A lot of the action is on earth which is a treat to watch, because it is the earth of the future. London of course exists in that future, combining elements of the past with the sleek shiny buildings we will build with our rational minds. There are no signs of poverty as Star Trek dreams of a society beyond money. Vending machines are just nice. They will give you whatever you want because you asked for it. Not like these days when we have to insert many coins and even dollars for chemical infested candy bars and cheese covered chips. I still eat them. In Star Trek future, cars and things of transport don’t have wheels. They float because we have figured that out.

Spock of course is the winner, because his cold logical side is balanced by his entertaining relationship with the attractive Ahura who speaks Klingon and is a valuable asset for any spaceship.

Ahura is romantically involved with Spock and she is fed up with his logic.

One thing they could have done better was the Klingon world. I was expecting gigantic statues of warriors and coliseums where gladiators fight till death. Sadly, they were not able to establish such details for the Klingon civilization. I also wanted to see more of Ahura using her Klingon language skills to operate in their world. I also wanted to see more of Ahura doing nothing. I just want to see her. The film entertains with its touches, like the glass room holding area where the villain is honorably held. It is from here that Khan the villain says classy things to manipulate his captors. We also see some very cool space suits which allow the fearless captain to dive and fly through space. We are getting close to these things because just last year Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner broke the speed of sound by jumping from the edge of space. Star Trek is a postcard from the future, inviting us to invent a better world, and vending machines that have the decency to give things to us without asking for money. And best of all, this film has good old fashioned running, really fast, after the bad guy, in a crowded city of the future. Go see it!

All this changes when Naina runs into her outgoing friend Aditi. Naina admires Aditi because Aditi wears cut off jean shorts, and gets into fights with strangers on the road and at shopping stores. Naina decides that this is the kind of life she wants to have and sneaks out of her house to join Aditi on an adventurous trekking trip into the snowy mountains. But they are not alone. Joining them on this trip are two cool guys Bunny and Avi who are carefree and flirtatious. Bunny went to school with Naina but hardly remembers her because he sat at the back of the classroom while Naina was the obedient student in the front row always raising her hand to answer difficult questions. They come from different worlds. Can the carefree Bunny who wants to travel the world ever see eye to eye with studious Naina?

Naina and Bunny enjoying life in the mountains. But can these feelings of friendship be converted into romance? Probably because these films have a very big budget. - Image Source: IMDB.com

Just as Naina is about to get on the train with these cool people she has doubts. Is this the right thing to do? She is frozen with doubt and stands on the station as the train pulls away. Once again excitement is leaving her for a better destination. Will she be left alone at the station while others move on to enjoy life in the mountains?

They are having so much fun in the mountains, but can such happiness and excitement be sustained throughout life? Yes, if you go camping everyday.

This beautiful image captures the first time two men (Jean Blanchard and Dr. Jeffries) crossed the English channel by air to reach France. They were so excited about this trip that they over prepared. They carried all kinds of things into the balloon, such as anchors, a hand operated propellor which really didn’t work, and oars! Yes they wanted to use the oars to row through the air. They really wanted to be on the safe side. These helpful things almost killed them because they added extra weight and the balloon was crashing. Quickly they threw everything out of the balloon, to make things lighter. Blanchard got so desperate, he took off his trousers and threw them out. His tailor hated him but it worked! They made it! On Jan. 7, 1785, Blanchard and Jeffries made history by flying to France from England. One of the things they had not thrown out of the balloon was a small package which they successfully delivered in France. It is considered the first international air mail.

James Shields challenged Abraham Lincoln to a duel

This kind of sarcasm angered James Shields who had been a lawyer and a member of the legislature with Lincoln. When Lincoln took responsibility for the essay, Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel! In those times it was considered shameful to back down from a fight. When someone challenged you to a duel the expectation was that as a gentleman you will defend your honor. As the challenged party, Lincoln got the option of selecting the weapons to be used in this duel. He decided they would battle with swords. Suddenly a humorous letter had escalated to a life threatening situation. Lincoln and Shields travelled to a sandy location near the Mississippi river for a fight to death. They were both accompanied by friends and history does not record if any of these people bought popcorn. According the rules of the duel, a plank, ten feet long was placed on the ground to separate the two warriors. They were not allowed to cross the plank during the fight. The long reach of the tall Abraham Lincoln must have bothered James Shields. Lincoln also practiced his swings and swishes with his sword, warming up for battle. Luckily, friends of Lincoln and Shields managed to reach a compromise. Lincoln then announced that he had nothing personal against Shields and this cooled down the situation. The duel was cancelled. No one died.

This incident had an impact on Lincoln. He never again mentioned this incident and was sensitive about it. This incident may have allowed his brain to draw a line between the small and silly things that prevent the big and great things from happening. This realization may have helped him become one of the most important men in history.

I strongly believe in such turning points. There are moments in our lives which open our eyes and make us say ‘oh snap, truly I have been asleep.’


Source: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years by Carl Sandburg

Almost two thousand years ago, Heron, a Greek inventor in sunny city of Alexandria created something that could have changed our world forever. A hollow metallic sphere connected to pipes which pulled steam from a kettle of boiling water. Once steam entered the metallic sphere it escaped through small L-Shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere. On it’s way out the steam pushed against the inner surface of the sphere causing it to rotate at high speed. This steamy invention turns us on because these are the basics of a steam engine.

Heron could have improved this invention which could have led to an industrial revolution in the age of Cleopatra. Ancient Rome could have had trains. I found Heron in his lab tinkering with some device.

Minhaj: Hi There. I just travelled 2000 thousand years back in time to see you.

Heron: Thanks for visiting but I’m really busy right now. I am working on something.

Minhaj: You mean the steam engine!

Heron: No. Actually I am working on a vending machine.

Minhaj: Forget about the vending machine! Who cares? I mean we do but only at lunch when we run out of options or when we suffer from low self esteem and need to raise our spirits with candy. You invented the steam engine. Focus on that! You need to make a very big deal about this! You can have trains and all kinds of automation! Ships that don’t need sails or rowing. You just sit on it and it moves.

Heron: I can sit on a donkey and it moves.

Minhaj: What is wrong with you! Why aren’t you getting how important this is?

Heron: First, just calm down. We don’t like it when people shout. You have no idea what it’s like here.

Minhaj: What do you mean?

Heron: Nobody cares about the steam engine. We are ruled by Romans and they don’t care about the steam engine or automation.

Minhaj: so you are not Roman?

Heron: I am Greek.

Minhaj: Ancient Roman or ancient Greek what’s the difference.

Heron: Wow, that’s offensive.

Minhaj: An engine to automate things will make life easier! Machines will do the work that humans are doing. You can have trains that will not arrive on time, people will complain it’s going to be a whole new sub-culture of romance and swift travel.

Heron: That’s the thing though. This is 50 AD. The Romans don’t like the idea of automation because they already have slaves for everything. Slaves are a currency. They do everything for us. Cooking, cleaning, even accounting, college essays and neck massage. If I start automating everything, the slaves will have nothing to do and Romans don’t want that. A steam engine would undermine the society we live in. It’s too much to handle right now. Do you understand this?

Minhaj: That sucks! So you are ahead of your time in a way. You have invented something so powerful and society is not ready for it.

Heron: Yeah and you know what really sucks?

Minhaj: Your clothes?

Heron: No. This steam engine will be wasted. It will just sit around like a bad toy for the next 1800 years. No one is going to do anything with it.

Minhaj: Is that why you work so hard on vending machines?

Heron: Yes, they are very popular in Alexandria. We have a lot of temples, and what is the first thing you do when you visit a temple.?

Minhaj: Take off my shoes?

Heron: Okay second thing. What is the second thing?

Minhaj: I don’t know.

Heron: Holy water. You want holy water. And that’s where my vending machine comes in. Person walks into a temple. Puts a coin in a vending machine and holy water pours out.

Minhaj: That sounds nice but I wish you had more support and your society was more open minded to newer ideas.

Heron: You guys are not doing that great in 2013. Pollution, threat of nuclear war, and traffic jams! You just sit there on the road while millions of cars emit poison into the air you breathe.

Minhaj: I’m not going to get into a our time vs your time discussion. I have a life. But I just wish you guys were more open minded.

Heron: Whatever. I need to work.

Minhaj: Good luck on the vending machine.

Heron: Don’t get stuck in traffic. By the way do a search on me. I am also known as Hero of Alexandria.

Minhaj: A little full of ourselves aren’t we?

Heron: No seriously, I am also known as Hero. That’s my name. Do a search and you’ll see all the great things I did.

Don’t judge a book by its cover they say. Look for inner beauty we are told when selecting a spouse, lover or tax consultant. But these wise words are turned upside down when we judge crunchy tacos. The beauty, strength and crispiness of the outer shell is what defines a good taco. If for any reason the crunchy shell is not crunchy enough then the game is over. If the taco shell feels stale or soft then does it really matter what lies inside? And here Taco Bell wins. They have the crunchiest tacos. Is this a scientific statement? Will I win some kind of science prize in Oslo? Did I kidnap three food critics, took them to a private island by helicopter, blindfolded them, and made them eat all kinds of tacos until they pointed to the one which said Taco Bell? No. I don’t have the resources to do such things. And I wish someone would do that to me. But here’s what I have done. I have gone to Taco Bell at late hours of the night and I have ordered crunchy tacos. Many of them have I eaten under the light of the full moon while singing to it, You are my Chammak Challo. I find them to be more crispy than Chipotle. Yes, I said it. I love Chipotle and their whole Aztec feeling and especially this magnificent God like creature that they have on their wall. But the Taco Bell crunchy taco is unbeatable. Case closed.

I was at McDonald’s when I saw this beautiful picture of gigantic eggs. Due to the large size of the picture, we could really appreciate these grocery items. There really is no room for interpretation. There is nothing metaphorical going on here. You don’t need a brooding art history professor to explain this. The eggs do not represent life. The cheese is not a comment on our existence. The tomatoes does not represent your youth or some forgotten friendship. It is what it is. Eggs surrounded by two tomatoes, mushroom and a chunk of cheese all brightly lit and enlarged for your appreciation as you eat a big mac.

What am I doing? Can I cook this? Why not keep things simple and get frozen pizza? History was watching me from her balcony while smoking a cigarette. She was cynical and had seen everything. According to her, Squash plant is native to the New World. Native Americans grew this plant and ate it before Europeans arrived and started selling it at Wegmans. I came home called up some friends who are Squashians. They assured me that, “you can’t screw this up. It’s very simple. Just cut it up in cubes and throw it in the oven.” One friend was good enough to call me and said “two table spoons of olive oil, salt and pepper is all you need.” I wanted to add Laal Mirch. I wanted to make it spicy. But I overcame that and just stayed with the simple salt and pepper. The results are magnificent and tasty. Just look at that. By the way, I kept the seeds and they add a nice crunch to it.

Lincoln cartoon published on October 11, 1862

We can sense the tension in his voice but I am also delighted that he used the word, flub-dubs which Dictionary.com defines as pretentious nonsense.

The film has those inspiring uplifting moments of moral clarity where Lincoln explains why emancipation from slavery is essential. He addresses the issue of future generations; he speaks to us who are sitting comfortably in the theater eating popcorn as equals before the law. What the film has done masterfully is that it presents the awkwardness of suggesting a new idea to a public that is simply not ready for it. A friendly supportive couple who are visiting the president in his office endearingly talk about their local issues but suddenly turn racist. A pontificating Lincoln is rebuked quite logically by leaders of the southern Confederacy when they remind him that civil war was not won with love and affection. Lincoln is not always superman, sometimes unsure, at times confused, but urged onward by his basic decency and the dignified behavior of African Americans he meets daily. We learn that character is not a marble statue but work in progress surrounded always by flub-dubs and the greatness we see in one man is the work of many.

Because he is dying of thirst. And yes he will die of thirst if he doesn’t do something about it. In the natural world words like dying, killing, broken are not metaphorical exaggerations. They are actual possibilities. Desperate for water Chuck tries to open a coconut. Because he wants to drink the water in it. But finally when he does crack it open the water spills out. But he has no choice. If he does not drink water he will die. So he keeps trying. He throws the coconuts against a cliff. It cracks slightly. With his bare fingers he rips off the leathery green covering to reveal the much valued round inner core. With a pointed rock he digs at it creating a hole. With leaves and twigs he makes a funnel and straw. Finally when he gets to drink it, there isn’t enough to quench his thirst.

Then his struggle to start a fire begins. He gives up several times. Oh how simple it all looks in those cave man history books. You just rub two rocks together and there you have it! But it isn’t so simple. No. To start a fire Chuck struggles and experiments with dry sticks until he learns to use sand dried leaves to start a flame. And once you have that then you are golden. Because all you need is a tiny tiny flame to set gigantic logs on fire. Wow.

Eventually he learns to fish. He wades into the transparent waters braving jagged rocks to strike the fat fish with his wooden spear. With crabs he learns to distinguish the species. Some have white tasty meat in their shells. Others are full of muddy slime. He learns to bake crab over logs of fire. The fish he eats raw, caring not for table manners because there is no table. There is no chair. Who needs a house when the ground is your floor and your ceiling is the sky?

Five years have passed. He is now a cave man. Lean and resourceful with a respect for nature. It’s a beautiful film frankly. I was very much there on the island. What makes this film cool is that there is no back ground music throughout his five years on the island. So the drama is provided by natural sounds. By the waves of the ocean, the falling of coconuts, the thunder in the sky, the breathing of a man who refuses to give up.

I was reminded of my Anthropology teacher who said: Folks nature isn’t good or bad it just is.

After five years he is rescued. A party is thrown for Chuck. And there is this great moment when he looks at the food table set elaborately for him. There are crabs on the plate and there is a lighter. It all looks so plain and ugly to him. Because he has learned to look at things in a different way. The value of things is determined in his mind by the manner in which he got them. Here in this indoor party with the air conditioner and polite people with pagers and phones he feels different. There is about him a raw cave man confidence. He is unable to make small talk. And that lighter. He picks it up flicking it on and off missing the struggles of a dark blue night on an island that made his life worth fighting for.

See it. Feel it.
Movie Trailer