Nothing else matters.............

Nothing less matters when two souls are madly in love.....

Charlie St. Cloud

Charlie St. Cloud is one of the most endearing films that I have seen this year. Though my interest in the film stemmed from my fascination with Zac Efron, of High School Musical fame, and I waited for this film to release ever since I saw the pics of Zac from the film's sets, I was actually touched by this film which has a profound and positive message.

The film is a romantic drama, based on the best-selling novel by Ben Sherwood, and it stars, apart from Zac, Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta, Amanda Crew and Charlie Tahan.

I am sure young viewers would like the film, and would carry with them the message of hope, goodwill and emancipation.

Dearie, dearie, dear me!

Dear reader,

I am sure you have come to know from my prolonged absence that I have not been able to assemble my thoughts for this blog space of mine. I haven't been able to focus on my raisins, as I would like to say. My life was rife with all the signs that clearly indicated that I must act quickly if I was to make the most of a potentially life-changing period..... yet I did not know what to do. It's true! I felt so numbed by the thought that I was seeing powerful forces that promised to work in my favor, but I did not know to what end.....

was it the promise of

more money...

more love...

more success...

more happiness...

or all of the above...

or a more satisfying life than I had ever dreamed of!

My one concern was whether I had everything I needed to reap the maximum advantage from every single moment.....

I admit, I failed to gain greater insight and clarity on what I was sensing.

Am back again......

Am back again...... and am back thanks to you friends.....

all of you, who have supported me in my dark days.

Am indebted to you for all the stamina and renewed zeal with which I attempt to start afresh....

I know, a friend is not someone to thank, but I make an exception, because you too have made an exception and stayed with this indisciplined and incorrigible (only at times, I would like to believe the rarest of times, hahaha) blogger.

See you lots more, here - at this very blog space!

'KITES' didn't soar much high in the sky!

I had much expectation from 'KITES'.

And so did million fans of Hrithik Roshan.

As he was going to be seen on the big screen after a long gap

(in 'Luck By Chance' he did not have the lead role!).

But our hopes were dashed as the film failed to fulfill our craving for a good film.

Well, the film is not exactly 'unwatchable' as many of the critics have lambasted.

But, yes, it is the worst for director Anurag Basu who has for the first time made

a film for producer Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik's dad.

The adage 'too many cooks spoil the broth' has been proved right as the efforts

of multiple screenwriters can be evidenced.

Hrithik has tried his best to come up with a compelling performance as usual.

But the film's story lacks plausibility, and the basic minimum logic to make

the characters and their desperate situations believable.

The makers were possibly clueless about how to give the film the added edge.

They have tried everything and in turn have made it a mishmash of a caper flick,

a doomed love story, and a relentless actioner in vibrant & exotic locales....

the result is actually pathetic; it's neither here nor there.

The story is essentially about Jai and Natasha (two street-smart hustlers)

who are about to marry into a rich and brutal Las Vegas family purely for money.

Their gold-digging scheme falls apart as they fall for each other and proceed to

their doomed end, which happens after a lot of chases, running around, and confusing

digressions.

The cast includes Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Kangna Ranaut, Kabir Bedi.

The music by Rajesh Roshan is soother. And the sumptuous visuals are a delight

for the eyes.

Chocolicious!

Chocolate is one of my favorite weaknesses or treats (depending on how you look at it), and I am not alone. It has long has been heralded as an aphrodisiac and is said to raise the serotonin levels in the body, thereby helping to chase away the blues. Dark chocolate has recently beenclassified as an antioxidant, meaning that it reduces the free radicals in the body.
That is certainly more than a mouthful to say of this gastric delight.
But, have you ever wondered how this pleasurable sweet came to be?
Dating back more than 2,000 years ago, to the time of theancient Aztecs and Mayans who occupied what is now Central America, chocolate was cherished even back then. The Mayans were the first to discover that they could make a frothy, slightly bitter, beverage from crushed cacao beans. This beverage was reserved for royalty, priests, and the highest levels of society. The Aztecs created a warm drink from the beans called chcoclatl, meaning "warm liquid," and they so valued cocoa beans that they used them as currency.

Christopher Columbus was the first to bring cacao beans back from the New World, but it was not until the conquistador, Hernando Cortez, actually tasted chocolatl in 1519 that the pleasures of chocolate were truly experienced by someone from the "civilized" western world. Cortez was the one to add sugar cane to the cocoa to soften the bitter taste.

And upon his return to Spain, he re-introduced the modified chocolate beverage to the Spanish court.
The drink was such a hit that it led to the agricultural production of cocoa beans in Jamaica, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Spanish monks were even pressed into service to process the beans, and a new agricultural industry was born. The joys of chocolate spread throughout Europe, and the rest is history! Today chocolate is a highly popular treat for all and is served in numerous forms.

So, the next time you indulge in a chocolicious treat, say a little thank you to the Aztecs and Mayans who discovered the first cacao beans and to Hernando Cortez who made it all possible.

You might also want to add a thank you to the scientists who have found all kinds of wonderful benefits to enjoying a chocolate treat.