HereIsTheLesson

A decade now! How the major leagues cheered us up.

2012-01-31T06:52:00.000-08:00

It was a depressing fall, 2001 - with the September 11 attacks, and deep economic gloom all around. It seemed there wasn't any good news. There was then news of another crash, colored coded terror threat levels, the shoe bomber, an attack on Parliament in India, fortress like airports, people looking at each other suspiciously, and people getting laid off every day.

In the States, the major leagues stepped up, I thought.

First, even news that Michael Jordan was returning to the NBA with the Wizards gave cause for cheer
The Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in a thriller in a November World Series
Then for us in the Boston area at least, the New England Patriots removed a lot of the glumness

The Pats will be at the Superbowl this Sunday for the fifth time in a decade, with three wins thus far. Until their magical 2001 season, I didn't watch or follow football much. Then I did, for what happened that November onward. Haven't stopped since.

Boston area fans, as many have said, have never had it so good. Can you believe the Patriots now are the club with the longest championship drought?! (The Sox won in '07, the Celtics in '08, and the Bruins in '11)

Payback, I hope, at the Sunday, February 5 rematch vs. the Giants. I'll be thinking of ten years ago this week in Boston, all through.

'Ecstacy of Gold' - This was the one I was looking for

2011-11-16T05:11:00.001-08:00

Found it at last! This Ennio Morricone concert in Warsaw.
I particularly like this version of 'The Ecstasy of Gold'; I think it's the soprano. :)

#Brillo^10

'No holiday at Halloween. It's a pagan observance'

2011-10-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

- said the lady to me, when I asked about the possibility during my freshman year at Syracuse.

Cold windy weather, the sudden onset of darkness (at 4p with the end of DST), and deserted streets, make for an eerie setting. Michael Myers appeared on TV over and over again, as did Jason and Freddy. Else, there were repeat telecasts of The Exorcist, Dracula, Psycho, and similar.

That first Halloween, there were random knocks on my door. Didn't usually have that happening. Turned out it was neighborhood kids trick or treating, and I did not have candy on me, nor did I want any tricks. I pretended no one was home.

Watched creatures that looked like Jawa from Star Wars go past my apartment. There was another in a cape and head in its hand. Had the feeling I was missing out on a lot of excitement.

The next year, I did not participate, but attended a Halloween party. There was a drag queen, a large bunny with a candy basket, Boris Karloff, a hangman, Anthony Perkins, and Henry VIII. Ahead of this event, I'd been asked by nearly anyone I met - 'What/who you going as?' (WYGA).

In the years afterward - junior/senior years/ grad school - I really got into Halloween. The opportunities for social advancement (*wink*wink*) were amazing, the reason I started referring to Oct 31 as 'Helloween'. I knew months ahead, my response to WYGA. I was ready with tales to tell at parties, famous lines from horror movies, who played who in what, and ideas for after-party screenings. Pah-tayyy!

It was fun! Halloween was bigger than New Years and DeeWolly. Why, I even sold the India student community on an annual event for the weekend before Oct 31! (This was so I could continue to have a good time at the regular Helloween)

But these soon turned into Bollywood lookalike contests, unfortunately, and I'd look a tad silly in my Ghostface costume. There were also rival parties, with no social networking possible. No opportunities, when there were several political camps. And this was a tiny community of like 50 Ind students!

I soon decided to observe Helloween only with the natives. 'Hello, hello, hello....', this was social.

By the time I started my career, I'd started to wish 'Happy Halloween' to people far away in India. Now I gather it's big in Jullunder and Hyderabad, with other cities fast catching up.

Maybe it'll become like what it used to be for me, back in the day.

Perhaps it'll get to 'WYGA?' again.

Happy Helloween.

#Halloween

That call ten years ago today - Tue a.m.

2011-09-11T02:13:00.000-07:00

Roommate in Detroit that had taken a flight out of Logan that morning:
'I'm ok'
Me in Framingham, MA: 'Ok, so?'
Roommate in Detroit: 'Turn the TV on!'

And then I watch the 2nd plane come in.

All outbound calls not connecting - all networks busy. Cell and landline.

*Ring*Ring*!
Dad on the phone: 'You ok? Good. The planes originated from Boston, and I have someone who's son also left Boston at the same time....'

I record the day's events live, towers collapse, ashen (literally) faced people, sirens, II date that will live in infamy....

Thoughts on my time up there, in the twin towers two months earlier on a rainy day.
Reports that Camp David and the White House were hit.
Friend and I play tennis in a surreal setting that 9/11 evening.
Endless incoming calls to ask if I was ok. I wasn't.
TV shows people in Gaza shooting rifles in the air.
Stick Old Glory sticker on my car, given recently acquired PR status.
Wed onward: 'Are neighbors, people at the store, mall, interstate..... looking at me differently?'
'Chasing Amy' on TV the previous night

Early morning parade - people I see almost every day

2011-07-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to make this list of fellow regulars at the Joggers Park. I do not know any of their names. Here goes:

Elephant Lady
Peaceful (and mildly frowning) senior citizen who walks anti-clockwise. Not elephant-like in size, but she wears a floppy gray colored track suit.

Joggie
Elegant slim female runner, likely in her mid-20s, who has a medium-speed shuffling gait.

Captain Gamsakhurdia
Purposeful looking speedwalking senior gentleman in shorts. Is considerate of lane etiquette - always steps to the side when runners pass.

Colonel Rahmanzadeh
Looks like a 60ish Iranian armyman on furlough. Anti-clockwise brisk mover - walks with a jacket and shorts on. No gun seen.

Politician
(Or local corporator) Middle of lane walker who swings his arms wide inconsiderately. Always accompanied by at least one chatting flunkey. Seems to inspect the park often for maintenance, and knows all the staff.

Pol's Flunkey(s)
Up to 3 walkers that are seen with the politician all the time. One of them looks 100% PMC staff like, and has this unique walk-speed jog at times. Moves at the same speed as the rest, only that he has this jogging action.The flunkeys usually end their time at the park with a loud chortling session seated by the pol.

Florida Pensioner
Slow moving old gent who makes others behind him guess which way he'll veer, from the middle of the track.

Speedking
30ish runner in a red hat who will always try to speed up and take the lead, when someone tries to pass him. Usually does not succeed.

Kindly Old Lady
The one I mentioned here back in March. Walking conversationalist, and friends with a group of always seated chatty ladies that talk about their families and inflation.

The 3 Idiots
Insufferable group of vocal codgers who have one trait in common. The ability to always get in the way of anyone that passes them. This is done by ambling 3 across in the walking lane, and 1 in the narrower running lane, with frequent sudden switches in position. And by being oblivious to how they annoy everyone. They start with one meandering senior, and in minutes the group expands to 3, led by the Chief Idiot who can actually straddle both lanes at the same time.

Group typical I'm sure, of many other similar places. Other park users now plan their walk/run schedules so they avoid this 3-5 man regiment.

Gold's Gym Instructor
Senior citizen who's somehow the exercise coach for other older gentlemen. Does contortions that some of them simply should not replicate, and he should not encourage to do.

Destination Restroom
Middle aged man who always walks around the park with a rolled up newspaper.

Tantric Yogi
Barefoot 40+ runner in a tee and pants, flails his arms wildly, and runs only anti-clockwise in the mud track. Wild hair. Inspects and picks flowers.

No-Tan
Dark woman who walks only in the shaded stretch even on moderately sunny mornings. There's another that whips out an umbrella in the non-shady section, early mornings.

Katherine Hepburn
Stately, tall old white lady with a slow gait, and an umbrella. The slowest mover in the park. Is wary of tripping or being knocked over by runners. Has two attendants - one that walks with or behind her, and another that gets her newspaper and a bottle of something. She's the only regular person of white extraction in the mornings.

Steam Engine
Unsteady and ungainly slow barely-jogger, who forces himself to get momentum with a series of violent forward movements. Uses the far slope to gain more speed afterward, with a flat footed thumping sound all the while. Stares at anyone that passes him, which means almost everyone.

(+couples/others who show up daily, but have no standout characteristics or behavior like those on this list)

The Glacial Retreat Watchers Consortium

2011-05-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Glacial Retreat Watchers Consortium (GRWC) was founded decades ago to promote and encourage competitive glacial retreat observation. The members meet regularly to form observant teams and compete on observed global glacial retreat.

The scoring system is usually in reverse (less is more) as glaciers are retreating and not advancing at this time. Likewise for the competition.

Most in the GRWC were very good at glacial retreat watching which was a good thing, and they wanted to ensure many more benefited. So they spread the word about the fun they were having and got several new young members to join. They all showed up in glazed eyed enthusiasm. Many did.

The young newbies were amazed at the quality of observed retreating knowledge and wanted in on all of it. So they competed at these GRWC meets and lost spectacularly, but everyone has to start someplace and stay there forever, right?

They were very impressed with the Messis, the C.Ronaldos, the Rooneys, the Tevezes, the Kobes, the LeBrons.... and their Record setting exploits. They saw them teaming up and winning Regional Glacials, and the National Furtwängler and Siachen Cups,and some high end competition in between.

So they wondered if they too could join these teams, as the GRWC was meant to promote and encourage glacial observation in retreat. Surely they could be the third observer?

They made calls and sent emails to the Kobes and Messis, weeks ahead of the star contests. They got:

No response over 5 weeks
'Nope, am observing with someone else'
'I always observe G-lent with ____'
'You're not very observant. Deals struck in the last mini ice age'
('I'm waiting to see if Berbatov is available')

Or 0.5 days before the Open Glacials, when already teamed, they'd get from a suddenly single and until recently evasive Kobe:

'Hey, are you teamed?'

All of this happened several times.

In the locker room/dugout/showers -

'I don't wanna observe glacial retreat with that newbie. S/he's such a moraine!'
'Can't win with these moraines in our team'

'S/he's weak on catching isostatic rebound'

'Bergshrund! What a wannabe observ'ho'

'Btw, WYGW next year?

Now at the regular GRWC open observation meets -
'Hey, how come only we the same teams again at the observation deck?'
'Hey hey, why only 11 people watching the watchers compete? There were 18 before'
'Btw, HMYW?'
'And WYGW?'

Optimistic and naive newbie tries again. Calls and emails to the C.Ronaldos and LeBrons, months ahead of the big contests.

Zip.

No encouraging signs, nor any promotional.

Now again at the regular and inclusive GRWC open observation meets -
'Hey hey hey how come only we the same same teams observing G-lent again?'
'Hey hey hey why only 3.5 people watching us the watchers compete? There were 11 last time'
'What's the glacial watch cutoff?'
'Anyways, who/what do we joke about?'

'And hey, where the heck are those moraines?'

Along with the glaciers, something else was retreating. At a faster pace than climate change.

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THTM: This morning at the park

2011-03-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

End of run, stretching at a park bench. Sound of someone walking on dry leaves, toward me:
(*scrunch*scrunch*)
'Hello, good morning, wanting to talk to you long time' (kindly 50+ lady)
'Hello' (smile)
'Who you are?'
'          ' (raise eyebrows)
'No, no, I see you running every morning, long hair waving, it is good looking on you'
'Oh, thanks' (smile)
'Like paramhansa you look' (smile)

'Oh, what? I see...'
'Yes, like swamiji. You have seen his photo? In paper?'
'Think I have, yes' (oh, darn, like a swamiji?!)

'What is your surname?' (!)
'Sr-------n'
'That is from where, in south?' (thinking expression)
'Yes. Mixed'
'What is mixed?'
'I'm half I--r and half G-B (Ko---n region)'
(Lit up smile, beams)'Oh, I know, my first daughter is married to I--r boy. But we are from Surat <+detail>' (animated phase)

'Where are your parents, what they do?' (inquiring smile)
'China....<+one line summary>'
'So you are new here?'
'No. Spent my childhood here'
'You are having some accent, that's why I asked. You are visiting from abroad? USA?'
'Yes, a few years ago. I work here'
'Oh my sister is settled there . Since many many years <+ extra detail>' (beaming)
'But you know Indian language?'
'Yes' 'What you do?' (smile, smile)
'Mkt... <+whatever>'
'You are having H1?' (sounded like the flu)
'No, I don't'
'Green card? Or you are citizen' (inquiring frown)
'Why do.......yes, green card, but am Canadian'    (error III)
'Canada green card you have?'
'No. United States'
'So USA green card and Canada citizen' ('Now I get it' frown, looks at the ground)
'What is procedure for Canada? My son-in-law is thinking to go' (inquiring frown, looks up)
'That'll take a while, ma'am. I gotta go now' (smile, turning to leave)
'Wait, wait... where you live?' (eyes wide, smile)
'Oh, nearby... I have to rush actually!' (smile, take-off mode 3-2-1)

'One minute - you are married?'

.............

Nokia's Ovi Store and software - helping keep Android and Apple in the lead

2011-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

I don't think any Ovi users (any left?) were surprised by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop's 'burning platform' memo to Nokia staff this week. From the beginning this store and associated software have been, and continue to be, a disaster.

Ovi is simply unusable. It is a piece of trash. It is an Android and Apple App Store driver. It is, well, unusable. Seven attempts in all. Despite several communications to Nokia at different levels, including an Ovi PM known to me, nothing has changed.

As a 'high-end' Nokia phone owner, I was initially excited about Ovi. I planned to load my device with applications, get music, everything. 19 months later, I still have nothing.

I. For example - Ovi Music: We won't let you buy

Overall, navigation on Ovi Music and beyond is abominable. Same as it's been for over a year.

1. Now I tried clicking on Unlimited Music downloads
2. Went to a page where it said 'enter PIN', or request a PIN

3. Request PIN went to a general help page

4. Where a link to Unlimited Music how to went to a 'Sorry can't find that' page

This was after I logged in three times and it still said I had to login again.
Then it said I needed to create another account to access unlimited downloads, when I clicked on the Unlimited banner
Absolutely (gave up) no way to buy plain music, never mind unlimited downloads. Where to pay to download - no clues given.

I have stayed away from Nokia accounts online and the Ovi store for this reason. The whole online experience is very confusing, just goes around in circles. And I'm not your average mobile/net novice.

II. For example - Ovi setup/use on Nokia PC Suite: A'maze'ingly useless
PC Suite is the super-useless software that syncs a Nokia smartphone and a laptop.

Anytime you try to upload music using the god-awful Ovi interface in PC Suite, it will say there's a software update.
The Ovi software will rarely find the phone, and the PC Suite anyway will keep switching back to 'USB mode' from 'media transfer' mode. This is despite picking the media mode every time.
Near impossible to upload and organize music. Each file will somehow disappear inside a folder, and show up with completely different music, even if the music's from the same album.

Just treat the phone as a pen drive and drop files in the music folder. It works. What Ovi?

III. Note on Nokia PC Suite basic usage: Finlandia Ostrich Special

Nokia PC Suite and it's various version updates are no less spectacularly incompetent. There's no way to save incoming call numbers to the contacts list for instance.

Oh, and you can't just pick images and videos to move to your laptop. It has to be all or nothing. And the bumbling program will store them in folders inside folders automatically in the laptop making it difficult to find anything later.

Calls from users and communities to Nokia since antiquity go unheeded. They don't want to know. The result - look up the content of Elop's note to staff.

Ovi and software like the above mentioned PC Suite are definitely part of Nokia's downward spiral - key contributors. Like I said before, they need to be left behind on that burning platform when Nokia jumps.

The delightful Li Na. Congratulations anyway!

2011-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

Notice how Li Na seemed happy even in defeat at last Saturday's Australian Open Final? She looked thrilled to just be there at the end of a hard fought match. She was delighted, and having a good time at the finish.

Li Na played a great tournament all through, especially a top class semi final and final. She went down fighting to Kim Clijsters, and dominated the match until the middle part. She likely won ten-fold more admirers in the tennis world with this performance (despite asking the umpire to tell loud Chinese fans not to 'teach me how to play tennis' in the II set).

And at the end, there was no disappointment shown externally. Li Na had quietly gone further than any Asian in Grand Slam singles competition. She was no 'storms in, crashes out' first round specialist.

She smiled as she sat courtside after her loss, smiled as she chatted with Kim C on the podium, and then gave a graceful, cheerful speech. Gamely, in English, to a vast audience. It was all a good feeling.

As she posed for post match pictures, all dressed up as she held her runner-up plate, she still looked as pleased.

(Now watch for several new Chinese players on the tour. They'll have added this to their production lines)

The friendly inquisition, and after-party

2010-12-01T00:02:00.000-08:00

Anyone watch Barkha being 'interrogated' by her friends yesterday? On NDTV. Couldn't tell who was the funniest - the moderator, the other editors, or BD herself'.

They were all doing this with a straight face. BD did some amazing pained/indignant/I'm clean/petulant facial expressions though.

The discussion was to the effect of:

Editors: 'BD, as a reputed journalist, does all this make you AnGGrry!?' (only sentence they were allowed to complete)

Sonia Singh/moderator: 'Calm down, Bark'

BD: 'I trusted Rad. Dang. But hey, I'm highly reputed. I made a judgment of error. (Didn't realize the phone was tapped)'

'Riina Nadia' on the phone: 'Hey, y'all, where's the after-party? TGIF at 9?'

Everyone: 'Idiot! This line is tapped as well (but we're on).' *secret gesture*

NDTV:'This show is unedited (but not live)'
Watch here.

The two-handed shake theory

2010-11-30T03:26:00.000-08:00

Do you think devious/insincere people shake hands or greet others often with both hands?

This two handed shake goes for many politicians when they congratulate rivals, people that fawn over superiors, and most anyone that harbors crafty intentions for the hand they hold. This action usually comes with a slight bow and a fully toothed smile - another pointer toward insincerity.

Watch how Tom takes Jerry's outstretched paw, even as he plans to trap him yet again. It's always two-pawed.

Kimiko Date - the active, winning grande dame of tennis

2010-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Amidst all the talk about the longevity of some sportspersons - fifty-year old golfers, cricketers that play on for four decades, and first round and doubles specialists in tennis - here's a real achiever at the highest level. And in a sport where being past 23 is considered 'old' for singles competition.

Kimiko Date turned 40 yesterday and continues to amaze the world of tennis. She turned professional in March 1989. A little Japanese giant conqueror among (giant) young tennis pros.

She came back after a 12 year layoff ('96) in 2008, and has since beaten the best in tennis, won several ITF titles, and a WTA Tour title. This year she's won against Dinara Safina (twice), Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova, and Daniela Hantuchova (second time since '09) - all highly ranked players, and younger by more than a decade.

Impressive.

Take that, teen prodigies! (And where are any these days, btw).

Iron Maiden: Keeping the metal lamp burning

2010-08-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

The Final Frontier (This hopefully isn't also their final record, as widely speculated!)

Maiden's latest 'epic' album - out earlier this month - is likely their best since 2000's Brave New World . As it tops charts in several countries, TFF seems to have given metal a second wind at the end of the 1st decade of the century.

I actually saw something about Maiden edging out Eminem at the top of the UK charts (now how often have those two shown up in the same sentence!)

TFF tells the story of some kind of space explorer that's going out to the dark beyond. It has just ten tracks, and yet is Maiden's longest album ever. Most numbers are over six minutes each.

Never mind the strange start with that bizarre first half of Satellite 15/The Final Frontier - everything is made alright right after. Look especially for the 2nd part of the title track, The Man Who Would Be King, and the final (11 min) track When the Wild Wind Blows.

For a band made up of six fifty-plus year olds, they're still coming up with excellent work. I now don't regret not being around for Maiden at their 'peak in the 80s' as much as before.

The Final Frontier, like most Maiden albums will take a few listens before you like all of it. Recommend that you play it in the car over and over for a while.

Like the new Eddie?

à la mode

2010-07-31T00:13:00.000-07:00

'I'm into classic rock'
'I'm not on Facebook'
'I don't know my native language'
'I don't have/watch tv'
'Who/what's SRK?'
'I hate SRK'
'I'm a big-time ManU fan'
'I'm a Brazil fan forever'
'I can't wait for the next season of 24/HIMYM' (outside the US)
'I was at this party where I didn't know the host'

Add....

(yes, you've seen some of these elsewhere)

2010 World Cup - that Nike ad.. nice!

2010-06-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

This was good to watch, several times. Do not miss Federer midway....=)

Go ahead and add to 13 mil views in 3 weeks.

Engrish on the 2010 Asian Games web site

2010-06-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

Sports as presented on the Asian Games Guangzhou 2010 portal:

Hockey
'The modern game of hockey started from England in 1800s. Players on the field must hold their stick and not use it in a dangerous way.'

Cricket

'It is commonly accepted that cricket originated from a very old leisure activity indulged by shepherds in British. The shepherds used crook and other farm equipments to hit a ball which used to be made up of wool or stone.'

<== Don't miss the umpire either - this was the best picture of a cricket game they could find.

Baseball
'Baseball derived from England cricket. |The catcher need to wear not only helmet and shin guards, but also the knee pads and equipped for throat protection. | If draws, then the match continue until one team wins.'

Tennis
'Tennis acted as a medal sport in 1958 the 3rd Tokyo Asian Games. Except in some men's singles, all the other matches are played three sets (the one wins two sets wins the match), while some men's singles played five sets (the one wins three sets win the match); A player/team needs to win two consecutive points immediately after "Deuce" to win the "Game". During a tie-break game, points are scored "Zero","1", "2", "3", etc'

And ...'Billiard Sports have a family of games that is played on a table, with a cue stick.'
_____
GZ 2010 games chief web content editor in charge of putting China's best foot forward: 'Yep, that sounds about right. Go live.'

Who cares, I guess, when China's going to be a hundred medals ahead of every one else, like every time...

'I'm from Q and I can't speak Q'ian'

2010-05-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

A lot of people will say they do not know their native language, and feign disappointment at this fact.

'Oh, yknow I can't speak a word of Indian (sic), and it's supposed to be my ... language. I wish I could, it's kinda sad that I can't' (when I'm so cool saying this)

This is different than saying they're not from a particular place (when they really are). Here they probably don't like being associated with their hometown/region.

Like 'I'm from NYC' is better than saying 'I'm from Jersey City'. Or in India where so many quickly proclaim 'I'm from Bombay', when they're actually native back of beyonders.

Also, they can't say they regret not being from Jersey City.

IPL III's Happy Ending

2010-04-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

In the end MI fizzled, and badly. For the rest of India it probably felt great, likely felt very satisfying. Many were fed up of the hoopla around just one team.

The past six weeks:
For the entire duration of IPL-III it seemed like everything was about MI and SRT. The fawning coverage of MI, the applause for their 'feats', the SRT (‘captain that led from the front’) inspiration was excessive and inordinate. Commentators like SMG, RS, and HB went overboard in their praise for MI and as usual for SRT. They talked like it was a foregone conclusion that MI would win the IPL this year.

MI always was behind other teams on # of games played in the league stage, so they had one to catch up on points with if needed. Not only that, MI got a couple extra games at home in addition to the semifinal (shifted in a trice from BLR) and the final. So we had that much more of that irritating siren sound when they played at home. (How was this allowed in the final and semifinal?)

LM seemed to schmooze more with the Ambanis than with anyone else. MI fans were interviewed on the street all the time. Clueless Bombay celebrities, and housewives branded themselves MI fans, and were asked about the club's strategy, and tough game outcome questions ('who do you think will win today?')

The past week:
With so much hype on the MI story, other teams were made into fringe outfits. In the run-up to the final, the weekend talk shows were all about MI's exploits and SRT's greatness. (It almost felt like the final and assured win was timed with his birthday celebration week).The opponent in the final was hardly mentioned in these discussions. Funny how it was SMG, HB, and Manjrekar on IBN's (repeatedly shown) 'Who will win the IPL' show. Very neutral, folks.

Yesterday:
And so we had a final where MI were routed, thrashed, hammered like it was payback for all of this.

To summarize, it was a game where:
• MI were hit around the park for 100 runs in the last 8 overs.
• they just could not handle it - literally - by dropping major catches.
• they were 1-1 after a maiden over start, and where the MI captain did not walk when he was clearly caught behind. Different rules? The opposition actually smiled as if they knew.(SMG, RS, and co kept verrry silent, just like they did when RD was 'caught' in the semis by the same captain)
• an (overrated and arrogant) offspinner was sent in to bat ahead of MI's proven big hitter. For what?
• an MI batsman who was actually scoring runs was made to sacrifice his wicket by the (newly arrogant)big hitter mentioned above (who got out right after)
• the stadium went silent and near empty by the last over. So much for a sporting attitude - you'd think MI was playing Pak. For a local audience that could not imagine or handle any other result than an MI win - this was just too much.
• the rest of us rejoiced; it was good to see this team eat pie.

--Note: consistent with the coverage, no other team's name is mentioned here--

Leno and Letterman together - last week's Superbowl ad

2010-02-18T02:36:00.000-08:00

A little late getting around to writing about it, but -
This was fantastic; this was a great promotional coup for CBS! It was good for everyone. I think Leno benefited greatly from this - good job he agreed to show up with Dave.

Coming right after all the mud last month with NBC's Conan O'Brien fiasco, and the history between Letterman and Leno, these fifteen seconds were an amazing surprise.

Talk about audacity. All we needed was an appearance by CoCo, but that would have been looking for too much. =)

Well done, Saints!

2010-02-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

Good going, and a great comeback from a ten point deficit. Even better that it came against the Colts and Manning.Nice! ;)

Happy for Drew Brees, and especially happy for New Orleans. I was just thinking back, like many, about Katrina, the damaged Superdome, and the damaged city 4 years ago. This was a comeback for the team and the city in the end.

If only it were the Patriots. =)

Paranormal Activity: Step in 70 min after the show begins

2010-01-18T10:28:00.001-08:00

Finally watched this over the weekend after meaning to since last Oct. Yes, there's been a lot of hype for Paranormal Activity, and that brought me in too. The movie is best watched in a theater, at night, and with an audience that knows to shut up.

And then - go home to try and resist imagining the same things happening in your house. Oh, yes - you will imagine it all - just about the time you turn off the lights before trying to sleep.

And then you'll turn them on again. It's very, very difficult to shake off PA when home.

That said, I recommend this, to save prospective viewers a lot of

time:

Step into the theater an hour and ten minutes after the show begins. Until then, pretty much nothing happens(Now that everyone kinda knows about the story,the couple and the presence in their house -getting up to speed is no problem)
Take a few minutes to get a feel for the situation on screen, and then...
Focus from the time Katie wakes up, goes over to his side of the bed, and stares at him for a couple hours. This is about 3 minutes before the film ends.

That's all there is to this movie. The last 2.5 minutes of PA will have the impact that everyone's raving about. Save the first hour for anything else you had planned, outside the theater.

Trust me. :)

More from Vcat on IMDB

Ten years ago: At the dawn of 2000

2010-01-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

The start of 2010 made me think back to what I was doing ten years ago, at the 'dawn of the millennium'. A decade already.

(Like now, everyone was going on about the new mil/century/decade, but here goes anyway: 2010 is still in the first decade, like 2000 was part of the 20th century)

NYE'00 - Nothing
On New Year's Eve for 2000, I was at no grand party, no huge celebration. It was at this nondescript pub in the equally nondescript town of North Adams, MA. There were several middle aged couples swaying to 'YMCA' and similar numbers, and the whole atmosphere was a total let down. And there was a lot of ice and snow on the ground outside. The only spot of cheer was we got to take home a free bottle of champagne.

To this day, I've failed to understand how I ended up there of all places, despite all the excitement in the run-up - months of it - to that night. What'd happened to all those grand plans?

That morning thro' February
The previous day, we'd watched other time zones ring in the new year on TV. Pacific island cultures that had no concept of the Gregorian calendar were doing artificial celebratory dances to welcome the rising sun. A friend stood up to announce it was the year 2100-something in some southeast Asian calendar, and if they didn't care about the year 2000, neither did he.

The world didn't seem any different in the morning. The ATMs and gas stations worked fine on January 1. There was some wonderment at finally being in the Year 2000.

Then it quickly all wore off. Suddenly it was like any another year. The same old work schedule, weekly Wed drives to Boston headquarters starting at 6am, Friday dance lessons - normalcy struck back very very quickly. Or so I thought...

Spring Onward: Rapid Change | All Smiles
However, 2000 turned out to be exciting overall for me - not for many millennial reason, but the pace of change in my life. That March, I was moved from Williamstown to the Boston area because of the nature of my work, and was compensated well for it. Like I needed an incentive to move to Beantown. I got to live in, and discover Boston that spring onward. (Pah-tay!) I discovered the bounty of stock options that vested early, and actually had value - major value. For a recent graduate that didn't care about stock options - because of the excitement of finishing school at SU and landing a dream job - I was suddenly holding the biggest check ever in my life.

I traveled around the country - Seattle, DC, VA, NC, took road trips to wildernesses in Vermont and NH, walked on frozen lakes in the moonlight, attended MLB games, went again to Britain and India. Toward the end of the year, I made a down payment on a brand new BMW, figuring if not now using the stock option bonanza -then when? It was customized and delivered five weeks later.

2000, from a slow start, was an exciting year at the turn of the century (let's also not forget presidential election:'Gore wins Florida!', recants, recounts, Kathleen Harris, the Supreme Court). Here's wishing for myself - the same for this year, and onward.

(Images: 1. Cat from the year 2000. My apartment, 22 Arnold St, Williamstown, MA.

2. 325xi, day of delivery, Norwood, MA)

At the movies - the Avatar preview

2009-12-16T23:47:00.001-08:00

Attended the 'paid preview' today.

I'm not getting tired of telling anyone that will listen - Avatar is a remake of a Bollywood movie of the same name from years ago. Here's the email I sent out (*wink*wink*):

'Avatar: Watched the Hindi original in 3D? Wow.

James Cameron picks up from Rajesh Khanna - how about that?
The original Avtaar (1983) was a classic that starred Kaka, Shabana Azmi and AK Hangal as the alien who's always been old. As you can see, James Cameron has slightly altered the screenplay for a worldwide audience. He doffs his hat to the first film in style.

I thought it was well adapted; Hangal and Golshen Grover are the only actors from the original in the 2009 version. Watch for them as Na'vi elders.
Nice!'

However, some people didn't get it. Jeez.

Anyway, Avatar (2009) was a visual treat just like the reviews said. The 3D wasn't about gimmicks - aiming projectiles toward the audience et al. It kind of felt like I was in the movie, in mostly dark settings. There are several Matrix-like scenes. Past a point, I didn't care about the story, and just watched the action. The ending was all figured out - very obvious.

If 3D is available to watch, why bother with the 2D version?

Is this a Volkswagen ad? What were they thinking?

2009-12-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Chanced upon the VW ad campaign in India on TV. The ads (print included) are unusually poorly done - did Wolfsburg really approve this brand embarrassment?

In a long and amateurish sequence, here's how the TV spot goes:

Kid shows up in a showroom. Inquires about 'booking a car for his 18th birthday' in a horrendous vernacular accent (premium segment, anyone?). Hear that first line again. Who at DDB and VW thought the delivery sounded about right?
Ingratiating dealership salesman calls the kid 'sir', and proceeds to fawn over him.
Kid goes on to talk about VW models for when he's 24, a CEO... a longwinded sequence while the salesman agrees for each choice earnestly.
This goes on for about a minute, and feels much longer.

And this was the best way DDB and VW thought to present themselves to India: a brand known worldwide for creative, innovative, and most importantly - memorable advertising. Perhaps they wanted to oversimplify things for the Indian consumer, and came up with this.

As a former VW owner, and as a fan of their campaigns in the United States, I am appalled at such substandard communication from the brand.

To think VW India and the agency are actually pleased with their work. Since Porsche and VW are together now - did they copy an older Porsche ad and do this version for India?

How's this for chutzpah? Gatecrash a White House state dinner

2009-11-26T23:14:00.001-08:00

Hear about the couple that went in uninvited to the state dinner for the prime minister of India? This revelation made me laugh out loud, especially the picture of her with prize goof Joe Biden.

MSNBC:'Once inside the dinner tent, they got pictures that appeared to show them with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Bollywood composer AR Rahman, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Obama Chief of Staff Emanuel (identified as “Ron” in the couple’s Facebook photo caption) and two with a grinning vice president.'

He had to be part of this, if not anyone else - the veep. I thought his pose here was very appropriate for their caper.

Per MSNBC - 'While the White House offered no official explanation, it appears to be the first time in modern history that anyone has crashed a White House state dinner.'

I wonder about the kind of thought and prep that went into this endeavor. And now it's all over the news; for more, look up Conan and Letterman next week.

St.Nick gifts himself - can you believe Nicholas Cage?

2009-11-18T00:29:00.001-08:00

'Nicholas Cage' is going to be the catch-phrase for excess leading to ruin.

'MJ did a Nicholas Cage and went into bankruptcy.'

Excerpts from this article - the shopping list included:

Two castles - England and Germany
15 palatial homes across the world
A flotilla of yachts across coasts and,
A fleet of Rolls Royces

St.Nick delivered unto himself a giant sack of goodies. Time to sue his accountant, cos of no fault of his - yes? And he did.

Falling Classic - that sinking feeling

2009-11-02T22:40:00.001-08:00

Even as the Phillies make it 2-3 to go back to New York, methinks it's all over. The Yankees will take care of the rest at home, and I'll check back only for Game 7 should there be one. It would be great to have a repeat of 2001, and that series too went into November like this year.

However, it's time for fans such as I to turn our attention to the Pats. There wasn't a game this past weekend, but they're looking great after their recent two outings (59-0, and 35-7). They should be playing way into January. Looking forward to ye olde times....

TV Shows: 'The patron saint of shark-jumping'

2009-10-27T21:57:00.001-07:00

The reasons for a show jumping the shark are categorized as shown above. These come from the original JumpTheShark.com site (now a TV Guide blog).

When I chanced upon JTS years ago, it was hilarious to note this: Ted McGinley is a category by himself! Recall him from 'Revenge of the Nerds' - the leader of the jocks? The patron saint of shark-jumping - apparently, any show experiences a fall in ratings after Ted shows up on it, leading to its eventual cancellation.

Jump the Shark: 'In a television show, to include an over-the-top scene or plot twist that is indicative either of an irreversible decline in the show's quality or of a desperate bid to stem the show's declining ratings. '

Phillies back in the World Series - what 'losingest team in sports'?

2009-10-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Last year's champs are back in the finals with a 10-4 Game 5 thrashing of the Dodgers in the 2009 NLCS. Nice if the Yankees make it too, so we (and Boston) know exactly who to root for.

To think this is also the losingest team in sports for being the first professional club to lose 10000 games. 10000 defeats. Until recently that's what Philadephia baseball was known for.

The MLB has had some recent title holders that until recently were perennial losers. An amazing change in the fortunes of:

The Boston Red Sox in 2004 (after 1918/86 years) and 2007, with a great record of getting to the playoffs this decade.
The Chicago White Sox followed suit in 2005 (previous in 1917)
The Phillies in 2008, soon after taking the 'losingest' label.

All that's needed is for the Cubs to join the party. Is that allowed to happen?

Happy thoughts, instant humor, instant cheer - look these up =)

2009-10-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

These work at any time for me:

-Beagle in a Sopwith Camel engaging the Red Baron - like this image at left.

-This fictional list of movies to rent.

- Fox News' coverage of anything, with their priceless (inquiring?/analytical?/concerned?) close-up expressions. (Oddly, as I write, their 'no-bias' reporting is in the news now)

- The Tom and Jerry Mice Follies episode - note Tom's expression at 4:29 as he skates past Jerry and Nibbles.

- Any unintentionally funny Bollywood movie, which means most of them. Watch for absurd factual errors, nonsense based plots like in this one here. A disaster movie or a movie that's a disaster?

- Anyone that discusses or professes any of these - 'color/flower therapy, life coaching, past life regression therapy, pranic dieting, Robin Sharma' - with a straight face.

All smiles already?

Obama's 1-1 win-loss record in a week

2009-10-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

El Señor Presidente Obama makes it 1-1 in a week - loses the Olympics bid for Chicago, mais wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

'US President Barack Obama has said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, less than 10 months into his presidency.'

Surprised? I'll say... Nobel prize for the committee's audacity of hope? Come on.

Like someone said, at least Al Gore invented the internet and global warming...jeez.
This should have been considered a few years down; the Nobel prize committee waits years for science nominees' achievements to be validated.

The president may be a beacon of hope, a miracle man that showed up from nowhere, an object of media adulation, someone that's featured on TIME's cover multiple times - but that don't count for a Nobel peace prize, yet.

Add this to the strange choice for peace prize winners list - Arafat won, MK Gandhi did not.

The Curious Case of Bethany Button - meet anyone that knew the secret to eternal youth?

2009-10-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

The female Benjamin.
Okay, so how can anyone still be only 2 years older now, than she was at college in '98?

Back in SU, sure, it was common for many new foreign students to feign their ages, like no one one could find out. For what reason, I could not discern. But many did lie away, people (M and F) were 19 for three years in succession.

However, I ran into someone recently that was a couple years ahead of me at Syracuse, and she's still in her early 20s. Time has stood still for a decade. Aging's been arrested. She's now the Curious Case of Bethany Button .

Straight-faced, she declared to a group of acquaintances, that she needed to pay more for auto insurance on account of her 'yoot' , and of course that she hated getting her ID out for nights out, cos 'twas a nuisance to keep getting carded. (What a bother to have the 21+ proof)

She was about to say she'd just stepped out of school when she saw yours truly. And I was good n' gentlemanly. =)

2009 US Open - Djokovic vs. McEnroe

2009-09-08T22:04:00.001-07:00

Let's take a break from 'Marietta Munchkin' hoopla (no gripe) for a minute:
Over and above his considerable playing talent, Novak Djokovic is an absolute delight with his amazing player imitations. Among others, he does Sharapova and Nadal spot on.

This performance (see below) at the US Open after his fourth round win yesterday was even more entertaining than usual, and it starred John McEnroe. It was just great to see Johnny Mac come down from the commentary box to play a couple points with Djokovic. They even traded imitations. What a sight! I was smiling long afterward. =)

They'll always find an appropriate highlight, won't they?

2009-08-17T22:51:00.001-07:00

From the NYT, August 16
Article about a Bollywood actor detained at Newark airport.

'In the India Day parade in Manhattan, Pooja Patel, 15, was carried as part of a troupe advertising an online matrimonial site.' (Pic: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Courtesy Winnie Hu, readers can assume child marriage is the norm in India, and in the community. Nice.

At least it wasn't Somini Sengupta this time. Winnie beat her to it.

Strike 3 - Let's see. Michael Phelps at it again.

2009-08-13T22:24:00.001-07:00

Michael Phelps at it again.

The last time we had the bong incident. And we were to look for when he'd say "I'm 27, and...". Looks like Phelps is going to go with "I'm 24, and....".

Reports are he's likely not in trouble this time -

'Olympic gold medal swimming champion Michael Phelps was involved in a traffic accident in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday night'

- but I'd wait and watch

Very Standard No-Nos by me =)

2009-08-04T00:27:00.000-07:00

Now, don't be judgmental: ;)

- White socks with black shoes
- Labeling something 'First/best/largest in Asia'
- Shaking hands (there are also people that need to shake hands every time they meet you that day)
- Recalling anyone's birthday (close relatives excused). Tracking people's birthdays is creepy.
- 'See, the thing is 'I'm very frank , I tell it like it is' (Has anyone ever admitted to being otherwise. 'See, I never tell it like it is. I use riddles')
- Black trousers and brown shoes (add white socks here, even worse)
- Idiot friendship day messages (especially when sent by guys)
- 'I'm into classic rock'
- '___ city is different from ten years ago' . (what they said ten yrs ago)
- Being handed the phone to talk to someone you've never met. 'Here, I told my geezer friend about you and he wants to say hi' (I so so hate this, hate hate it)
- 'You're a (zodiac sign here) I can tell'. This is dumb enough from girls, but downright gay from a guy.

Been a late night for no reason, and there are repeats from last year. :)

Red Sox tainted - and look at whodunit

2009-07-31T00:49:00.000-07:00

Don't know how I missed this earlier today - apparently Manny and David Ortiz tested positive years ago.

Come to think of it, look at Manny's appearance over the years... , and here take a look at this for Ortiz.

The Boston Globe article says 'Our cheaters were better than their cheaters', referring to Sox fans' glee over the parade of Yankee dopsters - A-Rod, Giambi, Clemens over the years.

Anyway, what big surprise after Roger Clemens - there will be more revelations.

They should start a separate Hall of Fame - a Hall of Fame*.

I don't get Twitter -

2009-07-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Does everyone need to know what you're doing?

Is broadcasting that important, does anyone care?

The end of Michael Jackson - a non fan thinks back....

2009-06-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson is Dead.

And who did not know who he was?

Michael Jackson or 'Cycle' Jackson as I referred to him was likely the greatest music stars ever - in terms of popularity and chart success. The global superstar. Kids worldwide grew up in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s with MJ. I choose to remember his good years, not the controversies afterward, and the ignominy of his living away in exile.

To hear today that he was gone brought back several memories like I'm sure for many others. Everyone, everyone knew who MJ was, everyone had heard a MJ number, and everyone wondered what kind of freakshow he was too.

First off, I can't believe Michael Jackson is 50. Was 50. And he died of what....?! Wasn't he supposed to die, by rumor, of some disease some months ago?

I always wondered, aloud sometimes, how someone so immensely talented and popular went this way. Progressively whacko. Whacko Jacko.

Though I've always been into rock/metal - a dyed-in-the-wool fan, and not pop or anything of the MJ genre - he was always around. I used to snigger at friends that went to MJ shows, listened to MJ numbers, people that imitated MJ moves. But there was no ignoring the showman, the entertainer. He was always around - in posters, on MTV videos, in the news, on radio, everywhere, a constant.

Michael Jackson is dead. Unbelievable. This is going to take some getting used to.

March Madness - Can you believe Syracuse?

2009-03-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

A fantastic run with two OTs to the Big East Finals before running out of steam. And now to the Sweet 16 during March Madness.

Good stuff, Orange.

'Unfortunate Names' =)

2009-02-25T22:27:00.001-08:00

The moment I saw this article, I was reminded of several even more unfortunate names. Far more unfortunate.These were of India students back in the day at Syracuse. The expressions of landlords, nurses, university office staff were priceless when these newbies mentioned their names.

'Wait a minute, did you say your name is _____?'

From this piece:
'What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.

It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names....'

Oh, they could do a lot worse; don't you think, Deepshita?

A great sporting weekend - Tennis, Football, (and swimming).

2009-02-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

And there have been several such before.

Fri,a stellar Australian Open semi final: Nadal vs. Verdasco. List this among the all-time great five setters.
(Sat, disregard the women's final. Boring. More reason to not watch any of these one siders. Had actually stopped watching a few years.)
Sun, an amazing men's final. Too bad FeDex lost again to Rafa, but what else could he do to save the match?
Sun, a thrilling Super Bowl. It all happened in the final two minutes for the Steelers, but it was almost the second (or third?) coming of Kurt Warner. Think his performance was enough to qualify.

No wait, there's more -

Sun, swim legend Michael Phelps demonstrated his ability to smoke from a bong.

He said:
"I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again."

And last time, he'd said:
"Getting into a car with anything to drink is wrong. It's dangerous and it's unacceptable. I'm 19, but was taught that no matter how old you are, you take responsibility for actions, which I do,"

So we look for when he'll say:
"I'm 27 years old, and...."

Layoffs at my college

2009-01-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Read in the Daily Orange that my school laid off 48 staffers last week. Whenever I hear Syracuse University and finances in the same sentence, I tend to pay attention. People that know me, are familiar with my view of SU.

SU is in dire financial straits? Really?

What happened to all the $ from incessant solicitations, the giant endowment, tuition increases, and selling off square blocks on the quad to any alumni that that wanted their names etched on granite?

Maybe it didn't work out, or they wanted more. I do hope one effect of the situation is an end to scholarships, and funding to students of no merit - SU was lax in researching credentials.

Slumdog - what is the fuss about?

2009-01-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

What, I'm wrong? I should have bought in?

I thought Slumdog Millionaire was no fun, had unreal situations, and reinforced god-awful stereotypes. I kept looking for a magical moment, and there weren't any. Also, where was that great music I kept hearing about?

Must have missed something amidst all the hype. Viral 'you gotta see this'.

And why, why were India people raving about it so much? Reality aside, is this what they'd like to be associated with?

Cell phone tricks - how to spot non-calls. ;)

2009-01-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

Ever notice the antics of people using cell phones? No, they're not always having a conversation, or texting. You likely know this.

They're trying to look busy and connected.
They're trying to look not awkward.

A lot of people will talk to themselves on their cell phones. They are not talking to anyone else at all. Watch anyone that's sitting at a table in a restaurant, public place alone with a phone.
If they have an intense expression and look around once in a while - they're likely talking to themselves. Most such people will sound like they're having an argument. A made-up one.
People that eat alone at a restaurant often start a fake phone call. Who the heck wants to be seen alone at a table? Fork and phone in hand looks better.
Watch anyone that walks into a gathering of people, and everyone seems to look at them. They'll either come in with a supposed cell phone 'conversation', or will pretend to call or text someone just then. They're self conscious. They want to look busy.
There are also the ones that will have a self-conversation about a topic just to gain the attention of those in earshot. Interesting places, clubs, people will be mentioned, and there will be a lot of exclaiming, and fake enthusiasm. Exclamations:'Really?!, No kidding!, Wow!'

Watch if their phone suddenly starts to ring mid-fake call.

A comic reality TV show - 'The Palins'

2008-12-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

At last. This, this was SO expected. It was no surprise, and it was still amazing to hear. And hilarious.

'Sherry Johnston, was arrested Thursday on drug charges by Alaska state police'

Right after the 'see it to believe it' turkey interview, - The Thanksgiving Classic, comes this X'mas special from the Palins. Episode 5: 'The In-Laws Get Busted'.

I think the moment we heard this in September, like many others, we had more such delightful expectations from this value added family.

And have they delivered. Let's see what the 2009 season holds for us, from them. Reports are there's a lot more in the script.

Land O'Lincoln: Blago's auction | Tribune bankruptcy

2008-12-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

First off - wow! Unbelievable.

Rod Blagojevich joins so many other idiot pols, and of course continues the grand tradition of Illinois governors.

(CNN) - 'A day before Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was busted by federal investigators on corruption charges, he dared authorities to tape his phone calls if they thought he was guilty of anything.

Authorities had indeed bugged the governor's campaign office and tapped his home phone, catching him talking about alleged plans to sell the U.S. Senate seat left empty by President-elect Barack Obama.'

He was trying to auction off Barack Obama's senate seat?!!
His reasoning was:

'The Senate seat "is a f---ing valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."
And, if no one bid high enough, then he just might take the seat himself. "If ... they're not going to offer anything of value, then I might just take it."'

The US attorney said '....Lincoln would roll over in his grave' . He must have, several times already for Illinois.

Also wondering if these are distantly related - 'Blago tried to get some critics from the Chicago Tribune editorial board fired in exchange for state money to assist in the sale of Wrigley Field.'

That did not happen.

The Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy.

Blagojevich caught saying on wiretaps - "I want to make money,"
And then he had a great idea.

Let's go - Chandrayaan!

2008-11-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

This morning Chandrayaan landed an impact probe on the moon. For those that don't know what it is - look this up.

' (CNN) -- A TV-sized probe adorned with a painted Indian flag is set to crash on the moon Friday as part of New Delhi's first unmanned lunar mission. The craft is carrying payloads from the United States, the European Union and Bulgaria, and India plans to share the data from the mission with other programs, including NASA.'

'My Friends, It's All Over'

2008-11-05T00:37:00.001-08:00

Finally Over for Sen. John McCain.

I can't forget McCain vs. Bush (nasty!) during the 2000 campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. McCain gained fantastic momentum after winning the NH primary by a mile, and was a media favorite. The Bush camp ran an appalling slanderous attack soon afterward. And then W. won the nomination, and John McCain called him 'My friend George...'.

It should have been him in 2000.

John McCain was implored by John Kerry to run with him on the Dem ticket in 2004. Two decorated vets running together against the ex-Texas National Guard airman, and the double draft dodger - very attractive. McCain anyway was far from being the President's best friend.

He'd have been a heartbeat away from the Presidency in 2004.

This year he came back from the dead to be the Republican nominee - a win in NH again. He had the nomination in the bag early, while the Democrats battled right through to June. It was supposed to him vs. Hillary, and there was a good chance given how 'polarizing' she is.

So where did this Obama guy come from?

It so could have been him in 2008.

Unfortunate, never mind the historic election. I always thought he was a decent man. The evidence is there in his gracious concession speech, his great sense of humor and his handling of anti-Obama hotheads on the campaign trail.

Oh Darn! So close, so close.... rats.

2008-10-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Sox didn't make it.

After leveling the series with that 4-2 win Saturday it looked like the inevitable. The Boston Red Sox would again get in the World Series and do another sweep.

Not this time.

In 2008, it almost happened that Pats, Celtics and Sox would hold championships at the same time. Even as that didn't happen, the near-misses reinforce the dominance of Boston teams in professional sports. An era that began with the Patriots winning the 2002 Superbowl.

Stayin' Alive. It's that time of the year again - Sox rally!

2008-10-16T22:29:00.001-07:00

Unbelievable (cliched, and true).

It's October and they've done it again, a comeback! Back from the dead in a playoff elimination game.

It's October, and (again) when they're written off, they're right back in.

Nevermind it's not over yet for the series - but to come back from 0-7 to win 8-7 is plain amazing. To do this after being whipped by the Rays in Game 3 and 4, and that too in an elimination game, is miraculous.

Look up this article, if it hasn't sunk in. =)

(Globe Photo/Barry Chin)

Wait a minute - 'Joe the Plumber'?

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

I must have missed something here about this plumber. He's looking to buy a $250000 company? Must be one heck of a plumbing business in these times.

Good job he got mentioned 26 times during the debate - that's one amazing bi-partisan plug for his venture, on national TV no less! This is this Joe Sixpack's 15 minutes of fame for sure.

MLB - NL
The Phillies, after losing 10000+ games, are actually in the World Series. Who'd have thought?

Now for the Sox - reports are that the grand ALCS comeback will not happen this time.

'Family Matters' - the making of a likely disaster.

2008-09-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

(And I'm not talking about Gustav.)

Ok, I now think that John McCain's finished. Just when I said there was no fun in this election.

Why? Here's why - cos of his Veep pick's conservative 'family values', or worse - her preaching them. I guess this is what the 'abstinence theory' does. Nice.

And nicely worded:

Sarah and Todd Palin issued a statement saying they are "proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents."

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support," the Palins said.

Anyone else agree?

Senior McCain campaign officials said McCain knew of the daughter's pregnancy when he selected Palin last week as his vice presidential running mate, deciding that it did not disqualify the 44-year-old governor in any way.

Rrright.

This was to win over the conservatives? With the mom(s) of the year.

Who's Sarah Palin?

2008-08-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

John McCain just picked 44 year old Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska to be his running mate. This balances the youth and gender issue, I guess. McCain is 100 yrs old, and Palin is 15.

Here's what an Alaskan had to say.

Now should this have been Obama/Clinton vs. McCain/Palin? What an amazing race that could have been, only that Ms Palin aint no Hillary.

From Wikipedia - and important for the campaign:
'Details of Palin's personal life have contributed to her political image. She hunts, eats moose hamburger, ice fishes, rides snowmobiles, and owns a float plane. Palin holds a lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association. She admits that she used marijuana when it was legal in Alaska, but says that she did not like it.'
'Her husband, Todd, is a Native Yup'ik Eskimo'

Decision 2008: Historic, yes - but fun?

2008-08-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

Hillary would not stop talking yesterday. Enough already!
Just what is the point of a convention anyway? We know who has the most delegates, and the nomination.

I recall the Democratic convention of 2000 when Bill Clinton stole the show (again), nevermind what Al Gore did on stage with Tipper. Leno had Clinton's walk in set to the tune of Saturday Night Fever... hilarious.

For the Republicans, The Rock showed up and spoke - the high point of that convention. He asked what he was doing there, on national TV.

I followed that year's never ending election through SNL, Leno, and of course Conan. Have it all recorded. Excerpts, as I remember them:

Conan O'Brien: 'Gov Bush, how did your debate go?'
Gov Bush: 'Conan, we discussed the...the issues, like the middle east thing.'
Conan O'Brien: 'Now that's an important topic. What are your thoughts?'
Gov Bush: 'Here's what I think, Conan. The A-rabs, they already have A-rabia. So the Jews, they are the ones that should get Jewsalem.'
Conan O'Brien: 'Jerusalem?'
Gov Bush: 'Sure, J-jewsalem'.

Gov Bush: 'Hey, Conan did you know Southern Comfort tastes as good coming up as it does going down?'

Bush to Conan during the post election recount -
Gov Bush: 'Conan, I won all the red states. Those blue ones there on the map in the midwest - Huron, Superior, Erie ..... still waiting on those returns.'
Gov Bush: 'Conan, I'm not opposed to recounts. I'm opposed to recounting votes!'

None of all this this time around. Yet.

Talk about chutzpah...!

2008-07-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Fugitive: Starring Bosnian Serb war criminal
<= Radovan Karadzic as Dragan Dabic , Spiritual Explorer =>

'Masquerading as an expert in human quantum energy, the fugitive was so confident in his disguise he even had his own website, and would give out business cards during alternative medicine lectures. His card gave his name as D D David, D D apparently standing for his pseudonym Dragan Dabic. Billed as Dabic, Spiritual Explorer, Mr Karadzic gave lectures comparing meditation and silent techniques practised by Orthodox monks.'

Here's some footage - this guy's sure got a lotta gall!
And here's his alt medicine web site.
No kidding.

Boston: And now the Celtics.

2008-06-17T21:51:00.001-07:00

132 - 91
Unbelievable. What a grand thrashing!

How good to be right here in Boston at this time

As someone (among millions) who anyway couldn't stand the Lakers for various reasons, this win was especially sweet.

Ray Allen was tonight's superstar, by me. KG and Paul Pierce played their parts. It was great to see the long suffering Pierce installed as the finals MVP.

Boston is on a roll.

First the Pats - three titles. The Sox twice. And now the Celtics.

And I was fortunate enough to be in the area each time, and witness all three franchises win.

More to come...

Dealing with humanity - staying calm n'cool

2008-05-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Time to apply meditation, and inner peace? (All the liberally dished philo one reads about everywhere - columns, self-help books, tv shows).

I've a sense of humor | I'm not the only one that encounters these |
I'm trying to tell myself these aren't worth the aggravation:

- People that walk four across in front of me on a running track. Need to hiss to pass these jokers.
- Idiot kids that run across an apartment driveway not watching for cars
- Their idiot parents
- Articles by Somini Sengupta in the New York Times (or anywhere, actually).
- Geriatrics that talk loudly at the park at 630am. Not a care about it being a quiet hour.
- Anyone that, during a call, passes the phone to a III party that I don't know, or don't want to talk to - ever, or at that time. It's incredible the number of people that are insensitive to this.
- Overweight girls that hog the treadmill at a punishing 2 miles/hour. And on the phone. For what - so they can get a greasy sandwich right after?
- 'My problem is I'm very frank'/'I tell it like it is'. Come on, every one says that. Ever hear anyone say they are not frank?
- Amway zombies that try to recruit others in supermarkets. [Threaten to report them for soliciting business in another business]
- 'The weather here is so unpredictable. Changes in a trice.' Sure - when is it not in the Northeast, Midwest, Northwest?
- When asked 'How come you're quiet?' in a gathering. Can't one be?
- 'First/Largest/Tallest in Asia' meaningless records
- 'It's not the heat. It's the humidity'
- 'How come you have no accent?'
- Assuming someone's personality based on a zodiac sign. Girls - intolerable, Guys - gay.
- Figuring out anyone's zodiac sign. 'Oh, June 8. You're a ____'. Girls - intolerable, Guys - gay.
- Shaking hands with most people
- 'This city ___, is different'. What city isn't?
- Telesales calls and reporting these calls to the registry
- Knowing anyone's car license plate number. Creepy.
- 'This year in _____ (always the very year you happen to be anyplace), there aren't great fall colors/a white winter/warm summer. [Else, we always have amazing colors in the fall/a white xmas/warm summer.]
- Multiple doorbell rings within seconds of each other
- Resilience of NYC/Bombay/wherever
- Tales of anyone's grandchildren. The tellers never stop. Worse if there's another grandparent with a competing tale.
- Wedding pictures
- Asking for/knowing/remembering anyone's birthday other than that of a close relative/significant other
- Someone else's vacation pictures
- Calling a phone number and asking who's answering

Should these get to me? >> Y/N >> N>> Smile >> Calm down

*Will report on progress

The School of Rock

2008-04-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

Dewey Finn: 'Ok, here's the deal. I have a hangover. Who knows what that means?'
Frankie: 'Doesn't that mean you're drunk?'
Dewey Finn: 'No. It means I was drunk yesterday.'

Among many hilarious lines from The School of Rock (TSR), likely my favorite movie of all time. Now that I've watched it every other week for the past 4 months, it must be. So I decided to write about it - have meant to since Christmas. =)

I recall TSR when it came out in 2003, and parts of it on and off on TV. I even had the DVD in my collection for the past three years. However, it was a chance viewing of this DVD last fall - the whole movie all at once - that got me addicted.

Quotes from TSR are now part of how I communicate, and this relates to my manner of speaking - another addition.

(Song) 'No you're not hardcore! Unless you live hardcore! And the legend of the rent was way hardcore!'
'Sell my guitars? Would you tell Picasso to sell his guitars? '

I am a Jack Black fan like many, and he totally carries this movie being himself. I imagine this is what he's like in real life anyway. The School of Rock has you hooked from the time Dewey Finn shows up at Horace Green school as a fake substitute teacher. With a supporting cast of some amazing talented kids that make up a project called (at first) 'rock band' , Joan Cusack as the (outwardly) matronly principal, and some great classic rock music thrown in - this movie had it all right.

Right now to the closing credits that have an ad-libbed feel.

'The movie is over.
But we're still on screen
Everybody's rocking
And we came from Horace Green'

I 'mis-speak'. You lie.

2008-03-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

I find this the ultimate goof-up. What are advisers paid for? What was she thinking - she used this story four times!

Hillary Clinton:"I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."

From the report: Clinton used the description of a dangerous arrival to bolster her argument that she has the foreign policy experience needed to be commander in chief. She said when she arrived in Bosnia on March 25, 1996, "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

But news video footage of her arrival at Tuzla shows Clinton, then the first lady, calmly walking from the rear ramp of a U.S. Air Force plane with her daughter, Chelsea, then 16, at her side. Both Clintons held their heads up and did not appear rushed.

More accurately, she should have said 'that was just a costly misstep' .

Meanwhile, cartoonists went to town - take a look at these.

And then Hillary Clinton said 'It proves I'm human'.

Not after these amazing exploits, she's not.

Mr Clean's fall - bonanza for late night comedy

2008-03-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

Or for any such show.

The moment I saw Eliot Spitzer's press conference Monday, my thoughts turned to late night comics. Windfall!

Why, even the print media seemed to get a head start, by featuring this Spitzer expression - the one with the upturned mouth - in every related article.

I recall Spitzer from his 1998 run for NY Attorney General - the ads he ran, and the ads from the nasty D'Amato vs. Schumer Senate race.

This week - if the strike was on, the writers would have shown up for the same or no pay. How could they let this event pass?

Btw, the strike itself sure feels like long ago, what?

SNL Presidential debates -

2008-03-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

Been watching these, and here are a couple to view - straight from NBC:

Hillary Clinton from last Saturday

The II 'debate'/ Obama - Clinton

Rudy Giuliani

Starbucks did what?

2008-02-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

I came across this today - something I'd written for the Tripod Insider soon after graduating from Syracuse. A note from a magical era in Billsville . In 1999, I was a rookie marketeer that was assigned to this newsletter.

Anyways, I digress - the reason I mentioned that was: 1999 for me was the year of Starbucks. The first year I could afford their wares on my own dime. Soon, I went ev'ry week past a store - honest - to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts.

That was the time Starbucks was opening a store a day, two stores a day. Barnes & Noble stores and Starbucks in them. They opened Starbucks stores within Starbucks stores.

And now I hear this - they're cutting staff - Starbucks is? What, they aren't selling that many overpriced double espresso soy lattes (I'm sure I heard this order)?

And look what they're doing today - Tuesday .They're shutting down all their 7100 U.S. stores for three hours of 'employee training'.

The coffee chain said the in-store training program which will begin at 5:30 p.m. local time, would foster enthusiasm in its 135,000 U.S. employees and improve the quality of drinks made by Starbucks baristas.

"We believe that this is a bold demonstration of our commitment to our core and a reaffirmation of our coffee leadership," said chief executive Howard Schultz in a statement.

It came to this and some publicity. Can the milling coffee throngs wait while their leadership hunkers down for three whole hours?

Dunkin' Donuts - "to ensure that no coffee lover is denied a delicious espresso-based beverage" - announced that it will offer small lattes, cappuccinos or espresso drinks for a promotional price of 99 cents on Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Way to go, Dunkin' Donuts . They didn't need to do this, actually. I (and many others) would stop by anyway.

Iron Maiden were back - Caught Somewhere in Time

2008-02-02T23:32:00.000-08:00

Two Maiden shows within twelve months. Was it real? Was I really there - again?

Excellent weather. Great fans. An amazing mosh pit, even hanging by the periphery.

Our metal gods kicked off their 2008 tour in Bombay, and I was there this time - Aces High. At my III Maiden show, it all only got better.

They played plenty from their amazing '80s, and they were as always awesome. What else did the faithful need?

Recall 2001-02? The Pats are back. 18-0 and one more to go.

2008-01-28T23:44:00.001-08:00

Never mind the current season. For this club, what a run it's been this decade.

I recall watching the New England Patriots win their first Superbowl in 2002. We were at this club on an icy cold February night in Marlborough, MA.

Plenty of drama that season: Bledsoe's early season accident, the second-string Brady replacing him, the infamous Snow Bowl (tuck/no tuck rule), Bledsoe stepping for Brady in the AFC game against the Steelers, Bledsoe or Brady for the Superbowl controversy, besides the thrilling championship game in the end.

The Rams were considered a shoe-in to win. Instead, at the end we witnessed an amazing field goal by Vinatieri, after that final drive by Brady. The Pats and coach Belichick had the title - the first of several.

From what seemed like a no-hoper season at the start - star QB badly injured with a team of unknowns - to a Superbowl win.

Game sidelights:

The Pats ran in as a team - there were no individual introductions.
The half-time show by U2 was awesome - people actually watched it, instead of stepping away from the screen.
'Snow angels' by the Patriots on the Superdome's floor

Coming as it did, a few months after the 9/11 attacks - this brought in some good cheer, much like the World Series in Oct-November. Even as the Sox then weren't the Sox of today, it was good to see the Yankees lose.

For Sunday - it'll be great to see a 19-0 season. Funny how so many people can't stand the Pats now, so different than when they were the underdog team (even after two titles!).

Ah, the price of success.

Behold the Slave Gene -

2008-01-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's alive and well. I recall this message board poster that went by the handle 'Slave Gene Detector', a few years ago. He'd have detected this reporter in a trice.

The New York Times ran this article when the Tata Nano was launched in India last Thursday. It was written by someone of Indian origin, from NYT's Delhi desk.

This was what she came up with. The best she could think of.

Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants

'Let me see, now how do I get my American audience to read my article on a new car launch in India?'
'I know! I'll mention an elephant. I'll mention an elephant twice, no wait....three times. Even better.'

Referring to traffic - this statement showed up on page 1 and 2, just in case it was missed. If you could miss an elephant.

'At least this morning there was no elephant chewing bamboo in the fast lane.'

When I wrote the editorial staff at the Times, they removed it from the second page.

At a time when stereotypes of the country as a land of maharajas and snake charmers (and elephants) don't exist, we have writers like Ms Sengupta helping India out. Heck, how else would anyone would read her article? And it was supposed to be about an inexpensive small car.

For shame.

Low cost car = Low cost writing. The Tata Nano web site.

2008-01-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

Never mind the high profile launch and a worldwide audience. Here's what we have on http://www.tatanano.com/tatamotors as of Sunday night PST:

'Check out Chairman's Desk and News to read latest interview with Ratan Tata on Tata Nano'
' Shall we inform you when Tata Nano is available at our dealership for Demo & Test Drive.'
'We shall inform you when the Tata Nano is launched on following contact details.'

And this gem on the Contact Us form page:

'Tatamotors People's Car Admin (what does this mean anyway?)

Please send us your query with correct email address. And we will get back to you. '

Several other examples.

So they've certainly kept costs low on the content writing, along with the manufacturing. It's all together. =)

--
And speaking of poor content, I was just sent this classic goof. Why bother with originality when you can copy?

'The Delhi Police site has been lifted from the Singapore civil defence force or SCDF site, word for word, including graphics and pictures.

And if you are exposed to radioactive radiation, cover your nose and mouth - wait to be decontaminated by SCDF personnel.

''With the increasing number of bombing incidents around the world. No country including Singapore can take safety for granted.''

And just in case there's a biological attack and you get anthrax, there's no need to panic.
The website says: In Singapore, the SCDF, Police, Ministry of Health and Singapore Post have taken precautionary measures to deal with this threat. '

HNY'08

2008-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

No notes on 2007. It wasn't that spectacular by me. ;)

This is the first time since the internet was invented that I've spent an entire week away from it. A full seven days - my previous record was three. No email, no surfing, no news sites - no nothing. Didn't even know that a major assassination had happened. I'm amazed at myself.

Back online after days of traveling - it's all been a blur, lots of fun though. Now to look at the vacation pictures to see if it all really happened.

The Pats ended the season at 16-0. That in itself is a nice way to start the new year.

MLB's Rogue's Gallery. A little extra for extra performance

2007-12-14T01:18:00.000-08:00

'Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars' is how this news report began. So all the murmurs are now true?
Unbelievable.

From Mike Celizic, MSNBC
'...for those who have been paying attention to the game for the past 15 or 20 years, it’s not a surprise, it’s a confirmation. If the best hitters were juicing up, the excellent logic went, the best pitchers had to be doing the same thing.'

Roger Clemens*.

Forget the rest - the other major names - in that list. I saw Clemens in there.

Clemens, the greatest living pitcher. Clemens, of the Yankee dynasty. Clemens, of the comebacks. Clemens, re-signed to the Yankees. Clemens, the guaranteed Hall of Famer.

Clemens, the Bonds of pitching?

And immediately, his Wikipedia entry has this other list at the end - right below the more honorable ones.

It's been a late night.

My manner of speaking

2007-11-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

I've realized, for the most part, I use quotes from TV shows, the movies, and comics to communicate. A lot of what I say refers to cinema, Mad magazine satire, and scenes from shows like Seinfeld, Friends, and Yes - Prime Minister among others.

Think it's true for many others. Everyday, I find myself using material from here to illustrate a point, or to narrate anything.

Or - people around me will attest to this - I often repeat some irrelevant lines for no reason.

'New Fazoola!' - (MAD's take on a Mazola oil ad. Been doing this one for many years now, when I see any new product ad )

Writing as I watch.... Game 4/ World Series. (Oh, and it's all over)

2007-10-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Was about to write on my thoughts at the bottom of the 9th with Boston 4-3 up on Colorado. And the Sox just won. S-w-e-e-e-p.

A complete show of dominance in the series, just like in '04, and with several new players in the team. Their II title in 4 years.

I'll admit, I'm not a Red Sox fan from childhood, but there's something about having lived in the Boston area. BoSox talk is pervasive, it's the local religion, and it's more than any other following in any part of the country.

For 86 years until 2004, it was about collective suffering and hopelessness. Now they delight in being part of a winning tradition, along with other resurgent New England clubs (The Pats are now 8-0, having demolished the Redskins 52-7). And they want more.

Newcomers learned fast. Right from when locals could spot an outsider in Boston, regardless of color, or accent - how? If they cluelessly wore a Yankees' hat. So true.

Tonight, with millions of other fans (including the recently converted), I too celebrate.

English - unique to India

2007-10-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

I wrote up this list after I came across something similar on Wikipedia. I read and added to this article - most of it rings so true.

Especially this section on commonly used phrases. These were my contributions:

I got a firing/I was fired by him - 'I got yelled at by him', not 'I was terminated'
Give me a missed call - 'I won't pick up the phone, but I'll know you're here by the caller ID.' Much cheaper, eh? Unique to India since the mobile phone revolution.
Sharma sir is not here - same as Sharma-ji is not here, respectfully. No knighthood suffix.
I will make a move now - means 'I'm leaving', not 'making a move on someone', or anything related to chess.
Where are you put up? means 'Where do you live'?. Heard often in S.India.
Where do you stay? is the same as 'Where do you live?' or 'Where's your house?'
It is cheap and best - It's good quality at a low price - a great deal
I don't take meat/milk/whatever - 'I don't eat meat/ drink milk' etc
It is worst - 'It is really bad or of very poor quality'.
Looking for my life partner - 'Looking to get married'
Wheatish complexion - Seen in matrimonial ads. Means 'not dark skinned, tending toward light'
Too good! - Excellent, awesome.
The father of Anshul is not here - 'My husband isn't here'.

Now observe. =)

Fire, Wind, and Pestilence...

2007-10-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

No locusts yet.

The wildfires in So Cal make me wonder what it'd be like if one's house burned down. Made homeless by a firestorm? A wildfire in a city?

Unbelievable. What does it feel like - like the Terminator movies?

Imagine walls of fire ringing your neighborhood, and having to evacuate. I watched the pictures again and again. God-awful.

And some of these fires were actually started by people.

Reading a hi-tech thriller from 9 years ago

2007-10-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

I read Digital Fortress this week - nine years after it was first published. So it felt outdated. ;)

Why? The technology in it didn't sound hi-tech. Also, Dan Brown had included what sounded like a lot of needless mumbo-jumbo. Much like in Angels and Demons.

I'm not sure I like to be ahead of the author - figuring out who the bad guy is, who would get killed, what was a red herring etc.

Toward the end, even I was solving 'codes' within messages ahead of the chief protagonist. She and the others took six pages to figure out the final pass code.

*Wink*wink*. Small victories.

What a waste of advertising. Recall anything?

2007-08-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Most advertising on television, if not all, is a waste. I don't recall the product nearly all the time. Recall the music, the visuals played ever so often. The product? What was it?

1-2 minute commercials lose the point in trying to be funny, tell a story, make a connection, be very clever - and lose whatever was being sold.

This is the same for print - who the heck recalls those watch ads for instance? Rolex, Omega, Cartier - they all look the same.

Back in the advertising program at the Newhouse school/SU, I recalled a discussion about clutter. God-awful clutter. We counted the number of ads we were exposed to from the time we woke up - FM radio alarm, breakfast tv, newspaper, drive-time radio, hoardings, in school placements - to when we got to class.

They numbered over 200 for me. Two hundred in 90 mins on a weekday morning.

Among the great finals. Amazing. Simply amazing.

2007-07-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

As the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon gets underway, all ye tennis fans-

Give thanks - we just witnessed greatness - an amazing Gentlemen's Championships final.
Give thanks also that we are able to see a top-class rivalry being played out in men's tennis, so soon after another.
Give thanks to Roger Federer and Rafael Nada l for making tennis enjoyable to watch again.

What do they call such finals - Epic, Classic, Memorable, Historic?

It was all that, and what a game it was - with crucial twists, in the second, fourth, and fifth sets. Top flight tennis. Honest, what did Nadal mean when he said, 'I'm not good on grass, no?' last week? How many more such finals? Many, I hope....

What a treat it was to watch McEnroe and Connors walking around the club with Bjorn Borg discussing Federer potentially equalling Borg's five in a row. Also, Federer talking to Borg in the clubhouse after winning.

Twenty years ago, as a kid, I watched the Cash - Lendl final, and Lendl lost ((No Czech, only Cash') - much to my dismay. Since then I've managed to root for the winner on several occasions - Edberg, Krajicek, Ivanisevic, and Federer.

Ok, let's go - Bjorkman in the mixed. For sheer longevity and long time consistency, you too deserve our appreciation.

Mats Wilander is candid

2007-06-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

It's not just about the recent clay court, and the current grass court season. I seem to have started to follow tennis again, the way I did many years ago. I actually know who the top ten players are - again.

Speaking of players from years ago, I came across this candid interview with Mats Wilander in the Guardian Unlimited, 6/22/07. Here's an excerpt:

Are there any good young Swedes coming through we should watch out for?
'No, we have absolutely nothing.'

It's a funny interview. Read it here.

What happened to Mary Pierce?

2007-06-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Wasn't Mary Pierce looking really haggard at the French Open? Saw her in the women's final presentation ceremony, and in the stand. Wonder why...

Dead ringer for the wicked witch of the west.

Then she made up for it the next day.

A B-Movie stole from me

2007-05-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

When the temperature rose for weeks during summers past, I'd often wonder what it'd be like if:

An ice cold polar water current showed up from under the ocean by the coastlines, to drop temperatures suddenly for hot regions.
The ice ages returned, only much faster.
The earth rolled over so the tropics went where the poles are.

Then I watched this film on TV a couple days ago. Wait a minute, a B-movie stole my third thought, and presented it so badly? And I thought this had occurred to me first, before anyone else! ;) Of course, I didn't have the science to explain it.

Absolute Zero depicted the earth's polar shift so clumsily, that it turned into a comedy. Mad and inaccurate science too. I was embarrassed for my idea.

Bad. Steal, but execute well. ;)

VT - Déjà vu

2007-04-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

Post shooting, we have: 'Profile of a typical shooter', 'he was one of those', ' we expected he'd snap', 'the signs were there'. All this comes in afterward. Everytime.

Watching, and reading as events at Virginia Tech unfolded since Monday - there's such a feeling of déjà vu. I recall a series of such tragedies from 1996, especially the string of school shootings between 1997-99. The profiles, the anger, the reactions, and the coverage.

Last year in Santa Clara, we almost had this happen (3/11)around our workplace, when several cop cruisers swarmed around the parking lot. We joked about it later, but at that time it felt very possible that a shooter was loose.

The victims at VT were people that were alive, with active lives just 36 hrs ago. When you read the profiles - people like so many we'd know, it's like they were so unlucky to be where they were when attacked. I kept wondering what it'd have been like to be in those classrooms, when the shooter came in. Each survivor account made me stop and think.

I watched some Indian TV news channels that went into a tizzy over the VT incident. One show's focus was 'were Indian students at risk in the US?', and 'should they not go to the United States because of this risk?', with a poll thrown in. Having zeroed in on the single (at this time) casualty of Indian origin, they went into a frenzy. Panelists, aspiring students, parents, a US consular officer - they all were interviewed.

What kind of idiot story is this? A one in a million chance, and they make this 'risk' a story? Like the pressing need now is to discuss how Indian students are coping, and how they'll encounter gunfire on campus when they travel to the States. Spread some fear, make news, create a scene.

'I heard some students were shot at an university in the US, and so I'm canceling my plans to get there this fall'.
'Dear Dean, I'm rattled by your potentially gun-crazy campus culture, and can't accept this offer of admission. You can also keep the TAship, stipend, and credits'
'My coursework and graduation be damned. Lest the next shooter peep in my classroom window, I'm outta here immediately.'

Please.

'Click to view video' - #$%^&*#@!

2007-03-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Anyone hate clicking on 'view video' links, especially on news sites? I absolutely do. If I want to click and read, that's all I need. All that's desired. I can't stand to see video only links. They are cumbersome, have awful quality, take a long time to load, buffer, choose between players - even on broadband. Reading through a report is a lot faster and easier, but we're seeing more and more videos. For me, it's annoying to see the video camera icon after a link. Who ever thought this was a good idea? A complete turn off.

If I wanted to view videos only, I'd go to YouTube.

This is likely cos Cnn.com and many news sites are slacking on writing articles. 'Tis far easier to show a video version from TV. The same videos used to be pay-for, until a couple years ago.

Maid'en Heaven - 3/17/07

2007-03-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Landed in BLR Fri for the Iron Maiden show Saturday, Mar 17. Gates opened at 3p.

Magic. Ecstasy. Surreal. Madness. Euphoria. Unreal. Flying. DidItHappen.

There were hundreds like me that traveled to BLR for Maiden. 24 hrs later, my ears still ring. I can't stop rockin', nor can many others. There's nothing else to share or discuss. There's nothing else to play. Can there be now?

Can a bunch of 50 yr + rockers enthrall a 50,000+ audience thus?
Yes. Oui. Ja!

I've attended Iron Maiden shows before - headlined by Queensryche, and Halford no less. Those shows don't compare to what we experienced last night. Last night, it was everything that was likely an out of body experience for most.

Maiden fans on the airplane to to show, on the way from the show, in the streets, at the gates - an unbelievable vast camaraderie. There was nothing else to talk about.

At 5 ft from the stage, this was even better than shows in the past. Dehydration, 6 hrs of waiting and standing be damned. There was happiness, good cheer, delight, forgiveness, tolerance, acceptance all available in plenty on Saturday evening. Yes, we booed the headliner bands - did we need to endure them as we waited for Maiden? Then they were on-stage at 817p, and they blew us away.

Fans on the road. Fans in the airport. Fans in the plane. Fans in the cab. Fans ev'rywhere.
A whole black and blue army. The Maiden Army.

To hell with fixed WC'Cricket games, overhyped teams' shame, and suchlike after the show. Does anyone care about these overrated clowns? Cricket fans do not.

Nothing Else Mattered.

Maiden Magic.
Nothing Else.

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo - no wonder Clint spoke Italian at the Oscars!

2007-02-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Clint Eastwood parla Italiano, apparentemente (title of an AP Photo).

Clint Eastwood apparently speaks Italian!

Ye olde composer Ennio Morricone got a Lifetime Academy award for his music, and proceeded to accept in Italian. And guess who helped us all out smoothly by telling us what Morricone said. Clint Eastwood. Who the heck figured he spoke Italian?

Theories aplenty - he had a language prompter, he had cue cards, he had rehearsed a translation....

Come on, of course Clint Eastwood knows I-talian! Think back to T he Good, the Bad and the Ugly , even as he said precious little in that movie - but it was an Italian one. ;)

However, he kinda mumbled (in English?) before the presentation. Saved the clarity for his foreign language skills. Impressed, Il Buono!

Mad Magazine, anyone?

2007-02-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

MAD Magazine, a classic publication - every issue was/is a gem. I own a bunch of old copies, neatly bound for reading and re-reading. We have MAD TV nowadays, but the real thing is priceless. Probably the greatest concentration of creative talent ever, with no ads even (until recently).

Besides the hilarious Don Martin ('One Fine Day in a S.American Dictatorship' etc) strips , Sergio Aragonés marginals , Antonio Prohías' 'Spy vs. Spy', Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side Of' among several other talented artist/writers - there were the amazing MAD movie satires.

My favorites, as I recall the lines from MAD:

'The Ecchorcist' - (The Exorcist)

Mom:'Come on, hurry! Exorcize the ghost!'
Priest: 'Hup, one two three four! Hup, one two three four!'
Mom:'What are you doing?!'
Priest: 'Oh, Exorcize... thought you meant exercise!'

' An Officer Ain't No Gentleman' - (An Officer and a Gentleman)

Fiancee: 'There isn't any baby, it was a gag!'
Officer: 'A gag? Where'd you get it from - the Menachem Begin joke book?!'

'Cry More vs. Cry More' - (Kramer vs. Kramer)

Billy: 'Where's mommy?'
Dad/Ted Kramer (thinks): He's just a kid and so sensitive - he'll be shattered. How do I tell him mommy's left us for her career? I've got it. -> 'Mommy's dead!'

Non-movie:
A look at John McEnroe's calendar:

1) Wake up - break bathroom mirror
2) Yell at maid!
3) Smash cutlery
4) Scream at chauffeur!
5)Check why no mail from John McEnroe fan clubs
6)Check why no John McEnroe fan clubs!

What wouldn't I have done to work at MAD Magazine? These are the kind of lines I'd plain love to write. =)

'Do not commit nuisance hear' (sic)

2007-02-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

Oh, I love these signs and often take pictures when I travel.

- 'Child Bear available' - (Chilled Beer)
- 'No reflusion' - (Saw this at Chinese customs/Shenzhen) Means what?
- 'Anyone think it is their birthright to cause problem, is ejected' - (Notice to prospective tenants at an apartment)
- 'Stand away from the wall for civilization' - Rest room in China

Do check out Engrish.com, and find out what it's all about. Play these over in your mind for a random chuckle.

Matters of grand national importance - jeezus!

2007-01-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

So we have the Indian government formally talking to the Brits about racism on Channel 4's Big Brother.... for what?

Why does a national government have to step in here? This is unbelievable, that too for a 'reality' TV show.

I can't imagine the US Secretary of State calling the Indian govt if Brad Pitt had crowd trouble in India, and exchanged insults there.

This is embarrassing. This is a stupid staged TV show that clearly had this all planned. I'll bet participants were asked to play to stereotypes, and they knew this would be a controversy. Come on, it all happens.

Let it all continue

2007-01-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

Allow me my exuberance:

The year was magic, it was good, it was exciting, it was all about positives, and there was ne'er a dull moment. Honest - for me, '06 rocked indeed.

Even as it feels the same for ev'ry year - how fast they pass us by - '06 was a year when I felt every day zip by. And almost each one had an impact on me personally. Every day was lived. It's all a blur? Not.

I don't recall any part of 2006 that wasn't fun filled, fulfilling, or exciting.

A zillion miles travelled worldwide, an amazing road trip back east (NY/MA/PA/NH) during the summer, finally going to So Cal on holiday (not on work), catching up with old friends everywhere, a new career opportunity, all kinds of visitors (incl grandma) at home - it's been all good. =)

C'est bon maintenant. Faites de beaux rêves. (no nonsense show-off gibberish, someone did tell me this years ago at New Year's. Go figure it out.)

The most violent show ever

2006-12-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

When Joseph Barbera passed on this week, I was amazed to know that one of the creators of Tom and Jerry had been alive until now.

As the owner of about 60 hours of Tom and Jerry DVDs, I watch episodes over and over again - ne'er getting tired of it.

The most violent show ever - with bizarre acts of revenge among the protagonists, diabolical attempts to eliminate each other, all the plotting and scheming... and very quick recoveries. So much of it in every episode. And a lot of the physics involved - elasticity, potential energy, hydraulics, resonance etc all demonstrated often. =)

Fav episodes:
- Tom pole vaults, climbs, flies in the air attempting to catch Jerry and a little yellow bird
- Tom skates around an icy kitchen floor, when the refridgerator is connected to the water supply. His nonchalant 'cool' expression as he skates past Jerry is priceless
- Jerry covets Tom's bubble gum, and what he does with it
- The Cat Concerto episode (1946 - wow!), where Jerry annoys Tom on the piano
- Tom and his alley cat friends in the house disturb Jerry, when the family's out
- Spike the dog (just whistle!) and the puppy episodes
- Episodes when Tom's at the ready to eat Jerry or the bird with condiments, fork, knife etc
- Tuffy the baby mouse and Tom get along

The accompanying music on the show is a big part of every story. I didn't like the later (sharp) drawings as much, and some of the sci-fi storylines.

I've never met anyone that has seen and not liked Tom and Jerry, and have often wondered what goes into creating a cartoon like this - from concept to the final production. Thank you, Hanna-Barbera and producer Fred Quimby.

'The Cuisinart Murderer of Central High'

2006-11-22T23:41:00.000-08:00

This faux movie title from Calvin and Hobbes - I can't get it out my mind. Also, can't stop chuckling when I recall that particular strip. Especially Calvin's expression as he asks mom.

C:'Mom, can I have some money so Hobbes and I can go to a movie?'
M:'What movie?'
C:'The Cuisinart Murderer of Central High'
M:'I really think there are more constructive ways you could spend your afternoon, Calvin'
H:'What did she say?'
C:'Oh, she went off on one of her irrelevant tangents again'

Other classic (fict.) movies that C & H have shown an interest in:

Sorority Row Horror
Venusian Vampire Vixens
Vampire Sorority Babes
Killer Prom Queen
Attack of the Coed Cannibals
Cannibal Stewardess Vixens Unchained

Can just think about any of these and LoL to the bewilderment of anyone that's with me. I own every Calvin n'Hobbes collection there is, hence these recollections.

Watterson, why did you stop? =)

Meteor Shower Ev'ry November

2006-11-18T00:27:00.000-08:00

There's this magic about watching the Leonids meteor shower at this time every year.

Most spectacular - I recall this enchanting early morning, Nov 2002, back in Waltham, MA.

I'd stayed up... and before I knew it, it was 330am. Watched about a hundred shooting stars that icy cold morning, against an inky black sky. Amazing.

Then watched Venus the morning star rise.

What magic. Wish upon a..... staaaaaaah!

Would we miss anything?

2006-11-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

Just occurred to me:

Why is it so important to stay close to email, and have a cell phone all the time?
I speak for myself, and likely for many others.

Weren't we all fine - once upon a time - without the ability to contact anyone or be contacted - 24x7?

This occurred to me as I settled in for a nightly ritual - running over twelve years now.
Sitting in front of the TV, with my laptop connected to the net, and a cell phone right by my side.

What am I - Mr Connected? A Breaking News enthusiast? I never turn the television off without a last look at CNN.

There're so many that answer cell phones at the movies, in the car at 65 mph, heck - even in airplanes in blatant disregard for all safety requirements.
Some of us scrurry to check email at airports, on our Blackberries lest it be something drop dead important. Sure, like that update on servers down for maintenance, that double upgrade offer from a car rental co, and some $%^&#@! discount deadline for some tradeshow.

What earthshaking event do we need to be on top of, that we need to know about immediately, that we can't afford to miss? What needs our input that can't wait - all the time?

Nothing - I bet. Honest, more often than not for me.

My overrated iPod Mini - thoughts on the iPod's 5th birthday.

2006-10-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

Reviews@CNet asked me if I was sure. I'd given the iPod Mini a 0/5 rating in March '05. This was different than the rave reviews given to it from other users on Cnet.

I thought then, and still think that my iPod Mini is a piece of garbage. I've had it for almost two years now, and it's an unreliable, non-intuitive to use, overrated gadget.

Nothing on it ever works the way it should. The playlists keep changing, and skipping. The volume control is plain unusable. The *&^%$#@#$+! thing freezes on and off. How can this contraption fetch a huge resale price on eBay?

It's now exactly five years since the iPod was introduced - to unprecedented popularity. Did I get a lemon iPod? Or is it cos we're overlooking the lousy flaws, as it's cool and in to use an iPod?

I'm ready to toss it in the water.

Mel blames the tequila

2006-10-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's how I'd wrap up Good Morning America if I were Diane Sawyer -

'Charles, I think what Monsieur Gibson's saying here is:

It takes that one drink to evoke deep rooted anti-Jewish sentiments within.
Or
I'm an anti-Semite, and that drink made me express my inherent feelings.'

To quote the Eternal Mel:

"Years go by, you're fine," he says. "And then all of a sudden in a heartbeat, in an instant, on an impulse, somebody shoves a glass of Mescal in front of your nose and says, 'It's from Oaxaca.' And it's burning its way through your esophagus and you go, 'Oh man, what did I do that for? I can't put the toothpaste back in the tube."

'The interview with Sawyer is the first time Gibson has spoken to the media since sparking a scandal by unleashing what he later called "vitriolic and harmful words" during his arrest. Gibson told the arresting officer: "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked him, "Are you a Jew?" '

Read up here.

Recollections - The Amish

2006-10-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

The recent Amish school shooting tragedy - the third U.S. school shooting incident this past week - brought back memories of this community. I'd encountered these gentle folks on a couple occasions back East.

It was the winter of 1997 when I first saw the Amish, on a trip from Syracuse University to Canajoharie, NY. My friend, a student of chemical engg had to collect water samples from a treatment plant, and I'd driven along with him. On the country road off the exit that icy cold day, I saw road signs with horse carriages painted on them. Soon enough we were slowed down by a horse drawn buggy in front of us. A bearded man in a black hat held the reins, a member of the Amish community in upstate NY.

The next time I got to meet this quaint ethnic group was during the summer of '99. Traveling through eastern Ohio, we came across an Amish farmer's market. In the blazing hot sun, there were Amish dressed in black, selling produce. By now, I'd read up some on their history and ways. I recall:

- Rollerblading being acceptable among them, as a non-motorized means of transport.
- Being surprised on seeing a bunch of them traveling in a van. Apparently acceptable.
- Smiling genial older folks.
- Curious Amish kids that likely saw their first non-Caucasian - me. =)
- Wondering how they managed to live the way they did, out of choice. Why choose to be so? What made them tick?
- Thoughts on scenes from The Witness and For Richer or Poorer, movies that featured them. Harrison Ford as a faux Amish man punching the lights out of some hecklers that bothered them.

Among the many school shooting incidents over the past decade, this one likely affected my thoughts the most. For a community so opposed to non-violence, and steeped in the values of 'turning the other cheek', and forgiveness - these killings are a god-awful calamity. Unpardonable.

But pardon they did, by forgiving the gunman that killed five of their own.

Crikey! Steve Got Stung

2006-09-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

See what happens when you go overboard with animals? This guy certainly did, and they got him.

He was known to be a great conservationist, and for that all praise is deserved. Not for his on-camera antics.

Unfortunate, yes - Irwin's death, the current media circus, and the circus he ran.

Was the chief guest's last name Gibson?

2006-08-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Look at these unbelievably ignorant and insensitive jokers - how crass can people get?

Hitler-themed restaurant

A huge poster of the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, adorned the inauguration function of Hitler's Cross, much to the surprise of the invitees.

The signage at the entrance also showed the Swastika encircled by the letter O in Cross.

“We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people’s minds,” owner Punit Shablok told Reuters. “We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different.”

!!!! For shame.

Polar bear anyone?

2006-08-08T23:11:00.000-07:00

As a fan of bears - all kinds, I couldn't help showcasing this one.

Here's Coldilocks - a nice AP picture on CNN.
CNN.com: 'Coldilocks, a 25-year-old female polar bear, enjoys bits of fruit in a block of ice in the midday heat at the Philadelphia Zoo.'

I rarely miss bear stories on the net. Here are a few ursine escapades: =)

This bear, I think, tried to escape from the zoo on a cycle.

'Juan the Andean spectacled bear first paddled across a moat using a log for a raft, then scaled a wall. Finally he appeared to commandeer a bicycle, before zookeepers with brooms cornered him.'

This one had a preference for a particular brew, 36 cans of it. Look at him.

'Sgt. Bill Heinck said the bear did try one can of Busch, but ignored the rest."He didn't like that (Busch) and consumed, as near as we can tell, about 36 cans of Rainier." '

A cousin of Coldilocks above, maybe? This bear broke in for some oatmeal.

'It was a real-life version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears — only in reverse. A woman came home to find a young bear eating oatmeal in her kitchen. Three police officers who went to the home Thursday couldn't get the bear to budge, so authorities let the animal finish its meal.'

Enchanting.

The Eternal Mel

2006-07-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, others have said the exact same things, but let me add my note to all that's being said about Mel Gibson:

- He's so obviously an anti-Semite. There's been enough evidence .... his behavior, his film and his family.
- The first apology didn't refer to his anti-Jew remarks. Gibson only said he was sorry for these later, when it was pointed out. He wants Hollywood and movie-goers to not boycott him. Make no mistake, he still has the same beliefs.
- Nothing he'll say or do in repentance now and later will ever change that. It can't, because - unprovoked - he chose to express something that he believes in. He'll always be a Jew hater.

And no, drunkeness is not an excuse. How can they defend this SS Nazi? How?

Syd Barrett

2006-07-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Roger 'Syd' Barrett passed on last week. One of the founders of Pink Floyd, he left the band in the late '60s, well before Floyd's major albums came out. He was replaced by David Gilmour after he lost his mind, and the album 'Wish You Were Here' was with reference to Barrett.

I chanced upon The Piper At The Gates of Dawn, from Barrett's time, in '04. Astronomy Domine, a weird number from this album, wasn't easy to forget.

Again: Murder in Bombay. Resilience?

2006-07-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

'Bastards!' I recall this headline in the Daily Mirror after the London tube bombings one year ago. It was also expressed spontaneously, soon as many of us heard about Bombay now.

To help or to look up emergency information click here.

Today, a bunch of hatemonger killers left explosives on trains across Bombay and got off, before hundreds were blown up. A curse on these godless heathen.

All Cities Do Step Up During Tragedies
Now about the media that covers Bombay's tragedies. Oh, the city is used to it, right? The city is 'resilient', and it's residents will rise to the occasion, Bombay's spirit shall ne'er die, this is after all 'Bombay'.

Where doesn't this happen?

What city isn't resilient, where don't citizens step up and help each other after a disaster? It happened in New York, London, Madrid, and in any other terror zone. Why does the media keep on about how each city is unique and shall rise from the ashes. Come on, they all do, and it's not extraordinary. Because it's a question of staying employed, not losing an earning opportunity - there isn't a choice for most ordinary survivors. And people will always reach out during a tragedy, like they do in Bombay everytime.

Excitement For Some Of The Unaffected
However I saw a different kind of 'resilience' on television. There were resilient people in Bombay grinning on camera, yelling, laughing as they waved to viewers, and overall having a good time as clueless reporters asked for soundbites. Happens every time, and so terribly crude when viewed against the background of tragedy.

They were obviously not directly affected by the bombings - no damage, no injuries, no loss of life, and for such people this was some welcome excitement. Trains were bombed in the city where they live, nothing happened to them, but wow how exciting - be all buzzed and do nothing. A diversion from their monotonous daily lives. For every genuine donor, facilitator or life saver(there were many), there were several of these jokers on the sidelines. One of them even said 'It is a sad day for Bombay', smiling cheerfully.

News Coverage - Watch Us, We Sensationalize More.
Do any of us care for reporters and news anchors' faux expressions on Indian TV channels? . Those affected are tired of cliched comments about 'spirit' and how 'Bombay is different'. Did anything change for them since the last tragedy? As always, rookie and familiar reporters were competing for stories by asking the most inane questions:

'How do you feel after these explosions?' (I feel great. What do you think?)
'Do you want to go home now?' (Nope, thought I'd standby until the wee hours)
'Will your family be worried about you?' (No, they're hoping I'd be taken)
'Are you going to get on a train now?' (No, heading to the airport)
'Do you feel different than the last time Bombay was attacked?' (Yes, this time I feel really awful. Last time I was happy.)
'Do you think Bombay will get back on its feet?' (Difficult to say. Let me watch and get back to you in 6 weeks.)

Bad enough when posed to dazed victims, and incredibly worse when asked to the grinning/excited folks above. Completely unaffected, their cheerful smiling demeanor, even as they professed sorrow and shock, should make anyone recoil with disgust.

Speaking of expressing disgust, do read this column. Are these attacks a surprise any longer? No.