Gandhi's 52 in 2014: May Update

Woe is me!

I have severely dropped off my planned resolution train in the last few months. Although there are a number of tasks on which I am lagging behind, the ones that truly get to me are the ones related to health and fitness. Gone are the regular walks/runs I went on during January. And I have yet to kick start the tasks pertaining to Travels!

The money challenge this month has been moot, primarily cause I used that money to fund the wife's 30th birthday gifts, all thirty of them! Hopefully I can get back on track starting in June.

On a positive note I am sticking to the tasks pertaining to my photography challenge as well exploring new restaurants in Singapore. Outings with friends and conversations with family back home have also been on the rise. So if nothing else, I'm definitely becoming more out-going and getting in touch with my loved ones.

Almost coming to the six month mark. Guess things need to get into overdrive for results to start showing on some of the lagging fronts. Let's hope I have a better update come June end.  

What Motivates You?

Its been five months since I made my new year's resolutions for this year. A lengthy list of 52 items that I want to complete before this year ends. And although I may be making decent progress on a few of those, I am nowhere close to my required goals at this point of the challenge! Mainly the ones involving a healthy lifestyle and a fitter body.

It's no surprise that one of the main reasons for this is the lack of motivation. Goals seem to only mean something when there's something enticing you to achieve them. But the enticement needs to also help you overcome you resounding sense of procrastination.

There's always a sense of excitement and adventure before you embark on any journey. However over time that excitement and dazzle seems to wear off and the spark that had you all gung-ho at the start just extinguishes.

Is it just me who has this issue? I wouldn't think so considering that there's another 7 billion people on this planet and am pretty sure there's someone out there who has faced this before and perhaps overcome this to achieve his/her goals.

So here's my question... how does one get that spark to light up again?

My Thoughts On Taxi Driver.

Finally watched the Martin Scorcese classic Taxi Driver from start to finish. Had always seen bits and pieces of the flick in the past and was keen to watch it in one sitting. We'll I got my chance during  my recent trip to Mumbai.

Despite being set in the 70s there are certain themes of the movie that ring true even today and in that sense the story of this movie is a timeless one.

Sure some May wonder what's the whole story about considering there is no obvious plot line in the conventional sense. But then again I believe that was  the intention of the film maker. To not have a defined story with the traditional first second and third acts of standard story telling. Although one could argue that the movie can in fact be broken down into said conventional three act story.

The story is undoubtedly about Robert DeNiro's taxi driving character Travis Bickle and how his occupation as a taxi driver in the metropolis of New York is affecting him psychologically. The movie is a journey into the very mind of Travis and his interpretation of what is right and wrong. His disdain for society and humanity in General is what we highlights the first act of this movie. 

The one anchor that could have possibly brought some stability in his life, Betsy the presidential campaign volunteer, shuns him due to his awkward social demeanor, viz. his choice of date venue (an adult movie). 

Things begin to take a different direction when he realizes that vigilante justice isn't a bad thing after all and so he acquires an arsenal of weapons and begins training himself to dispense Sid vigilante justice.

The third act encompasses his efforts to free an underage prostitute Iris (an unrecohnizable Jodie Foster). And this is where we see his psychological behavior taking shape and finally culminating in his version of justice s eh guns down not one, but three men (of which one is a mafioso type dude) on order to liberate Iris from her forced prostitution.

The climax is in fact one of the most ambiguous ones in cinema history as there is speculation that everything tht follows the shoutout is in fact inside Travis head and that he is possibly in coma. This theory I feel is further cemented when we see that after his Tiamat the hospital his fare is none other than Betsy, the stable anchor who had shunned him earlier in the movie.

Taxi Driver isn't a movie that you would enjoy watching for entertainment alone. It's a movie with layers that need to be appreciated for their simplicity. If you enjoy movies that deal with the human psyche and offer more than what's shown on screen, Taxi Driver is a definite must watch.