Travelling by train जुलै 25, 2008

Travelling by long distance train is a journey itself. One can find numerous samples of people while travelling.One such kind i met recently during train journey between mumbai to Kohlapur. I boarded the train a Thane station- a middle station in mumbai in train. As soon i found the berth i noticed a middle aged man sitting on the seat.Opposite to him a family of four including two small kids was seated. I smiled and the family nervously smiled back. As soon as i started arranging my luggage i noticed a somewhat dirty smell a odour familiar to Drunkyard. Immediately i saw in the eyes on middle aged man who apparently appeared to scan me. His eyes were red and blurring. Drunkyard in the coach.. Ohhh god!!! The smelll grew intense. Now i got the reason why the family appeared to be tensed. Nothing could be done as he was not travelling ticketless and neither troubling anyone. Only he was scanning the ladies sitted in the coach from top to nottom which is insultinga s well as disgusting at the same time. As soon as Kalyan station arrived he got up and left the train.We heaved a sigh of relief..
But it lasted fro few minutes as soon as the train started again he appeared from somewhere and started slurring again. He was giving some bad words to someone and apparently making fool of himself. The co passenger had to suffer. First the odour of desi liquoir, then the cigarette, then the bad words. That was enough to call the RPF.Thank go dthey arrieved on time. But they could not anything either as he was carrying a valid ticket. After giving him a bit warning he was left alone. But his trouble started as soon as the RPF left. He started shouting, and said now i want to sleep.Immediatly i got up and laid the seat for him. Looking at this the children got afraid and refused to budge.Their parents had a tough time dealing with them. Finally as the train was approaching Karjat station we pulled the chain.The RPF again intervened and took the person in custody.One of the sample I met during my train journey.

21 जुलै 3, 2008

Accidentally i downloaded a movie insted of film named 21. Though i ended up watching the whole movie which was rather exciting and pulse racing.Here goes the snap of movie….

MIT student Ben Campbell is accepted into Harvard Medical School. He is interviewed as a potential candidate for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship, which will pay for all his school-related expenses. Despite boasting stats such as a 1590 SAT score, 44 MCAT score, and a 4.0 GPA at MIT, Ben is told that competition for the scholarship is very fierce. Ben is urged to write an essay which will make him “stand out”; in other words, an essay which will dazzle the recruiter.

During an advanced math class, Professor Micky Rosa challenges Campbell with a three door variable change problem, which Campbell solves successfully. Rosa invites Ben to join MIT’s Blackjack Team led by Rosa, which consists of the young men Choi and Fisher and the young women Jill and Kianna. They specialise in playing with little money just to count cards and send secret signals (code words for the count, and hand signals for starting and stopping playing, etc.), and “big players”, including Ben, who play with large amounts of money whenever this is mathematically expected to be profitable based on the counting. Campbell is reluctant, but eventually joins the team. After weeks of intensive training, Ben is given a test at an underground casino, which he passes.

The team goes to Las Vegas. Campbell’s performance impresses Rosa, while provoking jealousy from teammate Fisher. One evening, a drunken Fisher sits at Ben’s table. Fisher starts talking about the “retard” in Rain Man. He then causes a fight by spilling a drink on the table, which escalates into gunshots being fired. Rosa then kicks Fisher off the team and sends him home. All the while, security chief Cole Williams monitors the blackjack team, particularly Ben.

Back at MIT, Ben accidentally botches his group project (by giving his friend Miles the incorrect microchip) for the 2.09 competition. His teammates angrily dismiss him from the project. All of this provokes a severe inner conflict during Ben’s next trip to Vegas. He winds up losing all the money he had that night. An exasperated Rosa goes home, promising that Ben will reimburse him for the entire loss. Ben and his three teammates bankroll the rest of their money. They go to the Riviera. Williams finds Ben and beats him up, then lets him go with a dire warning.

Ben returns to MIT, only to find his dorm room ransacked; even worse, the blackjack winnings he had hidden in the ceiling have been taken. Ben suspects that Rosa is behind it, but cannot prove anything, so he makes an offer: he’ll win back the money he lost, before biometric software takes over at casinos. Rosa takes him up on it. Disguised, Ben and the rest of Micky’s Blackjack Team go back to the Planet Hollywood. They rake in over $650,000 before Williams finds them again and gives chase. The team members rapidly bag their chips, then split up and flee through the casino. During the chase, Ben switches bags with teammate Jill Taylor, and then with Rosa.

Rosa gives Williams the slip by ducking into a limousine just before it leaves, only to find that the bags were switched and the driver is the casino manager. It turns out that Williams, who has been trying to catch Rosa for over a decade, made a deal with Ben, promising to allow him to “make a killing” in return for Rosa. Williams betrays this deal by forcing Ben to give up his chips at gunpoint.

Ben closes his story with the following summation: throughout his life, he won a fortune twice and it was stolen both times. Sure enough, the recruiter is dazzled. In the end, Ben is shown walking up the steps of Harvard Medical School.

Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, the protagonist, an MIT student incredibly good with numbers, but in need of money, who becomes a member of the blackjack team. Based on Jeff Ma.[1]
Kevin Spacey as Mickey Rosa, mathematics professor and the corrupt leader of the blackjack team. Based on a composite of J.P. Massar and Johnny Chang[2]
Colin Angle as Professor Hanes, who awards the tech team for its robot.
Kate Bosworth as Jill Taylor, a member of the blackjack team. Based on Jane Willis.
Laurence Fishburne as Cole Williams, a casino security agent, who becomes determined to take down the team. Based on employees of Griffin Investigations.[3]
Aaron Yoo as Choi, a member of the blackjack team
Liza Lapira as Kianna, another blackjack team member
Josh Gad as Miles Connolly
Sam Golzari as MIT student Cam Kazazi. Based on Matt Lau.
Jacob Pitts as Fisher, another blackjack team member. Based on Mike Aponte.
Jack McGee as Terry
Roger Dillingham, Jr. as Head Bouncer
Ma, the person whom Ben Campbell is based on (known as Kevin Lewis in Mezrich’s book), makes a cameo as Jeffrey, a dealer in Planet Hollywood.

Personal rating 7/10