The Dark Knight - A review

Going to a movie the day before an important mid-term examination is hardly considered a sane thing to do in my college. And that too before a finance exam with the vastest portion and strictest prof. Well.... lets just say I went insane yesterday.... and that is what happens when a movie gets a 9.7/10 rating by 4000+ voters in imDb!

I used to view hollywood's 'super-hero' movies with a little skepticism, the earlier movies of this genre left a bad taste in my mouth. But leaving aside the disappointing Spiderman 3 and the oh-so-bad Superman Returns, such movies are back with a bang (refer: Ironman, Batman Begins). And the Dark Knight only reinforces this belief

The Dark Knight has everything going for it - the thick plot, the dialogues, the performances, the music. But the movie's trump card really is the villain - the scary, psychotic Joker. The late Heath Ledger gives a performance nothing short of GODLY and its a pity that we won't get to see him again. The only jarring part in the movie was the logical inconsistencies that creep up from time to time but its best if you choose to ignore them.

The Dark Knight is so engrossing from the start to the end that you actually get a hangover after the movie; the atmosphere, the music, the visuals, the feel; all haunt you even after you leave the movie theatre. Overall the movie scores big time... Highly Recommended

Rating: 4/5

PS: I actually started studying for the exam at midnight and dozed off after a few hours... suffice to say that today's experience in the examination hall was definitely not a memorable one.

The Life of a TA

In case you noticed the title, it is as boring and monotonus as can be without even an iota of creativity... I assure you the post will be in the same mould... so the title, Ladies and Gentlemen.

A TA (short for Teaching Assistant) job in DA-IICT means sacrificing 20 hours a week of your precious time, correcting endless assignments, tolerating the professor's eccentricities and managing the barrage of students who knock on your door and disturb you when you are fast asleep. This was exactly what I had in mind when I got the offer. How wrong I was!!!

I would have never given a second thought to that offer had it not been for a Mr.Sivakumar Venkata Priyatham. PRIYATHAM, my friend, my dearest friend, has this enviable knack of talking you into doing things no matter what the circumstances. He was the one who convinced me to write the damned GRE when the last thing I wanted to do in future was travel to the other side of the world. Well, I'm indebted to him now...

After Priyatham was finished with me, I was like totally convinced that I had to take the TA offer else die a gruesome death. So I approached the dean and completed the formalities. I was assigned Communication skills, a 2 credit pass/fail course for the freshers. The professor was very nice and she insisted on doing all the assignment correction by herself. How lucky could I get? (I guess Lady Luck has a special liking for me becoz this has happened so many times throughout my life that I have lost count). All I had to do now was attend a class once a week and clarify any doubts that my students had (MY STUDENTS!! This phrase sure has a good ring to it!!).

All good things come to an end... I know I mentioned this adage in my previous post and I am mentioning it again simply becoz it is so TRUE. The fairytale beginning came to an end when we were handed out a set of rules. I stared disbelievingly at one particular rule printed in BOLD font. All TAs had to sign the register everyday at 8:30 AM at the administrative block ( a good 5 minute walk from my room) failing which the day's stripend would be fined.. What a bummer!!!

To add to our misery was the really annoying receptionist in the administrative block. She was the one in charge of our attendance and she took it upon herself to deprive us as much as possible of our salaries. 2 days of failing to sign up, 3 days of late attendance and several complaints later, some one got through to the dean about our plight and somehow convinced him to extend the attendance deadline to 11 AM. What a breather!!! May God shower upon that 'some one' wealth and prosperity. Now atleast we were to be up by 10:45 which was not so bad....

The one thing which was tough in the beginning was clarifying the ridiculously silly doubts that my students (That phrase again!!!) came up with with a straight face. I don't really blame them... I probably had the same doubts when I was a fresher. Now I guess I am used it... Some students refer to me as 'Sir' which gives a real kick (In my defence: Being called 'Sir' is not exactly humbling).

On the whole, TA job is totally cool (I would recommend it to the 3rd years who are potential TAs...), the 2500 bucks per month that you get being the icing on the cake (rather I would prefer to call it the cake under the icing).

I'm Back

I think you are wondering why I have stopped blogging after I arrived with a bang... I really can't say becoz I am wondering the same too. On that magical day when I wrote my first blog, sitting in my last Distributed Computing lab, I felt motivated... I really felt that spark in me. But then all good things must come to an end... the lab ended and with that all my creative instincts as well. I left the lab already forgetting that I had started a blog and I was expected to keep it alive by writing something for my fans (only one currently as is evident from the comment(s) I received for my first blog). Five months have passed since then... five months of placements, job interviews, research internships, career decisions and the works...

Right, I'm gonna be a regular from now on... for my sake, for the sake of my fans (I know I know... my fan count is less than two right now... but I assure you it will grow), for the sake of my friends and for the sake of all the french mathematicians studying game theory... until someone says "Looney, for GOD's sake stop blogging!!!"

Enter the Dragon

This is a big day for me. This is a really BIG day for me. Just a few eventful minutes back, I was officially declared a blogger by some web page which stated that I have successfully registered myself to eternal damnation.

Today, as I am venturing into the big bad virtual world of blogging and I can hear the alarm bells ringing somewhere. I will be tagged a blogger (a part-timer but a blogger nevertheless)
henceforth and my life will never be the same again. I have a feeling the Gods are shifting in their seats uncomfortably right now.

Wait a minute....this is fun! Hardly am I a few words old, I am already beginning to enjoy it. Right, it's decided then. I am destined to be a blogger. I can just feel it. So Beware World, here I come.