Life Etc Etc

There's absolutely nothing I can say about Sidney Lumet's ' 12 Angry Men ' which hasn't already been said before but I must try, considering the fact that 60 years after its release this movie is now more relevant than ever. We live in an era where terms like ' classic ' and ' masterpiece ' are often used loosely, '12 Angry Men' is the very definition of a cinematic classic and a bona fide masterpiece. So let's not wait any further to review this classic movie. Plot: 12 jurors from different economic backgrounds and different strata of the society are assigned the complex task of deciding the culpability of a teenage boy who has been accused of murdering his father. The juvenile defendant has a history of run-ins with the law and shares a troubled history with his abusive father. If the jurors return an unanimous verdict of guilty the defendant would be hanged, if the jurors decide there is reasonable doubt with the prosecution'...

Until Next Time, Yours Inspiringly, J.J. Chaitanya

Stay Inspired, Your Observer of Life, J.J. Chaitanya

Keep Searching! Your Observer of Life, J.J. Chaitanya

October is the last month of the year (in the northern hemisphere) which offers some sort of a sunny respite before the cold and chill of the winter reign supreme. On one such warm fall evening I decided to shun the walls of the gym and celebrate the last vestiges of sunshine this year with a brisk walk in The   Don River Valley Park . Now don't let the term ' park ' fool you, coz Don Valley park is no less than an urban forest nestled within the confines of a metropolis. Most parks afford the luxury of circling back to the point of entry but then Don Valley is not your usual park. This woody incarnation straight from a Wordsworth's poem flows like an unending river allowing no way to get back to where you started from, unless you are careful enough to retrace your steps. With several natural and manmade trails this park is a hiker's paradise and a cyclist's delight. After a long day's work I needed a workout but didn't want to get lost in...

Your Student of Life , J.J. Chaitanya

Inspiringly Yours, J.J. Chaitanya

Aham Brahmasmi , J.J. Chaitanya

Inspiringly Yours, J.J. Chaitanya

It's destiny that I am writing my 75th blog post after achieving something which I had never dreamt of when I first started blogging. Being featured on a very small but prime piece of IMDb web space is a blessing from above for which I am truly grateful. But what does all of this mean for my blog and for me as a blogger? Frankly Nothing!  Sure, the acknowledgment from IMDb and the appreciation from Stanley Park management for my travelogue are welcome pats on the back but I have a long road ahead of me and this is not the time to toot my horn (frankly there will never be a time when I will toot my horn on Life Etc Etc ). Milestones give us an opportunity to take a step back and ask some tough questions and today I will not spare myself while asking the tough questions to churn out the essence of this journey. Question 1: What is Life Etc Etc ? Life Etc Etc is an amalgamation of all the positive things which keeps one's life going . In my opinion, life is just...

The year 2018 will go down in history as one of the great years for sports and today my friends I present sporting gold from the first half of 2018 (in chronological order). Here are some truly classic matches and moments which I had the pleasure of watching this year. Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz: Two unbeaten heavyweights met for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship in March. Hard hitting American Deontay Wilder defended his world title against the Cuban technical specialist Luis Ortiz . Both the heavyweights approached the bout in contrasting manners. While Wilder searched for the one punch knockout Ortiz made life difficult for Wilder by adopting a sideways stance and picking him at will with his precise lefts. Wilder finally broke through in the fifth round to knock Ortiz down only for Ortiz to recover and give Wilder the beating of his life in the seventh. Wilder narrowly escaped a certain KO and came back with ferocious rights of his own before finally finishing off Ort...

Until Next Time, J.J. Chaitanya

Until Next Time, Your Life Guru, J.J. Chaitanya

Backdrop: I diligently avoid docudramas based on real incidents as they only rehash what we already know without adding anything new. That's precisely the reason why I avoided watching Parmanu all these weeks but it's been a while since I saw a movie and the lack of decent fair at the cinemas coupled with upbeat critical reviews for Parmanu finally cajoled me into watching it. Boy! Was I thrilled to watch a competent movie which was slick and gripping till the very end. The verdict is out first but keep reading as to what makes this movie a recommended watch . (Credits: IndiaToday.in ) Plot: It's 1995 and India is facing an existential crisis amidst mounting defensive and strategic pressures from it's neighboring countries. I.A.S. officer, Ashwat Raina ( John Abraham ), believes that India's road to political parity lies in establishing a nuclear program. The recommendation is taken up but Ashwat Raina's plan is not followed to the ' T', resu...

Stay Motivated, J.J. Chaitanya

Stay Motivated, J.J. Chaitanya

Your Life Guru, J.J. Chaitanya

Stay Motivated, J.J. Chaitanya

Aham Brahmasmi Quote Feel Good, Do Good and Propagate Good - Aham Brahmasmi, J.J. Chaitanya

It's IPL time, the time of the year where cricket turns from a gentleman's game into a three ringed circus for the stars, the people and the players. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 long years since the IPL started but I just seem to remember it like yesterday. As soon I thought about the first IPL I remembered some tight finishes, some great performances, raw emotion, glamour that was on display and some utterly forgettable moments. So here are 10 random things I remember about the first IPL: Teams of the first IPL <Courtesy: Reddit > Akshay Kumar , the brand ambassador (Oh! the brand ambassadors was one way franchises burnt their hard earned money during the first IPL) for Delhi Daredevils (DD) zip-lined his way into the ground for an IPL match. DD followed his example of daredevilry all throughout the league phase before their stunt went all wrong crashing them into the ground in the semis .            Ricky Ponting (yes he p...

It's hard to be a casual cricket fan, there are so many things you don't know when you don't watch cricket regularly. I watched a grand total of half a cricket match in the last one year ( the Indian Chase in the ICC Cricket World Cup for Women ) before watching the last three overs of today's final . The last ball six revived my interest in the game and here are some of the most important things I've learnt about today's cricket in the last few hours since the final: Washington and Sundar are one and the same person . Suresh Raina has not retired and still plays occasionally for India.  ' DK ' is the superhuman alter ego of mild mannered Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and when he's in full flow he can hit sixes about as easily as Vijay Shankar can miss them. Vijay Shankar is not a relative of Indian sitar stalwart Ravi Shankar even though I almost felt he was using a sitar to bat after missing the number of balls he d...

On a bright May afternoon I found myself on the Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver facing the Pacific Ocean . This was the ocean hike that I was most looking forward to. Now before I go any further you might ask me. What is the Seawall? There you go, the picture below should answer your question very well 👇 Stanley Park Seawall (Courtesy: Tourism Vancouver) How did I get there?  Simple via public transport ( TransLink ). In front of me was a 10 KM hike right next to the Pacific Ocean and I was grossly unprepared (didn't even have a bottle of water with me). But water or no water I wasn't about to back out from exploring this beautiful waterfront trail . My first pit stop allowed me to take in the sights of Vancouver downtown along with the  docks . Vancouver Downtown Vancouver docks and the Pan Pacific Hotel Pan Pacific Hotel from the top (Courtesy: BC Ferries Vacations) The next sight to behold my attention was the 100 year old Brockton P...

It's international speech contest time in Toastmasters and yours truly who once talked about what not to do as part of a speech is now back to discuss how to put a ' good speech ' together (although my examples would be geared more towards Toastmaster speeches, almost anyone can use the points below to formulate a good speech). Before I proceed any further let me clarify what I mean by a 'good speech'. A good speech in my opinion has five vital characteristics: Interesting Premise Logical Flow Accurate facts, believable examples, credible anecdotes Rational arguments Clear conclusion Now how do you go about constructing such a good speech. Here's a five step plan:  Pick an idea, a story or a thought which inspired you or affected you or has been bothering you. It doesn't matter if you pick a single line of thought or a story as the basis for your speech. The extent you are convinced about your pick is all that which matters. Now analyz...