State of disappointment, I'm afraid

Crichton, is out with his new book, The State of Fear. Have been reading a lot about the book and Crichton, as a result.


I am actually in awe of Crichton. A graduate in medicine, he is 62 years old, looks 30, almost 7 feet tall and has done it all - written best sellers (most made into blockbuster movies), produced award winning TV series (ER), directed movies and won accolades for many more things.


I have always liked his attention to detail and his ability to even make the most unbelievable hypothesis into a certain fact. I have read Jurassic Park, Lost World (I thought the book was far better than JP and both movies), and Timeline and they were excellent reads. His research and depth of knowledge is truly amazing. In Timeline, he talks of teleportation and quantum computation, and that theory certainly needs to be paid some heed. At least it caught my fancy then


Anyway, State of Fear talks about how Global Warming is all a hogwash started by eco-terrorists for their own personal gain. In spite of his right leanings and even though, the threat to the environment cannot be dismissed, Crichton certainly has a point or two about alarmists coming up with "End is nigh" theories that are not based in science. He talks about how most predictions are completely meaningless. This is certainly a polished speech as his proof.



I suppose we need to take everything in this world with a pinch of salt (and there's enough of it for everyone's pinch)



Talking about things closer home, Swades has turned out to be a big disappointment (reviewers say). I was keenly tracking the progress of this movie and hoped that it would fare well. Here was a movie that wasnt going to go over the top with all the typical Hindi flim ingredients - jingoism, sabhyataa, sanskriti, Gaajar kaa halwaa, sarson ke khet, loud humour, disjointed storylines. Well, its isnt but then, it doesnt make a positive film viewing experience either. Sigh! Whats wrong with Bollywood writers and directors. Why cant they come up with a film that one can sit and enjoy or 2 1/2-3 hours? How difficult can that be, when you spend 30 crores on your film.