Will we have the perfect final?

Which is to say a World Cup India v Pakistan?
Can such things be?
Will this Saturday be a great day for the Asian subcontinent and a terribly morose one Down Under?

Will Pak down the Kiwis?
And can India pull a win over Ozz?
Will they, won't they?

Here's a nice montage of recent Indo-Pak series, with Salman Ahmed and "Ghoom Taana".

Lola Boney M

Mooooaaahhhaaaahhaaaaaaa.
This is a hilarious video. Check out the very cool actor in the white robe. His expressions are pricless. [This post is esp for you, Chy.]

So, of course, it has been established that I love Lola Kutty and Ranvir-Vinay type nonsense humour. Do watch 'Ranvir, Vinay Aur Kaun' on Star One at 10pm daily. Sometimes it's really unbelievably laugh-out-loud.

D-d-d-dil, dil, Pakistaaaaannnn!

The title is an old Vital Signs song [1989 release] that has since become a background score for most of Pakistan's cricket tribute videos and promos. It has the whole '80s organ, synthesizer sound going. ;-) [For those of you who know it, you have to be smiling already.]
Have a look at one of the many cricket montages with this song as b/g.



As to last night: Excellent, lads! But, this is almost too good to be true!
Pakistan pulled another superb six-wicket victory, this time over Australia at Jo'burg yesternight. Shoaib and Misbah did their magic with a 119-run partnership after the Pakis were tottering early on in the innings. Things started off pretty well with Mohd Hafeez in to open instead of Salman Butt. But, as expected, one quick wicket followed another and the score suddenly stood at 46 for 4. Us Pak fans were in the familiar posish of biting nails, experiencing belly-flutters and in general thinking up various ingenious ways to kill ourselves. "NOT AGAIN!", was the general cry.
And then, and then...... this happened!


Apart from the dreamy Misbah-Shoaib partnership, Shahid Afridi shone out in his performance once again. Great bowling, superb fielding and that oh-so-sweet squint-eyed smile. This Pathan has come into his own in the T20 format. All we need now is a really berserk batting innings from him to bring us to tears at the pure joyous madness of it all.
InshaAllah!
Did you see him hit the stumps quickly, calmly and with great smoothness to run Clarke out? I did. Vaav!
Cheers to you, boys. Try for the Cup, why not?

In the meanwhile, India has just pulled off a great victory over England. They posted a huge total of 218 in their 20 overs, thanks to a fantastic half-century by Yuvraj in just 12 balls. This included a goosie-inducing six sixes in one over off poor, poor Stuart Broad. India now have a crucial match against SA tomorrow which will decide whether they continue in the tournament or not. I hope they make it through- it means another possible India-Pak play-off.

Which reminds me- India v. Pak series coming up in November-December in India. Will they come to Bangalore? Will they? Will I get the chance to stalk the Pakis at their hotel and scream shamelessly during matches LIVE AT THE STADIUM? .......
Here's hoping.

Finally!

WARNING: This is a pro-Pakistan-cricket-team post. Narrow-minded bigots should leave off reading now. Because they won! They won! They played great! Wooo hoooo!

A thrilling match to watch for Paki fans last night, as the Little Green Men finally pulled together and brought down the Lankan Lions with a superb all-round performance on the field. This level of play is what makes it all the more painful to watch when Pakistan loses matches because they do have it in them to win a lot.
Stars of the night:
1. Younis Khan: Brilliant batting and fielding, nut-case smiling, and just great fun to watch. Very well-deserved Man of the Match and I loved his acceptance speech later. :)
2. Shoaib Malik: Superb captain's knock. Younis and him took it all away at a deadly Twenty20 pace.
3. Shahid Afridi: The cocky Pathan does it again. He helped with the bat and then got three very crucial wickets, esp Jayawardene and Silva who were looking to make trouble.
4. Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul,Mohd Asif and Mohd Hafeez: "Vaaal done, bwaaiz!" as the very cute Kamran Akmal loves to say.

The fielding was great, as was the running between the wickets. This young, fit Pak side is looking really good, throwing themselves at the ground and at stray balls and scooting across to convert a single into two runs (or a double into three) with a disdain that is heartening to observe.

All the raving for last night's performance concluded, the fact remains that this evening is a whole different ball game and we might very well see our favorite unpredictable boys scatter in the wind against the Aussies, as is their wont after a dreamy victory.

Hoping for the best....
*fingers crossed*

PS: Also, it HAS to be said. The Pak side is probably the best-looking team in world cricket right now. Easy on the eyes, if you know what I mean.

The weekend from hell....

1. McLaren out of the Constructor's Championship. Grrrrr.
2. Pak lose to India after a gut-wrenching match with some atrocious losing tactics by the Pak bowlers. I could have killed someone.
3. Ferrari pull a one-two at the Belgian GP. Alonso limps in third.

My eyes!!! My eyes!!! [Pic stolen from here.]
And if that weren't enough, Alonso pulled another one on Lewis. Ye gods. What was he thinking? [Does he think?]

Saving graces:
1. Alonso and Hamilton still in the Driver's running. Four more races to go this season.
2. We'll have another India-Pak play-off, hopefully.
3. A very lovely time at Mad Nut's house, including a bizarre midnight romp last night. Snowflake is a dorrling. As is Nuts. *hugs*
4. Ramadan has been excellent so far. Three days down, and so far so good. Haven't ventured too off-track yet.
5. Cousin-fun at my place, as is usual on weekends.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

McLaren convicted of industrial espionage, fined $100mn dollars and thrown out of Constructors' Championship..... :( More.
Which means the Reds take home the Constructors'. Damn. Grrrrrr. I want to bite something.

Only light at the end of the tunnel: Both drivers given clean chit and are in the running for the Drivers' Championship. So what'll it be? Alonso first and Lewis second, or the other way round?
[That's for all you Ferrari freaks out there.....]

I am going to curl up and die now. Excuse me.

Two more reasons I hate Ponting

1. Obviously, he looks like my favourite person's twin so that can't be a good thing. Immediate negative marking for looking like George Bush. Must have been separated at birth, as blogged here.
While we are on the topic of his looks, more minus points for Ricky Ponting being very hairy. And he doesn't take the trouble to go wax/shave himself like some considerate men. [Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt.] ;)
2. In last night's match against the amazing Zimbabweans [fantastic, thrilling match!], I saw Dirty Ricky SPIT ON HIS HANDS AND RUB THEM TOGETHER NO LESS THAN 10 TIMES. Why? Why would anyone do that? Yuk. Gross. I was cringing the whole time after the match when he was shaking the Zimbabweans' hands and my whole being was screaming, "Nooooo! He's filthy! Go wash your hands immediately!"

Sam-Goose sings

And how! I am so proud of this item.
Please go here and listen to very vundrefull songs by a Sam-Goose. Sam-Goose is a poet, a student of music, a beautiful belter of songs [or a belter of beautiful songs, if you will], and, quite unrelated to anything, she is also nuts. I mean insane.
Listen to her work, read her blog, spread the word, and send her a lot of money [through me].

I want.... the MotoRAZR2- SHARPER THAN EVERRRRRR!

Absolutely love the new MOTORAZR2, or what it promises to be anyway. I have always had a Motorola from the time I got my first cell phone [not too many years ago]. Am currently using the sweet ol' MotoRAZRV3i for over a year now and think it's the best phone ever [for my purposes]. Battle scars and many falls later, it still works wonderfully well.
Am thinking of upgrading soon, provided the whole world and its uncle don't go out and buy it before me. On the other hand, my current phone works just fine so maybe not. I can go and stare at the RAZR2 and have demos at the mobile stores once in a while.

The current ad for the MotoRAZR2 is great. It's one of my favorites, close on the heels of the Happy Dent "Mera Dil Roshan... Mera Mann Roshan..." one.
Love the story, both actors, the choreography, the chemistry between the two, and of course, the very excellent soundtrack song: Le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns. Which I have just downloaded. (And which is a type of song I might not have liked if I had heard it on its ownsome.)

Shiny Toy Guns RAZR2 TV Uncut Commercial

And here it is.

Unbelievable

I thought SA had NO chance of a win today after the fabulous Chris Gayle went berserk and splattered shots all around the Wanderers, but I was forgetting that this was the same team that did this back in 2006, and on the same ground.

Full match report here. Tough luck, Windies. Maybe that's why you shouldn't drop catches and bowl wides?
Well done: Gayle, Gibbs, Kemp. [But mostly Gayle. :)]

Haaaaaahaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......!!!!!

If a picture speaks a thousand words....... I love Nawaz Sharif's expression here.

I'm sorry, I can't help but find this whole deal insanely ridiculous. Not that I'm saying General Busharraf is correct in going against the Pakistan SC's decision etc etc, but he may just have not done the worst thing ever. I mean, really, this is Nawaz Sharif we're talking about. Contrary to what his surname might imply, he's no Angelic Innocent out to salvage Pakistan from the wreckage. He's just another dirty politician in what seems to be an unfortunate never-ending stream of slimeballs in this country's political sphere. [Look at the other alternative: Benazir. Eeks.]

I thoroughly enjoyed various amusing quotes such as this:
"Not long after he arrived from London to cheers from supporters accompanying him on the plane, Sharif was charged with corruption and money-laundering and bundled away by police from the airport VIP lounge. Four hours after landing, he was on a special flight to Saudi Arabia." [msnbc.com]

For sensible reporting on this: Go here.
Which reminds me, I HATE THE TIMES OF INDIA.

Adding image to injury

Just for you, Bob!

Not to put too fine a point upon it....

Monza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

McLaren pulled a perfect one-two at Monza yesterday, with some kickass top speed, blinding laps from Fernando Alonso all through the race to clinch pole position and a lovely overtaking maneuver by Lewis Hamilton after his Pit Stop #2 to pull in second ahead of Kimi.

* Hamilton's view as he overtakes Raikkonen.
The Hamilton-Raikkonen overtake was THE moment of the race for me, because I was afraid Kimi's one-stop strategy might just be able to take away the second position from McLaren. And eeks! It did for a bit, when Kimi pulled in just ahead of Lewis' car exiting from the pit lane.
But Kimi had suspension trouble [yeah, whatever] and Lewis managed a neat overtake on the first chicane which left me screeching with joy, high-fiving nobody, punching the air with my fists and renting the peace of the neighborhood asunder with some very juvenile cheering...
*All race pics bummed off the F1 site.

As is usual on weekends, Suhail bhai had come over and we had a rollicking mad time. I had promised chicken pulao [mama-style] and I delivered. Accompaniments were tangy tomato chutney and yoghurt. [For excellent pulao recipe, please send me fan mail.]A very burpalicious, albeit late-ish lunch was had around 4:30pm.
What followed was the absolute nuttiest Sister and Suhail have ever been in a long time. There was one hour to kill before the race started and the Deranged Duo decided to sing the blues away. (They thought they were really good.) A number of very elegant, soulful, classic Hindi film songs were destroyed in the process as our two star performers refused to shut up till the hour was up. The horrific renditions were punctuated by a series of giggling fits, tune-improvisations and very, very bad poetry. [Which is a loose term for rhyming words.]
Fortunately all tales of terror must have an ending, and in spite of it seeming like Time stood still while these two yodelers went caterwauling, the glorious hour of 5:30pm eventually came and my miseries ceased.
Start lights on, lights off, and GO!

Ozz and Suhail [boys in pic] are Reds - Ferrari supporters. [Blech.] They stopped acting cocky soon after reality sunk in, which is to say post the Lewis overtake which sealed the McLaren one-two deal. Hah. Sister was with McLaren, so no animosity there. [McLaren fans' -sis and I- pic on left].
To celebrate our resounding victory, I brought in some steaming hot noonchai along with a gloating smile, and special Kashmiri bakery: Kishtwari kulchay and baakirkhaani. The opinion all round was that the chai was very good. I would like to thank Nandini-double-cream-pasteurized-homogenized-no-need-to-boil-before-use milk.

Once that was done, we watched some nonsense TV programs like Miss Teen USA, AXN Fear Factor Psycho, Page 3 type no-brainer entertainment segments, and primed ourselves for the US Open Men's Finals, which according to many sources would be played at 9:30pm , IST. This turned out to be the biggest lie of the century as many hours later, droopy-eyed and despairing, we realized that the match would only be played at a mysterious, suspenseful hour which none of us would be able to guess at. Another friendship, Iqbal, had also come over in the hopes of being able to see Federer win the Open, but his dreams and aspirations were thwarted as no LIVE broadcast from Flushing Meadows seemed available. Except the insipid Women's Doubles Finals which was not gripping at all.

Suhail and Doc eventually left around 1:30am by which time we all convinced ourselves that the match would only happen post 4:30 am IST. This turned out to be the second biggest lie of the century because as it turned out, the match started at 2:30am, which fact Suhail bhai called in to inform us of.

I watched the match very sleepily, from a supine posish under a comfortable blanket in the TV room. My involvement in the proceedings was at best lackluster and I slept through many points.

And that was the Sunday that was.

Happy Birthday, doll!

To Febi, on the right.
[Yes, that's right, I have NO PICTURES OF YOU!!!!]

And so it ends...

The US Open 2007 cranked down to a nice, smooth close early this morning. [Morning for us here in India anyway. What a very crappy time to have to stay up to watch. I mean, 2:30am for yawning out loud.]

As expected, Mr Ice Cool Fedex took his amazing fourth-in-a-row US Open Trophy [Vaav!] after downing a very deserving runner up, Serbian Novak Djokovic [Very cute by the way, with 'outstanding' hair], in straight sets: 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
It wasn't one of Federer's best performances by a long shot [oh, look, a pun]. Too many unforced errors on the part of both players, but a little disconcerting to see it from the racquet of Fedex the Faultless. But, ho-hum, he took home the goodies anyways.
I particularly loved a certain feline allusion about the tightness of the match and Federer's response to it: "But leave it to Federer, the cool-handed Swiss, who might constantly look self-assured but, when pushed to the wall, responds like an alley cat."
Hah.
Fuller report here.

In the women's draw, Justine Henin won an easy final against Kuznetsova and I didn't watch the match except in highlights [what a very superlative one-handed backhand she has] so I shall say nothing about it. All I know is, Justine must be in very excellent form because she overcame both the Williams sisters, back-to-back. I did watch Venus' game this Open and I thought she was dandy. Which means Justine is obviously dandier, so well done!

This concludes my annual broadcast on the US Open. Till 2008, then, no more of this.

*whispering* "I think A.R.Rahman is Anonymous-ly leaving comments on my blog. I am famous!!!!! Yay!!!!"

{Finds it difficult to whisper "Yay!"}

Just.

Bonzo sleeping by my bum. (In the good old days.)

Some days ago...

I forgot to mention.
Last week, I met an angel and her new baby girl, Snowbums [above, with favourite ball in mouth]. I was very pleased to make this acquaintance. I get all chokey whenever I see nice, plain old good people because I don't find too many of them around anymore. I went and met said Celestial Being at her digs and she was chortling and giggling and being silly in love with Snowshine.
(The Seraphim keeps claiming that Poopster's name is Snowflake but we know better....)
This is Snowslumber with Envy [completely mauled, blinded by the time of this post] in her arms.

Ahem. Angelic Item also found out that far from being a baby, Snowstorm is in fact FIVE YEARS OLD. Haha. The useful things our vets tell us.

Bonzo Cat and Joey Cat

When Fuko cat ran away/ got lost/ disapparated/started his next life, Bonzo was extremely sad, lonesome and at a very low point in his new brotherless life. Where before he had been aloof and disdainful around us [Boo and I], letting Fuko take on the role of love-sponge and touchy-feely-pet, and didn't give a damn whether we were in the room or not, he now became extremely affectionate, purry, caressy and all other sorts of super-emotional, ultra-physical and attention-seeking things WHICH WE LOVED!
We would only need to fiddle with the door-handle and enter the house and our man would come running up expectantly and start doing some very sexy moves around our lower limbs. Not to mention some fantastic romantic ballad-singing in a not-so-baritone mewl. Ah, love songs as soon as we reached home... How lucky we were to have a lovable, endearing, soft-hearted, angelic kitty-poo-shit-bums cat!
(See, look at him yonder in the old days, resting quietly by me, getting charged for the next round of socker [soccer played with rolled up socks] or soft-toy-annihilation.)
We thought, like all ever-hopeful parents do, that our boy had changed for the better and would be this way for the rest of his current life plus the succeeding eight ones.

Hah! Fat Bonzoical chance. No sooner did Gorgeous Joey [see filmi pose in pic] make an entry into his life, than Bonzo reverted to his old mean, condescending, grumpo self. For him, FukoVersion2 is here and he can restart the good-cat-bad-cat routine.
Bonzo has now totally come into his own. He loves dissing me. He thrives on it. His ego gains 23 points every time he walks off when I'm speaking to him, mid-sentence. I swear I can hear the snigger in his eyes. [???] And what's more, since I am a pathetic-loser-human-type-parental -creature, I find this even more attractive in him. I will now slave myself, humiliate myself, turn cartwheels backwards and chatter nonsensically just so he so much as looks my way once in a while.
Fantastic. My life just gets better. Have a look at Groucho here. Sheesh!


And Bonzo pretends to hate Joey when in company, acting like an embarrassed elder brother at school trying to wash his hands off younger admiring sibling. But, the facade is quite weak and sooner rather than later, we see a love scene like so unfold before these, our very own eyes.....

Tommy Haas

Let's talk about Tommy Haas. How hot is he? The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind, which is to say that when the wind is blowing against him, what abs! What abs! Visually appealing and how. So, in conclusion, Tommy Haas is VERY hot. Rrrrrr!
He also happens to be a darling mix of the two thespians upstairs: Matt Dillon and Ethan Hawke. Plus a dash of something uniquely him. Very nice end result.


I am watching his quarterfinals versus Nikolai Davydenko, who is a brilliant player and I really like him, as I am posting this. Davydenko is already up 2 sets. But Haas is [I am hoping] clawing his way back in. We are at 2-2 in Set 3, and at Deuce because Tommy just can't seem to take his game. Oh, great, Tommy's just made another error on his drop shot and is facing break.... Wait, wait, okay. Deuce again.
It's a bloody good match as predicted earlier.
I think, however, that Nikolai just might take it.

...Sigh. It's no use. Davydenko's just broken. Straight sets win, maybe?
Like I metioned elsewhere, Davydenko is kicking some Haas.

And other news from Flushing Meadows

On Tuesday, in Umreeka:
1. Henin defeats Serena
2. Rafa ousted by Ferrer
3. Moya swings past Gublis

Today is a HUGE day at the US Open. Here's what's in store:
1. Ladies' singles Q/F draw:
-Sania's buddies Shahar Peer v. Anna Chakvetadze [v.g. watch].
-Venus v. Jankovic [ another very good match]
-Kuznetsova v. Szavay [ditto]

2. Men's singles Q/F:
-Davydenko v. Haas [Edge-of-seat-madness type match]
-DRUMROLLLLLLL....... FEDEX v. Roddick!!!!! [Good Lord]

Must sleep during day to prepare for all-nighter madness. And yes, there's also the one-hour break between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30a.m.

(All the news from very excellent US Open site.)

Sania-watch: End of US Open 2007

Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek lost to Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the doubles quarterfinals, Tuesday.

Thus ends Sania's US Open 2007.

Sania-: Through to the quarters

Ms Mirza and Bethanie Mattek pulled off a wonderful victory, upsetting favourites and second seeded Raymond-Stosur combo at the Ladies' Doubles last night. Very good.

Was running through some of my older rants, and realized this piece reads as if I wrote it in the first person, painful-teary-personal-horrific-experience mode. It was not so.
More's the pity. I have never ever been in love. [Ohmigawd! Almost over the hill and nothing yet?] Had a massive crush in teen days, but we know the difference, don't we?
Anyway... That piece was a letting loose of rage on my darling friends' behalfs [behalves?]. Which actually means I ran my mouth off on a subject I have only been a repeat-viewer to. Disturbing.

The other day, at a Boomsa's house

Went to Boo's place a couple of days ago, to catch up with Bonz and his new baby brother, Joey. CatsJellicle asked a question that got me thinking again. "Are we sure Joey is a boy?" Hah. Going by our track record, we are the worst judge of a kitten's sex. I mean, till we took Bonzo and Fuko to the vet for the first time [at 3 months] we thought they were girls and treated them as such.

Boo's frundship, from whom Joey came, says he's a boycat. And we aren't about to go messing with his privates just so we know.... I mean, curiosity did horrible things to the cat, and inappropriate sexual advances might well be on that list.
Anyway, here are Bonz and Jo on top of the fridge. Joey cannot bear to leave Bonz's side for more than 3 nanoseconds...


Oh, yes. And Boo went nuts as usual.

And, following on from the previous post about quiet-as-a-mouse campaigns at the US Open, just look at what Justine Henin is up to!

Sania-watch

She's out. Round 3 and exit stage left.
As predicted after the last match, Sania failed to make it past Chakvetadze who was playing on a much higher level really. Well, she is World No. 6.
Chin up, girl. And let's see you work some magic here on.

Round 3 saw some HUGE shockers.
Sharapova knocked out by a lovely little firecracker whose name I heard for the first time just that day. It's a tongue twister and I have only just managed to say it at one go: Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Here's the match summary, with bits of melodrama thrown in.
(It's the NYT, come on!)
Also, Nadia Petrova ousted by another teeny-bopper, Agnes Svazay.
Hoo, boy.

Watched Venus Williams last night, against no less than 5th seed Ana Ivanovic [who I really like because she looks like someone in my family and has the sweetest smile ever. Oh, and she also plays very well, yes.] It was TOTAL ANNIHILATION. Poor Ana couldn't find her smile at all after yesterday's steamroll.
Venus was on fire. She sizzled. She scorched the court during last night's match. I was picturing little nasty robots circulating in the background droning, "Exterminate. Exterminate."
Other words used to describe Venus' play by various papers: "Venus crushes...; Venus belts out warning; Venus rolls past..., Ruthless Venus..."

It's true. She was in fine form. Went through Ana like a hot knife through petrified butter. I'm putting my money on her [metaphorically speaking, okay?] to take the Title. Here's the match report.

A few big names that have stayed low and will probably jump out at us suddenly is Venus' li'l sister, Serena, who has quietly also made it to Round 4, defeating another player I like, Marion Bartoli. We're possibly looking at a Williams v. Williams Ladies' S/F, though there are big names like Jankovic and Henin to get past.

Something cute Venus had to say in this regard: ---Williams said she hoped to play against her sister. In an on-court interview after the match she said, “If we get to the semifinals there will be a Williams in the final and an American in the final.”----

Oh, but it's going to be good viewing: Venus v. Jankovic, Serena v. Henin. I'm certain Venus will get by, don't know about the other Q/F because I haven't seen either of them play this time.

The men's draw is probably not as exciting, since Fedex is around, doing his ice cool thing. :)
Rafa is creeping up [straight sets victory last match] slowly, calmly tugging at his pants as he makes his way through to the Round of 16.Where's all the fanfare, I say?

Sania-watch: Round 3!

Through to Round 3!

I watched the 2nd round match from the middle of the second set last night, and it has to be said, I am very uncertain about our girl's chances against her nemesis-of-the-year, Anna Chakvetadze. Anna's beaten Sania thrice already this year, even when she's been playing really well. The semi-finals at Hobart, the semi-finals at Cincinatti and the finals at Stanford. Ouch .

Sania lost her way a bit at 4-1 up in the second set. Up went the unforced errors. One match point after the other ate dust. *Cringe*Cringe*
I hope Sania is tighter in her next match. She has to be. We love you, girl, but keep it within the lines, please.

Watching intently.....

Muslims Against Terrorism

And interesting reads on that: Here

Hyderabad Horror, about

I have nothing new to say. God rest the souls of the innocents who died again.
Just wanted to drop in a link here to a nice article I found while reading up on the blasts. This article was written after the Mecca Masjid blasts back in May.
If only, Mr Bobby Ramakanant.

Within minutes of the incidents, the internet was seething with anti-Islamic diatribe, spurred on by a helpful media with their easy use of incorrect-but-easy-on-the-tongue contemporary slang: Islamic terrorism [what???], jehadi/Islamist groups, Muslim terrorists etc ad nauseum.

It pains one. That's all.

Sania-watch

Our girl is through to the 2nd round.
US Open-wise.

Cranium Sunday

Date: Aug 26, 2007
Venue: Chez Haji [my place]
Time: 1500 hrs onwards [as per invite]
Personalities present: Shro, Thirtha, Laura [being old school/college friends]
Others [being ex-office-mates]: Chris, Jude, Nandos, Ruth, Dr Iqbal
And assorted family [being one brother]: Ozz
Food items: Chip and dip, cheese crackers, doughnuts, spinach croissants, mushroom croissants, samosas, pastries [assorted], ice cream [untouched]
Beverages: Hard hitting drinks, chai
Pics: Here

Shro, Laura, Thirtha and Self had a friend's engagement lunch the very same day revelries were planned at my place, and the idea was to rush back from said formal occasion and play it cool. We were all thoroughly overdressed for a simple friends' get-together and were jointly worried about what the world would think of us if we couldn't get back and change in the nick of time. Laura, being a smarty-pants, made us take a quick detour on the way back to my house - we stopped at her digs and she changed into regular jeans and whatnots. We reached my place just before 1500 [stipulated time given in invite to feel free to enter my house] after another pit stop at Sweet Chariot, Koramangala, for essential bakeries and not-so-essential bakeries.
I needn't have worried about being late because except for Iqbal, no one was on time. And that gave me enough leeway to order the friends about the house, making them clean my digs for me. Also, Self and Shro changed into comfy home clothes leaving only Thirtha in her fancy-shmancy outfit to face the ridicule of the impending company. Unfortunately, this never happened.
Sir Iqbal arrived in first place, followed shortly by Ruth who took the silver. In third place and sharing the bronze were Charlies' Angels - Chris, Jude and Nandos. Once all guests were packed in like sardines in the living room, preliminary hard drinks were served. Tropicana's Strawberry Twirl, Sprite and Coke were big hits apart from aqua minerale.
The main theme of the jamboree was to play Cranium. And so it started.
Team 1: Old School+ Ozz, Team 2: Charlies' Angels, Team 3: The Intelligentsia - Doc Iqbal, Ruth and Self.
Tension ran high, tempers flared as did nostrils, and various cuss words were thrown about the room, albeit in hushed tones and under breaths. [Except Ozz who let slip a loud one, much to his consternation.] The spirit of competition was intense and cruel. It would be a survival of the fittest.
All the above is bullshit. The game started and ended on rather giggly notes, with everyone being everyone else's best friend, making cracks and in general displaying none of the spirit of do-or-die that is so essential in situations of friends getting together to play board games and hopefully see some killing and bloodshed.
The game had its high points as each team tried to outdo the other with brilliant displays of thespianism, artistry, musical ability, cunning, intelligence and plain ol' Lady Luck.
Memorable Highlights:
1. Doc guessing 'Jetpack' from the vantage point of Jude's posterior, while her teammates couldn't from a forward perspective.
2. Team 1 unable to get to Start for the longest time.
3. Team 2 and 3 flinging mud at each other on the way to Cranium Point 1, and also thereafter.
4. Ozz letting out a shocking cuss word, followed by blushes and embarrassment but only on his part. Everyone else found it hilarious.
5. Soulful rendition of 'London Bridge' by Laura.
There were other fine moments but I forget them.

[It must be mentioned that during all of this, the Turkish GP began and we watched on mute even as the game continued. This could account for a lapse of concentration on the part of some players.]

Charlies' Angels couldn't face the thought of the impending defeat that was being meted out to the by the Intelligentsia, and so they suddenly decided to up and leave. A quick photo shoot was held in the hall and Skinny friends left in a haze of tears and dust.

The game was called off and instead, chai was called for by the remaining revellers. Laura actually called for coffee. And Ruth had plain ol' black tea with no sugar or cream. Egads. The rest of us enjoyed hard-boiled, milky-yet-strong sugary chai as is available in roadside dhabas.

A session of chatting and much laughter followed. Laura was in fine form and, as is her wont, giggled more than she spoke. She acted out various scenes for our benefit [we were playing the role of her rapt audience], most notably her father's drunken dance at sister's wedding. Well done!
In time, even the Old School decided to leave and Ruth departed along with them. [Sir Iqbal took down various email IDs before their departure and promptly forgot them later.]
He stayed on to watch the end of the race, had serious heartrending conversation with the Self on the nasty state of affairs worldwide, and bonded with Ozz on the subject of Ferrari.

We couldn't allow him to leave without a proper din-din, and on arrival of sister, Domino's pizzas were called for [the delivery was late so we got a heavy discount - yay!] and an enjoyable meal was had.

Thusly ended the day that was.

Funny guys

Haahahaaaaaaa. Found this through Frythool.
A fitting reply to Facebook.

Sania-watch

Ms Mirza is up to Number 27 in the WTA single's rankings.
Her doubles rankings are also at an all-time high of 20!

Today is Sania's first match at the US Open. 11am at the Grandstand.

The Reds

Hmmph. Ferrari managed a one-two at Turkey this Sunday. Alonso followed a while later in 3rd. Full summary here.


Extremely tragic moment of the race: Hamilton's sensational tyre-burst. And he still pulled in 5th. Very good.

The rest of the season has suddenly become interesting again with the Ferrari-McLaren gap narrowing in. It could swing either way now in the 5 remaining races.
In the Team Constructor standings, Mclaren is at 148 and Ferrari is just 11 points behind at 137. And the Driver Standings are Hamilton- 84, Aonso- 79, Massa- 69 and Raikkonen- 68. Close as all-get-out! Should be fun.

Can't wait for Monza. Go McLaren!

[All pics bummed off F1.com.]

Coming soon: Ramadan, 1428 AH

Ramadan is just a few days away now. Insha'Allah, it will be a good one. This year, being 1428 as per the Hijri calendar, the month of Ramadan will start around the 13th of September, which means we'll have Eid-ul-Fitr around the 12th of October. Good weather. Yay!

Found a nice Gregorian-to-Hijri calendar converter here.
According to this, my birthday was 27 Rajab 1402 A.H. Check yours.

Very good. Now that the chinkaras have been avenged, let's throw him inside for a few more years for running over human beings. You know, our kind.
When's that judgment going to come across in that case? What is the window period in this country for a person to actually be sentenced for his crime. Not intent/possible crime [I'm a Sanjay Dutt admirer, okay?], but an actual occurrence. Like, say, events which leave dead bodies in their wake. Hmmph.


And now, on a very mature note: Salman Khan should be jailed just for his sideburns. What's with them? They're almost as long as he is tall. Gaaaaak.

Is the Left right?

I don't know.
As things stand with the nuke-deal impasse, I obviously don't know the merits of the case to swing either way.
All I know is:
-Do I like anything to do with nuclear power? NO. Deep inside of me, I still think it's a horror that shouldn't have been discovered in the first place. Don't give me some rot about it being the source of all energy in the future, please. What's wrong with hydel- or solar-power and windmills? Even the aesthetics are better. Why not spend billion and billions of dollars, Euros, pounds, rupees or whatever-have-you to work in this direction? Beats me.

-Do I like the US Govt and its policies? N-O. Pronounced "Nohhhhhhhh!!!!!!" And this is where I am all for the Left approach. Don't get into bed with the US, because the next morning you'll find she'll have disappeared and left no loose change on the dressing table for your services.
I know, crass film scenario is jarring but that's what I think of when any deal with America is in the offing. Getting screwed.

[PS: While posting, I had to choose where I wanted the image: Left, right or center? Hyaahahahaa.]

Sania-watch

Uh-oh. Not just before the US Open. No yo-yoing now!

Very good.

The inside story

How the trouble really started.

BRAD: Oh. I thought you said you ADAPT very well.

Sania -watch

Sania through to Round 2 at New Haven. Here.
Also, seedings released for the US Open where Sania is seeded 26th and plays Estonian Kaia Kanepi in Round 1.
Federer is seeded 1 of course.
The Men's Singles Round 1 draw looks pretty tame with the only interesting match being Novak Djokovic v. Mario Ancic. Same on the Women's Singles front: one possible interesting match between Tamarine Tanasugarn and Sybille Bammer. Okay, maybe it won't be that interesting.

Good going, Kapil

"The more things change, the more they remain... insane."
Michael Fry and T. Lewis, Over the Hedge

All the ongoing brouhaha about the new rebel league, the ICL, beats me. I think it's great that the aging, bureaucratic behemoth - no, no, not the UN; I'm talking about the BCCI- is finally being asked to pull up its socks and do a few rounds of the field to warm up for some competition. And that, a little outside the sphere of dirty politics and safari-suit-officials, good players from all over will get a chance to go out there and make a damn decent living out of the thing they are best at and love doing: playing the game.
When great names like Kapil Dev, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohd Yousuf are treated like so much short change and sullied in press releases, you know something's very wrong with the way things are being run. The BCCI and PCB are both behaving like sulky adolescents [and seem about as attractive] what with disregarding these names, lashing out at the players who opt to play for the ICL and the worst, the door-slamming routine all teenagers in angst demonstrate: disallowing these players to be a part of the national cricket team. The Big Boys have finally been caught doing what they were doing all these many years for the betterment of the game- nothing- and it's bloody embarrassing for them. Reaction: "Muscle power. Ostracize the rebels!" What ho.
Here's my question: If a player wants to associate himself with any number of organizations, to earn more and play more, why shouldn't he be able to?
It's no secret that the state of sports in India is quite pathetic, even the mothership of all games: cricket. Farcical selections, unprofessional training and ignoring real talent on flimsy grounds known only to the 'suits' in the Government-run boards is a regular story for aspiring but disillusioned sportspersons.
Why not let private, professionally-run leagues like the ICL enter the arena [not just cricket either. It would be great to see such leagues come up in all sports], create more playing and earning opportunities for deserving players and all of this at a very good economic compensation to both sides? Because in the end, of course the ICL is also going to want to make money. And probably will. Or, it won't.
In either case, let the games begin.

It's nice to see big names from international cricket jumping on the ICL bandwagon already. And 'nuff said about these players being old fogies or out-of-form-has-beens. I'd pay good money to see my proven favorites any day over the current crop of long-artificially-colored-hair-strutting-jewelery-laden cocky young 'uns who haven't proved anything yet except they somehow got in to the national team.
Here's a list of the has-beens I'm itching to watch play: Inzy, Mohd Yousuf, Razzaq, Lara, Fleming, Zulu. Hah.

This is the ICC's stand on the matter, by the way. Pretty sound, wot?

Happy New House, Boo.

Date: Friday, 17th August, 2007.
Venue: Boomsa's new digs
Occasion: House warming

General consensus: Wowza!
Pics: Here
Party animals: Aashi, DJ, Sharmon, Appu, Tina, George, PP, Gautam, Ameet, Mr Prash, Chitravaani, and many others I do not know/remember.

A very excellent place has been procured by Boomsa as her new digs. One located ideally in the very middle of the city [for all practical purposes] and where I shall now be able to crash often and anon after my wild, debauch, drunken nights on the town. Erm, yes, well WHY NOT?
Boomsa has also procured a beautiful boy-cat known as Joey, who is good-looking as all dammit. Of course, he hasn't yet achieved a fraction of the cool quotient so obvious in Bonzo, the Elder. He'll get there eventually, but Bonz shall have a certain edge over him.

The party was much fun, with the excellent concept of BYOB working yet again. Titla brought in some good vino, I don't know which. I took in some stronger stuff like Coke [500ml] and Sprite [500ml]. Was a bit woozy later, but I can hold my drink when I need to.
Food items came in with the help of frantic calls from the cell phone of an Aashi.
Much fun and laughter ensued at various points of the night. The jokes are too bad to recount here, but there were many. DJ was notably on fire. Sharmon learnt how to operate my camera, or at least he figured out how to press The Important Button. There followed thousands of his self-pics which I have had to delete. It took me nigh on 4 days to do so. :)

Titla and I decided to leave by 1-ish, being two gorgeous, single women driving home to nether regions of Bengaluru and wanting to feel safe in our heads. The ploy worked. We escaped unscathed. [We also managed somehow to stop over at Sugar 'n' Spice at the Taj Residency and pick up pastries for items at home, in the midst of such harrowing circs.]

All in all, a fabulous night and much gladness in our hearts for Boomsa's new home. Yay.

Postscript: I missed seeing Boo's roomie, a Sushma, since I was inside Boomsa's room terrifying Joey as she moseyed out. But never fear! I shall see her yet.

Yay! Sanju is out for the anon!

So sue me. I really like Sanjay Dutt. And am very glad he's out for a bit.
And check out the pic above for irony.

Sania-watch

Sania climbs up one spot to 28th in the singles' WTA rankings.

In other news, Federer isn't doing too badly either.