Taking Cover

Dark Shadows : Johnny Depp aces it yet again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:34:00 +0000

If you haven't watched Tim Burton's latest flick, don't just go by the 6.6 rating IMDb gives Dark Shadows. The movie is a 2 hour joy ride, a mustwatch of sorts.

Okay, now that I am less excited and more objective, Dark Shadows is one of those movies which cracks you up in bits and pieces and leaves a lasting impression in your minds.

Johnny Depp shows why he is considered one of the best in his profession yet again. With an oddly humorous accent, he is definitely going to catch your attention. The movie starts in the 18 century and fast forwards 200 years into the 20th century. The story revolves around the Collins family and Barnabus' return 200 years later to his family mansion.

Brilliant screenplay and direction apart, what makes this movie a mustwatch, in its own way, is the subtelity in Depp's character, Barnabus Collins' humor. The best sequence in the movie, for me, was Barnabus' walk from his grave to his mansion. Pharases like "Curious terrain!" and "Have at me, Lucifer!" are simple, and funny!

It would be wrong, however, to tag this as a one man show. Performances from Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter were equally decent.

For a movie that made all the exam tension go away, I loved Dark Shadows and would recommend it to one and all. Yes, the ending is a little bit of a drag and pulls the movie's appeal down significantly, but it is still not something you would want to pass off.

3/5.

PS. The use of "Nights in White Satin" in the beginning and credits was a masterstroke! Perfectly fits the movie!

Today

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:26:00 +0000

(Wrote this on the Rock Night of Harmony 2012. For some reason, I loved that night. Hanging out with friends all day and then the amazing Fusion and Rock duo at night made my day.)

Today I ran, closing my eyes
And screamed at the silence of noise.
Caring the least, for the world outside,
I ran, like a child.

The wind came bustling, pushing me back,
But nothing could stop me today.
For today, I was not afraid of being happy.
For today, I was not scared to smile.

And breathless, as I fell to the ground.
I looked up at the evening sky.
And laughed aloud, as long as I could.
Today, I had lived a different life.

As time flows by

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:08:00 +0000

Only a year back, this feeling was not so alien. And then, college happened.

Its another thing to press the pause button and take a look back at everything that whizzed by in the last ten months. But, time doesn't stop. Life, as they say, goes on.

So as the first year in college comes to a tiring end, there is so much for me to look back and learn from. Small and big, highs and lows;experiences which I will cherish for a long, long time to come! But even as I do so, the perennial continuity of life reminds me of the need to make sure this is not the end to the beautiful journey that started almost a year back. That, no matter what, life will go on.

Amidst mixed feelings of joy and anxiety, there is comfort in knowing a greater part of the 3 years in college is still to come. Going by how this one year was, the next two years look promising indeed. As college gives over for the summers, its nice to know that in two months, all the fun and excitement will be back. As I look back at the year that was, it thrills me to know that there will be greater challenges ahead. Tougher decisions and bigger stakes. And then, I realize how its nature's call to grow up.

I will miss the parties, the innumerable outings over lunch, the countless treats, the sleepovers, the fest madness, the "Happy Nights", and the extremely talented group of third years who will leave at the end of the year. For me, this last year was more than just those dispersed hours of academic learning. It was about making new bonds with some of the best people I've met in all my life.

My first year in college was downright "brilliant". Thank you, one and all, who've been there and made this year so special.

Over, and out.

In this moment

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:06:00 +0000

A poem which grew out of the countless visits to Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi. It is a poem which is very close to me because of its impulsive nature. Hope you guys like it :)

This moment, I see people.
I hear them, I feel them.

I see around;
The sun on its victory march along the western skies,
Its reflection lightning up my eyes.
The strength of its rays, shallower still.
And the shimmering silhouette of buildings.

And people all around.
They laugh, they cry.
They fail and re-try.
And I see them all.

I absorb their elation.
They share, they care.
They stare, they bear.
And silently, in the distant corner,
I see them all.

This moment, I sit content.
Knowing it won't be long,
Before the frailties of our existence,
Nudges us along.

Till then, here I am.
Rapped in silent observation.
Till then,
Life is beautiful.

Going back

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:07:00 +0000

So when I came back home on the 3rd of December, I was excited beyond measure. I knew I had one full month of "retirement-ki-zindagi" up ahead of me. Bestest of mommy-cooked food, going out with friends once a while, movies and sitcoms, playing around a bit, reading through a lot of junk, etc etc.

And before you know it, here we are. The end of the vacation which was so promising, and yet, shallow. A few hours away from the ride back to Delhi, it feels really odd.

Odd because, I've been through this before and yet, I don't know how to deal with it. When I had come, I was missing my life back in Delhi so so bad. I was missing the waking up late and running to college; somehow managing to attend the assembly and get the attendance. I missed the running around, doing society work. The going out with friends and eating out almost regularly.

And yet again, here we are. A month back at home, the luxuries of life; the watching television - something I had almost forgotten about back in Delhi; the sleeping way late at night and waking up lunch time! Gaming non stop and bugging mom! I had the best time at home - being jobless, doing whatever I felt like and taking a break.

But breaks aren't forever, are they?

And once again, the bags are packed. The documents are readied.
And off I go. Away from home.

Don 2 : Ordinary.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:39:00 +0000

The one word that can describe Don 2 would undoubtedly be, ordinary.

When a director as able and critically acclaimed as Farhan Akhtar comes back with a much anticipated movie in the holiday season, you know you are going in for a treat.

But Don 2 was much less of a treat and a horrible combination of trademark sequences and techniques from the Ocean's Trilogy, the Mission Impossible series, James Bond and some misguided notion that SRK's toned down-wild smiled- chilly voiced- dialogues is very appealing.

Sadly for this movie, no. It just crosses over into the zone of overacting. Also, repeating the phrase "junglee billi" further makes it weird. SRK says that atleast 5 times in the movie!

What was initially intended to be a action thriller somehow turned out to be a comedy. Om Puri's character has been totally wasted with cliche'd, darn cliche'd dialogues that almost gave a hint of mocking those classic "Tum bachke nahi jaa sakte, Don!" and "Police ne tumhe chaaro aur se gher liya hai!"!

The movie made an honest attempt at trying to take Bollywood to the next level and to a certain extent, the action sequences were well coordinated. The lack of an emotional baggage and meaningless songs were additional brownie points for the movie.

Boman Irani was the best actor in the movie and looked most convincing. SRK just couldn't hold on to the audience's attention long enough and it was really funny to hear people bursting into fits of laughter every now and then to serious dialogues.

A 2/5 is what the movie rightly deserves. Hold on to some serious plot twists and revelations in the end which makes the ending a little savory and probably earns the movie another half a point. So, 2.5/5 and you might as well decide to go catch it. :)

( Oh look, I forgot Lara Dutta was in the movie. :P )

E-Commerce : Restricted space

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Not everything can be done online; commonsense tells you that, doesn't it?

I was reading this article today on how e-commerce took a major hit this year. The success stories of Flipkart and Snapdeal over the last few years meant the general notion of a "prospective boom" in the online retail sector. However, in spite of Venture Capitalists and Private Equity investors pumping in around $500 million this year, several major players have taken a hit and have been forced to shut down.

Among the list of names that I came across, Nammagroceries.com, Harisabzi.com and Subzimandi.in caught my eye. Reason being, the odd thought that you can sell groceries online.

I mean, its one thing to see that the number of people using internet in the country has been growing hundred-fold in the last half-decade or so but is there even a rationale behind thinking people are going to buy vegetables online?

Of course, you might find some widely dispersed customers who prefer the convenience (if at all) but lets go back to my keynote premise; not everything can be done online.

You might be expecting a possible reason behind that argument by now. Well, its simple. Vegetables have been (in the Indian context, at least) one of those commodities which people need to be present physically, in order to buy. Sure, some people choose to appoint their domestic helps to do the job. In other cases, they choose the local grocery retail outlet (Food Bazaar, Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, etc) instead of the actual subzi mandi but you can't tell what you're going to get unless you are actually present, buying it yourself that which satisfies you most.

Another example in this category would be about selling clothes online. I'm sure eBay will disagree with me at this point but, again, choosing a general line of thought, you won't see people sitting at home and ordering clothes instead of actually going to the outlets and buying them physically.

Two arguments that prop up against me now are : a) It is convenient and time saving. b) There are cash-on-delivery facilities which don't make it binding for you to pay unless it meets your desired satisfaction levels.

And here is how I counter those arguments.
a) Its a matter of perspective. People choose to "save time" from "work" for "leisure activities". Now when was the last time you "wanted" to not spend some time enjoying an item of luxury - an hour of a really good movie, perhaps? because you would rather work?

Yeah, never!

Paying bills standing in lines is waste of time. We substitute that with online payment, sure.
Buying electronic gadgets, reality deals, books, etc. are as good buying from a store as they are sitting at home and ordering online. We substitute physical labor with the comfort of ordering from home.

But in several cultures here, going out to shop vegetables is still considered as one of the very few existing luxury practices that didn't include the use of a gadget. Hence, people choose the local subzi mandi.

b) I'm not convinced with cash on delivery being the ideal solution for meeting your desired satisfaction levels. Its rare that you find something wrong in a gadget or a book that you might reject accepting it. Its not that you order such items almost daily either. But, with groceries (which are, in many households, a part of the daily shopping list) you can't just sit back at home and keep rejecting deliveries one after the other as long as that potato doesn't have the black little spot or the onion didn't smell so un-fresh.

So, there you go. Budding entrepreneurs that our country is so filled with, I am sure all of you have beautiful minds on your shoulders working and finding newer ways to make some money. But, maybe its time the world slowed down a little and respected the necessity of some basic traditions and practices.

And not expect people to order vegetables online! I mean, really?

From Satyajit Ray's pen to the silverscreen!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:52:00 +0000

For someone who has never been much into Bengali movies much, I've had more than a thing for the Sherlock Holmes of India's depiction on the silverscreen.

After a string of really well directed, acted and executed pieces on select novels from the world famous detective series - Feluda written by one of the best Bengal has ever seen - Satyajit Ray, December this year brought along Royal Bengal Rahasya.

This fifth edition (if I'm not mistaken) in this recent series of movies starring Sabyasachi Chakraborty in the title role has a lot of changes from the original text, albeit justified. The movie starts off in typical Feluda fashion. A small introduction and off the trio set for their next adventure!

I spent some wonderful time reading Feluda stories 'back in my schooldays'. And among the movies they made, I had read Gorosthaney Shabdhan and Kailashe Kelenkari. It goes without saying that having grown up reading the stories, my expectations were really high. The 21st century Feluda is armed with the advances in technology - but is still the same sharp, smart and highly observant self at heart. And in all the movies I must admit I have been more than happy with the performances and adaptation to today's times.

So when I went in for Royal Bengal Rahasya, I was hoping to have 2 really good hours spent - and I did do just that. The movie revolves around the forests of North Bengal and you can't resist but stare at the beautiful scenes with amazement. The cinematography was brilliant and acting, immaculate.

It is most unfortunate that Bibhu Bhattacharya, playing Lalmohan Ganguly a.k.a. Jatayu is not with us anymore. But, for what its worth, he signs off with one of his best performances.

Based purely on Direction and Screenplay, I must say this movie deserves a lot of appreciation. The story was a little loose; specially the climax, which might be the only minor negative in an otherwise flawless piece of artwork.

I won't write much about the story because its one of those movies which is better seen than told!

3/5. Go watch it right away :)

Dexter Season 6!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:06:00 +0000

Dexter's sixth season started earlier this year and I must confess I was more than eagerly awaiting it after the 5th season ended promising so much more!

And for those who are yet to watch the sixth, deliver - it does. The storyline in the sixth season is broadly the same - darkly dreaming Dexter faces a choice between what is morally correct and what his dark passenger wants him to do. This time around, there are several pieces of the jigsaw that were interwoven to give a sense of dynamism to the entire set of 12 episodes.

Besides the central plot, which I'll come to in a while, the season revolved around several sub plots in order to build the characters in the series for the next season. Why I talk of the next season right now, I shall explain.

There were three new central characters this season. Jamie - Batista's sister who helps Dexter look after Harrison, Louis - Masuka's intern whose character didn't develop as much, and Mike - Debra's replacement Detective as she gets promoted to Lieutenant following La Guerta's promotion to Captain.

Among the several subplots, Debra's feelings for Dexter takes formidable shape as she starts seeing a psychologist over the duration of the season. Dexter sees a familiar face in the shape of Brian Moser - the Ice Truck Killer in one of the episodes. Dexter successfully fends off the urge to kill that Brian's image had tried to install in him and keeps faith in Harry's code. Louis is an interesting character who, on one hand, absolutely admires Dexter's near-perfect work and on the other hand, buys the Ice Truck Killer's evidence (the iconicprosthetic hand with 5 differently colored nails) and mails it to Dexter's apartment. His character, as I had mentioned earlier, is left under-developed. It seems, most likely, to have been deliberate to keep the theme open for the next season. Dexter also meets and kills his childhood hero - Tooth Fairy, a serial killer who would kill middle aged women and take their teeth as his prized possession.

The plot is centrally themed around the idea of faith. Dexter comes across Brother Sam, a convict turned believer in the life and works of Jesus and runs a garage where he employs men like him who had the courage to come out of the depths of darkness to choose a life of clean and unadulterated faith. His words and ideas change the way Dexter reflected on life. He started believing. But it was before long that Brother Sam gets shot by one of his employees, and Dexter takes revenge by killing the man who did this - after he finds out he had no remorse for his actions.

In the meantime, the city of Miami is plagued by what the Miami Metro Homicide now considers as the "Doomsday Killer". Travis Marshall and Professor Gellar (the department identify the perpetrators as the season develops) stage seven scenes from the Book of Revelation one after the other and each killing being more heinous and gruesome than the one before. Each of their killings were marked with an Alpha and Omega as cryptographic tableau leading on to Apocalypse,or the end of the world.

Colin Hanks playing the role of Travis Marshall

Dexter grabs hold of Travis and after Travis convinces Dexter of his innocence and Gellar's predominant role in all the killings, Dexter takes a leaf out of Brother Sam's book and decides to forgive Travis. But this, turns out to be Dexter's worst mistake when he later realizes Travis had been acting alone and Professor Gellar had been dead - killed by Travis all along. It turns out, Travis is schizophrenic and Gellar lives only in his mind. Travis manages to trap Dexter and prepare for the next tableau but Dexter escapes.

Travis decides to stage the second last tableau in the Miami Metro Homicide department's office. He sends a woman with poison gas in her bag for the gas to be released inside the department. But Dexter steps in time and pushes the woman in the interrogation room just about in time to ensure no one died. Travis paints Dexter as "The beast" and tries to kill him in his final tableau - The Lake of Fire. Yet, somehow, Dexter manages to escape and chase Travis. Travis, on the other hand, kidnaps Harrison and prepares to offer him as sacrifice at the time of the Solar eclipse but Dexter manages to chase him down and save his son and take Travis captive.

Mos Def as Brother Sam

The plot twists and turns throughout the season and the final episode ends with a dramatic scene. Planning on ending it all from where it began, Dexter takes Travis (held captive) to the church where Travis used to operate from. Setting his table and giving Travis his reason for killing him. Precisely at this moment, Debra enters the Church to find Dexter stab Travis. Dexter looks up at Debra and the frame freezes.

Jennifer Carpenter as Debra

The end sequence, among many other things, keeps the plot for the next season both open and exciting. Debra had always fallen for men who turned out to be serial killers or were killed by them. How will she react now that she knows the only man she trusted all along also turned out to be a serial killer! Louis' identity is still misleading and will it be him, who turns out to be Dexter's nemesis in the next season?

To summarize, this season had a little bit of drag (Dexter visiting Nebraska, unnecessary brawl-sequences between Quinn and Batista, etc) but maybe all that was to set the stage for a continuation up next. There were many biblical references and brutality throughout the season - but that had been Dexter's USP anyway.

It shall be a prolonged wait till October, 2012 when we can expect Season 7 to premier. Season 6 was worth the watch! Go grab your copies right away!

Gunner Watch : Analyzing last night's match against Villa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Arsenal v Villa Blog notes

There was a lot to see last night as Arsenal took on Aston Villa at Villa park. Plenty of positives throughout the match and three important points in the context of securing a position for the Champions League.

So let's get to business. Wenger played Francis Coquelin as Right back after injury ruled out Djourou for the match. The rest of the back line remained intact. Frimpong took over instead of Song (Song was ruled out due to suspension). The rest of the midfield and the front three remained same.

Coquelin's excellent last minute tackles in the first half were impressive. He looked like a natural right back. But again, there were plenty of amateurish mistakes on his part. It won't take much time to realize the lad needs some more time in the first 11 to get a grip on his nerves. The defense played well throughout with players backing up for one another but Albrighton's goal was more of a defensive disaster. It is most important that the manager shows faith in his back four in times of such crisis to let them get settled. Mertesacker still looks a bit shaky, although, he has been performing increasingly well since his arrival.

Szczesny showed amazing form and his confidence going in to catch crosses aggressively looked most impressive. There's one department we might finally look upon with some sigh of relief.

Van Persie's penalty was good. It was sharp, crisp and unstoppable at that pace. With that, Captain charismatic went up to 34 for the calendar year and next Tuesday (Note Monday's match has been postponed by 24 hours) should be an exciting match with van Persie set to try and grab that record now.

Arsenal played a good pressing game and forced Villa to go back to Guzon on multiple ocassions. Walcott made well timed runs and significantly reduced on his tendency to run into offsides! van Persie looked in fluent form running back to build the play a number of times. After Albrighton's goal, we needed some patience and Rosicky and Bennayoun brought just that. There was a lot of resilience and determination - something we have had the privilege of seeing a lot off late. A minor observation should be to have Rosicky and Bennayoun play a lot more in the League.

Rosicky's passing game is typical Arsenal. His introduction helped us keep possession and pass around frustrating the opposition. Bennayoun's clever run in the Corner was well timed for a clinical finish with the head.

Up next, we have Wolves next Tuesday. I'll try to come up with a post looking ahead into the game later this week. Good 3 points won yesterday, particularly with Tottenham and Chelsea going in tomorrow. A draw should be best for us, with both teams losing out on 2 points each. It was important for us to bounce back and that we did. Kudos!

Void

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:11:00 +0000

I stay up at nights.
I stare at the emptiness.
I hear the sound of silence.
I feel the cramping void.

And, I like it.

The peace of mind; un-parallel.
The clarity of thought; unscathed.
The air of reassurance; unpolluted.
The brevity of expression; uninhibited.

And, I like it.

I travel with my thoughts, at large.
And seek answers to many questions.
The frictions of life slide by my comprehension.
Mocking my desperate self.

And, I like it.

For it fuels my urge.
For it gives me purpose.
For it makes me thirsty.
For it keeps me awake.

And.
I like it.

Gunner Watch : Time for a quick response

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:05:00 +0000

Arsenal went down on Sunday against a string of bad decisions and bad luck, to a resurgent Manchester City vying a comeback after their loss to Chelsea the week before.

The team played quite well, except long patches of no co-ordination between the wingers and the midfielders. Don't quite know why that happened but its the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to make a quick comeback and cement their position in the top 4 of the League, much to what they deserve after the strong run of form in the last couple of months.

van Persie's claim to the record breaking highest number of goals in a calendar year in the Premier League looks a little difficult now that he couldn't score against the Citizens on Sunday. The injury to Djourou has left Wenger little choice but to contemplate a loan move during the January window for a full back or two.

However, Villa pose a strong and a different kind of challenge to Arsenal tonight. We had scored a dominating 4-2 victory in last year's match at Villa Park. Villa lost their match on Sunday too but Arsenal will be more determined to kick-start their Christmas fixtures of four closely spaced matches with a winning start.

Song and Djourou both will be unavailable for the match, which means Arsenal will have to change their starting XI by a bit. Song has played an important role throughout the season as a Central Defensive player. It will be difficult to predict what Wenger will play as his midfield. Arteta and Ramsey are for sure. He might probably play Rosicky alongside Ramsey with Arteta playing the conservative role.

In defense, we might yet again see four center backs with Squillaci replacing Djourou. Chamakh and Arshavin will have an important role to play given Arsenal's busy fixtures ahead. Wenger will most likely rest some players by substituting them early on in the second half.

Darren Bent poses the single biggest threat to the back four. But with Vermaelen in enviable form, it won't be easy for Villa to break through. With 3 losses, 2 wins and a draw in the last six games, Villa will do good to claim whatever points they can. But 3 points is essential for Arsenal this week, since Chelsea and Spurs go head to head this weekend and one of them is sure to drop points.

At this moment, Arsenal look firm favorites. Here's hoping van Persie scores a brace and the others contribute in as well. 70-30 to Arsenal at the moment. A 2-0 scoreline should be just fine.

Sad new year 2012?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:21:00 +0000

Amidst claims by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, that Inflation rates have gone down considerably in a tight economic setting and the Food Price Index actually having shown signs of decline, it looks like its going to get worse for the Indian consumers, come new year.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rule, 2011, set to come into effect in 2012 is set to increase the your bills by quite a considerable margin. The Rule demands standardization of commodity weights. These commodities fall under the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector which has seen plenty of manipulative marketing strategies over the last couple of decades, since liberalization brought an entirely new and fiercely competitive outlook to the markets.

You might have noticed how the toothpaste tube got smaller over time, but the prices kept constant? Well, that's precisely how the Indian consumers were being manipulated all this while. The biscuit packet would be the same price but just yesterday, it was 250g and today its down to 200. All this meant slight adjustments in your consumption patterns, a biscuit less a day maybe. The manufacturers were not entirely at fault because such maneuvers were largely reactions to increasing input prices.

But all that is going to change. The manufacturer of that biscuit company is now required to sell only 250g packets and charge you higher. Even if you can't afford it, you have to make do. That's what the new law dictates, threatening daily consumption commodities to shoot in as far as their prices are concerned.

Mint, the other day, reported a probable rise of as much as 25% in prices of FMCGs!

Now if only that could be all.

Reports made by experts at the 10th Petro India Conference jointly organized by Observer Research Foundation and India Energy Forum claim the current level of Government subsidy on domestic LPG and PSUs drives out Rs.2 lakh Crore from the Indian GDP and "the loss of over two percent of India's GDP to energy subsidies was not only undermining India's fiscal sustainability but also reducing energy security through investment shortfalls."

With rumors doing rounds on a proposed removal of such subsidies in the near future, it could lead to a catastrophic outcome for the average aam aadmi. The approximate price of an LPG cyllinder - the ones you use for cooking at home - currently priced at around Rs. 400 across major urban cities in India, will shoot up 75% to around Rs 700. Now, that's quite a jump, isn't it?

Besides the worry for the consumers, there should be, at least theoretically, a general slowdown of the economy.

Testing times ahead, don't you think?

(You may find this article at the Finance and Investment Cell's Blog (St Stephen's College). Check it out for more in-depth articles on the Financial world!)

Ghost Protocol : Mustwatch!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:13:00 +0000

Okay, before I write a brief review of the movie, let me confess my innate likeness for the M:I Series and Tom Cruise himself. So my review might be a little biased. But well, you have to give it to the M:I team. Whenever they are back, they are better - unlike many other movie sequels which can't live up to higher expectations.

So I happened to find myself in today's show and you know you're watching a good movie when the theater is packed and everyone is staring at the excellence on display in front of them.

M:I 4 started with what made the series all that popular - secrecy, deception, classic gadgets and sequences which leave you stunned. And all that without Cruise. All that follows is pure brilliance - the chase sequences, action and direction is state of the art.

From the Kremlin to Dubai to Mumbai, India, M:I 4 takes you across the Eastern half of the world with Ethan Hunt and team trying to save the world entering a catastrophic Nuclear war between Russia and the United States. Following the blow up of Russia's prized possession - The Kremlin, the President of the United States initiates Ghost Protocol - in order to dissolve the IMF, amidst allegations that the IMF was behind the attack after Ethan was caught in the blow up. As a result, the IMF is left stranded and its upto Ethan and team to chase down the perpetrators of the blow up without no back up.

From Russia, the team heads to Dubai to ambush an exchange of Nuclear Launch codes meant to trigger Nuclear Warheads. The 5-minute sequence of Cruise lizarding up the Burj Dubai is one of the best live action sequence you could watch. But of course, its not all that fancy by M:I standards.

The team heads to India from Dubai where you see our Jhakaas man's special appearance. Anil Kapoor does justice to another Hollywood movie yet again. The next half hour or so, entirely shot in Mumbai takes the movie to its climax as Ethan and team manage to Abort the nuclear warhead from hitting ground by a little more than a second.

From story to direction to acting, this movie has a thumbs up in every department. Go watch it and do yourself justice. Its the best of the M:I series so far and is a must watch. 3.5 / 5. Best movie of 2011 so far.

Taking Cover articles on Finance Blog of St Stephen's College

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Hello readers! Its with a lot of excitement that I want to tell you about the Finance Blog of St. Stephen's College. Dedicated to articles from the wide spectrum of the financial world, this blog aims at analyzing current issues and give them a perspective through the eyes of college-students.

Give it a read if you like to follow finance-related stories or if you simply want to develop some knowledge.

Here's my first contribution to the blog : FDIs - For Development in India?

Spirituality : The need of a rooting.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:42:00 +0000

Over the last week and a half, I've been trying to follow a routine of covering at least four shlokas of The Bhagavad Gita every day. Now, for those who still believe the text is religious, let me tell you that The Gita is far from it.

I have always had this nagging feeling of directionless-ness in life. And its not a hidden fact that spiritual texts, howsoever idealistic they might read, do give you some sense of direction. That was all what I had in mind when I bought the miniature version of this text which has been giving direction to innumerable number of people for some millenia now.

During this expedition of sorts, trying to engage with the spiritual side of life, which I have stayed far away for most of my life, I came across some really valuable aspects one might want to develop in himself.

During the 'lazy afternoon' a couple of days back, I read this post by a senior at college how he finds his lack of rooting - having a place he can truly call, 'home' - a hidden strength. He comprehends his lack of rooting as an absence of 'attachment' - something which allows him to be objective and smart about life.

At first, you might agree to his proposition. After all, it is only when one is free from a pre-defined set of rules to guide your thoughts and per-conceived set of acceptable reactions a place, and its people, might instill in you, can you truly go out of the box and exercise independence - in thought, belief and action.

Talking about people attaching importance to material pleasures, Chapter 2 Verses 43 and 44 of The Gita says :

"kāmātmānaḥ svarga-parā

janma-karma-phala-pradām

kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulāḿ

bhogaiśvarya-gatiḿ prati

bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāḿ

tayāpahṛta-cetasām

vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ

samādhau na vidhīyate"

Translation : People with inadequate knowledge and wisdom often delve into the misleading pleasures of material attachment and wealth. Such people are attached to rituals.

They lose their minds by attaching importance to material pleasures. They cannot this, attain any deep insight into life and attain wisdom.

You might appreciate the text by realizing that it speaks about you and me. And everyone around us. We all have attachments, mostly to objects which have value in terms of money. We often value a person's success depending on the car he rides and the clothes he wears. Naturally, we compare ourselves to such 'material' benchmarks and rate ourselves as to how far we've made it in our lives.

This changes the way we grade achievements. This in turn restricts our thoughts, actions and beliefs; streamlining them towards attaining material pleasures - attaching ourselves to things which money can buy.

Now, here's the argument I have been building all this while. It is absolutely correct to argue attachment can deviate you from objectivity in life. But it is in the 'kind of attachment' that changes the crux of the argument. Material attachment, no doubt, is misleading. And we all are victims of such attachments. But attachment to one's home - now that's essential.

The attachment to one's home is more like a building's to its foundation. The former is likely to cripple down in the absence of the latter at the slightest of tremors. Life is all about tremors - highs and lows - and everyone needs a firm grounding. This attachment to one's roots is more spiritual than material. Its a bond which you shall realize only when you are forced away from it.

Its been 5 months, very short time I must agree, and I miss the little intricacies of my simpler life back in home. The way the bottles are kept, the way the taps run - simple, meaningless things, which I have always taken for granted. And yet, simple meaningless things which make up my home.

It is not very difficult to realize how the premise of a lack of rooting, leading to the conclusion of being un-attached is fundamentally mistaken. Being unattached is a blessing, one we all seek, but to not call a place dear old home, is pathetic.

Home is what you were. Home is what you are. Home is what you shall be. Its a place where you don't have to put on a different self in your quest to deceive the world. Home is where you are yourself - your innermost being, fundamentally ingrained in you. Home is the place where the people are your own, where you can always fall back. Its your second chance.

Home is your humility. Its the place where you belong. To many, these words might read fantastical and utterly misleading but let me reassure you, dear friend, without your home, you are as good as you were yesterday and you shall be as good tomorrow as you are today. Home gives you a yesterday to compare your today and tomorrow with. It a place you can always go back when everything else fails, where you can kneel down and pray.

This attachment, with your home is special. It gives you direction, far from the idea of misleading you. The idea of per-conceived notions and suppositions does arise, but everyone is free to choose his own path. After all, life is about self exploration, isn't it? Home never teaches you to seek material pleasures, its you who does that. Home gives you the comfort of parents next room, the friend next door, the trees by the walk, the memories of yesterday, and the list is endless.

Gunner Watch : Gunners to visit the Citizens with an advantage!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:34:00 +0000

Frankie Lampard's penalty on Monday night was a big goal.

Not only did it ensure Man City's fall and the end to their unbeaten record (and any chances of coming even close to the Invincibles), it also gave us a huge advantage going into Sunday's game.

If you recall, a couple of weeks back, Arsenal's youth team almost beat the Citizens in the Carling Cup. A midfield comprising of Frimpong and Coquelin with the experienced Bennayoun almost broke through the City midfield which had players like Nasri and our young defense fiercely resisted sharp runs by Aguero and co.

Now, it was more of luck than Man City deserving that win the other night, but well, what's gone is gone. My entire point on mentioning that night's match was to prove a simple point - Citizens are beatable. Chelsea did it this Monday and so can we. All we need is a good game plan and In Arsene, we trust. Now don't we?

Chelsea's modus operandi wasn't all that complicated. They pressed hard for the ball, poured men on counter attacks and kept doing so for large spells in the match. It won't be that difficult for Arsenal to keep the ball, given our style of play. Pressing is not a problem with van Persie's supreme run of form. However, all that said, it won't be a walk in the park either.

As we saw in the last match, having four center backs will obviously give us a much needed advantage in attacking and defending set pieces. With news coming in on Santos about his injury, it is quite difficult to not imagine Arsenal going in with the same makeshift back-4 similar to last week.

Now this game, given its gravity is sure to set Wenger thinking. As usual, don't expect Arsenal to man-mark. Wenger definitely won't let that happen and endanger Arsenal playing on the backfoot. Against their midfield threats of Nasri and Silva, the only change we might expect is both Song and Arteta playing a little deeper into our half. Dzeko, Aguero and Balotelli have all been in a good run of form recently and it might be a blessing in disguise to play 4 center backs.

Silva and Nasri play creative passes so we need a compact back line, something which center-backs do well. That was why I mentioned about the blessing in disguise. With a compact back line and Arteta and Song sitting on top of them, we will be better placed to hide gaps and prevent Aguero or Balotelli to make those threatening runs they made with a wide Chelsea defense on Monday.

Besides the defense, don't think there will be much change in the front four either. Lol, who can replace RvP at the moment? Gervinho and Walcott on either sides and Ramsey supporting RvP. With Micah Richards out and Gael Clichy suspended, they'll be forced to play second choice full backs. Don't expect them to stretch the game much and our wingers can take advantage of their lack of match practice. We might as well expect Chamakh playing a role this Sunday if scores are against us by the hour mark.

A likely replacement of Walcott with Rosicky / Arshavin and Gervinho with Chamakh might be on the cards. If Wenger decides to take it to City, we might see Song making way for Chamakh to play a nice little 4-1-3-1. Bennayoun might also be making yet another appearance in the later stages of the game.

Expect a match filled with crosses and we trying to stretch the game while preventing them from doing so. A lot of through balls - hope Ramsey weighs his balls to Walcott and Gervinho's runs better than against Everton. We won't probably see a spectacle like RvP's one against Everton, but it will take a GOOD goal to beat Joe Hart. Last year, same fixture we had won 3-0 and Bendtner was a surprise name in the scoresheet.

Here's hoping for a crushing Arsenal victory. 55-45 to Arsenal at the moment
My prediction : 2-1 or 1-0 for Arsenal.

A year of Sequels!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Its going to be a year full of sequels!! Here's your guide to which ones you should watch out for!!

December this year sees Ethan Hunt return for the fourth thriller in the Mission Impossible Series! M:I 4 or, Ghost Protocol, is of special attraction for Indian fans, for of course, we have our Mr. Jhakaas!! (Anil Kapoor) in a special appearance! Catch a glimpse of the movie here. The plot seems exciting and after the worldwide release, viewers are already giving this Tom Cruise thriller a 8/10 on IMDb! The plot seems quite interesting. Make sure to come back in a week's time for a full review of the movie!

In less than a fortnight's time from Ghost Protocol is the return of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes : A game of shadows! The previous movie had amazing screenplay and managed to vividly illustrate19th century London and expectations are high with this movie. The story revolves around Holmes' encounter with his fiercest rival, Professor Moriarty. Among all the movies scheduled this winter, Game of Shadows definitely looks most promising!

Switch your attention over to good old Bollywood for the next one in line. Farhan Akhtar takes a break from his acting commitments to direct Don 2. Now Don was quite a success and SRK easily fit into the role. Although the trailers of Don 2 have come across as rather ordinary, it remains to be seen if the SRK - Priyanka Chopra magic works out or not. Big movie for SRK after a string of really stupid movies in the last few years. Should be a good watch!

Staying on with hindi movies for now, April will bring Jannat 2 and Housefull 2. Now, Housefull wasn't all that funny; more of lame than funny but can the addition of John and Jacqueline Fernandes to the already big star cast make it any better than the first movie?

Quite opposite to Housefull, Jannat was a really well directed movie. Emraan Hashmi's acting was really appreciable. And ofcourse, the music wasn't all that bad. But with Emraan's character already having died in the first movie, Jannat 2's story is as good as anybody's guess at the moment. We'll watch out for this one.

25th May 2012 has been decided as the tentative release date for the much awaited return of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as agents J and K for MIB 3! Yes, the alien-fighting duo is back! The plot of the movie was largely unknown till the production team decided to release a sneak peek recently and 'time travel' in a Sci-Fi is never a bad idea, really.

Now, if Anil Kapoor is going to charm us in Ghost Protocol, Irrfan Khan is set to make his own special appearance in Spider Man's fourth edition, The Amazing Spider Man! Andrew Garfield replaces Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider Man and the story revolves around Spider man's encounter with The Lizard. Will Andrew be able to reach the exceptionally high standards Tobey had set for Spiderman? The movie is still 6-7 months away but the wait should probably be worth it!

Releasing shortly after The Amazing Spider Man is going to be the much awaited "The Dark Knight Returns". The Christopher Nolan - Christian Bale's coming together is quite an exciting prospect, isn't it? The last time I checked, The Dark Knight broke all records on its way into the top 10 movies ever! Wonder how many records this one is set to break!

Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jaun Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Liam Hemsworth. Ring a bell? Righ-o!The Expendables 2 is set for release in August next year! More than the movie and the story, the very idea of watching all those legendary figures share the screen is what makes this movie exciting! The last one was a little disappointing, but hey, does that really matter?

August shall see two hindi sequels in Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2 and Raaz 3. Raaz 3 is well, negligible, but Once upon a time in Mumbai did catch the audience's fancy with some memorable performances by Vivek Oberoi, Emraan Hashmi, Ajay Devgn and Tusshar Kapoor (wow, right?).

November will bring Race 2. Race was a movie with more twists than the number of planets in the solar system. (Don't know why I made that comparison. :/ ) With Anil Kapoor, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone on board this time around, this could actually turn out to be a good watch. Let's see.

December will see two much awaited releases - Dabangg 2 and Dostana 2. Well, there's nothing much to say really. Dabangg was a mindless comedy with some memorable scenes and dialogues and expect much on similar lines. Dostana was a phenomenon and so would Dostana 2 most probably be. The unchanged cast in both movies shows the strength of the movies. December should be fun, right?

Berenice Marhole

Before this list ends, here's the best of all that lies ahead of us - Skyfall! Yes, Daniel Craig is back as James Bond after 4 long years and this better be worth the wait! Let the uncanny resemblance of the supposed plot to Ghost Protocol's not disappoint you - go watch it for the sheer charisma that Craig exerts. And of course, for the next Bond girl -BERENICE MARHOLE!!!!!!

And since I am in the mood, here's a look at what other sequels are round the corner :

a. xXx Return of Xander Cage (Tentative date unknown)

b. National Treasure 3 (2014)

c. Indiana Jones 5 (Tentative date unknown)

d. Terminator 5 (2014)

e. Ghostbusters III (Tentative date unknown)

f. Man of Stell (2013)

h. Avatar 2 (2014)

Wish you an awesome movie-year ahead! :D

Congratulations! You won $300,000!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:39:00 +0000

You probably have received dozens of emails and texts on your mobile phones on how you won a huge sum of money and were minutes away from claiming what you won?

Its funny, isn't it? I mean, for one, you don't even know when or who applied for the lottery and how did these creepy people get your contact information?

Worse still, what are the odds that you landed up a incredibly huge amount on lottery?

These scamsters are good. Their letters are really believable and seem authentic. Hell, they also seem to have been signed by top executives of big companies. Last week, I received a "Congrats, you won $500,000 from Microsoft" with Bill Gates' signature at the end of the letter.

Now, many people might fall for the trap and end up doing what they want you to. That would include giving away your bank account details and other contact information. Do NOT do that. Never.

All that has been happening for ages now. And it was funny all this time. But, not any more.

The Reserve Bank of India has come out with 34 nodal agencies across different States and Union Territories for you to complain right away when you receive such mails / texts.

Now, kids, be responsible citizens and go check out this website : RBI Notification

Also, the next time you receive such a mail, don't just delete. Go complain! You'll do yourself a favor. :)

A must-do on FIFA!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

So I was playing FIFA 11 with a couple of friends today and was quite surprised when they said they never tried out the Spanish Commentary!

Now, Spanish commentators are really pumped up before any and every game! Every touch of the ball is as important as the previous or the next and every player is just amazing! ( :P )

The best part, however, is when you score a goal! The commentators just go beserk and into a seemingly-never ending fit of "Gol gol gol gol gol gol gol gol gol!!!"

The funniest incident happened when Robben got the ball. The commentator thought Robben was about to do something great so he started off with a "RRRRRRRR!" and then before he could pronounce the name, Robben lost the ball! So, he ended up saying just a "RRRRRRR!!" xD

Trust me, its fun!

If you want to change your commentary to any other language, here's what you do.
My Fifa 11 => Settings => Game Settings => Audio and then change the Commentary to whichever language you want.

A century back, when I was a kid

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:54:00 +0000

Remember those days, years back, when the only thing that mattered and the only thing we would look up to would be those Sundays?

Primarily, the routine would involve waking up very late, to the smell of freshly cooked and ready to be served breakfast! And dad would be sitting on the sofa reading the morning newspaper, and simultaneously following the news on the Television, intimidating me with how grown-ups could naturally multitask.

Having got over with breakfast soon enough, the next part of Mission Sunday would be to sneak out of the drawing room to go play cricket with colony friends till the moms would come and drag us back home. A nice little shower and yummy lunch later, would be the best part of my week – the lazy Sunday afternoon!

Mom and Dad would go relax in their room, watch an old movie, perhaps. And I would have the whole house to myself! So I would make best use of this opportunity and satiate my inquisitiveness on life. The television would be the first victim of my quest. But, given how fickle minded I would be, the TV wouldn’t keep me interested for long. So, I would go look up some of the old games and toys I had, stacked up over the cupboards.

A moment of inspiration would then give birth to an engineer – breaking up toy-cars to see just how on earth did they work?! Of course, the engineer wasn’t qualified enough to assemble the parts back again. And so, the car shall then be disposed off, very carefully, among other useless trash, somewhere in some cardboard box in the store room. There was enough conviction that it could be passed on as “that car which somehow broke down, so I had to throw it away” later.

Still another hour or two before the kids would be back. And two more hours to kill.

Maybe I should read a book!

And off to the book section. I lose count on the number of times I wrote how I would spend an ideal Sunday afternoon lazing on the bed, reading an excellent work of literature in, my essays at school – every single time hoping I would actually do that someday.

And yet, I never really had the patience! The book section did attract me but I always thought – yeah, enough of reading. Let’s go write something!

And that was the birth of the author. The author would settle himself down on his study table and take that old copy out which had a number of empty pages. He would have his pen and entered in complicated chains of thoughts.

The arrangement would be perfect. Enough light in the room to allow ideas to come in, and the fan would be just about fine. The only question that would remain unanswered would be hey, what do I write?

The next 45 minutes would be a tough battle between two sides of the brain. One would say – Detective story. The Indian Sherlock!! And the rational side would argue, What on earth would I write on that?

By the time the author could come to a decision, the watch would appear through the corner of the eye and adrenaline would pump in.

4 o’clock!!!

The author would suddenly forget everything about his writing and rush to the cupboard to take those football shorts out. Once dressed up in shorts and a presentable T-shirt, the author would slowly transform into an excited kid running out of this house to go play football with colony mates!

Today, it seems all that happened nearly a century back. Where did that innocence go? What happened to that kid? What happened to all his characters? His security and his innocence?

And soon enough the answer to those questions strikes down as a realization;

Life happened.

Gunner Watch : 125th Year celebrations and 3 good points.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:31:00 +0000

Wenger started the game with a formidable 11. Injuries to all four recognizable full backs meant Arsenal had to start with 4 center-backs. Predictably, Vermaelen switched over to the left and Djourou played down the right.

The game came against a backdrop of Arsenal’s 125^th anniversary celebration and the Gunners took to the field to a sea of red and white, including the big Gunner legends from the last four decades. As usual, Arsenal started the game pretty aggressively with Walcott and Gervinho making fine runs throughout the first 45. Ramsey saw a lot of the ball but wasted two golden opportunities with over-weighted through balls to both the wingers.

Robin van Persie, on the brink of smashing the record for the highest number of goals in a calendar year, was a disappointment in the first 45 but he did exactly what was needed when it mattered most.

On the whole, we played well and there were plenty of positives to be taken out from the match. A clean sheet never harms the confidence of the defenders. Besides that, both Gervinho and Walcott showed excellent form and sharpness throughout the match and is a great positive going into next weekend’s match against City.

Ramsey’s confidence on the ball was visible and good to see. Arteta performed well as usual against his former side. The Toffees started the game confidently but were soon put on the backfoot as Arsenal pressed on. Despite the huge number of chances first half ended 0-0.

That was just the build-up to the second half as Arsenal pressed on the gas and shifted gears to a more attacking form. Both Ramsey and Arteta pushed up more and Song played considerably well infront of the center backs. He showed excellent presence of mind going up too.

On the whole, it was a good performance and 3 points undoubtedly, well deserved.

Some negatives did creep up. Crosses from the full backs or the wingers lacked quality. The occasional cross did catch the eye but they were either too close to Howard or were cut down by the first defender.

Despite Ramsey’s confidence, he did miss out on a few opportunities. Walcott’s decision making before the goal also came under sharp criticism from the commentary team when he let go of an easy opportunity trying to be provider in front of the goal, but made up for that with absolute brilliance in the early part of the second half.

Everton had a few good chances of their own in the early part of the second half with Cahill and Phil Neville coming close but Vermaelen’s marking and Szszesny’s alertness saw us through the little phase of Everton’s dominance.

Having 4 center backs had its own advantage as we poured in the big lads for every corner and set piece. Another positive which came out of the match was the way the team dealt with the frustration of not being able to break the dead lock with patience and intense work rate.

Picture Courtesy - Yahoo! Sports UK

Come 70^th minute and a moment of sheer skill and ability saw Captain Fantastic seal yet another goal and the victory for Arsenal. Song turned provider and I don't think there was a better goal van Persie scored this season. With that he notched up 33 goals this calendar year and is 2 away from the elusive record!

With next week’s much important fixture in mind, this performance shall give us some indication of what we can look forward to. David Moyes had arranged a very attacking formation for Everton, probably due to our apparent defensive weakness but Djourou and Vermaelen filled in the void more than satisfactorily.

A 1-0 scoreline isn’t what you normally associate with Arsenal but we’ll take it. With those 3 points, we have broken into the top 4 for the first time this season. Just a small indication of the level of improvement, Arsenal had accumulated 7 points in their first 7 games and have since then managed an impressive 22 out of 24.

Up next, Man City away next Sunday. Predictions?

L - Class Eco.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:17:00 +0000

So, its time for yet another El Classico!

For the wrestling illiterate, "El Classico" is used to refer to the wrestling match between two of the finest (read : richest) teams of the world. It is supposedly, the mother of all wrestling matches.

But that's not the point of this post. Allow me to introduce the two teams to you.

Barcelona, or as some call it, Barca, is fairly known for its Humar Rights abuse issues. It is one of the world's worst kept secrets that the owners of Barca are decedents of Hitler himself and have taken torture to a whole new dimension.

Barca's 11 year old Internationals

The 21st century concentration camps, La Masia, is Barca's prized asset. Here, children from all across the world are imported (human trafficking) at the age of 2 or 3 and are tortured and forced to take up wrestling. Over the next 5-6 years, they are modeled into being professional wrestlers. By 11, these kids are ready to play for their countries.

Biscuits caught red-handed!

But, occasionally, Barca also produce world class footballers who are trained for robotic display of dribbling, passing, scoring and diving. Lionel Messi, you should know him, is one such human-converted-into-a-robot. He shows immaculate dribbling ability and pin-point passing. Sergio Biscuits is however, a diving asset. He can dive anywhere and everywhere. Last I checked, a local Barca news agency reported Biscuits having dived outside the ticket counter of the underground and claimed a foul because he had no money to buy a ticket. (What?)

Pinto, doing what he does best.

However, Barca is not just about its flair. They also keep bouncers and drug traffickers in their team. Jose Manuel Pinto is one of Spain's finest bouncers who only appears on such events as the El Classico for the purpose of protecting the teenage players from harm and more importantly, physically assault the opponent team at every opportunity.

Among drug traffickers, Javier Mascherano is the old veteran. Because Barca believe in community service, they also have retired ex-prisoners like Eric Abidal in their team.

Compromising position 1

Ex-convicts brings me to Real Madrid then. Real is an exact opposite of Barca and do not believe in training its players. They thrive on robbing other teams of their star power and their principle is not much different from the pimp next door.

Madrid change players as often as you change your underwear. Needless to say, almost all the players across the world have, at some point or the other, represented Madrid. Madrid believes in hit and trial. And thus, they try out every player and then choose those flashy ones who they find are "absolutely necessary to defeat Barcelona".


Compromising Position 2

Madrid's principle objective in playing football is defeating Barca. And they have a good record against them too, save in the last couple of years when they have been washed out 6-2 and 5-0 in two occasions when they decided to play some football instead of wrestling.

Real have the other best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, gay by birth, is a class act. He pretends to be an amazing player but all he really does is dive, wink and get pictures with other teammates in compromising positions. Ronaldo is also famous for innumerable dives all across the football field and for his national team at the Olympics.

Marcelo showing off his Russian gold medal

Apart from him, Madrid has Marcelo, who was a member of the Russian Circus where he won plenty of accolades - including the Russian award for the best Circus man.

Casillas playing the Staring game

Kaka is the only footballer in the Madrid team but is mostly injured due to Cristiano's dirty tricks to be the Mr. Headline in the team. The only other respectable member of the team is Iker Casillas who is a brilliant keeper. He is known more for his amazing prowess at the game of "Stare". Oh, he's really good at that!

Besides, Madrid has Xabi Alonso. That guy is so lazy, he has more goals from the center line than anywhere near or inside the opponent's penalty box.

So, that's about all you need to know to watch tonight's El Classsico. Don't worry, its going to be 90 minutes of fun! Barca might probably thrash Madrid, but you never know. O:)

(This post was purely meant for fun. There's no insult intended towards any individual or team. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are world leaders in the game of football and set high standards. They both have a golden history and culture and are unique.The players mentioned in this post are legends. They deserve the highest accolades and praise. There is no insult intended to them either)

Australia's change in stance - Could India be looking at Energy efficiency?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:48:00 +0000

There has been a huge story developing in the world of International Politics and Relation over the last couple of weeks - Australia's ruling party's (The Labor Party) decision to sell Uranium to India.

India currently faces a large energy deficit with still around 80,000 villages across the country with no electricity. Industrial growth has been limited due to paramount dependency on traditional sources of electricity generation - Thermal and Hydel Power. This has slowed down Industrial growth and hiked electricity rates across major towns and cities. India currently needs to expand its energy sector. As far as I recollect, India wishes to grow its nuclear power generation four times from its current levels - a major step towards attaining energy efficiency.

Australia has traditionally imposed a ban on Uranium sales to those states which had not ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) (like India) . However, Julia Gillard's government has taken a radical decision to establish stronger relations with "dynamic, democratic India". Australia is the World's 3rd largest exporter of Uranium.

Defending their change in stance, Gillard and her ministers have been quoted saying how India is a majorly developing economy and how there is no basis of denying Uranium exports to India, while China are also beneficiaries of Australian Uranium exports. The Australian Uranium Association has also given its full support to the change in policy decision. The only, absolutely invulnerable and non-threatening rider is that India uses the Uranium for purposes only for peaceful, energy developing purposes.

This comes of as an extremely good news for India. But there are still some hurdles on the way. Many experts view that any deal that India and Australia sign, will be very stringent and at least, be in line with the treaty already existing between Australia and China. But that's okay, given India meets most of the International standards and requirements set for handling nuclear material.

The only opposition seems to be the danger in nuclear energy creation, with Fukushima a case in point. However, this view is oblivious to the fact that India has a lot of area under Low and Very Low Seismic Activity zones, unlike Japan (all of Japan almost lies in very high seismic activity zone).

Other opposition comes from the fact that India has not ratified the NPT yet. However, India has its own valid and very justified reasons for not having done so. (You should probably read them up).

Amidst dwindling diplomatic relations between the two countries, due to the infamous 2009 attacks on Indian students in Australia, this move comes across as another opportunity for the two countries to strengthen relations, economic too, besides diplomatic. India and Australia have time and again gotten involved in joint military exercises, being the two major Naval powers in the Indian Ocean. Barack Obama has also come out speaking for such a deal.

Owing to my profound interest in that field, I was naturally drawn into the subject for the simple reason that, if India and Australia strike a deal on Uranium exports, it could give India self sufficiency in the energy sector and the opportunity to finally accomplish the dream of electrifying every village across the country. Energy self sufficiency will obviously translate into further Industrial development across the country. What remains to be seen is how India reacts to this opportunity.

What a knock!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:27:00 +0000

So the man has done it again! The Nawab of Najabgarh has broken yet another record - and - with style.

24th February 2010 was when many of us thought we might have witnessed the single most brilliant One Day Innings ever. That was the master himself - Sachin's maiden double ton.
But how could you count his protege out?

A year and a half later, BANG. And the record books have Viru's name right up there as the Highest Scorer, now in both forms, Test and ODIs, for India.

219 of 149 balls. Those figures will be hard to erase. It was only appropriate that the first person to come out and officially congratulate Viru was Sachin himself.

It is important here, to note, that Viru has had come close to achieving this on more than one previous occasion. But the flamboyant Sehwag that he is, he always managed to get himself out before he could go finish the job. Not this time, and won't we remember that?

Here are some really amazing records Viru has to his name :
1. Fastest 250 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (207).

2. Fastest 300 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (278).

3. Most Test runs in a single day by an Indian. Sehwag made 257 in a day against SA in Chennai. He surpassed this in making 284 in a day against Sri Lanka. The latter was the second consecutive innings in which India scored more than 400 runs in a single day in Tests. Sehwag also made a century at faster than a run a ball on the previous occasion.

4. Only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in Test cricket. He is one of the four batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two triple centuries, alongside Australia's Sir Donald Bradman, and the West Indies' Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.

5. Fastest century in ODI cricket by an Indian – 100 runs off 60 balls against New Zealand in 2009.

6. Second fastest ODI 50 by an Indian. – a record, he shares with Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh – when he took 22 balls against Kenya in 2001

7. Six double centuries – the first three of which came against Pakistan. Greg Chappell and Thilan Samaraweera are the other players to have scored multiple double centuries against Pakistan (2). Sehwag and Tendulkar are the only Indians to have made six Test double centuries.

8. Highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He first achieved this when he scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004, and bettered his previous record in March 2008 at Chennai against South Africa by scoring 319.

9. Fastest triple century: His second triple century scored at Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 against South Africa was the fastest in terms of balls faced by any batsman (off 278 balls).

10. Consecutive 150+ scores in Test cricket: He holds the record for consecutive test hundreds converted to scores of 150+, at 11.

11. He is one of the only five players to have scored more test hundreds than test fifties (15c/14f), along with Don Bradman (29c/13f), Mohammad Azharuddin (22c/21f),Matthew Hayden (30c/27f) and Kevin Pietersen(13c/11f) as on 7 August 2008

12. Two consecutive double century partnerships in a Test innings. He achieved this record, for the first two wickets in Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 (with Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid respectively). This was the first time in Test history that the first two wickets in an innings have resulted in double-century stands. He equalled this in the innings against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, combining with Murali Vijay and Dravid for the first and second wickets.

13. He is the first person in the history of test cricket to hit two triple centuries and take five wickets in a Test innings.

With that kind of form, it will be quite amazing in a few days, Down Under.