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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Heath Ledger and Brandon Lee

I wonder if anyone has noticed the similarities...

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Taare Zameen Par

I was blown away watching this movie. Not only is the acting very good, but this movie addresses a topic that has been mainly overlooked in India. Though dyslexia, is one of the milder learning disabilities and shouldn't be put in the same group as handicapped individuals, India has only started counting handicapped (disabled) individuals in their census since 2001. In other words before 2001, there was no record of being disabled and more importantly there wasn't any allotment of public funds to issues related to disability. Coming back to dyslexia. The movie shows an idealistic (perhaps this is what education should be like) education institution in India. Idealistic due to the new teacher that arrives (Amir Khan). Before his arrival, the 'school' was like any other school and I must admit, the portrayal of school teachers is rather accurate. Sorry teachers, you won't get any sympathy from me. There are exceptions, though very few. The majority of teachers in India are over burdened by the number of students and the students aren't the easiest to get along with either. So you have a negative chain reaction of antagonism which defeats the purpose of education. So much negative affect and escapism exists in schools today, no wonder the kids don't learn anything.

For any individual missing their boarding school or the innocence of their childhood for that matter will connect with this movie. The message I got from this movie more than anything else was the need for compassion in this world. This is a message worth spreading.

Monday, January 7, 2008

@#$K off Steve Bucknor

Why someone as blind as Steve Bucknor remains an ICC umpire, is a mystery to me. It is a mystery because the ICC refuse to take any complaints seriously against him. He has been making errors for a long time. Let me not go into his selective visual defects when it comes to Tendulkar, and stick to his botches in the current test in the SCG. Let's be honest, the Indian cricket fan, crazy as he might be, expects umpiring decisions to at least be fair and when in doubt to be referred to the third umpire. But when blind man F@#K Buck, doesn't even refer line decisions to the third umpire (Andrew Symonds) the ICC needs to step in and suspend him or call upon some disciplinary action. The third umpire needs to be able to step in and call the line calls when technology exists for his referral if the on field umpire is F$%ked in the head. Now I'm not going to call the Australians cheaters, for waiting till the umpire raises his finger... but seriously Ricky should you be waggling your finger at Saurav when he doesn't move ?

Mike Proctor is usually a good guy. He had a tough time with the Inzy, Haire issue in England in 2006 but he usually gets it right. How he decided to ban Harbhajan for racial slurring on the field when there is no material evidence for it, is astounding... It will not hold up in court. Coming to the racist element in the word 'Monkey'. Racist lesson 101.. when the Australians call Murali a monkey, that is a racist term. Its white on black stuff. When an Indian calls Symonds a 'monkey' that isn't racist. Its black on black stuff, which doesn't count. It is black monkey (macaque) calling another black monkey (lemur/langur) a monkey for being a clown (symonds hair and zinc oxided lips) This post colonial view of language :) has to change.
Let's face it, Australia will do everything to win, make records etc... the SCG was the only place they would have lost, but the 13 man Australian team (11 +2 umpires) came out with guns blazing and pulled out all the tricks in the bag. I'm talking about the underarm bowling stuff and it has shown the ugly face of Australian cricket. Ugly because underneath that baggy green, the symbol of a manly sport, resting on Ponting's head, is a person who dobbed in Harbhajan for giving them some lip (yes ponting dobbed Harbhajan while Symonds 'officially' said everything was ok. Yes, call some one's mother a whore and you are using terms of endearment but use "monkey" and you get banned for the remainder of the series ? Ponting desperately wants to be in the record books, but this will tarnish his image... Hypocrisy has a way of rearing it's ugly head in today's world of professional sport when every image is digitised and catalogued. What irony will it be, if India defeats Australia in Perth. I doubt it, but I cannot speak for Karma.

Of course, any Indian brand sponsoring Ponting will be boycotted, hit them under the belt and cancel Brett Lee's commercial contracts too? Professional sport is about money, ladies and gentlemen, money which you pay for viewing the sponsor's message. Do you really want to pay for double standards, misuse of authority and blatant mismanaging of the 'on field' playing conditions ? All the while, the ICC earns money from your discontent ? In fact, if the Indian team or the BCCI don't taste some blood, I think this matter will get very ugly indeed. The fact that the Indian management even mentioned boycotting the rest of the tour is a reflecting of the economic shift of cricket towards the sub continent. They know it, it is time everyone realises their power and demand what is fair... Get rid of Steve F@#knor !!! When an ageing Tendulkar's reflexes cause him to have difficulty in letting the ball go (the cause for his dismissal in the second innings), should a 61 year old with a history of poor judgements be allowed to umpire ?!? For that matter, why was he chosen to umpire for the only match that the Indian's could have won ? Something stinks big time ! and it's not just the rot on F@#knor's decaying flesh.

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