A Reluctant Roger

January 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

Nadal-Federer - Aus Open 2012 Semi-Final

Today was exactly like the story that hardcore Roger Federer fans by now should be used to.

The story begins with a first round match which brings out some tentativeness in Roger. Then he paddles along with some impeccable tennis – almost reminds you of his era of invincibility. Before you realize it, he marches into the quarter final where he gets to meet his first real opponent. An opponent who is in the Top 10 or something. Roger brings out his best tennis and elevates his game to a level that makes you believe that this indeed is the grand slam that he is going to win because there is no way anyone could beat him in this form. He makes it to the semis.

It’s Rafa Nadal that he gets to meet there in the semis. And then it all ends. Dreams shattered. For Roger and for his millions of fans..

It is not that Rafa is better on the court than Roger in general but on this given day he plays into Roger’s psyche. So easily. Like a shrink working through a patient’s mind walking through the inner chambers to retune everything the patient believes about himself. Roger gets into a self-destruction mode. None of his forehand winners work. His backhand shots are as terrible as you have ever seen. His first serve % starts going down and ends up close to 50%. Meanwhile at the other side of the net, Rafa continues to play to Roger’s weaknesses consistently. Rafa doesn’t do anything extraordinary except keeping himself highly charged up and motivated to beat Roger at whatever cost. He keeps playing aggressive shots but doesn’t try anything new he hasn’t tried before. He knows exactly what works under the circumstances. Roger on the other end, starts losing it. He gets into a mode of series of unforced errors. Errors on shots he had comfortably played even in the first set. Sometimes he tries some new shots only to miss those too.

Then, it is only a matter of time for Rafa to prevail. It is only a matter of time for Roger to recoup and pack his bags to walk back to the dressing room in an elegant manner only he could do. It is only a matter of time before Roger during the post match conference starts telling everyone how he has had an incredible run getting into the tournament, winning a few minor titles here and there and how he has played spotless tennis till the semis and how he was unlucky on that day to miss out a few points, which eventually cost the game & the match for him, all the while making it sound like luck was not in his side even though he played better tennis….

A reluctant Roger, who continues to live in a state of denial marches onto the next grand slam.  And as a highly-not-so-reluctant Roger fan, I don’t think I can take this denial much longer.

Filed under Sports - General

Reconciling with the pigskin

January 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

13 years and counting. That’s how long I have been exposed to “American Football” and yet, I have never gotten around to enjoy the sport so much that I see myself playing it with the same passion that I do with other sports. And then there are sports that I don’t play because I can’t – but those are ones which I always have had a “Why couldn’t I play this sport?” angst associated with them. Football is not one of them. In fact for the first 7-8 years, I was a fierce advocate of calling the sport “Gladiatorial”. Not that much of my opinions have changed since then, but I have reconciled.

Here are the five reasons (not in any order) why I have decided to reconcile with the pigskin in spite of all my reservations:

  1. It is not just a sport in this country but a socializing medium.
  2. My son and his lack of choices in growing up with any other sport. He is limited to Football and Baseball (yes, there are others but the environment doesn’t promote them with the same passion)
  3. A good family pastime – Better than watching sitcoms or movies that may deem unfit for kids, I find sports to be a perfect thing to watch together as a family on TV. Again with very limited choices on what sports we get to watch during primetime, Football and Baseball rule the charts. So.
  4. My son and his knowledge of the sport – Not to be far left behind, I am catching up on some statistics (much to my own surprise) and some history, etc. In the process, I have a better understanding of the sport (not necessarily appreciation of all aspects).
  5. A safe bet – With my son’s growing interest in the sport, discouraging the sport forcefully and not making him watch or follow the sport, I figured, may do more harm. Hence I decided that it is better to understand the sport and not label it “bad” blindly as it will only make him like the sport ‘blindly’. Also, I feel it is safer to encourage him to focus on some “sports” than Nickelodeon or Disney stuff while slowly letting him know the dangers of playing this particular sport in the long run.

And finally – yes, I still think this sport is not something I would want kids to play – especially the way in which the rules are framed currently. But I have learned a lot in the last 5-6 years about the sport that I no longer consider this just as a physically dominating and mentally demeaning sport.

So, with our local NFL franchise team, the Detroit Lions doing better this season than they ever had since I started following football and with so much discussion around the games that happen everyday at home, I guess it was only natural that I had to reconcile with the pigskin.

I don’t care who wins on Feb 5. Yet, one has to pick a favorite. So I will be rooting for the Giants because that’s what my son would be doing.

Filed under Sports - General

A Healthy array

January 14, 2012 Leave a Comment 

A Healthy array

Slithered almonds to seduce and shriveled grapes to cry sour;
Frittered cheese to fatten and flavored yogurt to stay fit.
Battered broccoli to bite into and brined apples to chew onto.
Crispy onions to neutralize  and cold edamame to whet it all.

An array to confuse, befuddle and weaken my mind -
Again, served for me with choices that no one will mind.

Filed under Poem

In Trivial Pursuit…

January 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

As I type this post, I am being told by several people who seem to care so much about this record that it has been 302 days since Sachin Tendulkar hit his last century in any form of cricket. I have to confess that this record that Sachin has been made to chase has been bothering me as well, even though at the outset I consider this as the most ridiculous statistical record in Cricket you can think of. So to me this is as irrelevant as trying to cross 10000 total miles (or some such number) by driving a car and a bike combined over a period of time. Yes, there is some sense of accomplishment. But trivial. Because driving a car and riding a bike mean totally different things.

Yet, here we are.

What I can’t figure out is why this man is chasing his 100th century in test matches? Why did he opt out of the ODI series against WI when he had all the ammunition he needed to score a 100 because he would have opened the batting? And his record in scoring centuries as an opener is spectacular.

Of course, I love his batting. Who doesn’t? But I am neither a fan of Sachin to the point that I appreciate everything he does on & off the field nor a critic that I do the exact opposite by calling him a selfish player (which seems to be the most common accusation). So I feel I have a fair view in presenting my armchair punditry.

The biggest ailment in Sachin Tendulkar’s batting since he scored his last century on March 12, 2011 vs South Africa (Nagpur)  is his mental state. Contrary to what all his admirers think that he is doing a really fantastic job of carrying the expectations of the entire nation on his shoulders without much of a mental strain, he actually has been carrying a big monkey around his shoulders for the last 300 odd days because is a human being. He is not “God” (of course – I mean God in a traditional sense..not in a Higgs Boson sense). Beyond this 100 100s monkey, every time he has gone out to play for India in a game, I am sure he goes through enormous amount of pressure & mental stress that none of us will ever know of. By dehumanizing him, the Tendulkar fans have only made it more difficult for him to be what he really is.

Notwithstanding the superlative form he has been in since his last hundred, especially if you look at the series of 60s, 70s and 80s he has made, I can’t help but conclude that this monkey that he has been made to carry is taking its toll. Even though he has come out positive in most of the above knocks when he started off the innings, he had invariably gone on the defensive mode once he crossed 60 runs or so. This is a problem. Sachin Tendulkar shouldn’t think he has to score a 100 which makes him cautious once he inches closer to the mark. It is all easier said than done. But then that is what armchair punditry is about right?

I hope he works on this aspect of his game. Of course he can never get rid off the monkey till he actually gets rid off it by scoring a 100. In the meantime, at least he should tell himself that the monkey is harmless and it doesn’t do much other than just sit on his shoulders. If he can somehow tell himself that, may be..may be..he will not go defensive after he crosses 60 runs.

Having said that, in all honesty, I don’t think he is going to score his 100th 100 in Australia in the test series. I will be glad if I am proven wrong. His best chances were against WI in India. Now he has got to wait for another home series and more importantly, he should be willing to play the 50 over format games to increase his chances.

As the little master continues his trivial pursuit, so do we..

Filed under Cricket Tagged with ,

Brushes

January 4, 2012 2 Comments

My first attempt with Brushes..(a finger painting app on iPad).

Hellboy..:)

Filed under Cartoon

Happy New Year

December 31, 2011 2 Comments

And this is exactly how I spent my last Friday of 2011..

Happy New Year folks!

Filed under Humor - General, Videos

Tintin

December 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

Image

I had read a few incomplete reviews of the movie much before Dec 21, the date on which Tintin entered the shores of USA. Dec 21 was a delayed entry. But then, the fact that the likes of Tintin & Asterix are relatively unknown here in the US (& yet one of the most popular strips in the rest of the world) pressed for a strong case of a delayed release, I guess. Since we were out of town on Dec 21, I had to wait till we got back to watch the movie.

So Instead of writing a detailed review, let me just interview myself.

Me: So are you a Tintin fan?

Myself: Well. I am definitely a fan of the comic series. No doubt. Who wouldn’t be if you grew up in an environment that was filled with people who knew this series?  They were brilliantly made stories. Adventure ones. Adventure ones involving a little boy. And they have characters that make you laugh and feel envious. So yes, the whole Tintin series was always exotic to me for all of the above reasons. Although I didn’t get to read this till I was 17. In some ways, it probably was a good age to start reading this series. In some ways, I regret not starting to read this say when I was 12.

Me: Who is your favorite character?

Myself: Haddock. Sorry. Capt. Haddock.

Me: What did you like in the movie the most?

Myself: Animation. It was beyond anything I had ever experienced.

Me: What about the characters? Did Spielberg do a good job of creating a narration that brought out the main characters well?

Myself: Yes & No. Given that it is a 90 minute movie, for a Tintin comic nut like me, the characterization in the movie was no way close to all those years of imagination one gets to build from the books. Yet, I have to say that Tintin, Snowy and Haddock who get the maximum screen time were all portrayed with the right amount of depth. Wish Prof. Calculus had found a part to play in the story as well..:)

Me: Will the movie work in the USA?

Myself: I was surprised when I walked into the theater yesterday because the hall was full. But can’t say how long this will last. Don’t think the business that this movie generates from the US would be enough for them to justify this franchise, if at all they are thinking of one. Having said that, we already know that the movie has generated enough profits from the rest of the world that it should already be paving way for a franchise (hopefully).

Me: How was the 3-D part?

Myself: I am not really a fan of 3-D movies. Guess it is being overdone these days. For this movie, I would have preferred a 2-D version. But the 3-D didn’t bother me. My 7 yr. old son loved it. Both the movie (even though he hasn’t read the books yet) and the 3-D part.

Me: Final comments…?

Myself: Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles *⎈⎈⎌⌗⎃⎌⎌**@!!!”

Filed under Movies - General

In a blissful state of ‘Kolaveri’

December 13, 2011 2 Comments

By now, you could very well apply for an application to get ostracized from India or from the Indian community (if you live outside India), if you have not heard of this term – “Kolaveri”.

Of course, if you are from Tamil Nadu, you definitely know the crass usage of this phrase. Although the phrase on its own has a rather gory connotation to it, if my growing up in Tamil Nadu is a good meter, then I would say that the phrase is as innocuous as the phrase “Damn” or “Bullshit”. So let me get that out of the way for all you purists.

Now, why is there is a small minority of cocooned purists trying to rage against this viral phenomenon? I am not sure why. But it is easy to guess who they would be..Here are the 5 categories of people who I think will hate or in milder terms “dislike” a song like “Kolaveri Di”.

1) The “Ilayaraja-is-God-and-because-Rahman-has-won-Oscars-except-him-every-other-music-director-is-equal-to-Ilayaraja’s-Sandals’-dust” types

These are folks who were infatuated by Ilayaraja’s music of 70s and 80s. They just couldn’t / can’t and wouldn’t accept the fact that there can be other music     directors who can even compose music to begin with. Took AR Rahman almost 15 years to get their nod (ok – you can compose but still you are a speck when compared to Ilayaraja).

2) The “Carnatic-music-is-the ultimate-form-of-music-and-every-other-genre-is-not-music-at-all” types

Needless to say, these folks can never accept anything else. It is not that, they have Carnatic music mastery either. They are the half-baked Carnatic music types who promptly bring out their hands and start tapping on their thighs to gesture an “Adi thalam” even when the song being played is a complicated “Misra Rupam” or something.

3) The “I-am-too-posh-for-these-local-slangs-and-broken-english-pronounced-in-Tamil-accent-and-local-looking-people-in-general” types

Funnily, these people can’t write one page of English prose without grammatical and syntactical errors. And yet, they prefer speaking in English which only they and their family member can appreciate. They think anyone who is local should be “cheap”. They consider anything that is local (including culture & language) can be cheap too. Nothing can please them. They shake their heads in displeasure when they see or hear someone use a swear word in Tamil but would happily drool over a redneck American throwing an F word 5 times in a sentence.

4) The “Lyrics-should-be-poetic-doesn’t-matter-what-kind-of-song-it-is-else-it-isn’t-worth-a-listen” types

No need to expand the above.They listen to the words first before they judge a song. Again it is not that they have poetic sensibilities to analyze a good poem (forget about writing one)..

5) The “Humor-is-limited-in-my-life-and-I-am-very-discrete-when-it-comes-to-it-as-I-can’t-see-humor-especially-when-so-many-other-people-see-humor-in-it” types

They just can’t see humor. Period. They have template humor. Yes, humor (or jokes) of only certain kind can bring a smile in their faces. Forget about “Kolaveri Di” bringing anything in their faces except tears.

If you don’t belong to any of the above 5 categories and yet dislike this song – I know who you are. (I won’t reveal your identity here because categorizing you would sound offensive).

Anyways, no offense to all those who don’t like this song. After all, appreciating art is individualistic. Yet, when I saw a trend online to rage against what is now a worldwide phenomenon made me write this post.

On a related note, here is a collection of all the most popular versions of Kolaveri that have come out. I am sure there are dozens more that I haven’t seen yet.

The Original:

The Female version:

The Nigam version:

The Gujarati version:

The Marathi version:

The R&B version(my favorite of all the adapted versions):

[This is my favorite because it has truly been enhanced and there is some originality in the new version]

The Punjabi version:

Filed under Humor - General, Music - General

Dear “Constitution misinterpreter”..

December 9, 2011 Leave a Comment

Dear American Gun proponent aka “Constitution misinterpreter”,

Here is a suggestion..

Get more guns into the market. Hundreds. Thousands. No. May be Millions. At the rate of 5:1 (five for every human being living in the country).

Get rid off all the pretentious licensing restrictions that do nothing more than provide an opportunity for some minor delays in the acquisition of the guns.

Make it easy for everyone to buy guns. Like burgers and candies. All they need is money to buy guns. You can even sell them online and deliver them home. They are already being sold cheap. Make them cheaper. Throw some ammunitions in free.

And finally make the statement that you normally do – “Guns don’t kill people. Only people do”. Nobody has ever questioned whenever you make  a bold statement like that. Some day in future, there won’t be anyone alive to question you!

Oh, by the way, in case you didn’t know, 2 people were shot dead by a gunman at VA Tech (again) today…

Filed under Miscellaneous

The agony of patience

November 24, 2011 2 Comments

Here is the latest from the studio..

The title says it all as far as the theme goes..

You can read some notes behind the making of this piece here.

Filed under My Music

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