Friday, December 11, 2015

The Syrian Refugee

In the early 1950s, during the civil war in Syria, a man by name Abdulfattah Jandali fled Syria, and arrived in USA as a refugee. He later studied in the University of Wisconsin, where he fell in love with Joanne Schieble, a German Catholic. Before they could marry, they had their first child, who they gave up for adoption, and the little boy was adopted by a couple in Wisconsin - Paul and Clara.
Years later, in 2007, the little boy, who by then was a successful businessman, stood on the stage in a high-profile event in San Francisco, with a huge screen behind him, holding up a small device in his hand in a room full of crazy fans - and announced to the world: "Today, we reinvent the phone. We are calling it the iPhone".

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

BRIDGE OF SPIES


BRIDGE OF SPIES
This movie is yet another jewel in Spielberg's crown; perhaps, even the best. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg entertain us with a masterpiece that is perfect in all aspects, and keeps you glued to the screen. Every scene is chiseled to perfection.
The movie is based on a true story that happened in the late fifties when the Cold War was at its peak. While USA and USSR are aggressively spying each other for intelligence about nuclear weapons and military secrets - Tom Hanks, an insurance attorney, gets caught in the middle and ends up as a master negotiator in a two-for-one prisoner swap. The character played by Hanks is that of James Donovan, an attorney who played a vital role in prisoner swap negotiations with USSR and in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
This is not a war film like "Saving Private Ryan", but rather an emotional one touching on the human side of things. The movie has some wonderful dialogues, and Spielberg spins humor into every scene from start to end.
In a scene, a CIA agent tells Hanks to ignore the law and asks him to just follow what the agency says. "There is no rule book here", the CIA agent says. Hanks replies, "You are agent Hoffman, a German descendant. And I am Donovan, an Irish descendant. Do you know what makes us both Americans? It is our constitution".
The backdrop of the movie is so rich with details that it takes us to the mood of the Cold War era.
Spielberg makes his point - how everyone, even a Soviet spy, deserves a fair hearing. 
Amazing movie, don't miss it!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

5 Facebook Resolutions for 2015

1. Be kind to people who send you Candy Crush invite.

2. Don't check Facebook when you're in the dentist's chair. Some things can wait. So, tell him to wait.

3. Make political comments in such a way that none understands which side you are. You never know who gets out of jail and who goes in and when. Yeah!

4. Don't post a status update when you're angry. Relax. Take deep breaths. And then post the same.

5. Be generous in giving Likes. Remember - a smile takes 8 muscles, but a Like just a finger tip. Moreover, research shows people who give more Likes are less likely to get heart diseases*.

*research pending

P.S: I have no idea how many muscles it takes to smile. But remember the golden rule of journalism: "It is perfectly okay to lie to elevate a fact into a sensation".