Looking Back - Where have all the bloggers gone?

Its been ages since I'v blogged....properly.

Except for the occasional rants or updates on our video projects, really haven't written anything proper on this in ages. Kudos to Dee who's still keeping the blog live by some of her occasional posts. Back in the day we used to make it a point to post at least one blog post a week, this used to be our own little hideaway writing about stuff we loved/hated or didn't wanted to publish in person. It was fun to find out comments from other bloggers the next day when you are back in the office, reply back and to read their stories on their own blogs. I've never been a good writer as most of the bloggers I've met personally but I found great joy reading their stuff.

Oh the contributors we had, hope you guys still remember your logins? :) I remember the days when I used to bug Bawa or Foxhound to write posts, as they used to churn out some of the most interesting posts! Haven't seen Foxhound publishing much since the bugger put up his own show which also doesn't seem to have any new stuff. :P Bawa, now graduated from Med School is nowhere to be seen even in real life. :D What happened to Purpleboxers? DRG the one who setup the blog in the first place, I'm sure you agree.

This space used to be full of activity, commenting on other bloggers and counting the number of comments that you might get for your posts! I miss those days. I guess it's all been a part of growing up and as one rightly said sometimes the excitement wears off once you meet the blogger in real life and get to know them. The whole intrigue of posting anonymous is down the drain when their faces are unmasked. Along the years I got to know most of the fellow bloggers who used to read our posts and comment on them. They are a great bunch, ultimately I earned a great set of friends and lost interest in blogging.  haha don't know the correlation between the two though...

Wonder how its now these days? Is Kottu still as hot as it used to be? By the look of it it is. Have the sinhala bloggers multiplied their community even more? Certainly seem so. Wonder how many new friendships have formed and friends discovered?  Or is public Facebook statuses just killing off the anonymous blogs? Hope not.

For me most of the time blogging is just like going off somewhere to put your mind away to be someone else, certain situations it just draws you in and sometimes you totally forget about it. Work, life and a whole lot of things have got in the way of this.  I'm sure most will not even see this unless its on FB.lol  Looking back I can see the transformations many of us have gone through, I'm sure that little .blogspot or .wordpress domain hold a lot of wonderful memories for you.

A Big Shout out to all of you, you know who you are. I'm sure some of you are still at it! Hope you guys are doing well!

Sunrise from Sripada(Adams Peak), taken early this year, nothing to do with the post, but one thing in common, very nostalgic. :)

ගෑනුන් පොඩ් දේටත් වෑඩියෙන් හිතනව නෙවෙයි...

අම්මා එක්ක පොලට ගිහාම, මනුස්සයෙක් මගේ පියයුරු අල්ලුවා. බයට, මම අම්මට කිව්වෙ නෑ - මම, අවු 10

ඉන්ග්‍රීසි පේපෙර් එක ලියල, අම්ම එනකන් ඉන්නකොට, මනුස්සයෙක් ඔහුගේ නිරුවත් යටකය මට පෙන්වීම - මම, අවු 14

බසයේ මගේ පිටුපසේ සිටගෙන හෙත්තිවී ජරා කතාවක් කීම - මම, අවු 14, යුනිෆොර්ම් එකෙන්
ක්ලාස් එකක් ඉවර වෙලා අම්මා ඉන්න කම්, මනුස්සයෙක් මට දිව එලියට දමල බලන් ඉන්නව - මම, අවු 16, යුනිෆොර්ම් එකෙන්
බස් එකේ මගෙ එහා පෑත්තෙ ඉදගෙන, තමන් අල්ල් අල්ල් ඉන්නව. මම දෑකල, නගිටල ගියා - මම, අවු 21
වෑසි දවසක, බස් එකේ, කොන්ඩක්ටර් මගෙ අන්ගේ ගෑවෙමින්, සින්දුවක් කියාගෙන යනවා. මම වස්සේ බසයෙන් බෑස්සා. ඈන්ඩුවා. - මම, 24
"ළස්සන බුරිය" - අවු 25, සුලන්ගට මගේ බ්ලවුස් එක එහාට වුන නිසා.

"මොකද තරහෙන් වගේ? හිනාවෙන්න සුදු... ගෙදර රන්ඩු වුනාද?" - ගිය අවුරුද්දේ
පාරේ අවිදගෙන යනකොට සින්දු කීම... එක එක ඒවා ඈහෙන්න කීම... - හෑම්දාම.

පාරේ යනකොට, මනුස්සයෙක් මගේ ඉස්සරහෙන් එනකොට මට හිතෙන්නෙ ... මෙයා මට මොනව හරි කියයි ද? ඈන්ගට ඒයද? අල්ලයි ද? සමහර විට, මුස්ලිම් කාන්තාවන් වගේ සිරුර සම්පූර්නයෙන් වසාගෙන යන එක වඩා හොන්දයි කියල හිතනව. එත් සහනයක් නෑතුව ඈති.

මෙකද අපේ මහා ලොකු සන්ස්කෘතිය? මගේ ජීන්ස් දෙකද වරද? මම සුදු හින්දද? පාරේ යනකොට ඈත්ත්ටම සහනයක් නෑ.

ගෑනුන් පොඩ් දේටත් වෑඩියෙන් හිතනව නෙවෙයි... අපි එහෙමෙ වෙන්නෙ, අපිට පොඩි කාලේ ඉන්දන් වෙන අපරාද නිසා.

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A campaign by Stop The Violence Sri Lanka

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Colomboscope 2014 Highlights - Video Recaps for the 4 Days

We were able to cover some interesting sessions from this year's Colomboscope. The event which covered a wider range of literature, music, film and dance acts and was held at some interesting venues such as Whist Bungalow in Modara, Rio Cinema in Slave Island and Grand Oriental Hotel in Fort

Here's a recap of some of the interesting sessions we managed to cover, in 4 short video sequences. Also there are two full sessions: Keselmaduwa by Venuri Perera and Terry Riley's "In C" performed by Chamber Music Society of Colombo.

Btw we revamped our website - mathawaada.com have a look and let us know what you think. :)

Enjoy...

Colomboscope Highlights (Playlist)

Keselmaduwa by Venuri Perera 

Terry Riley's "In C" performed by Chamber Music Society of Colombo 
(St. Peter's Church, Fort, Colombo)

The Pavement is Mine.

It's around 7PM and I'm taking a short walk from the Coffee Bean towards St. Bridget's Convent where my husband was to pick me up from. I'm wearing a dress, flat shoes, my handbag, a paper bag in one hand and my phone in the other.

I see a man in trousers and a shirt coming towards me. He looks like any ordinary man in the city.

I hardly think, but I mechanically avoid him to take a longer route, away from the pavement, away from him.

I catch myself doing this and stop in my tracks.

WHY? - in the question my mind asks itself. Why the hell should I mechanically... instinctively... do this? Yes, the dress which I wore to work does make me feel like a bull's eye target painted red and white. A dress which easily reaches down my knees but the mateiral which fits my body a little closer than chiffon would, or cotton would. A dress which does not draw comments in my office - only because the embarrassment of an HR inquiry stops it. I feel my legs are an attraction to the myriad of men in cars on the other side of the road, a sight to gawk at while they wait for the fucking green light to come back on. Men in three-wheelers literally twist back from their seats to look at me - yes, I'm out of your league gentlemen, move on..move on... but all I'll give you is the sight of my 'pretty white legs' which you remind me of in Sinhala while passing by.

The man who's walking towards me is closer. I brace myself, then again I tell my mind to -fuck-this-.

Tell me something mister...whisper something...sing me something under your breath...swing your arm so you'll 'mistakenly' touch me on my thigh...change the course of your path so I'm forced to move onto the gravel. Force me to change MY path which I CHOOSE to walk on.

We are literally steps away. He passes me by. My eyes are on the pavement so I don't have to look at him, looking at me. He doesn't say anything, and our brief meeting is over.

I keep walking. I am relieved. I didn't have to spew a torrent of words which I thought I'd need to. "Modaka? Prashnayakda? Ammala akkala nangila nadda? Angata enne mokada? Monaada ballanne? Parei yana eka eka gaanunta eka eka kiyanne mokada"...words I've practiced and even uttered at.

I am at the place my husband is supposed to pick me up from. Another man passes by, I am pretending to ignore his staring. Stare. From head to toe. Move on fucker.

A nice, fatherly-looking man passes me next. Whatever, I don't trust any of them. Finally, my husband comes and slows the car in front of me. I walk towards it and he moves it further. I keep walking with a wry smile to catch up. He does this three times for fun, I don't lose patience. I finally get in and close the door. A kiss his cheek and say Hi.

Hi.

It's good to be with him. A man. Because sometimes, its tiring being a woman.

In reply to the Speaker's appalling words. Happy belated Women's Day, Sri Lanka.

A Quick Guide to Camping in Horton Plains

The idea behind this post is to offer a quick insight into the 3 campsites in Horton Plains. We had camped out on campsites 1 and 2 in the past several years, but this year when we wanted to camp out on site 3, we weren't able to find any detailed comparisons on all three sites. So as I have been able to camp out on all 3 sites thought of drafting this breif post on the 3 campsites in Horton Plains.

To put things in perspective this is the latest update from January 2014.

Booking the Campsites

You would have to visit the Wild Life Department Office in Battaramulla to make a reservation to any of these campsites. It would cost you LKR 2500 per day, and you could accommodate upto 10 people. If you are travelling by a vehicle they will charge you a vehicle fee at the park entrance which would be around LKR 280.

Wildlife Offce Contact Number - 0112888585

Getting There

If you are travelling through public transport, its advised to take the Fort-Badulla train and get off at Pattipola or Ohiya stations, from there its a ascending hike of around 9kms, but if you are taking a TukTuk it will cost around LKR 1500-2000, which is worth-it if you are carrying lot of camping gear.

A rough map of the 3 campsites in Horton Plains

Horton Plains Campsite 01

This is the closest campsite to the Wildlife Conservation Office. This is my favorite camping site out of all 3. If you are camping for the first time I would recommend to book this. It doesn't have much space to camp out, but has easy access to constantly running stream of water, which will make your life much easier. It is also completly sealed off from the public eye, giving you much privacy.

The campsite is located on a small island like strip of land with water on three sides.

Getting there - below is the campsite 1

Best thing about campsite 1, a great flowing stream just next to your site.

campsite 1, its covered by the stream from all other 3 sides.

Horton Plains Campsite 02

You could camp here if all other options are out. This campsite is located just across the hiking path to World's End, so you will have visitors passing by your campsite during the daytime. So you will not have much privacy unless you are inside the tent. However, this campsite is located closer to the Chimney Pool, which is a great place to have a wash and a bath.

But I would recommend to avoid this if possible as this doesn't have much privacy and on a weekend the path would get really busy with visitors.But if privacy is not a concern it is a great place to camp as it has easy access to running water.

campsite 2 - Water Bund at campsite 2 (other than privacy, its a great place to camp)

Horton Plains Campsite 03

This campsite is located between campsites 1 and 2, and has a lot of space to setup your tent. However, the only downfall here is that you would have to walk around 100 meters along the water stream to get to a decent place to have a wash, as water just in-front are stagnant and  harder to access.

Since its not covered by larger mountains like on campsite 1, it has a great view at night and in the morning.

Campsite 3 is seen ahead, this is from the path to campsite 1 which is to the right

Campsite 3 is seen ahead- the picture is taken from where you can get access to running water, so you would have to walk a bit to have a good wash

General Tips 

• All campsites are located within around 500ms from the Horton Plains Wildlife Centre and all sites consist of a permanent toilet (squatting) and garbage disposal facilities.

•  If you have a lot of equipment to carry its best to get there before afternoon so you can setup your camp and be prepared for any weather changes.

• No plastics or polythene is allowed within the park, the officers at the gate would check your bags occasionally but are not that strict, in any case if you bring any plastics please make sure to dispose them accordingly at the garbage pit at the site, don't leave them scattered in the campsite.

• Nights in Horton Plains will get really cold, so make sure that you take enough warm clothes including socks and warm gloves if possible.

• Make sure to take a raincoat, as it rains often, you would at least get caught in a small drizzle.

• You are not allowed to make campfires, but the officers would not come to check on it at night but it its advised to take a gas-cooker to cook food ( with smaller gas cyclinder) as it is harder to make fires with the constant mist and rain.

If you are further looking for some solid advise on camping, traveling and sightseeing across Sri Lanka the best place I would recommend the awesome travel community Lakdasun (lakdasun.org). It has a massive load of trip reports and a helpful forum where you can get loads of information. We managed to speak to one of its founding members, Mithila years ago, and you can check out that video on Idea Pettiya.

Special Thanks to Kelum, Varuna, Thinu & Thisara for the pics from our trips through the past few years.

Happy Camping Everyone!

One week in Nepal - things to do

Here's my quick guide to Nepal, where I was incidentally, last month.

1. Firstly, get to Nepal through Delhi because there aren't any direct flights from Colombo at all. CMB to DLH is about Rs. 50,000 +/- and DLH to Kathmandu would be about Rs. 15,000 on a budget flight like Indigo. (Indigo is the most AWESOME budget airline EVER). Get a data sim at the airport.

When you get to Nepal, you'll probably hang out somewhere in Kathmandu. It's actually a lot like Sri Lanka!

Heaven!

2. A touristy place to stay in would be Thamel or Patan (I hear). Its like Negombo times 100. Lots of bars, restaurants, bakeries, jazz bands in corners - you name it. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. Mostly cheap though, say you'd pay about Rs. 600 for a cocktail. Something like that. A great place to meet fellow travelers, buy little trinkets to take home and just breath in the coolness of it all.

3. Next, go to a Himalayan viewpoint. It's best to view the sunrise of sunset. Nargarkot takes about 1 hour from Kathmandu and is really beautiful (and bloody cold). There are about 5 such viewpoints to visit if you like.

4. People watch. Nepalese people are sweet and a lot like Sri Lankans. The cities are very commercial though, even the temples. I didn't really get the peaceful feeling when I visited a lot of them...they even have restaurants and trinket shops inside the temples sometimes. Apart from that, there's a LOT of beautiful wood and metal work and art to go ape over. (If that's your thing)

5. Get to Pokhara. It's like the Kandy/ Nuwara Eliya of Nepal. Its about 300KM but takes about 5-6 hours in a rented car and Rs. 15,000 for about 4-5 passengers. I'm told you can fly there for about Rs. 5000pp...not sure about that though.

In Pohkara? Great. Try Paragliding. You literally run and jump off the face of a mountain. The parachute drags you back but you have to keep going, hoping for the best. The initial flight is terrifying but you get your air legs back and it's quite rad. A must try. One trip would cost about $90 +/-

 
6. Visit Davis Falls in Pohkara, visit the adjoining cave of Davis Falls. It's quite magical. Davis? A Swiss lady who died there. :(

Nepal is most water-rich country in the world after Brazil. You can see a lot of gorges, lakes and rivers which are super click-worthy. (BUT WHY do people litter so?!) Also, have authentic Tibetian food in Pohkara. They also have a lot of Tibetian art and handicrafts close to the Tibetian Refugee Settlement. Close to the SOS Children's Village.

7. Back in Kathmandu? Visit Bhakthapur/ Durbar Square, a 17th century royal square where ancestors of those who built it still live today. Get a guide for about Rs. 500-1000 and get him to take you around. The Karma Sutra carvings are ahem!... (All these sights are quite close by, so take a cab from the street and haggle for a acceptable price! DO NOT take hotel cars... Rs. 3000 IS a rip off)

 8. Buy a Thanka and a Singing Bowl. Thankas are traditional Tibetian/ Nepali/ Buddhist art. No, I didn't buy the one below.

9. Visit Swayambhunath and Boudhanath temples - ancient sites sacred to Newar Buddhists and Hindus alike. Remember to read up on the history of the temples, you don't get guides there. They are also close together and a street cab is the best bet.

Well, those are my tips for a short trip to Nepal. Of course there's a million other things you CAN do, like trekking, volunteering, travelling to other cities, bungee jumping, going native or smoking up (yes, it's everywhere and very pungent). I really think we only scratched the surface of Nepal and did a lot of touristy things and there's a lot more to discover.

Oh and the food? Looks a lot like Sri Lankan/ Indian cuisine but about 5 shades blander. Not something to crave after :) 

Happy traveling!

Crossing Beyonds - My timelapse project from India

Just finished off uploading my first proper timelapse short, with footage from Manali, Ladakh and Kashmir. These are truly amazing places, Ladakh in particular is simply breathtaking. Called the Moonland, the feature thumbnail of the video is also from Ladakh overlooking the Indus Valley.

Planing to write more on the travels to India and also on time-lapse videos on some later posts. Hope you will enjoy the video, feel free to let me know your feedback.

 
Crossing Beyonds (Timelapse Short) from Mathawaada on Vimeo.

Royalty free Music for Filmmakers and Other Projects

Recently I have been involved in editing one of our short documentaries and was trying to get some good music to compliment the visuals. Obviously the best option is to work with a composer to get the right music done for your requirement, but for many of us independent filmmakers this can be tough and costly. But luckily there are many like-minded musicians who would like to collaborate and who would like to allow their music to be used for free, its just that you need to locate the right site.

I did some research and these are some good places you could try and find some good royalty free music for both commercial and non commercial purposes.

YouTube Audio Library
www.youtube.com/audiolibrary

Launched in September 2013, this place features some great music that can be used for both commercial and non-commercial projects. Its a great initiative by Youtube, where even musicians and artists can submit their work to be featured.

mobygratis

www.mobygratis.com

Moby started to give out some of his awesome music to filmmakers for free several years back. Now the site has been updated and relaunched to offer a large number of tracks from his album. You could apply for a track and it will take only 24hrs to get approved most of the time. 

Free Music Archive

freemusicarchive.org

Personally this is the best place for me. Free Music Archive is a great initiative, where you would find a wide variety of music for your projects. It also arranges music under "curator" categories where the admins does a great job in bringing music from creative commons licenses as well as other reputed organisations into one place. Its also a great place to discover free music!

There are two more places that I would recommend,

Jamendo

www.jamendo.com/en

This is a great place to discover great free music! Since almost of of the music here are licensed under creative commons you can find tracks for non-commercial projects for free. You could also contact the artists directly and see if they are willing to give their music to your projects. 

Vimeo Music Store

vimeo.com/musicstore

Vimeo started off a music store for filmmakers as well. This site features both paid and free music that you can use for your projects. I haven't really used this directly but since its vimeo it should have some great tunes in thier library.

What do you think of the above sites? Are there any other sites which you have had an experience with?

Good luck with your productions!

Black July - Only in knowledge can it be prevented.

This month marks the 30^th anniversary of Black July, I’m not 30 yet, and I wasn't born during that time, though like most youth I grew up with 20+ years of war and destruction. The anti-tamil riots during the month of July in 1983 should never be forgotten.

As kids I remember my parents telling us about how they saw innocent tamils stopped from cars and taken out or how houses were set on fire. My parents who went for their daily jobs in Colombo couldn't do anything but to watch in despair as angry mobs ransacked shops and harassed innocent people.  These killing and violence made a permanent scar in the Sri Lankan society, and any Sri Lankan would clearly know the implications it had on the war and the divide it brought forth.

Any young adult of my age in their 20s or early 30s who grew up in the 90s should clearly know the implications of racial extremism and what destruction a communal riot would bring to this small country. Partly for political mileage or otherwise state media used to shower the public with news and articles about Black July every year for its anniversary. So any kid growing up those days knew of the harm such a riot could bring to a country.

Ironically, it’s sad to see how few extremists seem to ignore this lesson learned and act with no responsibility whatsoever. Particularly the Muslim phobia that some elements try to create is pathetic. Public hate speech, attacking places of worship or businesses are carried out occasionally by a small minority who just want to instigate a clash or a riot. This could spark a communal clash at any moment.

I just finished watching the amazing WWII documentary series  “The Nazis – A Warning from History”, which takes an in-depth look into how Nazi ideology flourished in Germany through propaganda and manipulation and how an entire nation became obsessed with racial purity and domination. Though Sri Lanka can be hardly compared to the Nazi Germany its important to remember the ending notes narrated in its closing episode. It echoes words from Karls Jaspers a prominent German philosopher about World War II and the atrocities that were committed, which I think are pretty much relevant to Black July as well...

"That which has happened is a warning. To forget it is guilt. It must be continually remembered. It was possible for this to happen, and it remains possible for it to happen again at any minute. Only in knowledge can it be prevented."

Kalumaali - The triumphant feat in Sri Lankan English Theater

In my opinion, Kalumaali was the best thing that ever happened to Sri Lankan English language theater. I based this opinion on few factors. One of such factors is that how Ruwanthie D’Chickera shrewdly brought the theme to the reality by the innovative stage usage and brilliantly crafted script. Even she had the luxury of going through the manuscript they prepared with the help of 13 female dramatists in different social strata in her disposal, the language and the content which was inspired by the myriad of present day sociopolitical “dramas” going in Sri Lankan society  surely kept the audience intact and enlightened throughout the drama. Another aspect of Kalumaali which I liked is that it lacked the pretentious melodramatic elements which was amply visible in most of other contemporary English language theater productions in Colombo. It intentionally went away from common roots of fantasy, fables or comedy yet kept the aspects of all those to stress the protagonist’s dilemma of keeping her dreams and family-life alive and intact.

The performance of Lakmini Seneviratne who portrayed the protagonist mother (Dil) of the drama was highly commendable. She was prolific in her delivery, emotions and managed to keep the audience engaged in the plot. The character of the daughter as well as husband’s mother which was portrayed by seasoned Kaushalya Fernando came really well and completed the drama with their subtle satire and few thought-provoking instances. The husband’s role  which was portrayed by a different actor (because of the possible unavailability of the originally cast Peter D’ Almeida) became the only disappointment of the night due to the awkward pauses in his dialogue delivery on several occasions and slight rigidness in his acting. Lack of preparation and rehearsal time might have been the case. Apart from that all the other cast including the character of Dil’s mother; Film Achchi and even backstage crew managed to do the justice for the script in their level best. The background score also added the extra color to the drama on stage but it was downplayed a bit because of the spectators minds were glued to the amazing performance and the story.

If I dig deeper in to the core theme of the drama, as the writers of the drama saw it (which I think), it’s simply the loss of control and ambition among women due to the pressures of current masculine dominated sociopolitical structure of this country. But as a male member of this society, as a guilty party on this phenomenon (without a doubt consciously or subconsciously) I never seen a drama which stresses on the male point of view on this topic on Sri Lankan stage. All the dramas regarding this topic which I have seen in both English as well as Sinhala language (which are directed by mostly males) also depicted the story only from the women’s point of view. But in my theory most of us in these Asian region are raised by women, loved by women and our lives are entirely spent with some form of strong connection with women. So this phenomenon or this issue of feminism should be brought up within women themselves because they play a major part in reforming the entire society to the current state. Kalumaali achieved this for some extent with the help of characters such as Film Achchi, Gedara Achchi and Saki. But I would love to see a different approach or dialogue between male characters; Kalana and the stranger to see the male point of view on this topic rather than portrayal the stereotypical male behavior in the current society. Because of this reason I personally think that engagement of the male audiences with the core theme is somewhat weakened because they were more connected with satiric representation of their everyday role which is recurrent on Sri Lankan Theater

Anyway on an ending note, I would recommend Kalumaali as a thought-provoking novel theater experience specially for the English theater and if you are not seen it already, please grab a ticket when the next show is on because it’s much, much more than worth of the money and time you spend.

New Era in Sri Lankan Cinema - A Dream or Reality?

Yesterday I was able to attend a lecture presented by veteran Sri Lankan filmmaker Ashoka Handagama titled “A New Era of Sri Lankan Cinema - More than a Dream”.  Handagama, not only a well known and controversial director but also a top figure at Central Bank of Sri Lanka working as Director of Communications. Although as a filmmaker, he’s known to focus on controversial issues and had attracted both praises and criticism from different ends, his lecture seem to distance him self from the rebellious character and focused on a detailed and a structured plan on revitalizing the Sri Lankan Cinema Industry.

Kadaunu Poronduwa (1947) considered to be the first Sri Lankan film to be produced 

Sri Lankan Cinema Industry, which flourished and reached its peak in the late 70s, came crashing down during the 80s and was lagging on its knees during the 90s and even now. The number of cinema halls and even the total cinema admissions have reduced drastically compared to the golden age of the 70s. Miscalculated government policies, television and also the communal and social unrest that prevailed during the early and late 80s crippled the once flourished Sri Lankan Film industry with little  hope for a revitalization. Mr.Handagama pointed out some attempts made during the 90s to revitalize the Sri Lankan Film industry, with appointment of a commission to look into the crisis headed by Professor Senaka Bandaranayake. Though the commission report published in 1996 identified several factors that needs to be improved in order to revitalize the industry, these were not properly implemented or practiced. After one and half decades later, Sri Lankan Film industry is at almost non-existent with only a handful of quality films being produced. Local film industry has lost its mass market appeal and few quality halls remaining are invaded withHollywood and Bollywood blockbusters, without much success to the local filmmakers.

An International Film Festival?

Proposal made by Handagama was to revitalize the whole industry by exposing the Sri Lankan Cinema to the International Markets, and vice versa through an extravagant mass scale film festival that would in turn entice enthusiasm about film, promote local productions and also benefit Sri Lankan tourism industry through entertainment tourism. The idea here was to make this film festival, termed “Colombo International Film Festival” which will bring in International films, directors and the film community to Colombo while also promoting selected locally made films during the festival. The event will provide opportunities to promote local productions and networking whilst promoting Sri Lanka as a destination for film locations.

International Film Festivals as a means of promoting and uplifting an industry has worked out well for many countries.  Apart from some of the major film festivals such as Berlin, Cannes, Los Angels there are other festivals such as Dubai, Busan, and Tokyo that have made a great impact in the region where it has helped the film industry of the host country immensely. One main example Handagama presented was the success story of the Busan Film Festival, in South Korea. In 1996 when it was first launched the Korean film industry was virtually unknown in the International arena, however, within few years, Korean films reached its golden era where many Korean film directors were able to make a name for themselves globally. It also helped the country to revitalize its industry and helped grow enthusiasm amongst the general public, where by now Korean Film Industry has become one of the top globally. This model has now become a favored strategic implmentation that has been picked up by many other countries as well, some of the examples are film festivals such as Hanoi, Indian.

The practical application of this model is yet to be taken up by relevant parties as this is just a proposed plan and suggestions. In the Sri Lankan context it may not be as easy as the Korean scenario and in terms of sustainability and profitability there may be questions. However, it’s great to see a new bold way of thinking has gone into this, where Mr.Handagama with his experience in the film industry and also as in his role as a banker had devised a fresh plan to uplift the film industry in the country. Of course this is just a first step in a long journey, however if this can be implemented correctly, this might very well be the spark that can reignite the Sri Lankan Film Industry back to its former glory.

The Last Stand

Is it a comeback for Arnold or massive failure? In terms of a Schwarzenegger movie it's a roaring success. For the 65 year old actor he makes a very good comeback considering his limited acting abilities.

The film initially has two parts, one being a CIA operation in Los Angeles and the transport of a federal prisoner and the second is about a small town Sheriff (Arnold) and the town he lives in complete with an inept police department. Naturally the prisoner escapes custody and meanwhile strange characters show up in the small town.

From the opening scene itself the movie holds high promise and holds a certain amount of suspense that it manages to hold throughout the film. Credit should go here to the director (Jee-woon Kim), cinematographer (Ji-yong Kim)and the composer (MOWG) all of whom are Korean. The only area where this doesn't hold true are in the villain's scenes which continuously break the suspension of disbelief that is built up very well everywhere else in the movie.

Scenes in LA are very reminiscent of The Dark Knight robbery both in terms of the way it's shot and the musical score. But then again that film was heavily influenced by the film 'Heat'. Regardless this is the style used for these parts of the film.

There are plenty of car sequences in the movie, with the second by far being the best and if you ever wondered what a 'Need for Speed' movie would look like this scene would be a good indicator.

Latter car sequences look like they straight came from Bollywood in terms of their implausibility and are easily the worst parts of the film. Though there is one interesting game of cat and mouse. It's an all American Muscle affair which is not a bad thing. Sections where cars blaze down the road put the fifth entry of the Fast and the Furious series to shame.

Now on to Arnold. His performance is much as can be expected though its certainly better than in Expendables 2. He delivers one liners in spades. His action sequences are heavily toned down which is a good thing considering his age. Beyond that it's pretty much standard Arnie. He hasn't really gotten any better. Other actors with notable performances are Peter Stormare and Forest Whitaker who really help add credibility to the film.

The shootouts in the film are all well done with very believable tactics being used including and cover and suppression fire. There are also minute sniper on sniper battles which I haven't seen since since 'Enemy of the Gates'. In these shootout sequences everything is very plausible and all of the film's high points take place in the town.

There is also a steady supply of light hearted moments which convey the fact that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. This is a good thing considering the lead actor.

The biggest weakness in the movie is easily the villain. It's a seemingly large blight on an otherwise very enjoyable film given the scale of his scenes in comparison to the movie. Still definitely worth a watch especially if you ever liked Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Why Mr. Anderson?

The Matrix Revolutions is the third part in the Matrix Trilogy. While both the second and third films lack in substance and are generally far inferior to the original movie, there are moments when you think 'oh... there is something good going on here'.

In Revolutions (spoilers ahead - but this is an old movie) everything leads up to one big final confrontation. During this scene we are treated to a superb monologue from Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). This is one of those scenes that actually make you pause and consider.

Walking in to this final battle Trinity ( I suppose you could call her Neo's soulmate) has already given her life so that Neo can complete his task. In the second film he asks the Oracle "What happens if I fail?" to which she replies "Then Zion will fall." Zion being the last human city on Earth.

Keeping all this in mind Neo enters the Matrix to fight Agent Smith in one major final confrontation. They fight and Neo takes more of a beating then Smith. He gets up, spits out blood before taking up a defiant fighting stance in what is a homage to the first film.

The fighting continues until finally... Neo is defeated.

This is the scene that immediately follows:

Many would say that Neo's reply is stupid, and it is what I initially thought, but when you keep everything that has happened in the two films in mind it makes sense. Smith states "Why keep fighting? You must be able to see it Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win... it's pointless to keep fighting." And that's where Neo's answer makes sense. Instead of choosing capitulation he chooses to keep fighting.

I believe that life is full of choices. At any given moment we always have a choice. Sometimes people say that they didn't have a choice. But here is a line from a different film that has been adapted from the original book:

"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." Albus Dumbeldore - Goblet of Fire the film.

Shortly after this scene Neo dies. But so does Agent Smith.

Expendables 2

Bigger, Badder and Better.

The first and most important thing to say is that this movie is vastly superior to the first. Everything is just plain better from the dialogue to the action scenes.

Actions scenes really have to be given a mention as the action sequences in the first film were severely underwhelming. In this film we have much more personal encounters that are well choreographed especially in one particular scene that takes place in a small town. This is where the action sequences really take off and hark back to the glory days of the 80's action flick.

There are also numerous scenes where the 'Good Guy's' just stand around guns blazing 24-7 with people falling front, left, right and centre. These are easily my least favourite sequences in the film. In the aforementioned town scene gun bursts are tight and controlled which makes for a far more interesting action sequence overall instead of non-stop guns blazing.

Jean Claude Van Damme really shines in his first scene as a villain who is quite naturally of Belgian/French ancestry which allows him to just act without being hindered by the way he talks. It's a smart move and his first scene shows that he can act in comparison to the other actors in the movie. Sadly he doesn't get nearly enough meaningful screentime and I felt that he was a bit underpowered as a villain despite showing off his trademark kick several times.

Liam Hemsworth also deserves a special mention as he is easily the best actor in the entire film and steals the show in several scenes. However even he can't save the film from plain bad writing in certain sections. Overall his segments are somewhat stronger than the rest.

Certain cameos are much better than others. The humour is also significantly better in certain segments especially the Chuck Norris joke which I laughed at once during the actual scene and again when I remembered it at the end. Some of the action sequences were also funny, some of which was intentional and some of which wasn't. The same could be said for Stallone's acting.

I have to say Arnold Schwarzenegger really didn't seem to have his heart in this film at all, or he just plain can't act. Not sure which it is. Bruce Willis is interesting but never really hits home. There was however *some* good dialogue between Willis and Arnold.

Overall I'd have to say the film is worth a watch just to get a kick.  It doesn't try to be Citizen Kane and doesn't pretend to be either. It certainly doesn't take itself seriously and has it's moments amidst some cringeworthy ones. If you ever liked or laughed at the long gone glory days of the 80's action flick, you should definitely check it out.

It Figures

See this wonderful figure? It may appear to be a piece of plastic or a toy to most of you. To me it is more of an effigy than a toy and it embodies the essence of a character especially if it is well crafted. After all it is the end user that dictates how an inanimate object is used.

But sadly you cannot buy this figure even if you wanted to. Why not you ask? The reason is simple. It’s what’s known as a custom job. Due to the less than stellar performance of the film ‘Dredd’ in cinemas no official figures were produced or no plans were made to do so prior to the film’s release.

So what this enterprising individual has done is build a custom figure. This is achieved by purchasing different action figures and gutting them for parts which are then modified. That is why the attention to detail on it is quite frankly exemplary. Since only one is produced the craftsmen can apply lots of love and dedication to his final work. Most mass produced figures do not have such caring hands behind their creation as they are produced on a factory line in the thousands.

This figure is pretty impressive and like many of its size has many points of articulation that allows for great posing opportunities.

You can find the original thread about it here:
http://www.toyark.com/judge-dredd-karl-urban-4-inch-custom-112647/

I am Legend.

Interpretation. It is key to how we perceive the world that we live in. A specific set of events can occur but two people can walk away with completely different conclusions.

Let me give you a real example. I recently dusted off my brothers copy of Richard Matheson's I am Legend. Having seen the film many years ago I decided that I would definitely read it. I dived in and was hooked pretty much from the start.

Meanwhile I listen to the radio occasionally when at work. I hear Julian Marley is going to have a concert covering his father's songs. I don't think much of it since my feeling is that I'm not that in to Bob Marley. But as I keep being bombarded with the constant radio adverts I start to think that the songs are actually known to me, just that I have yet to make a mental association with the artist. I'm thinking maybe I should actively go and listen to some Marley.

I continue to read I am Legend and find myself unable to put the book down especially as it gets to its exciting climax. The Marley concert passes and is over. I complete the book and notice how it has deviated heavily from what I remember in the film. So I decide to re-watch the film to glean new insight and perhaps have a more complete experience.

I get the film and begin to watch. Early on Will Smith is driving in his car listening to what seems to be a familiar song. Yep it's Bob Marley. In fact there are a total of four Bob Marley tracks featuring in the film and Smith's character sings his songs on more than one occasion. There is also one scene where Smith's character berates another's complete ignorance of Bob Marley and proceeds to play his music. He then goes on to explain the significance of the artist, his lifestyle and philosophy. One of his songs also plays in the end credits to top it all off.

Another scene involves Smith's character arguing with the female lead in the film. She believes that she came just in the nick of time to save Smith's characters life and that everything was happening for a reason. That it was all the will of God. Smith's reply simply is 'There is no God.'

Now this is just a coincidence right? Or is it? Considering that both events occurred in the span of the same two weeks. I leave that up to you to decide. As for me it doesn't really matter. Things happen, the reasons are unknown. Some people choose to believe it's all just coincidence whilst others choose to believe that a divine hand is at play.

Who knows. I'm just going to go listen to some Bob Marley.

What's App Doc!

As many of you are already aware is that there is a SMS substitute software called What's App. After having been requested to use it by a work client who informed me he was stepping out of office I installed it on my phone.

Obviously it's needs a net connection to run. At work I can use Wi-fi at the expense of battery power. Essentially I can communicate with this client for free even when he no longer has access to Skype.

He gives me his phone number and then communication carries on. All the while I'm thinking what is the point of this app beyond communicating to people overseas. And yet people are using it even locally.

Some advantages obviously are group chats, sending images and other attachments though this will cost you on your data. However you always need to keep your data/wi-fi connection on unless you keep checking it at regular intervals. Doing this severely reduces the battery life of any device whereas sticking to traditional SMS has no impact on battery whatsoever despite the cost.

Now in an effort to embrace technology I've kept my wi-fi connection on and used what's app. The problem is my battery keeps draining at a much higher rate requiring me to charge once a day.

Also for some strange reason there is no iPad app. This way I could have switched off my Internet on my phone and left the ipad on which is anyway always on when at home. But apple or the developers have prevented this for some strange reason (yes jailbreaking will work). You can however keep it running on a Windows machine or tablet in addition to a Mac. iPod touch is also supported. So there is a win there if you want to stay connected permanently. None of these are official as far as I know except for the iPod touch.

You might have noticed that other popular Social Media platforms started on the web and eventually had a mobile version. When you're at home you can just use your machine. By default this is not how What's App is intended though it would seem to be a smart move to market it that way.

As it stands you need to be connected to the Internet on your mobile device constantly to receive information in a timely manner. When you consider this SMS seems to win out as you are guaranteed delivery though at a higher cost. For people who regular text people such as their boyfriend/girlfriend you do find other alternatives from mobile providers. So what I'm asking you is, is there any real point to What'sApp?

It has been cited that Whatsapp is cheaper which is most certainly true especially if you mange your data correctly. However What's App is not free giving users a year to try it on Android and Windows platforms while Apple users have to pay from the get go. Sure it's only $0.99 but are you actually willing to pay for it?

On the whole this doesn't seem like an SMS killer. Most non users I mentioned the app to suggested using gtalk or Facebook as alternatives instead.

What do you think?

The Hapless Jew

The humiliated and humbled Jew or Christ of German Matthias Grunewald’s iconoclastic The Mocking of Christ - he has not the divinity of a charlatan or the exuding of some messianic charm, no kingly jest or witty repartee like Socrates to impart, no romantic Hollywood aura or charismatic halo about him, no premonitory brave defiance fitting of a martyr, no passionately clenched fists, in short he has been broken and he has given up, his hands instead are hapless, hanging loose and lax like erogenous conductors splayed toward his neighbours, showing perhaps the only vital signs of life, as he may, just may have been trying to communicate the word of God by touch like in The Creation of Adam as he soon would be mounted for posterity as the invisible hand, while the one extended foot has bulging serpentine nerves lassoed about jutting and poking bones also like a terrain of power pylons, all portending instead an image from the Arab Spring, a panic stricken and terrorized man literally shitting his pants in a moment of extreme unction and agony being dragged kicking and screaming, making a last ditch attempt at communicating a muted plea bargain with a bowed and slanted head with his mouth lidded and puckered towards a largely unappreciative audience of open mouthed vampires in a bloodthirsty stupor, each face filled to the brim with glee, leering at this spectacle of festivity, while that white blindfold symbolizes not only the crown of thorns but also that ever hunted blind deception of Aryan life – the ideal, one of purity and cleansing in this the hour of the merchants and their coronation, the bloody coronation of a godly con or ungodly son.

- Ruwan Laknath Jayakody

Girl Scouts/Guides are badass

Sorry for the constant copy pasting but I thought this article was brilliant and made me feel all warm inside for being a girl guide for so many years! It truly is a wonderful, empowering organisation for young girls and I can't wait to make my kids join and become girl scouts one fine day!

 

•  From Why I Will Always Be A Girl Scout (Even Though I Never Was One)
•   The founder, Juliette Gordon Lowe, believed so much in the Scouts that she sold her jewelry to finance the first troop. This was in Savannah – one of the coolest cities in the world as far as I’m concerned – but well before women could even vote, and certainly not a mecca for any kind of Women’s Lib.
• The Girl Scouts were one of the first organizations to include the disabled within their ranks, doing so in the first decade of their institution.
• At first, the badges were admittedly a little twee – Child Nurse, for example. But by the 1920s, girls could earn their Economics badge and Interpreter badges. Today, the badges reflect not only self empowerment but social activism. For example, a girl could earn the Inside Government badge, The Entertainment Technology badge, the It’s Your Business, Run it! badge or the Social Butterfly badge, which teaches girls how to navigate friendships in real life and online.
• In a time when girls were supposed to sit around and do needle point while praying for a husband, the Girl Scouts encouraged young women to get outside, be active and learn survival skills in the wild.
• The Scouts are encouraged to reach out beyond their immediate social circle. Leaders include girls whose moms are in jail or who are in the Foster Care system.
• Martin Luther King gave the Scouts props for pushing desegregation on a national level. The first black Troupe was founded in 1917 and the first Native American Troupe in 1921. While ridiculously, laws did not allow these groups to mix with the white girls, the Scouts found a way by holding summer camps all over the country that integrated the Troupes and encouraged inter racial friendships.
• When a 7-year-old transgendered girl was initially denied entry into her local GS Troupe, the national headquarters started the conversation about what it meant to be a girl. Not long after, they pronounced that anyone who identified themselves as a girl was welcome to join the Girl Scouts, and the little girl did join her local Troupe.
• In 1992, girls were allowed to replace the Under God part of the girl scout pledge with any Deity they chose, including, for the atheists, Humanity.
• Famous alumni? Check: Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright, Gloria Steinham, Sandra Day O’Connor, Martha Stewart (of course), Barbara Walters and Taylor Swift (like, last year?).
• Crazy right wing conspiracy people hate the Girl Scouts… Why, you ask? They think they are pushing a feminist liberal agenda and brainwashing young girls. One church in Virginia even banned them from having meetings in their basement because they actually said they were giving out Jr. Abortion badges (do I really need to say they weren’t?). Even if they were in cahoots with Planned Parenthood (which they are not), I love the fact that a gathering of girls who are looking to empower themselves and reach out to all members of their community is threatening to these whack jobs.

Need I say more? Such badassness! 

The Naked Mara

Never has the irate personality and the very public comodification of insanity and the catatonic de rigueur that dwells within madness been articulated in a more terrifyingly blunt, brutally visceral, scathingly wrenching, hauntingly isolated and privately agonizing manner as in my personal favourite Francisco Goya’s 'Saturn Devouring His Son', 'Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)' from the Black Paintings, ‘Witches’ Flight’ and in the 'Yard with Lunatics' (in the order of presentation below), all painted from the interior while in a frenzied fever dream of a very private purgatory. 

Saturn Devouring His Son

Note the limpid, gaping and bulging orifices of an agitated and exuberant Saturn, engulfed in the piety of an almost necrotic darkness which poses his pitiful plight with a somnolent aura, as he holds his son’s vertebrae in a vice like grip almost like breaking bread in half in this cannibalistic painting (first in the present order) done on a wall, while the second painting also done on a wall, with Satan and a coven of witches in a disarrayed pentagram exuding a sense of disorientation is in actuality the artist’s liberal tendencies railing against the conventions of then Spain with parallels that can be seen later echoed in Salem and in McCarthyism. 

Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)

Witches’ Flight

Yard with Lunatics

The final painting, well it is the wracking sweat of a nightmare, with the calisthenics of despair in a visual mutiny of a very acute and palpable spasm of fear. In our darkest hour.

- Ruwan Jayakody