Babel

Babel is  a 2006 film starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett among others. It is set in four different countries Morocco Mexico, United States and Japan and the movie moves from one setting to another. Brad Pitt and his wife Cate are on a holiday to Morocco, leaving their two kids behind with their Mexican nanny in the US. They are emotionally distraught from having lost their third kid and so their marriage is on a strain. While in the bus, Cate is accidentally shot by a stray shot from one goatherd up in the mountains. The goatherd and his brother were given the gun by their uncle who gave it to them for protecting the herd from wolves. So Brad struggles with his bleeding wife and some emotionally disturbed co-passengers who think it is a terrorist attack and want to leave as soon as possible. Cate is taken to the village of the bus tour guide where there is no hospital but a local veterinary doctor sews up her wound. Meanwhile the nanny in the US has to go to Mexico for her son's wedding but the parents are not back, so she decides to take the kids with her to Mexico, a risky job but they manage to cross the border safely. Out in Japan, a deaf girl Rinko Kakuchi is shown as a rebellious kid and has unnatural sexual drive. She is recovering from the suicide of her mother so uses sexuality as a balm to calm her. She does not succeed any time. Her father Koji Yakusho is equally emotional disturbed and he has given away the gun as a memento to the goatherd's uncle. When the Japanese detective asks him about his wife's death, he says that he shot herself with a rifle, not jumping from the balcony. The connection between these stories slowly comes to the fore. There is one strand which connects all these stories. Absolutely powerful movie directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The music by Gustavo Santaolalla is simply breath taking. I watched this movie on Amazon Prime Video, unfortunately the movie did not have any sub-titles, which is a major drawback. The acting by the cast is absolutely good. There are so many languages used in the movie - Moroccan, Spanish, English, Japanese, Sign language but there were no sub-titles. The movie is mostly shot on actual locations which is breath taking. Adriana Barazza as the nanny has done a superb role. The Moroccan part of the actors were also extremely good and lifelike. 

City of Ghosts

City of Ghosts is a 2017 documentary about a group of underground citizen journalists "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently" (RBSS). RBSS came into being after ISIS took control of Raqqa a town in Syria. Most of the footages are the actual real footages of the crimes being committed in that place. The actors are also the real ones who are behind the RBSS. It is a moving account of the atrocities being committed by the extremist group in that town. Many of the RBSS members' own family members were shot dead by militants in Raqqa. RBSS members in Raqqa used to send footages to their friends in other countries who then used to post it on social media. The ISIS had completely cut off all contact for Raqqa with the outside world including destroying roof top satellites.

Raqqa is a beautiful town and people were leading normal lives but the arrival of ISIS in 2014 changed all that. This is a beautiful documentary and the RBSS were also awarded the International Press Freedom Award in 2015 for their brave efforts.

And the latest news is that Raqqa has been freed from the hands of the militants as per this news report

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-ignominious-end-of-the-isis-caliphate

Dark Fire

Dark Fire is a historical fiction novel written by C.J. Sansom. The mystery story is set during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Brother Mathew Shardlake is a hunchbacked lawyer and he has been called upon to rescue a friend's young niece who is wrongly accused of murder of her cousin. The girl gets an unexpected reprieve assisted through the offices of Duke Thomas Cromwell who wants a favour from Shardlake in return for granting a two week reprieve for the girl. The Duke wants him to investigate something called Greek Fire which is some kind of chemical to be used for creating havoc and destruction amongst people. Cromwell wants it desperately in order to resuscitate his own position with the King. One after another people who have worked on the Greek Fire start getting killed mysteriously. Shardlake has to follow that lead and also keep working on the investigation into Elizabeth's case. Luck falls his way on the girl's case, when he espies a locked out well in the household of Elizabeth's family. She is an orphan staying with her uncle, grandmother and cousins. Meanwhile he gets track of the diabolical plot surrounding the Greek Fire or the Dark Fire as it is commonly known. Sansom uses language that is known to have been used in those times. He keeps the suspense alive through an engaging and fast developing plot. This is my second book of C.J. Sansom, first one being Revelation. Rating 4/5 

CIPAM-DIPP Launches Logo and Tagline Contest for Geographical Indications of India

PIB Press Release dated 18th October, 2017

The Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has launched a logo and tagline/slogan contest for Geographical Indications (GIs) of India on MyGov.in website.

            A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin. Some of the examples of registered Indian GIs are Darjeeling Tea, Tirupathi Laddu, Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange, Kashmir Pashmina etc.

            GIs are not only part of our rich culture and collective intellectual heritage, but they also supplement the incomes of our rural farmers, weavers, artisans and craftsmen across the country. The promotion of GIs is in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign and therefore, it is our responsibility to preserve and protect them.

            Taking forward its ongoing social media campaign #LetsTalkIP to promote Indian GIs, DIPP aims to launch a certifying GI mark/logo that can be used to identify all registered GIs irrespective of the categories, and a suitable tagline/slogan for promotion of GIs. This will also help in engaging more people on the subject of GIs and making them aware about the benefits of a GI tag.

            DIPP has taken several initiatives for promoting awareness and outreach on GIs. One of the ways to promote GIs could be to present them as gifts. In this context, CIPAM has also launched “Gift a GI” campaign to enhance the visibility and thus help in branding and promotion of registered GI products. DIPP is also working with State governments to spread awareness on GIs.

            This contest is an opportunity for creators who aspire to see their creation recognized on a national platform. The last date for receiving entries is 17th November, 2017. The winning entry will receive a cash award of Rs. 50,000/- each, for logo design and slogan for GIs of India.

            The details of the logo competition for ‘Design a Logo and Suggest a Tagline Competition’ can be obtained from MyGov.in online platform.

            The complete list of all registered GIs in India can be viewed here. http://www.ipindia.nic.in/registered-gls.htm

Escape from Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 movie starring Clint Eastwood depicting the true story of a dramatic escape from maximum security prison at Alcatraz. Clint Eastwood plays Frank Morris who arrives at the Alcatraz prison for what we are not told, but to whom the warden informs that no one has ever escaped from his prison. Frank plans an escape with three others after finding that the concrete around his grill in his cell is weak and could be chipped away. Then they work around the plan over several months making a papier mache doll of his like image to ensure that he can rendezvous around the prison to find out his escape plan. On the appointed day, one of the four panics but the other three carefully make their way around the prison through various obstacles. From the prison to the main land is a mile long water body and where the water is so cold that people can drown in minutes of numbness. But these guys make a life raft out of rain coats.

Clint Eastwood as usual displays his deep stoic expression as in all his movies. There are no female characters. 

14.86 kms Juhu Versova

Ran 14.86 kms today from Juhu (Granth) to Versova (fishing village) and back. Along the way passed Amitabh Bachhan bungalow, JVPD circle and then turned left into Versova. The road from the turn off into Versova just after JVPD circle is bad with rotten garbage strewn all over the place. But if you turn left to go into Versova fishing village side, the road becomes very nice with lots of trees surrounding, nice roads, good buildings, old bungalows (its called as 7 Bungalows). Coming back jutted into Juhu beach at Tulip Star entry, but it was a high tide today and the beach was dirty as hell and crowded too. So quickly made way back into the roads at the Ramada Inn turnabout. 

The Firm

The Firm is a 1993 movie featuring Tom Cruise and it is based on a John Grisham thriller of the same name. Grisham is known for his legal thrillers so this movie is also of the same genre. Tom is a young lawyer who gets an offer to join a small boutique law firm in Memphis, Tennessee, which he chooses over upshot law firms in New York etc. He is given royal treatment upon arrival with his wife. But slowly he learns of the firm's shady dealings with the Chicago mafia, the Moretto family. Meanwhile he also learns that none of the firm's associates ever resign on their own. They remain lifelong subjected to the firm's culture or are killed in mysterious ways. The FBI contacts him with more juicy details of the firm's illegal wrong doings and warns him to co-operate or end up as body bags like the other associates. His brother is in jail on man slaughter charges so Tom uses that as a leverage to have his brother released from jail while agreeing to co-operate with the Feds.

Directed by Sydney Pollack, this is a nice fast paced thriller, but Tom Cruise lets it down with his wooden acting. Others in the cast are Gene Hackman as his mentor, Jeanne Tripplehorn as his wife. and Ed Harris as the FBI agent.

The book is more fast paced than the movie is and there are more details in the book, which has not been adapted into the movie.