movie screens and box offices, such a heartwrenching yet endearing story shouldn’t be missed. If you have read the book, watch it for Hanks’s portrayal of Ove. If you haven’t, you must watch it for everything.

A day that dawned with many promises ended with a list of letdowns. I wasn’t allowed to work on the tasks that I wanted to work on. Other’s priorities polluting my calendar - the usual stuff.

To make matters worse, a few people carry an attitude which only mars the team’s morale and, eventually, their productivity.

It is one thing to believe you are smart. It is another to assume the others are dumb. The former shows confidence, later callousness.

The only saving grace is that it’s the start of the weekend.