Okay. First of all, everyone who wants to curse me, please do so. I'll take it gladly for what I'm about to reveal is something so embarrassing that one would wonder how I've lived so long without doing this particular thing.
Here's the thing! I watched the three movies from the Bourne Series for the first time in my life on the 30th of June, 2010. To make matters worse, I watched the second movie first, the 1st movie second and the 3rd, last. How I didn't watch them years ago, I don't know. I really don't know. I admit I was not much into movies but I wouldn't have missed something like the Bourne Series, but it happened. Well, you're reading the 'adventures' of a guy who hasn't watched the Oceans 12, 13 movies or Troy or The Matrix movies yet, who only watched Gladiator, The Italian Job and Avatar a few weeks ago, you get what I'm saying right.. yeah, I can see you get it.
Anyway, coming back to my Bourne Adventure, when I finally watched the Bourne Supremacy in Jim's house, I was so blown away by the awesomeness of the whole plot and storyline. I came home and watched the other 2 movies in quick succession. I just loved every bit of them. Obviously, I knew that these movies were taken from novels so I quickly jumped over to reading them down. I thought reading the novels was more like my thing than watching movies. Well, that was true till kind of lost the habit of reading.
I started off with reading the first of the novels by Robert Ludlum, and it was pretty good. My reading speed reduced to almost a fraction of my original pace (when I used to finish the Rowling, Dan Brown, Meyer books in a matter of hours). I took a few days to finish this novel while loving all of it.
After a gap of 2 weeks or so, I started off with the second novel. This one was a lot slower than the first one and not so interesting too, but I liked it anyway. There was absolutely no relation between the movie and the original novel. It was like reading a completely different story that co-incidentally shared the same name with a few same characters.
That novel was done and now I'll have to move on to the next one in the series. I'm hoping this will live up to the kind of excitement I have in me to read it. I'll come back when it's done.
(Though I don't know when..)
Friday, July 16, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Breathe! Aim! Fire!
My July adventures did not seem to have an end. Just a couple of days after visiting the Hutch Salt Mines, I did another thing I never did before in my life. Here's how it went.
It was a pleasant morning with clear skies and almost no breeze. Perfect day for a Space Shuttle launch? Yeah, but also perfect to test your shooting skills at the ranch!
That's what I got to do with Jim and it added to my Memorable Experiences list. We got to a shooting ranch somewhere out on the west side of Wichita all geared and loaded. I never heard a real gun go off so close to me and I was mildly startled. Some of the shots that others were firing down the range felt like jolts in my body. I took some time to get adjusted to these mini explosions and felt it better to wear the ear protection. Soon we got down to business.
Jim started pulling out his collection that included a .22, a .38 cowboy gun, a .45, and a couple of rifles, one of which was a Swiss one that had the mark of one his own ancestors. Pretty amazing feeling that would be!
We set up the targets and Jim gave me some knowledge about how to handle these arms and told me about the Rules of the Ranch. Never having held a real firearm in my hand, it felt very weird and heavy. The .22 gun was pretty easy to hold and fit well in my hand because of its size but I seriously had no idea about how it would recoil. After struggling to find focus with my eyes, I pulled the trigger. It was quite a bit off the bulls-eye but it actually struck the target. I was surprised. I know for a fact that I don't really have a steady hand (which I found out while taking photographs in low light with higher exposure), but this really surprised me. The rest of the shots were all pretty decent for a first timer. Then came the cowboy gun which was by far, the best suited gun I fired that day. My shots were so damn consistent and so close to target that I wondered if this was some kind of magic. Of course the magic wears off eventually.
The .45 was so heavy and powerful for my hands that I managed to get some shots on the paper but no where near target. One of them actually struck Jim's paper target and a couple of them just missed everything. Whoa! I was plain horrible. Meanwhile, Jim was doing an excellent job with his practice. That wasn't unexpected anyway.
Then came the rifles. I had a struggle with finding a good position to rest my arms for stability. Also the rifle was so long that I couldn't get it to fit between my hands and shoulder. It kept slipping away. After some adjustments here and there, I found a balance and had my go. Because of the supports, my aim was much better than just holding the gun up without support. These recoils were a little more scary because the face is so close to the rifle. But I had fun nonetheless.
After a satisfactory amount of shooting, we decided to call it. My ears were still ringing with the sound of the shots, so I thought I had enough too. I some guys firing .45 automatics at blinding speeds and the sound was just deafening. I wouldn't dare stare up or down the barrel of that gun.
Overall, it was a fun day that gave me an opportunity to do something I never did before in my life. I don't know how often I would be able to do this, but I would definitely love to do more of, Breathe, Aim, FIRE!
It was a pleasant morning with clear skies and almost no breeze. Perfect day for a Space Shuttle launch? Yeah, but also perfect to test your shooting skills at the ranch!
That's what I got to do with Jim and it added to my Memorable Experiences list. We got to a shooting ranch somewhere out on the west side of Wichita all geared and loaded. I never heard a real gun go off so close to me and I was mildly startled. Some of the shots that others were firing down the range felt like jolts in my body. I took some time to get adjusted to these mini explosions and felt it better to wear the ear protection. Soon we got down to business.
Jim started pulling out his collection that included a .22, a .38 cowboy gun, a .45, and a couple of rifles, one of which was a Swiss one that had the mark of one his own ancestors. Pretty amazing feeling that would be!
We set up the targets and Jim gave me some knowledge about how to handle these arms and told me about the Rules of the Ranch. Never having held a real firearm in my hand, it felt very weird and heavy. The .22 gun was pretty easy to hold and fit well in my hand because of its size but I seriously had no idea about how it would recoil. After struggling to find focus with my eyes, I pulled the trigger. It was quite a bit off the bulls-eye but it actually struck the target. I was surprised. I know for a fact that I don't really have a steady hand (which I found out while taking photographs in low light with higher exposure), but this really surprised me. The rest of the shots were all pretty decent for a first timer. Then came the cowboy gun which was by far, the best suited gun I fired that day. My shots were so damn consistent and so close to target that I wondered if this was some kind of magic. Of course the magic wears off eventually.
The .45 was so heavy and powerful for my hands that I managed to get some shots on the paper but no where near target. One of them actually struck Jim's paper target and a couple of them just missed everything. Whoa! I was plain horrible. Meanwhile, Jim was doing an excellent job with his practice. That wasn't unexpected anyway.
Then came the rifles. I had a struggle with finding a good position to rest my arms for stability. Also the rifle was so long that I couldn't get it to fit between my hands and shoulder. It kept slipping away. After some adjustments here and there, I found a balance and had my go. Because of the supports, my aim was much better than just holding the gun up without support. These recoils were a little more scary because the face is so close to the rifle. But I had fun nonetheless.
After a satisfactory amount of shooting, we decided to call it. My ears were still ringing with the sound of the shots, so I thought I had enough too. I some guys firing .45 automatics at blinding speeds and the sound was just deafening. I wouldn't dare stare up or down the barrel of that gun.
Overall, it was a fun day that gave me an opportunity to do something I never did before in my life. I don't know how often I would be able to do this, but I would definitely love to do more of, Breathe, Aim, FIRE!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
650 Feet Underground!!
July was probably my most fun filled month ever in my life. 5th July, just a day after good fun with fireworks, was another long, tiring and fun day. We planned out a small trip to Hutchinson a town about an hour's drive from Wichita. This was the second time we were going to Hutchinson to visit a 'famous' tourist attraction. Hutchinson is tiny, but it's got enough to force you to go a second time..
This time we were taking a tour deep into the Earth. One hell of a scary place if there's no lighting and ventilation! We were going to the famous Hutch Salt Mines where Salt is extracted, mostly for Industrial purposes. Though it's still an active mine, there's an actual Museum and Storage Vault 650 feet underground.
After the short drive, we bought tickets that included a "dark ride". Just moments after entering the lobby at ground level, we did really have a proper dark ride. And I'm talking about "absolute" darkness. There was not a speck of light. Suddenly in this kind of darkness we feel a kind of emptiness though we know there are lots of people standing around us. Once we got to the level we were supposed to get off, the scary sounding elevators opened and we moved on.
The view was close to what I expected and actually better. The floor was flat and done with some kind of a salt-sand mixture. I'm not very sure what that was. The walls were rough and jagged and had beautiful layers. Typical Earth-clock that shows how each era passed layer after layer.. freeze-unfreeze.
We had a guide that kept describing some of the 'phenomena' that would occur this deep down. It was all very interesting. There was a certain patch of darker rock that strangely looked like a sea horse. That was the closest resemblance to any kind of life in such a salt-filled world. Obviously, it wasn't a fossil. Just a random shape that co-incidentally looked like a sea-horse.
The museum was built into the mine or the mine was converted to a museum.. whatever. We came across some of the 'tools' the miners use. 'Tools' is very inappropriate in terms of size. Mega-tools maybe.
As we moved on, we found rock samples that had different compositions. The rest of the displays were pretty general for basic understanding of the Earth's history and evolution.
We finally came to the more interesting part of the tour. An entire Underground Storage Vault that preserved some important stuff for the country. Original drawings, movie costumes (like the ones from Superman, Batman, Charlie's Angels, etc..) and original film roles. Apparently the moisture content here was good enough to preserve these pieces for ages to come. And most importantly, they were free from most natural disasters that occur on the surface. And I don't think an earthquake would occur in the middle of kansas.. just assuming.
Then came the 'Dark Ride'. We hopped onto a small motorized train that was driven by one of the miners. He took us deeper into the mine where there was no lighting. Once again, if not for the train's headlamps, the darkness was absolute. No leaking light anywhere. We were shown how the earth constantly moves inch by inch and how the 40 foot wide pillars the miners left untouched to avoid roof-falls would slowly compress.
We saw and collected more samples and finally got back into the light. There was some interesting merchandise for which I was in no mood to spend. So we made it straight back out and 650 feet up to ground level.
Once out, we wasted no time in finding a restaurant and Bogey's it was. After a typical American lunch, we headed back home. The short drive back was sleepy and tiring. Once I got home, the day was done for good!
This time we were taking a tour deep into the Earth. One hell of a scary place if there's no lighting and ventilation! We were going to the famous Hutch Salt Mines where Salt is extracted, mostly for Industrial purposes. Though it's still an active mine, there's an actual Museum and Storage Vault 650 feet underground.
After the short drive, we bought tickets that included a "dark ride". Just moments after entering the lobby at ground level, we did really have a proper dark ride. And I'm talking about "absolute" darkness. There was not a speck of light. Suddenly in this kind of darkness we feel a kind of emptiness though we know there are lots of people standing around us. Once we got to the level we were supposed to get off, the scary sounding elevators opened and we moved on.
The view was close to what I expected and actually better. The floor was flat and done with some kind of a salt-sand mixture. I'm not very sure what that was. The walls were rough and jagged and had beautiful layers. Typical Earth-clock that shows how each era passed layer after layer.. freeze-unfreeze.
We had a guide that kept describing some of the 'phenomena' that would occur this deep down. It was all very interesting. There was a certain patch of darker rock that strangely looked like a sea horse. That was the closest resemblance to any kind of life in such a salt-filled world. Obviously, it wasn't a fossil. Just a random shape that co-incidentally looked like a sea-horse.
The museum was built into the mine or the mine was converted to a museum.. whatever. We came across some of the 'tools' the miners use. 'Tools' is very inappropriate in terms of size. Mega-tools maybe.
As we moved on, we found rock samples that had different compositions. The rest of the displays were pretty general for basic understanding of the Earth's history and evolution.
We finally came to the more interesting part of the tour. An entire Underground Storage Vault that preserved some important stuff for the country. Original drawings, movie costumes (like the ones from Superman, Batman, Charlie's Angels, etc..) and original film roles. Apparently the moisture content here was good enough to preserve these pieces for ages to come. And most importantly, they were free from most natural disasters that occur on the surface. And I don't think an earthquake would occur in the middle of kansas.. just assuming.
Then came the 'Dark Ride'. We hopped onto a small motorized train that was driven by one of the miners. He took us deeper into the mine where there was no lighting. Once again, if not for the train's headlamps, the darkness was absolute. No leaking light anywhere. We were shown how the earth constantly moves inch by inch and how the 40 foot wide pillars the miners left untouched to avoid roof-falls would slowly compress.
We saw and collected more samples and finally got back into the light. There was some interesting merchandise for which I was in no mood to spend. So we made it straight back out and 650 feet up to ground level.
Once out, we wasted no time in finding a restaurant and Bogey's it was. After a typical American lunch, we headed back home. The short drive back was sleepy and tiring. Once I got home, the day was done for good!
Monday, July 05, 2010
July 4th Special
The whole week just came alive everywhere around me. It was the week of July 4th. I got all kinds of crazy deals by mail. Especially the ones from the Guitar Center were just mouth-watering. It was the week of celebration. By the 2nd of July, things got really moving. It was a new experience to see another country celebrate their Independence, their way.
On the 2nd, we went to a local fair called the Bradley Fair, where there was a live band performing and was accompanied by super-awesomely timed fireworks. We only managed to catch the last 10 minutes of it, but those 10 minutes were the most intense ones. The sky just lit up all over and there were reflections of the fireworks on the calm lake waters just ahead of us. The whole feeling was just... different and the experience, mind-blowing. All the other people, who came in for a nice evening with lawn chairs and food, were applauding the stunning display of light and sound in the sky.
But that was only the 2nd. Then came 4th of July. The real day when everyone tried to push the limits of the State Law regarding fireworks. While most of the fireworks give similar results to stuff I've seen in India all my life during Diwali, there were some really crazy and wild ones and some really silly ones too. Not to forget some awesome ones! Damn, some were not even legal! I had crazy fun that night, mostly watching and taking photographs of the wide array of fireworks that were being shot up into the sky. There were waterproof fireworks which we would drop into a bucket of water and that would explode sending out a big splash of water.. and the ones that went up into the sky were simply mindblowing. Ofcourse fireworks are a pretty expensive affair too..
Overall, it was a great evening, watching and clicking fireworks on the 4th of July. It felt like new found Freedom, looking up into the night sky and being amazed by bursts of light..
On the 2nd, we went to a local fair called the Bradley Fair, where there was a live band performing and was accompanied by super-awesomely timed fireworks. We only managed to catch the last 10 minutes of it, but those 10 minutes were the most intense ones. The sky just lit up all over and there were reflections of the fireworks on the calm lake waters just ahead of us. The whole feeling was just... different and the experience, mind-blowing. All the other people, who came in for a nice evening with lawn chairs and food, were applauding the stunning display of light and sound in the sky.
But that was only the 2nd. Then came 4th of July. The real day when everyone tried to push the limits of the State Law regarding fireworks. While most of the fireworks give similar results to stuff I've seen in India all my life during Diwali, there were some really crazy and wild ones and some really silly ones too. Not to forget some awesome ones! Damn, some were not even legal! I had crazy fun that night, mostly watching and taking photographs of the wide array of fireworks that were being shot up into the sky. There were waterproof fireworks which we would drop into a bucket of water and that would explode sending out a big splash of water.. and the ones that went up into the sky were simply mindblowing. Ofcourse fireworks are a pretty expensive affair too..
Overall, it was a great evening, watching and clicking fireworks on the 4th of July. It felt like new found Freedom, looking up into the night sky and being amazed by bursts of light..
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