Learning Lessons - the right way

A year back, against the wishes of the Government, Lalit Modi moved the IPL to South Africa.  That was insulting the nation's pride - to say the least.  Is the event so very important than the nation, when it is under a security threat? IPL anyway started late in April and they could've waited.  Oh! branding and business needs?  Don't get me started. It is a sham anyways.

And now, this is what Modi & co. get for trying to be a smart ass.  You don't mess up with the Government. You don't insult your nation. If you do it, you get whacked on your butt.  And for the Govt,  it has been a wait and watch for a year before pulling the trigger.  Perfect execution.

And it was high time.

Bulb on Budget day

I wanted to get back to active blogging for sometime now but some how this has to be the day.

Something more important than even the budget happened in Gwalior today.  It was the second time in about 7 days that almost the entire office stopped working for about 2 hours in the afternoon.  India were going berserk on the cricket field.

On a lighter note,  Didi has to be the one to have got the "bulb" of the day/week/year etc.  She had chalked up all great plans for presenting Bengal's railway budget err... Railway Budget.  Unfortunately, I could not catch up any budget highlights in prime time on national TV!

Instead, the master was everywhere and quite rightly so.  I mean, even if she had planned for a train from Madras to Madurai via Kolkata, no one would have noticed it!

P.S: Now, don't get back to me on logic.

Buddy, it's time to act

A flurry of events leading to shifting bases, work, more work, studies, extra work - I haven't posted here in 10 months. Now that we are back, lets start with what is doing the talk all over the place - Nobel Prizes.

I understand the flak Obama is taking about his Peace Prize. After all, he sent more troops to Afghanistan prompting voices of "Nobel Prize for Violence" from there. Let's try looking at the other side of it.

This prize comes with a very high premium. Obama and the USA will now have to act more responsibly and live up to expectations and set new standards. Had he graciously refused to accept the award accepting that there is lot more to be done, he would have been an instant hero. Now that he hasn't, he will be the cynosure of all eyes in the days to come. Honestly, the award has done no favour to him. Rather, it has put him in a spot. He is now a messenger that the Nobel committee has sent out to bring in peace and a cooler climate in international relationships.

Every action of his will be watched and USA can no longer think that the world starts at California and ends in New York. This is why I love this decision of the Norwegian committee.

And looking at the fact that the Economics prize has gone to a first year grad student, we can see a pattern of things - much more is expected from the winners to contribute to the wellness of humanity. I asked my friend if Mr. Pfuffnick also said "Yes, We can".

But, thinking holistically, this year has brought about the most significant set of awards among all. Kudos to the committee for ushering in a new approach to make this world a better place to live in.

I end this piece with Jay Leno's brilliant one liner

This week, the Nobel prize for economics went to a highly intelligent economist whose theory is a little hard, I think, for the average person to comprehend.

He determined that it was bad business to give loans to people who can't pay them back!

Why?

I get this dream once in a while - that i have flunked in one of my Tamil exams. I guess it was college as I remember seeing Selva in the class.  This comes along once in every 2 months I guess - most recently, a week ago.  And every time, it is a pathetic performance - always in single digits.  Despite this, I am working for 4 years but everybody makes fun of this :-D

It is pretty weird for two reasons - first, Tamil was always one of my favourite papers - I did score pretty high in X std and second, there was no Tamil exam in college.  This genre is definitely getting a little over board as Geography joined the list 2 days ago.  Grrr...

Now, that's two of my favorite subjects.  I don't know why I keep getting it - probably because I did not choose "Advanced Tamil" elective in the 1st sem?!?  Nobody did!  Or is that why?!?  I honestly hope that it is NOT the answer ;-)

Hope the new year rings in peace and prosperity world over and for God's sake, some better dreams if they are centered around school and/or college.

Happy New Year!

To sum up this week,

• இந்திய‌ கிரிக்க‌ட் வ‌ர‌லாற்றில் முத‌ல் முறையாக‌, இர‌ண்டு வீர‌ர்க‌ள் த‌ன்மான‌த்துட‌ன் ஒய்வு பெற்ற‌ன‌ர்! மேலும் தெறிந்து கொள்ள ப‌டியுங்க‌ள் cricinfo.com

• my roomie's ongoing search for a belt to match a shoe that is apparently brown -- the common concensus here is that the shoe is red in color.  Just think about the ones the police inspectors in tamil movies wear. Come on, no self respecting belt manufacturer will ever make one in that color for crying out loud!

• Bosses for once are nice to their reports.  What is going on??  However, with all due respect - the crankiness still persists.

• A gorgeous Christmas tree was setup outside my office and every evening will be a sight to behold for the next 2 months with all the spectacular lighting.

• And finally, my quest for the perfect haircut in this country continues.

Rubbing salt

More than India's sound thrashing of the world champion Aussies, it was the final presentation ceremony and the numerous discussions that followed that will be etched in my memory for a long time.  If the players got under their skin in the aftermath of the mauling at Mohali (மா நா‍‍-வுக்கு மா நா ;-)), it was the commentators and the other hosts' words that were so scathing to say the least -- boy wasn't the cricketing world waiting for this thrashing?!?  I bet Ian Chappell was not able to sit inside the neo sports studio after the game.

 

Everyone pays for being arrogant.  Aussies got their due back this time.

The flush

It has always been a steady bash of hot weather throughout the year back home save 2-3 months when its in the low thirties and ofcourse the NE monsoon -- ask any native of Madras and you will know that the seasonal changes ceased to exist - or so it seems!

Living outsitde the city for a couple of years now has been a great chance to observe how things change climatically in unseen waters.  I have often wondered how these guys define dates for the start of a season and they are pretty accurate indeed.  Regardless of the prediction, it looks to me like there is a sudden rush of blood for mother nature that indicates that a seasonal change is on the way in the next week or so.  I call it "the flush".

Now that we were all enjoying the spectacular fall colors this late into the year, nature has apparently decided "enough".  Super heavy rain for the past 2 days flushed out all leaves out of the trees.  The barren look on the trees sends a chill down your spine as Winter stares hard at you -- "here I come".  We can safely sing "ellam black and white-il therigiradhey" for the next 4-5 months.

I can't wait for the next flush -- 2 days of close to 55-60F temperature and overnight rain to clear out the snow and usher in summer.

Saroja

Watch it in theaters and till the credits fully roll-over at the end.

IE8

is probably last in the history of browsers thus far to include crash recovery.  And yeah, it still crashes an awful lot.   IE6, for me, has certainly been the best of the bunch from the guys up there in Seattle.

The Jinx

I knew I was due for something when I wrote about insulting the Doberman. A two foot tall spotted labrador pounced when I was walking home.  Screw the idiot who did not tie the leash and would continue to yell "Cody, come back".  How will he?  I did not move an inch for a minute.  A couple of taps on Cody's head and he went back.

Apparently he is 5 months old.  Are you kidding me?

Sathyam

Taking digs at famous dialogues from older cop stories doesn't help one make another cop story.

If you mock Kaakha Kaakha, a great movie and Saamy which was a smash "mass" hit in the opening scene of a movie, then you are to blame yourselves. Original screenplay and dialogues lend a helping hand in cop stories and that totally lacks in Sathyam.

After all the build up, I watched it for some 30 mins and could not take it anymore. The story did not even start. And Nayanthara has a couple of stupid punch dialogues. Hello? What is going on?

On a lighter side, if a bullet costs Rs.50 in 2003 (Kaakha Kaakha), it will cost a lot lot more in 2008!

New Songs

The past 5-6 weeks, I've been listening to quite a few new albums - Anjathey, Dhaam Dhoom, Saroja, Sakkarakatti etc., A few of the them are refreshing. Sakkarakatti is one, Saroja chips in too.

All this amidst reusability engineering by Harris Jayaraj, A.R.R magic at times and the now famous guest appearnces by the Udit Narayanan and Madushree chapters of the "Association of sh**** pronunciation/roadkill of Tamil lyrics".

One thing about the "Marudhani" song in Sakkarakatti. People seem to love it. Well I don't - just because of the way the lyrics have been butchered. Vijay has come up with this. I am ROTFL.

There is one and only one reason why a singer should not sing a language he/she does not know - it is because they don't know it.

And this certainly ain't Relativity!!

Common Sense

The first experience always sets a few things right for the rest of your life. The first Watermelon made me bedridden for 5 days during school. I've never touched another piece after that. Similar situation with Doberman - it is one dog that I've always feared and will probably continue to.

Right from the first time I saw one in a friend's house, that was early 90s, - yeah it was taller and pounced on me. After a few years, I never used to fear any type of dog, atleast in India - ask Selva, I used to escort him when dogs patrol the ECE department and the adjacent areas :-)

But Dober has always scared me and still does. Look at that guy. How can anyone ever name him/her "Fluffy"? I mean, come on! It's an insult to the breed.

Thank God dogs don't understand English.

Wimbledon Finals '08

Easily the best tennis match for the next 2-3 years unless Mr. Nadal and Mr. Fedex choose to re-script it. And I believe they will. Nadal has certainly caught up with the master and might have just moved a bit up the psychological ladder.

What a final! - If the 4th set tiebreaker alone comes as a DVD, I will buy it without the slightest hesitation in my mind.

Niagara Falls

The third best place in the world after Madras and Las Vegas.

Apparently 90% of the water in the falls constitute the horse shoe and the rest is split at 3 other places. Just defy all laws of physics for a while - forget about being washed away, the force of the water is so much that if it falls directly on your head you will be hammered into the ground. The "Cave of the Winds" ride lets you have a "near hammering" experience. Water falls onto the rocks and sprinkles with such ferocity on your face. It is the best bath ever!

Nature at its magnificient best. எத்த‌னை கோடி இன்ப‌ம் வைத்தாய் இறைவா?