Category — Miscellaneous

I’ve completed a month of blog posts today and its a milestone for me. I been blogging since 2004 but sporadically. I’ve not been constant and regular ever. This time I’m proud to have stuck it out for a month.

2004 – 12
2005 – 42
2006 – 39
2007 – 6
2008 – 0
2009 – 18
2010 – 20
2011 – 12

Looking at the number of posts I’ve done over the years was nostalgic. I hadn’t realised I’ve been blogging for 8 years now. I started blogging in 2004, the same year I started seriously touring on bikes. My introduction to blogging was travel logs; blogging was a good way to remember and share my travel stories.

2005 and 2006 were rantly years I wasn’t happy in life (well, so I think) and I found so much to rant about or even whine. But 2006 also saw me quit my job and travel across India for 8 months. 2008 was year without the internet. I spent 5 months of the year in Spiti and the rest I just stayed away. It felt nice to not be connected for a while.

The last couple of years I’ve been blogging whenever I felt like writing but this year I wanted to try out blogging regularly – a year of posts to look back at to document the year. And thats 1 month down and 11 to go…

Title: Death by Facebook
Author: Everett Peacock
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (March 4th 2011)
Genre: Mystery
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
Summary: (GoodReads)
A vacationing soldier in Hawaii…
Earth’s most active volcano, anxious to repeat itself…
Two murders involving love, madness, friendship, hippies, tsunamis, and the great hereafter…

DEATH BY FACEBOOK by Everett Peacock
Be careful what you say online

Review:

The story plays out in Hawaii where James and Janet have gone for a vacation before he gets deployed to Afghanistan. Janet murders James and the book is about why she did that and the consequences of the murder on the island like a butterfly effect but much closer.

Death by Facebook has a lot of characters but each adds to the story. I found myself relating and feeling for each one of the many characters on the island.

Other than the murder Everett Peacock describes a volcano eruption and its impact on the people on the island. The mix of the kind of people he chooses to tell the story are varied – from a hippie to the police and scientists. The views and reactions of people in crisis fascinated me.

When I picked up this book I thought it would be all about Facebook and a murder but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Facebook played only a small part in the large story. There was so much more happening. The book is written well and grabs the reader. The pace of the story is good with a lot of action.

The book got me thinking about Facebook and just how powerful it could be both to do good and evil. Just how far reaching its messages are and its impact on people.

It also questioned good and evil. Janet starts her journey through the book as an evil person who murders her fiancé but as I went along with the story getting to know her better, I started to question if it was she who was evil or her situation.

I’d recommend this book to all who are looking for something different to read that is still enjoyable.

Photos of me with the dogs are rare, I guess I can’t be in the picture and take it too
Here’s one with Cuckoo that I really love… Its one of those rare moments I have with her
The photo wasn’t posed, she did come and sit that way with me in a moment of coziness.

This one got my attention for the detail – an old mirror, a fan, a old cupboard, a hangar… and a guy who looks like the caretaker of an old bangla.
I like the old grungy look, it reminds me of ancient places with lots of memories…

This year just like the books I’ve read I’d also like to list and rate the movies I’ve seen. Over the years I’ve watched a lot of movies but can never remember them all. This would be a good way to document them.
This year started with the Movies – we watched 3 movies back to back on 1st Jan – The Adventures of Tin Tin, Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Mission Impossible.

The Adventures of Tin Tin
****/5
I watched this in 3D and absolutely enjoyed it. I can’t wait for the sequel. I’ve always loved Tin Tin and enjoyed the cartoons that would come on TV. I even have them on VHS tape
Tin Tin in the movie turned out to be a great looker but I felt Captain Hadock had something missing. Maybe it was his nose that I didn’t like.
The movie is packed with action and there isn’t a boring moment.
We discovered something accidently too – for a 3D movie the front row seats are the best!

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
****/5
I enjoyed this movie though I think I’d need to watch it again to grasp all the nuances. Be warned this movie needs your full attention or you won’t be able to tie up the loose ends.
It’s a detailed story of finding the traitor in the highest levels of the British Intelligence. There are 4 suspects and it’s a tale of elimination to arrive at the traitor.
A Must Watch!

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol
***/5
As always Mission Impossible is a full action masala. movie The movie is made well and should be watched on big screen. The visuals are stunning.
I was very excited about seeing the Burj Khalifa scenes and they didn’t let me down.
A good watch if you’re looking for a mindless masala movie.