The Wake-Up Call

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 5/14/2013 2:52:00 PM

'The phone kept ringing… and interfered with her dream… entwined with the music playing in her head… Tu To Nahin Hai Lekin Teri Muskurahatein HainChehra Nahin Hai Par Teri Aahatein HainThe landline phone’s ringing got louder drowning all other sound in her head and she woke up with a start. She dragged herself off the living room couch and looked around for a glass of water to clear her grogginess. The urgency of the ringing seemed to amp up and she put aside all thought of freshenin(...)'

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Sabbatical

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 4/20/2013 8:44:00 PM

'Gonna be off the social network for an indefinite while... some 'only me' contemplative time. An apology to all those who have been trying to contact me via emails, IMs and phone-calls... I have been even more elusive than usual... and the possibility is that I will be incommunicado for an undecided period.In the meantime, all you lovely people, have fun and enjoy loads... :)© Surya Murali'

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Sniffle...Cough... Aarrgh... World Record Update!

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 2/20/2013 7:35:00 PM

'I have the flu... or whatever viral attack that involves excessive coughing, a painful throat and bouts of fever.Been over a week now, I haven't been able to work on any of my projects and that is really irking me. So, am not just unwell, I am highly irritable.But, I just got a little surprise. I had taken part in the a Guinness World Record Attempt in November 2012, the record was made and for a while I hadn't heard anything about it other than some info on Malayalam newspaper(...)'

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…

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 2/9/2013 6:08:00 AM

'Image Courtesy - Google Search“You look lovely,” he said.She smiled as she buckled her seat-belt… and whispered a thanks.He started the car and drove silently for a few minutes… he looked at her as she sat relaxed looking straight ahead… the hint of a smile still lingering at the corners of her mouth.“You know, in school, you were the most desired girl,” He said in a matter-of-fact way.A sense of déjà vu washed over her… she turned to look at him, searching his eyes as she remembere(...)'

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Fifty Shades Trilogy

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 2/8/2013 1:52:00 PM

'I finally dragged myself through all three books of the Fifty Shades series, after an intriguing start.Here is my review of the much sold and much read trilogy of kinky romance.Book 1: Fifty Shades of GreyThis book started with some promise. I thought it would be a breezy read in spite of expecting all the cheesiness most romantic novels abound in between their covers. I started off finding myself reflecting some of the feelings of Anastasia Steele, the female lead of the book and w(...)'

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And the Liebster goes to…

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 2/3/2013 5:48:00 PM

'So… I have been nominated for the Liebster Award. After a few searches on Google and after visiting the blog of Ashish who nominated me, I found that it is a blogger to blogger award. Well, looks like a few people actually read my blog. And here I thought I was just using my blog as some sort of public diary! The Liebster blogger has to follow a certain protocol if nominated… the instructions being:Post 11 things about yourself.Answer 11 questions set by the nominator.Choose 11 dese(...)'

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Scary Or Die

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 2/3/2013 3:48:00 PM

'Clowns are scary. Long before I got acquainted with Pennywise in It by King, as a young kid in the circus audience, I have found clowns creepy. The heavy make-up and the slapstick… they just make me wanna hide for cover. Though, I wouldn’t say I am coulrophobic, I am assuredly not a fan of clowns. So, quite naturally I was intrigued by the poster above and decided to check the movie out. That’s one scary clown and what better than a horror movie that plays upon a hidden fear of your(...)'

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7x7x7x7 Poem: Warrior Woman

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/28/2013 1:09:00 AM

'On a friend’s blog (Deepa’s Kaleidoscope) I came across this little project...Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf. Open it up to Page 7. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a poem that begins with that sentence and limit it in length to 7 lines. She wrote a lovely little poem and I thought I should try something out too. Now, I don’t do creative writing or poetry unless it has something to do with my personal feelings… all the previous poetry on this blog has been just th(...)'

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Dreams Of Wanderlust

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/26/2013 5:02:00 PM

'To travel far and wide, to see all sorts of places, to experience different cultures, to engage in a few adventures… the desires of this heart are many. Yet here I am confined to the four walls of my room, with a rare trip to the nearby mall to break the monotony of my routine life. To ease the chaffing of the invisible chains that bind me I turn to books. They have become my windows to the outside world, the sky in which my imagination takes wing… and they have been my means of tra(...)'

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Baking Blues!

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/25/2013 5:22:00 PM

'I don’t really cook… never had the need to. I love watching cookery shows… and sifting through recipes. Mom says that is because I do have little cook inside me trying to claw its way outside and get snappy with some dishes. She can say that… she loves cooking and is an awesome cook. Though I can cook if I want to, I don’t have the patience for it. With mom insisting that I should once in a while step in to the kitchen and don the apron for some actual cooking instead of to just fil(...)'

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Subterranean

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/24/2013 5:43:00 PM

'Subterranean is James Paul Czajkowski’s first action-adventure novel… or his first novel under the pen-name James Rollins.And so I forgive him for the truckload of clichés and dumb characterization in the novel. I like James Rollins’ work a lot… I find his novels are perfect adrenalin pumpers with the right amount of true science, sci-fi, action and adventure. Subterranean has all that too… but it still falls short of what I have come to expect from Rollins. Since it is his first bo(...)'

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The Seventh Scroll

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/22/2013 7:27:00 PM

'There is something about Wilbur Smith… and the subjects he chooses to write about. Add to that the magic of Africa and you have a perfect work of fiction… one that makes you hang on to every word until the last.The Seventh Scroll was the first WS novel I ever read and that was some 16 years back. Then, I had no idea it was part of a series… but realized it only when I got to the end of the book. I was in a mood to revive some of those memories… of archaeological excavations, of guer(...)'

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Happy Birthday to me!

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/18/2013 4:08:00 PM

'Google gives me my personal birthday doodle (via Google Now) :DThank you everyone for all your lovely wishes! In spite of a fever, I have had a cheerful day and all thanks to you!I am a year older and hopefully a bit more mature... and I learnt some life lessons too... all your wishes may not come true, everything you want is not always gonna pan out the way you imagine it... but none of that should dampen your spirits. Life pushes ahead and the smile on your face would suffer if yo(...)'

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Keep Safe: A Few Tips

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/17/2013 7:39:00 PM

'I had recently posted about a meeting with the Senior Inspector at the local police station and how he engaged us in a chat session where he gave us a few tips to keep us alert and hence safe in some common daily situations.I am listing the tips here since all of you may not be lucky enough to have a considerate police officer in your area.Most of the tips are rooted in common sense and logic, yet a lot of us choose to ignore them and on someday a criminal takes advantage of our ign(...)'

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A New Hue of Hope: Khaki

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/9/2013 4:37:00 AM

'My passport renewal has had me getting in and out a police station. Most normal people avoid the police station… it is an unfortunate place to be, whatever side you are on. But is it really that bad?While I was waiting it out at the station for my passport verification, along with some 20 other people, I had a fine experience. This post is about that little meeting that happened that made me feel that Coldplay may have been completely right… Everything’s not lost!When the 20 or so o(...)'

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The Passport Ordeal

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 1/8/2013 3:16:00 PM

'For the past one month or more, I have woken up daily to news that makes it hard for me keep my morning breakfast inside me. Crimes against women, crimes in general, the apathy of lawmakers and politicians, the callous attitude of the keepers of law, the nonsense spewed out when certain idiots open their mouths and the general untoward daily tidings have managed to turn my once heart felt respect for this country to utter disgust.Where once I had hope for a nice future here, I no lo(...)'

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Righteous Anger, Wrong Methods?

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 12/23/2012 11:33:00 AM

'Why do all protests in India border on anarchy? Why is there no proper direction or channelization of people's anger? And why aren't the concerned leaders not responding?Is justice required only for this case... isn't it time the protest be towards rooting out this evil? Is everyone going to happily return home when these men are punished... does it mark an end to all crimes against women?And it is weird that we blame Congress for inaction... no political party in their time has bee(...)'

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Talaash - Review

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 12/3/2012 8:24:00 AM

'Talaash - Movie PosterWriting a review about a movie that is a suspense thriller is like treading a mine-field… one has to be extra careful to not let out anything that might ruin the suspense for others.In any case, here is my opinion about the latest Aamir Khanproduction – Talaash.Talaash is a suspense thriller that sets the tone right from the opening sequence and slowly builds the suspense up frame by frame. Slowly… really slowly we move forward in the story of a police officer (...)'

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Life of Pi

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 12/3/2012 7:22:00 AM

'Life of Pi - Book CoverThe book Life of Pi by Yann Martel is an interesting book. Though written as a fantasy adventure of sorts, it has underlying spiritual and somewhat philosophical undertones. Life of Pi - Movie PosterThe movie of the same name by Ang Lee does not explore that aspect of the narrative. Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’ is solely a CGI supported fantasy adventure which though beautiful to watch feels more suited to a young audience. It lacks the emotional depth of the book and t(...)'

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My First Designing Steps

Author : Surya Murali      Blog : Flawed, Cracked ...But Rare!      Date : 11/27/2012 9:02:00 PM

'I have been working on honing, and in some cases, learning new graphical skills in the past few weeks. So, I have been extensively watching Adobe Illustrated tutorials and working on my existing Photoshop knowledge and basically trying to get a hang of the software beyond basic image editing and digital painting. From a beginner’s point of view, the world of graphical design is quite vast… at times intimidating and there is no limit to creative options. One could branch out into any(...)'

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