Where the heck did 2012 go?

Wow...seriously, when the bloody heck did 2012 fly by? It freakin' feels like last night when exactly 364 days ago we were beset by a severe storm shutting down the power of our city, forcing us to open our eyes to darkness and mayhem on January 1st, 2012. But anyways, that's not the point. The point is, this so-called thing called TIME just whizzed past us, leaving us dumb-founded and as lost as a stray on the highway. So many things happened at break-neck speed that we didn't even realize when and where these days slipped by us. As they say, 'Life is what happens when you are busy doing other things'... But one thing is for sure, we got a bloody short life that there's no reason for us to compromise on the things we truly love. Whewwww! Ok, without rambling too much on the philosophical aspect of things, we'll just reminisce a bit on 2012.
I guess 2012 was a rolla-costa year...full of inspiring, adrenaline-packed stuff. We completed 2 projects - Metroxical New York(our latest feature documentary film) and 500 & 5(our first feature length narrative film project in Tamil), made some crazy artwork, travelled 8000 kms to parts of India that seemed like another planet(Ladakh, Himachal, J&K), did a dangerous(no kidding) trek to Kheer Ganga, climbed 16000 feet, met other whacked-out Nomads(from Uruguay, Sweden, France, London, Israel, Tibet, US) like us, met the Dalai Lama(sat through a little during his teaching), volunteered to teach and interact at SECMOL(Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh) teaching Ladakhi students Science, Maths and English, did a mini documentary film for them, met the awesome and humble Sonam Wangchuk(rumoured to be the real life Phunsukh Wangdu, a character played by Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots, the hindi film), attended the world premiere of 500 & 5 at IFFK, Trivandrum and a ton of other stuff. 
Most importantly, it was the people and friends who made it for us. People who inspired us with their minds, their creativity and amazing personalities. It's only when we interact with people like them, we truly feel we are all connected and are directed by this collective consciousness. Anyways, since some of you couldn't come for the film festival premiere and have been asking about it, a little update on that - We had 2 shows in total. The first one at Anjali Theater was pretty decent and the second one at Kalabhavan theater was ok, not bad. But the good thing is that, we had a lot of our other awesome friends at the festival who came out to support us. A special thanks to all our actors and crew who helped in bringing 500 & 5 to life. I would love to share some of the reviews and feedback we got after the screenings, but I guess I'll wait until the next step.
We had some reasonable press coverage from The Hindu(here and here), The Indian Express(here) and other Malayalam Press/Media. The funny part was, in the Malayalam Manorama newspaper, there was a headline that said – “Cosmic Sex(the movie) is the result of my research” says Raghu – Apparently, I had directed the movie about sex and spirituality. Poor Amitabh Chakraborty, the actual director of the film - he had worked so hard on Cosmic Sex(interesting film) and I get the damn credit. But anyways, the world is never fair and true. We also met some amazing filmmakers from Iran, France, Chile, Mexico and Turkey & got to watch some awesome, crazy-ass whacked out movies. A few worth mentioning are Holy Motors(French), Sister(French), Nos Vemos Papa(Spanish), With you Without you(Sri Lankan), Ini Avan(Sri Lankan), Tungsten(Greek) among others. Moreover, we have some interesting developments happening around our film. And just a note, nothing...nothing comes easy to independent filmmakers. Will elaborate further later.
Also, last week I had gone to the Chennai Thiraipada Sangam(Chennai Film Society) organized by Mr. Vijayan in North Chennai where they regularly have guest filmmakers to teach/interact with their students. They had invited me last week for a session. It wasn't really a class, at least that's what I told them, that a class would serve no purpose...so we had more like a Q & A session revolving around filmmaking, cinema in general and 500 & 5's making and the production process. It was heartening to see lots of like-minded aspiring filmmakers who really felt the need for alternative cinema in Chennai. Some wanted to be directors, some cinematographers, some writers...and the class' age group ranged from 20 to 60. We had an energetic session as we explored what's really stopping independent, low-budget filmmakers from taking their next step. Met some interesting personalities who seem to give hope towards the future of Tamil cinema. Alright, that's that for now I guess. And I won't say Happy New Year because I hope we 'show' and don't 'tell'...

Significance of 2012!!

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
DID YOU EVEN HEAR ABOUT THIS BEFORE?
A major paradigm shift is also talked about...are we talking about it without even knowing anything about it?
Or is it just that gut feeling each of us is having about something impending?
We could trust our instincts as far as this is concerned...
and do something about it or just wait for that major event to happen! it is always our choice...but then, what is that purpose of our very existence??
I found the below article during the search...

Source: http://brookenney.com/2012Group.htm
" For those of you who are not familiar with the significance of 2012, here’s a short explanation:
The basis of this event lies in the Mayan calendar, in which time, as we understand it, comes to an end. And a major shift occurs in human consciousness. Will this be the end of the world? Or, is it the beginning of a new world? Some believe that the shift will reveal the 4th dimension (time) or maybe the 5th dimension (unity with the unseen Spirit World/Heaven). My spirit guide, Dew, has told of a time, near the end of time, when inanimate objects will come to life, including stones, and that our animals will speak to us, to prove God’s dominion on earth. And yes, 2012 is his date for all this to occur.

It is our intended goal to help everyone prepare for what could possibly be the greatest event modern man has ever experienced. It’s not intended to make an apocalyptic prediction (we don’t need more of those). It’s just something that has gotten our attention that has potentially significant meaning for all of humanity.

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

First, we recognize that, to anyone seeing this information for the first time, it probably comes off as being a little like the Y2k scare in 2000 or the Hale Bopp fears in 1996-97. And to be completely honest, no one “knows” anything. All we are looking at are signs. The first sign is that the amazingly accurate Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21, 2012 (Gregorian calendar). Calendars aren’t supposed to do that. Second, we absolutely know, based on scientific knowledge, that there will be major astrological conjunctions occurring at once on that date. And third, that the sun is going to once again shift its magnetic poles and hammer the earth with massive amounts of energy.

Most of what we’re basing our theories on is spiritual intuition, though, and not ours alone, but those of many associates and prominent “seers” who all believe that we were put here to witness something poignant and transformational. But, we don’t intend to turn you into believers. Do some research yourself. We’ve added links that go into great detail about this subject, including the mechanics of the Mayan calendar. So educate yourself and make up your own mind. To get started, here’s a brief summary of what we have learned so far:

We are in the final “room” of the last “house” of the Mayan calendar. Several predicted events have already occurred that are leading up to some main event. Several independent sources have reported what could be devastating possibilities for the Earth and for us, her inhabitants. (For example, while Diane and I were at Crater National Park a few years ago, the guide told us that his son, who works for the NSA, told him that NASA is tracking an asteroid, scheduled to make close contact with earth in--2012.)

Recent reports of the sun changing its magnetic poles and huge bursts of energy hitting the Earth are to be repeated in--2012. Plus there are the ongoing measurements of Earth’s magnetic fields, which appear to be speeding up. In addition, this date also corresponds to the Hopi prophesy of their “5th World” coming. Tibetans are also pointing to 2012 as being a significant time. And recently we have come upon a Maori legend that speaks of two worlds coming together--in 2012. You’ll find the entire text in the right column.

Scientifically, astronomers have shown that our planet will be in perfect alignment with the center of the Milky Way in December of 2012. On the “Coast-To-Coast AM” radio program, the date comes up repeatedly during interviews mainly revolving around the subject of earth changes; such as increased melting of the poles, magnetic and equatorial shifts and the potential flooding of the coastal regions around the world.

So, 2012 keeps popping up in many ways. Pay attention and see for yourself. This is looking very BIG. (If you hear of anything new in the media about 2012, or if you come from a culture that has a legend regarding 2012, let me know and I will gladly add it to this section.) Let it be said here, that besides the possible devastating events predicted by some, there is also an equal chance that humanity will witness a remarkable event. But will we be prepared? It’s time for humanity to wake up and function from a point of love and hope instead of greed and fear. Because in the end, “the love you take is equal to the love you make”.