Opine on my ions..

I shall share the method which has worked best for me !!!
But lemme share with you some points which usually help me to wind down …..

1. First and foremost .. its tough but keep your professional and personal life seperate.. its very important coz the moment you carry your official burden home you are screwed .. home should be some place where you can wind down …. dont bring work home.. if you can do late hours in the office but the moment you leave office .. stop thinking about meetings deadlines, etc etc …. its tough but once you cultivate it life becomes much easier…. Remember you are the most important person in the world for yourself… everything comes next ….

2. You can sit down with Archies comics or something humorous… which makes you laugh..laughter is the best medicine … you can also watch a humorous movie or cartoons.
3. Catch up with your friends … you will not believe how relaxing it is if you can chill out with friends … that will increase your social life …
4. If you are new to a place .. chill out with a movie or two .. or take up an interesting book if reading is your hobby… single people tend to spend more time in the office coz there is nothing else to do according to them … you could join a club … some small gym or something … Swimming helps me a lot to reduce stress.. its therapautic I agree but then you can cultivate a hobby …. trekking , hiking, traveling, photography… instead of just sitting and doing nothing about how stressful your life is.. where there is a will there is a way .. remember ??? :):) Hobbies are an important factor that release stress.. one of my friends who is a bachelor has invested in an aquarium in order to relieve stress … :):) ….
5. If you have the time and patience join courses like REIKI and Tai-chi. They are great stress relievers….
6. Invest in a planner .. plan out your official activities
7. Catch up on your sleep … whenever you can.. some people wake up late , some early, some like an afternoon naps.. whatever suits you…
8. Go for small trips … it will always give you a different perspective… I make sure I travel at least three to four time in a year .. one a long vacation home and the rest I make it weekend trips… helps me a lot…If you are going on a trip choose a place where you dont have much to see.. but can relax a lot… no use having a hectic schedule when you travel …the whole point of relaxing is lost …
9. For ladies, shopping is a great stress reliever… believe it or not… :):)
10. For couples … spending quality time together can be a great stress reliever… plan out surprises for your better half .. will keep you smiling …. go out for a good dinner… give both yourselves a break from routine cooking…
11. And last but not the least try and maintain a good working relationship with your colleagues.. helps a lot in work atmosphere… learn how to say NO and let go of things which are beyond your capabilities.. it never harms to admit that you were wrong or missed out on something … to err is human !!
12. Okay what helped me lead a much better life was REIKI. I invested some time in this.. I got to know this from a friend of mine and well the result was amazing !!! You need to contact a good REIKI master in order to get initiated into this course. This is actually a process of healing and the concept lies in bringing out the positive energy in you and removing all the negative energies…

    There are three levels in this course.. but for people who dont have time .. the first level is enough.. you have to invest just half an hour of your time everyday.. you can do REIKI at any time of the day.. The initiation takes only a day. So you gotta take leave for a day and then you get initiated into this process. This course would cost you 500/- for the first level.

Anyways this has helped me in a lot of ways .. life has become much more peaceful and well-planned … you can try this if you want to ..

So hope these points will help you, my friends ….

Well I was waiting eagerly for this movie as I love animation abe it 2D or 3D. The best part about these movies are that one can watch them again and again.

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About The Movie
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This movie is one of a kind. It has a different plot and an interesting ending. It has romance and humor and yes the voiceovers and the script had us in stitches. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow and how can I forget Eddie Murphy who is known for his wit, have given life to the animated characters .

The whole movie has tried to be different than other animation movies and it succeeded.
Dreamworks have done a good job. Your kids will love it and you will also enjoy the antics of the characters.

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The Plot
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The plot is unique and though it has it’s shares of loopholes, one can sit back and enjoy oneself and get involved with the characters . That’s what matters to me when I watch a movie. Even if the plot is weak, the director should be able to hold the interest of the audience.

This movie takes you to a world where humans and fairy tale creatures lived side by side.
The town of Duloc is where the focus is placed. Lord Farquaad, who has ambitions to become a king, rules Duloc and he can only do so if he marries a princess.

Shrek (voiceover by Mike Myers) is an ogre who lives the life of a recluse and is happy to be on his own. Everyone is scared of him and it suits him fine as he knows he cannot inspire anything but disgust because of his looks and stature.

He is selected by the fairy tale creatures to save their land, and he is manipulated into rescuing the princess (voiceover by Cameron Diaz) who Lord Farquaad wants to marry but is too scared to risk his life for the princess.

Anyway along the course of the story Shrek meets a talking donkey ( voiceover by Eddie Murphy) who sometimes steals the show from Shrek. This donkey is cute and arrogant and has a perpetual smile in his face … very endearing !!!

The story is good and the ending is pretty interesting. That’s what makes the plot going.

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Animation
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They have done a great job in making everything seem so real. Its amazing what animation has achieved. I had watched Final Fantasy, which was technically very good but the story and the concept was a little dry. I believe that Monster Inc. is also a great revolutionary movie when it comes to animation.

Shrek has used bright colours and great expressive faces. The backgrounds are very impressive. Its as close to reality as it can get.

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My Impressions
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I was very entertained by this movie and this was a fairy tale about which I did not read about and that made it all the more interesting !! What I liked best was the voiceovers which was real funny specially Eddie Murphy. He is incorrigible.

After watching this movie you can take home with you at the memories of all the characters and the kids will have something more to smile about.

And there is a moral to the story too like all other fairy tales which you can teach your kids.
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Should you watch this movie ??
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This is a must watch movie for kids and for those who love animations and fairy tales.

This is a movie one has to watch in the theatres. So what are you waiting for?? Go with your kids and watch it. Bangalore has 4 shows playing in the Plaza theatre.

Pros : Great script and great animation
Cons : none
Plot : Good - Original and a good plot
Cast Performance : Good - Overall good
Soundtrack : Good - Except a few
Camera Effects : Wow - Best effects I’ve ever seen
Watch this movie with : Spouse / Partner

This millenium seems to be a season of offbeat movies. Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Bollywood Calling,Monsoon Wedding and recently Mitr. What I like about these movies are that they are much more realistic and are slowly making place of their own with their mix of some mainstream cinema and some art cinema. And most importantly these movies relate with the audience. That is what I appreciated about the filmmaker. She has tried to connect with the audience and succeeded, I feel.

Believe me these movies are a welcome change after watching cliched movies like Mohabbatein, Yaadein, Mission Kashmir, AAAAGHHH !! Just thinking about these movies makes me shudder.

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Concept
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A friend is one who excepts you as you are and well does not judge you for what you do .. A friend in need is a friend indeed…. A friend i sone who shares and cares …. etc etc .. uou must have heard these words a thousand of times and believe in it too.. I do for sure .. But in real life as you proceed across the different phases of life, childhood, youth, adult, middle-age, old-age, etc the concept of friendship changes.

Thats what MITR is about in a nutshell. How would you convert relationship to friendship and how important it is for your survival.

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About the movie
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The movie is simple and the message is very clear cut without any frills. You have to think about the subtle nuances projected in the movie. Its everything to with what happens and may happened to many people and family . The best part of the movie is that one can enjoy the story even if it has its serious undertones and one can definitely relate to the movie. The concept is not far fetched and one may find oneself in a similar situation sometime. Specially for an Indian who has left the country and settled down in another country for business purpose.

The movie boasts of all women technical crew which is a first, I think. Revathy Menon who is a powerful actress in her own right has directed this movie and well she has done it very well.

The editing is well done. It is difficult to watch the movie if the editing is not done well. FOr example, Monsoon Wedding was very shabbily edited I feel. It was not comfortable watching the movie.

The music was composed by Bhavatharini Ilyaraaja, the esteemed Ilyaraja’s daughter. The music was okay but it could be improved. According to me it blended well with the movie and for a change the music did not overpower the story.

The cinematography was also very pleasing to the eyes as they locations were well selected.

Shobhana, Naseer Abdullah and Preeti Vissa did a great job in portraying the emotional confusion and the flow of the story and the characters were pretty smooth. You will not get lost in the movie with certain scenes being there unnecessarily.

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My Recommendation
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Go and watch it if you liked movies like Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Bollywood Calling and Monsoon wedding. This movie is something which many Bangloreans will relate too specially those having left the country to slog in the IT industry and earn more money and have a better life.

Its a movie where you dont have to think much and yet feel that you have enjoyed the movie. Its ideal for an evening date with your partner.
Avoid it if you have a penchant for chicks running haywire in spandex and hens running around trees and going WHAM BAM with lot of tomato sauce smeared on their face.

Pros : Good script and story
Cons : The music could have been better but I found it was ok for starters
Plot : Good - Original and a good plot
Cast Performance : Good - Overall good
Soundtrack : Fair - Only a few
Camera Effects : Good - Will do for normal viewing
Watch this movie with : Spouse / Partner