Fight or Flight

When faced with confrontation, do you head for the hills or walk straight in? Was there ever a time you wished you’d had the opposite reaction?

That varies according to the situation. Always need to use the head, and well sometimes just fuck everything and do what your instinct tells you to.

“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”

― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

Too Big To Fail

Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail (and tell us why you haven’t tried it yet).

A big thought which I cannot fathom right now, while there are many such things in life, not just one or two. For now I’d like to quote this:

“Small aim is a crime.” – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

You’re never finished with me

– Where are you?

– I’m not finished yet.

– And you’re not finished with me.

ImageYou’re never finished with me.

This was perhaps the most powerful scene (for me) in Part 1 of 2 of the movie The Dark Knight Returns which is the animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s 1986 epic graphic novel of the same name. Not only it is the (one of the depending on your liking) greatest Batman story ever told, it’s one of the greatest graphic novel and pieces of literature ever made, and it was actually the first time Batman was taken seriously as a legendary character. It took years for several Batman veterans to finally adopt it to a movie in 2012/2013, and it sure did deliver. Definitely one of my most favourite movie/lines of all time.

While I could never do justice to it by describing that particular scene (or the book/movie) in words, you should check them out. Here we see an older Bruce Wayne all by himself who goes to find his strength and the scene shows the fact that he can never be done with being Batman with much powerful emotion yet simple dialogue. I like to think we are also never done with what we are supposed to do in/with our lives, and it just keeps going forward.

The Crazy One

ImageThat is a tribute I made with the help of a friend who is a awesome graphic designer on the occasion of the late visionary Steve Job’s first death anniversary last year. Here is the post back then.

Today is his birthday and he would have been 58 years old. He has been a big inspiration to me since I was a school kid and he has struck millions of lives (in whatever way you can think, and no doubt especially after his death as people often get recognized only after they kick the bucket sadly)

I’m not going to re-quote any of the many brilliant things he said (besides I’m doing that since years and do that often). Here I would rather silently ponder and while at it wanted to show the above piece first time in this blog of mine. I would recommend to watch his documentary Secrets of Life, apart from reading his biography and seeing his 2005 commencement speech which most would have done by now. If not, do that too.

Again, thank you Steve, for always being an inspiration to me.

Far from normal

…I am.

Many of us think of our lives as boringly normal, while others live the high life. Take a step back, and take a look at your life as an outsider might. Now, tell us at least six unique, exciting, or just plain odd things about yourself.

Today’s daily prompt makes me go thinking as I always struggle to introduce or tell about myself. Either I haven’t done anything worthwhile, or I don’t fully understand myself. Actually both. This quote from the acclaimed game Assassin’s Creed 3 crossed my mind thinking about it:

“Part of me wants to fight and repel all outsiders. The other part of me is the outsider.” ― Ratonhnhaké:ton/Conner

Set in the times of the American Revolution, this is the thought which comes across Conner (given name by his mentor, have a look at the unpronounceable name) who is from a tribe of native americans and his father being an english nobleman (ie ‘the outsider’). Well this also reminds me of The Outsider from another acclaimed assassin game Dishonored (2012 was the year of assassins really).

Now coming to topic, while in this context this is quite in literal terms because of his parents and lineage, it makes me think on an intellectual level. I have heard many who phrase in such a way ‘their biggest challenge is competing against themselves’. Well, while that sounds cute, if you think in a way, such a person who always tests themselves and go ahead, doesn’t that make him/her always a loser too? 😛 I’d like to put it rather this way:

“Having no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.”

– Bruce Lee

Harry Potter abnormalAnd sometimes many a times, I find it difficult to term what exactly constitutes normal? Why are many things considered normal just because in majority or something which people have been doing thousands hundreds of years? This argument is endless until most people actually start thinking in a much wider perspective so I’ll leave it at that. Instead I’ll just like to put 6 things which people find odd about me which I have seen, not necessarily I find it odd myself:

  1. My hair. Always get a second look, bitching behind my back (not limited to my hair though) and even on my face at times. I find it strange why people (here) don’t find a guy with long (curly) hair normal. And chicks who actually adore it keep asking my secret. Honestly I hardly do anything special. Actually nothing. Perks of having good hair genes or something like that?
  2. Crooked/Out of the box/Weird/name it how you want. I don’t always think straight. In many cases I don’t think at all, though that’s a different story. I’m not claiming to be a super detective and crime fighter, but to my observation and thoughts, there are mostly different perspectives, even if they are not the most innovative. And I at times tend to overdo it too, such as here, my initial blabber instead writing these points directly.
  3. Girls. Wait, what did you think when you first thought? Well all straight/bi guys and homo females like females, don’t they? Sure I like seeing hot models too. But what really turns me on? Two things, first curly hair. You read that right. Half of the females I bond well with have this trait, as though I magically bond well them. Heck I myself have diabolic curly hair. The other one is that I actually prefer females into health (NOT modeling for fuck’s sake!), sports and shit, who actually eat and are independent. I’m far from a perfect person (and even if I was hypothetically speaking) I would prefer a female (by far) for being herself and who has more reason. I’m glad to know such women of all ages and backgrounds, being strong and awesome they are. Well here’s to hope I get such a woman in my life, well if I ever have that charming person in my life (who am I kidding?). Till then I’ll (try to) get the joke of myself fitter.
  4. I tend to speak/act without thinking many times. That’s right, since I’m being honest anyways on this public platform to unknown no. of people and all, why not say it? This might come back to haunt me too, but for now I don’t much care. I know this might not be a good thing or so, I have this weird idea set in my head since I was a kid, that the most important moments of life leave you no time to think and you must act. While here I’m far from actually implementing it in the right sense and mostly just making a fool of myself, I’m still learning and (trying to) improve myself. Till then read more about the greater fool.Image
  5. I’m sort of a hipster. I always tend to follow lot of things in it’s early days, be it movies, tv shows or anything in soon-to-be-popular media, and I follow em before hitting mainstream. At least rather one good odd thing here, I guess. Sometimes leads me to a “Oh, stop it you!” moments, but I’m not complaining.  😛
  6. I can’t even think of a #6, I’m so pathetic at this. I’ll just end by something more less seen – I don’t condemn suicide. Stop thinking, I don’t support it either. I kinda admire people who do it, irrespective of reasons (though people label all of them as foolish, I would beg to differ depending on the reason actually). I feel that is one decision one has made atleast taking charge of one’s life, even if the rest was pathetic. Not that I’m saying go kill yourself, just saying it’s not really a bad/wrong thing as society puts it. ( get lot of heat on this, mostly senseless as usual). Well like many I indulge in lot of controversial and conspiratorial topics mostly maintaining a neutral ground, that’s not new.

That’s about it. I wish I could have said better. Well perhaps next time.

Legendary Maybe

Video

Maybe it’s my fault.
Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t.
Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line, and not in the gym.
Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner.
That my game was built on flash, and not fire.
Maybe it’s my fault that that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength;
That my pain was my motivation.
Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God given gift, and not something I worked for… every single day of my life.
Maybe I destroyed the game.
Or maybe… your just making excuses. – Michael Jordan

This is one of my old most favorite ads/quotes which has always inspired me.

The Grey

I have a lot of favourite poems, had a very keen interest in them before (and even used to write myself). For now I could think of only this small four lined one:

Once more into the fray…
Into the last good fight I’ll ever know.
Live and die on this day…
Live and die on this day…

This is from the movie The Grey (2011). It conveys a powerful meaning in just few lines, not only in the movie itself, but when you think about it, in our very lives of survival. As subtle as it says ‘once more into the fray, into the last good fight I’ll ever know’, every moment in our lives is a fight we must face, and that may define our very life. Many are generally mistaken that one is at their own best when they have nothing to lose, but the truth is having something to lose, something worth fighting for is what makes one go ahead. It should be noted that it goes live and die on this day and not or (contrary to the popular saying ‘live/do or die’ or the modern iteration ‘do it before you die’) which signifies continuing from the previous line ‘…Into the last good fight I’ll ever know.’ that this is the moment and we must live it, and die with it, the next will play on itself depending on our actions.

“The ‘moment’ has no yesterday or tomorrow. It is not the result of thought and therefore has no time.” – Bruce Lee

Also on another note, if you haven’t seen The Grey you must see this movie, a very moving tale on survival.

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Tooting my horn

Most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating, and are not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favorite thing about yourself.

Now that is not entirely true, haven’t you seen those narcissists (groups) everywhere?

While coming to myself, I don’t know what to  say. I just like being myself (just look at me).

To me, ultimately, [martial arts] means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. It has always been very easy for me to put on a show and be cocky, and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel pretty cool and all that. I can make all kinds of phoney things. Blinded by it. Or I can show some really fancy movement. But to experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that is very hard to do. – Bruce Lee