Weekend 22/6

The weekend was not so bad. Weather was OK on Sat and good on Sun.

On Saturday, spent half the day cleaning up, 1/4th in Kingston hospital and rest in gurudwara. Watched "Gone With The Wind" in the night on TCM. Truly epic. Has everything expected from a classic. And brilliant cinematography which I had not expected. Wished I had some popcorn.

Sunday was the 'wild' day. I had started the book on Friday but I figured I need to read the book more steadily. I again read some on Saturday but on Sunday, I decided that the book needs to be read in the open. So lounged in a park along with my music. It was quite sunny. Came back in evening, camped in the garden chair... And finished it. its just about 200 pages.

Its a tragic, heart breaking, somewhat disturbing but fascinating true story of an idealist young guy who believed that God is in the woods, true meaning of life is hidden somewhere out in the wild. While as a kid, he learns(from his parents stormy relationship) that money, wealth and comfort don't get you happiness. After finishing graduation, he embarks on a journey to search for happiness, God, truth and himself. Obsessed with being independent, shunning material comforts and relationships, eventually he does find the truth in the wild Alaska but loses his battle with life.

Jon makes the story unfold gradually, interlacing it with the stories of other like-minded trampers who are obsessed with mountains and nature. Her own climbing experience in Devil's thumb is specially rich in details and very crafty, being first hand.

There are questions if Chris was a hero or a fool, stupid dreamer choosing to go to the extreme wilderness without basic tools such as compass or a good map. Its clear that he had a lot to live. His willingness to come out of the wild alive is evident in his desperate messages. I don't think that it just did not occur to him to get better equipment, its that he chose not to because he felt that he could survive without them. Had he not died and hung on to come out alive, he would have continued with his life having found the truth in having relationships and sharing happiness. But his vision for the reality was blurred with almost idiotic idealism. But still, his honesty, innocence, warmth, passion and a unrelenting quest for truth has to be understood and appreciated. He lived the way he wanted to and that's all it matters.

After the book, I wanted to watch the movie. I had dumped it on my lappy. But I found that while ripping the dvd, the downloaded avi was not in sync with its soundtrack. codec problem. So I had to see the movie in a movie editing software, splitting the soundtrack, fiddling and syncing it with video. It was not the best experience but i had to see the movie in today's state of mind. Had to see alaska and the journey he took... and the magic bus.

Real cool movie. Its based on the book but its a totally different experience altogether. Liked it a lot except a little over dramatisation of Vince's character and the raw moose skinning scene but probably they were necessary there. Sean Penn's screenplay has a lot of flashbacks and flash forward, true to the back and forth style of the book.

And the music. Amazing. Gives you goosebumps.

I need to get another copy of the DVD. Can't get myself to watch the dump on my hard disk again.