That's the name they should have given to the Indian TV equivalent to the popular show in the US.
Let me put in my disclaimer early, I do not follow Indian television , apart from what I read online once in a while, so my details might be a bit iffy.
The particular 'bachelor', prone to domestic violence, I am referring to is Rahul Mahajan.
He is the son of the late BJP Politician Pramod Mahajan, and that in a nutshell is his claim to fame. That's if you don't count the time he nearly od'ed on coke , his fathers personal secretary his partner in crime wasn't as lucky and did actually od.
Since Pramod Mahajan in his pomp was one of the most powerful men in the country, Rahul Mahajan despite his shenanigans probably lead the good life.
He can be called India's Paris Hilton, famous for being famous, (just a little more vicious)
With this background, to add to a failed marriage( apparently domestic violence was to blame there as well) , you have to be wondering whether the Indian version of bachelor should have been named Finding a Bride for Chucky.
Sure the producers played up the redemption aspect of the whole spectacle, and sure our 'hero' made the right sounds about appreciating the opportunity.
But a few months post show and marriage, the 'lucky' girl runs into a bout of hubby temper along with the attendant beat down. And I get the sickening feeling , due to the utter predictability of this all.
Fine , everybody bought into it, but as a girl looking for a husband(even if its on TV) , would you go for this work of art? Was this the best India had to offer?
No woman should have to experience domestic violence and it annoys me no end that a TV show would put these young women in harms way fully knowing the kind of person they selected. I think the young lady who did agree to marry chucky was dumber than a door knob. However , it feels bad to rail against a victim, and tell her she deserved it.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Time for change
With the Indian test team getting handled in Sri-Lanka, its time to talk about the elephant in the room. Yes the Indian test team has been ranked No.1 for the past several months, but with the lack of bench strength and a toothless bowling attack it is perhaps time to bite the bullet and look ahead rather than myopically try to maintain an undeserved No.1 ranking.
Tendulkar , Dravid and Laxman cannot be expected to play beyond another couple of years. Of these modern day greats only Tendulkar can be certain of commanding a place till he chooses to call it a day. If the other two are allowed to choose their time of departure, Indian cricket will be left with 3 rookies about the same time. Sure Raina and Yuvraj will probably occupy 2 slots and can hardly be called rookies, but it would serve Indian cricket if they would be eased into the scheme of things rather than pushed into the deep end. All this means that its time to start rotating the middle order batsmen.
Now to focus on the bowling. Well I have nothing there, the best I can come up with is offering a few Pakistanis Indian citizenship, after all there have to be a few who would be classified as Person's of Indian Origin.
Jokes apart, there has to be a concerted effort to manage the workloads of the faster bowlers. Regular tours of the A Team need to be organized for those who have fallen by the wayside. Also though this will not have an immediate impact, there should be some fairness in drawing up contracts. Fast bowling is a far more injury prone profession when compared to batting or bowling offspin. This has to be recognized. Fast bowlers need to be compensated adequately for subjecting their bodies to the rigour they do. This might in some way encourage them to keep the hostility and pace up.. since it invariably seems to drop once a bowler has been with the team for a while.
Tendulkar , Dravid and Laxman cannot be expected to play beyond another couple of years. Of these modern day greats only Tendulkar can be certain of commanding a place till he chooses to call it a day. If the other two are allowed to choose their time of departure, Indian cricket will be left with 3 rookies about the same time. Sure Raina and Yuvraj will probably occupy 2 slots and can hardly be called rookies, but it would serve Indian cricket if they would be eased into the scheme of things rather than pushed into the deep end. All this means that its time to start rotating the middle order batsmen.
Now to focus on the bowling. Well I have nothing there, the best I can come up with is offering a few Pakistanis Indian citizenship, after all there have to be a few who would be classified as Person's of Indian Origin.
Jokes apart, there has to be a concerted effort to manage the workloads of the faster bowlers. Regular tours of the A Team need to be organized for those who have fallen by the wayside. Also though this will not have an immediate impact, there should be some fairness in drawing up contracts. Fast bowling is a far more injury prone profession when compared to batting or bowling offspin. This has to be recognized. Fast bowlers need to be compensated adequately for subjecting their bodies to the rigour they do. This might in some way encourage them to keep the hostility and pace up.. since it invariably seems to drop once a bowler has been with the team for a while.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Its better to Jaw Jaw than to War War... Really?
India and Pakistan , neighbours by compulsion , have just concluded a round of talks . What were they talking about? Precisely that, the agenda of what they should be talking about. That talking to Pakistan is an exercise in futility should have been established by now. But when you have a leadership that publicly, states that talks is the only option, well talk is what you are bound to do, however futile it is.
The latest round of talks was 'derailed' due to the release of information by the Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai, which revealed that the ISI (Pakistan's Intelligence agency) was beyond the attack on Mumbai in 26/11. To most with half a brain , this should have been evident. Sure, uneducated kids can be taught to shoot a gun. But an k like the Mumbai one needs more than the ability to shoot a gun.
What stands out is to me is that the Indian establishment appears to be aware that the attack on Mumbai had the backing at the higher levels of he Pakistani establishment, much like Kargil.
If this is in fact the case, why exactly are we talking? There are only 2 possibilities. Either the people we are talking to encouraged the attack of 26/11 and would be more than willing for repeats or they are too weak to prevent attacks. In either case, it becomes the Indian Governments duty and responsibility to act to defend its citizens from future attacks emanating from Pakistan. This will possibly lead down a slippery slope to war. But what choice do you have as a nation? The very basic expectation of any nation state is to be able to defend its civilians is being called into question time and again. Time and again Pakistan has played the school bully and punched India in the nose.. Time and again India has backed away from a fight, paying heed to the possibility of a nuclear war. At the very least end this charade of talks. People point to the seemingly unending rivalry between Germany and France , which has now morphed into an inseparable union as a model for future Indo-Pak relations. But they forget the many horrible and crippling wars that preceded the current state of affairs. As things stand now the Republic of India cannot reconcile with what Pakistan stands for. So really is the Jaw Jaw really better?
The latest round of talks was 'derailed' due to the release of information by the Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai, which revealed that the ISI (Pakistan's Intelligence agency) was beyond the attack on Mumbai in 26/11. To most with half a brain , this should have been evident. Sure, uneducated kids can be taught to shoot a gun. But an k like the Mumbai one needs more than the ability to shoot a gun.
What stands out is to me is that the Indian establishment appears to be aware that the attack on Mumbai had the backing at the higher levels of he Pakistani establishment, much like Kargil.
If this is in fact the case, why exactly are we talking? There are only 2 possibilities. Either the people we are talking to encouraged the attack of 26/11 and would be more than willing for repeats or they are too weak to prevent attacks. In either case, it becomes the Indian Governments duty and responsibility to act to defend its citizens from future attacks emanating from Pakistan. This will possibly lead down a slippery slope to war. But what choice do you have as a nation? The very basic expectation of any nation state is to be able to defend its civilians is being called into question time and again. Time and again Pakistan has played the school bully and punched India in the nose.. Time and again India has backed away from a fight, paying heed to the possibility of a nuclear war. At the very least end this charade of talks. People point to the seemingly unending rivalry between Germany and France , which has now morphed into an inseparable union as a model for future Indo-Pak relations. But they forget the many horrible and crippling wars that preceded the current state of affairs. As things stand now the Republic of India cannot reconcile with what Pakistan stands for. So really is the Jaw Jaw really better?
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Burqa ban in France
Last week, the lower house of France's overwhelmingly voted to ban the burqa in public places.Why is this a big deal? Well a Muslim population that already feels hounded and looked down upon,will further feel the West is out to get them.
I have mixed feelings about this Being born and brought up in India, where secularism means accommodation of every religion,(its a unique brand of secularism.. found only in India) I personally would not support the burqa ban. On principle, why stop someone from wearing a burqa when we don't stop them from wearing a mini-skirt. But you can turn around and say, why allow the burqa in Paris, when you can't expect to see a mini-skirt in Saudi Arabia?
But saying the burqa is a mere article of clothing like the mini-skirt is an understatement.
Its a reflection of attitudes towards women. From what I understand, a burqa is supposed to keep Men from having impure thoughts about women. So women are objectified as mere vessels of temptation by one interpretation. Its a reflection of the truly unequal status accorded to women. On principle I cannot find any reason to condemn France's burqa ban. But any true reform cannot be imposed from outside , it will have to come from within.
On a side note, I found it interesting that 2/3rds of Americans did not support a ban on burqa's while 80% of Europeans support it.
So maybe its time to revise the opinion n who the Great Satan is?
I have mixed feelings about this Being born and brought up in India, where secularism means accommodation of every religion,(its a unique brand of secularism.. found only in India) I personally would not support the burqa ban. On principle, why stop someone from wearing a burqa when we don't stop them from wearing a mini-skirt. But you can turn around and say, why allow the burqa in Paris, when you can't expect to see a mini-skirt in Saudi Arabia?
But saying the burqa is a mere article of clothing like the mini-skirt is an understatement.
Its a reflection of attitudes towards women. From what I understand, a burqa is supposed to keep Men from having impure thoughts about women. So women are objectified as mere vessels of temptation by one interpretation. Its a reflection of the truly unequal status accorded to women. On principle I cannot find any reason to condemn France's burqa ban. But any true reform cannot be imposed from outside , it will have to come from within.
On a side note, I found it interesting that 2/3rds of Americans did not support a ban on burqa's while 80% of Europeans support it.
So maybe its time to revise the opinion n who the Great Satan is?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Can I get some goals to go?
The one thing everyone can agree on about the worldcup 2010 is the severe paucity of goals.
The theories doing the rounds are a football thats hard to control and teams being overly defensive since they have but 3 games.
My take on this can be summarized from the goal that was denied to the US in the 85th minute with the score tied 3-2.
The play in question was a setpiece free kick with 3-4 US players in and around the goal.. Now since the replays have been shown a million times , the one thing that stands out is the tight man to man marking by the slovenians. In one glaring example.. there is a Slovenian defender with his arms wrapped completely around Mike Bradley the scrorer of the second goal. Leaving aside for a second the end result, you have to realise that allowing defenders to bear hug attackers is not in anyway going to help produce goals.. For the life of me I can't understand why its even tolerated. Holding someone to prevent them from taking a legitimate shot at the goal is illegal and should be called as such. Once the officials make it clear they wont stand for it thepolayers will fall in line.. and finally we might have a situation where for once the talk about football wont center around the lack of goals.
The theories doing the rounds are a football thats hard to control and teams being overly defensive since they have but 3 games.
My take on this can be summarized from the goal that was denied to the US in the 85th minute with the score tied 3-2.
The play in question was a setpiece free kick with 3-4 US players in and around the goal.. Now since the replays have been shown a million times , the one thing that stands out is the tight man to man marking by the slovenians. In one glaring example.. there is a Slovenian defender with his arms wrapped completely around Mike Bradley the scrorer of the second goal. Leaving aside for a second the end result, you have to realise that allowing defenders to bear hug attackers is not in anyway going to help produce goals.. For the life of me I can't understand why its even tolerated. Holding someone to prevent them from taking a legitimate shot at the goal is illegal and should be called as such. Once the officials make it clear they wont stand for it thepolayers will fall in line.. and finally we might have a situation where for once the talk about football wont center around the lack of goals.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
How the IPL ia destroying Team India.
I am not the first person writing on this and certainly wont be the last person. And after yet another embarassing exit from a 'world-cup' , it would be obvious to most that the IPL is infact affecting team India's performance in the international arena.
Some reasons are obvious, player fatigue , exposure to only batsman friendly pitches, ability to target the weaker domestic bolwers in every team.
Some reasons are not so obvious. The rules put in place by the IPL to ensure that Indian domestic criketers would not lose an opportunity to play have inadvertently caused a lot of damage.
There is a restriction on the number of international cricketers allowed in every game(4 per side). There was also a fixed salary for India's domestic cricketers( a pathetic $30K , when you compare that to the 1million that the likes of Dhoni makes).
These restrictions meant that those Indian cricketers who have played international cricket are the highest paid in the league(barring the odd Andrew Symonds and Kevin Pietersen).
The lower salaries for international players makes it easier for some to totally skip the IPL (like Mitchell Jonhson and Micahel Clarke), Indian internationals on the other hand find it a lot harder to turn down the money.
The 4 man restriction also means that players of the caliber of Paul Collingwood have spent a good portion of the IPL season on the bench.
All this means that every team other than India post IPL is well rested and have had time to prepare , while the Indian's were busy walloping Indian domestic bowlers around while playing out the few good bowlers every side had.
How can things change?
Firstly IPL will have to have a window where no other ICC events are hosted a month before and after.
There has to be serious consideration given to removing all restrictions on player salaries, thereby abolishing the caste system that exists currently. This will bring down the artificially inflated salaries of Indian internationals and bring some semblance of balance to their priorities.
Teams should be able to cut players and not be stuck with non performing ones.
Teams must follow the rest and rotation policy for Indian internationals handed down by team India management.
Some reasons are obvious, player fatigue , exposure to only batsman friendly pitches, ability to target the weaker domestic bolwers in every team.
Some reasons are not so obvious. The rules put in place by the IPL to ensure that Indian domestic criketers would not lose an opportunity to play have inadvertently caused a lot of damage.
There is a restriction on the number of international cricketers allowed in every game(4 per side). There was also a fixed salary for India's domestic cricketers( a pathetic $30K , when you compare that to the 1million that the likes of Dhoni makes).
These restrictions meant that those Indian cricketers who have played international cricket are the highest paid in the league(barring the odd Andrew Symonds and Kevin Pietersen).
The lower salaries for international players makes it easier for some to totally skip the IPL (like Mitchell Jonhson and Micahel Clarke), Indian internationals on the other hand find it a lot harder to turn down the money.
The 4 man restriction also means that players of the caliber of Paul Collingwood have spent a good portion of the IPL season on the bench.
All this means that every team other than India post IPL is well rested and have had time to prepare , while the Indian's were busy walloping Indian domestic bowlers around while playing out the few good bowlers every side had.
How can things change?
Firstly IPL will have to have a window where no other ICC events are hosted a month before and after.
There has to be serious consideration given to removing all restrictions on player salaries, thereby abolishing the caste system that exists currently. This will bring down the artificially inflated salaries of Indian internationals and bring some semblance of balance to their priorities.
Teams should be able to cut players and not be stuck with non performing ones.
Teams must follow the rest and rotation policy for Indian internationals handed down by team India management.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Who needs an election manifesto?
If you've been following the news in India's financial capital Mumbai, the big story is that of the principal Opposition Political Party(I almost shudder to call it that), the Shiv Sena, is busy opposing the release of a movie starring Shah Rukh Khan who is India's biggest film star.
So what is so objectionable about a movie to raise the ire of the good people at Shiv Sena?
Nothing at all, frankly I would'nt be suprsied to see Shiv Sainiks lining up to watch the movie when the dust settles.
The provocation, if it can be called that , is a rather silly if painful narrative.
Sporting ties between India and Pakistan had been snapped by the barbaric incidents of 26/11.
In India where cricket and politics intersect more than one would like, we have the IPL (Indian Premier League) which is essentially the NFL with no salary caps.
Now recently the IPL held an 'auction' to select players. The Pakistani's who are world champs at this format of cricket, were up for auction, but did not attract a single bid.
There was much heartburn about this on both sides of the border.
Shah Rukh Khan, who is a owner of one of the teams, did'nt put in a bid himself, but did express sentiments along the lines of the Pakistani players would be welcomed and so on.
All perfectly legit. This has raised the hackles of the Shiv Sena, who have gone to the extent of calling Shah Rukh a desh drohi(traitor) not to mention engaging in violence to stall the release of his movie.
So far Shah Rukh has stood his ground and refused to 'apologise'.
Now that the background is done I cna move onto my take on this.
The Shive Sena has been in the opposition for the last 3 election cycles.
Its not like they have been kept out by great governance(The ruling congress has been disastorous ).
"How shit do you have to be for me to beat you?" , seems to be the Congress theme to the Sena.
Is it a political party's job to enforce what people say in a free society?
It sounds an awful lot like Hitler's SA.
Are people supposed to vote for you, because you tear down movie posters?
How does that help anyone? Call the electorate what you want, but in the end they seem to have made the best of 2 bad options.
The second aspect of all this that I hate is the standards Sena is applying to Shah Rukh.
Why does he have to prove his loyalty to the Nation by denouncing Pakistanis?
Does Bal Thakeray have to prove his loyalty to the nation?
The partition happened. India has a 120million+ muslims(those numbers might be off).
I am sure there are a few bad apples, but do all of them have to keep jumpoing through your hoops to prove how Indian they are?
Its not just unfair , its plain stupid.
Alienating such a big chunk of the Indian population will probably do a lot more harm to India, than Shah Rukh Khan saying something nice about Pakistani's.
Disclosure: I don't really like Shah Rukh Khan, and I have never watched a complete movie featuring him.
So what is so objectionable about a movie to raise the ire of the good people at Shiv Sena?
Nothing at all, frankly I would'nt be suprsied to see Shiv Sainiks lining up to watch the movie when the dust settles.
The provocation, if it can be called that , is a rather silly if painful narrative.
Sporting ties between India and Pakistan had been snapped by the barbaric incidents of 26/11.
In India where cricket and politics intersect more than one would like, we have the IPL (Indian Premier League) which is essentially the NFL with no salary caps.
Now recently the IPL held an 'auction' to select players. The Pakistani's who are world champs at this format of cricket, were up for auction, but did not attract a single bid.
There was much heartburn about this on both sides of the border.
Shah Rukh Khan, who is a owner of one of the teams, did'nt put in a bid himself, but did express sentiments along the lines of the Pakistani players would be welcomed and so on.
All perfectly legit. This has raised the hackles of the Shiv Sena, who have gone to the extent of calling Shah Rukh a desh drohi(traitor) not to mention engaging in violence to stall the release of his movie.
So far Shah Rukh has stood his ground and refused to 'apologise'.
Now that the background is done I cna move onto my take on this.
The Shive Sena has been in the opposition for the last 3 election cycles.
Its not like they have been kept out by great governance(The ruling congress has been disastorous ).
"How shit do you have to be for me to beat you?" , seems to be the Congress theme to the Sena.
Is it a political party's job to enforce what people say in a free society?
It sounds an awful lot like Hitler's SA.
Are people supposed to vote for you, because you tear down movie posters?
How does that help anyone? Call the electorate what you want, but in the end they seem to have made the best of 2 bad options.
The second aspect of all this that I hate is the standards Sena is applying to Shah Rukh.
Why does he have to prove his loyalty to the Nation by denouncing Pakistanis?
Does Bal Thakeray have to prove his loyalty to the nation?
The partition happened. India has a 120million+ muslims(those numbers might be off).
I am sure there are a few bad apples, but do all of them have to keep jumpoing through your hoops to prove how Indian they are?
Its not just unfair , its plain stupid.
Alienating such a big chunk of the Indian population will probably do a lot more harm to India, than Shah Rukh Khan saying something nice about Pakistani's.
Disclosure: I don't really like Shah Rukh Khan, and I have never watched a complete movie featuring him.
Friday, February 05, 2010
In Pursuit of Happiness
Yes I shamelessly borrowed from Hollywood, but the title was way too apt and I couldn't help myself.
Recently I was told that I was a happy person by someone who had known me not too long. I was taken aback, mostly because I have always viewed myself as someone who is just as happy or just as sad as the next guy. I always viewed myself as a critic, someone who could poke holes in anything. Sure I am happy go lucky , but I was also a brooding contemplative type at times.
I wanted to say at that point "Walk a Mile in my shoes" . Wisely I chose not to.
Cut to today. This week and the past one have been difficult for me . Just as things looked like they couldn't get any worse, they just did.
So when the guy sitting next to me on the subway asked me "Why are you smiling, you look happy." , I was taken aback. Though I had no fathomable reason to be happy with life, I apparently was happy enough that a stranger could see it.
He went on to ask if I was happy with my life. I almost instantly replied yes.
I guess what I was thinking for better or worse was , "Is this life worth living?"
And the awnser was a 1000times YES!
So how could I possibly be not happy with my life.
After a little contemplation I replied that I was not where I wanted to be in life, there are a lot of people a lot better of than me, and a lot more people far worse off. And for that reason alone I concluded I was happy.
I got off soon after after shaking the strangers hand.
I never did figure out why he asked me what he did. But I am glad he did. It made me realise something entirely precious, I was happy even though I thought I was unhappy.
I guess a very cynical way to look at it could be no matter what your condition is be thankful, cos it could be a lot worse.
Sure this wisdom is not new and you hear it a 100 times over(not necessarily from a stranger on the subway) , but realisation is something that can come about internally.
In conclusion I am Happy, Happy for the lives I have managed to touch in some minuscule way(I am hoping I have made more than one person laugh or smile),
Happy to see happiness around me, Happy I have massive biceps(I am always happy to flex em), Happy for the opportunities in life that have come my way, Happy in the Hope that there are more coming, Happy for the music I love so much, Happy for all the love I have received(and given) , Happy that Jon Stewart's single handedly keeping Fox News's at bay. I can go on and on But you get the point!
Recently I was told that I was a happy person by someone who had known me not too long. I was taken aback, mostly because I have always viewed myself as someone who is just as happy or just as sad as the next guy. I always viewed myself as a critic, someone who could poke holes in anything. Sure I am happy go lucky , but I was also a brooding contemplative type at times.
I wanted to say at that point "Walk a Mile in my shoes" . Wisely I chose not to.
Cut to today. This week and the past one have been difficult for me . Just as things looked like they couldn't get any worse, they just did.
So when the guy sitting next to me on the subway asked me "Why are you smiling, you look happy." , I was taken aback. Though I had no fathomable reason to be happy with life, I apparently was happy enough that a stranger could see it.
He went on to ask if I was happy with my life. I almost instantly replied yes.
I guess what I was thinking for better or worse was , "Is this life worth living?"
And the awnser was a 1000times YES!
So how could I possibly be not happy with my life.
After a little contemplation I replied that I was not where I wanted to be in life, there are a lot of people a lot better of than me, and a lot more people far worse off. And for that reason alone I concluded I was happy.
I got off soon after after shaking the strangers hand.
I never did figure out why he asked me what he did. But I am glad he did. It made me realise something entirely precious, I was happy even though I thought I was unhappy.
I guess a very cynical way to look at it could be no matter what your condition is be thankful, cos it could be a lot worse.
Sure this wisdom is not new and you hear it a 100 times over(not necessarily from a stranger on the subway) , but realisation is something that can come about internally.
In conclusion I am Happy, Happy for the lives I have managed to touch in some minuscule way(I am hoping I have made more than one person laugh or smile),
Happy to see happiness around me, Happy I have massive biceps(I am always happy to flex em), Happy for the opportunities in life that have come my way, Happy in the Hope that there are more coming, Happy for the music I love so much, Happy for all the love I have received(and given) , Happy that Jon Stewart's single handedly keeping Fox News's at bay. I can go on and on But you get the point!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
I am either really lucky or really unlucky
For the last month and a half the locker rooms in my gym have had to be shared between the men and women. So men have had the locker room on even days and women on odd days.
This sad state of affairs finally ended today when the men's locker room finally opened after renovation. After a particularly exhausting workout I headed to the locker room, not entirely focussed. I walk in and see a woman in their. It still took me a moment to realise , what had just happened. At which point i involuntariy screamed "shit" and turned tail and ran. As I contemplated what had just happened, I thanked my stars that there was only one woman in there, who did'nt seem to notice me(untill that scream). She was onld and fully clothed(Thank God!) ....
As a second thought would I mind terribly if it was someone younger and not quite so fully clothed? I guess we'll never know.
This sad state of affairs finally ended today when the men's locker room finally opened after renovation. After a particularly exhausting workout I headed to the locker room, not entirely focussed. I walk in and see a woman in their. It still took me a moment to realise , what had just happened. At which point i involuntariy screamed "shit" and turned tail and ran. As I contemplated what had just happened, I thanked my stars that there was only one woman in there, who did'nt seem to notice me(untill that scream). She was onld and fully clothed(Thank God!) ....
As a second thought would I mind terribly if it was someone younger and not quite so fully clothed? I guess we'll never know.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
What's a Giant fan to do in bye week?
- Clean up your room.
- Pray that Dallas , Philly and Atlanta lose today.
- Pray Eli Manning can break out of his mid-season funk.
- Pray someone other than Bill Sheridan starts calling plays on defense.
- Look forward fondly to the 2010 draft.
- Curse your luck that your punter is going to be 2 weeks older by the time your next game comes, which means the punts might not even end up at mid field.
- Pray Justin Tuck heals.
- As my boxing gym says "We are closed on sunday, so go to Church". Just kidding , go to whichever place of worship I don't care.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
What a season for the Giants
If you follow Giants football, you are probably wondering about what happened to your previously solid looking team. Not that they can always be relied on, but the reports out of training camp and the Team's performance in the first 5 games meant that everyone assumed that the Giants were a contender for the Suerbowl and at the very least a shoo-in for the playoffs. Now 4 heartbreaking losses later and staring at an extremely tough schedule, no one really knows where the next win is going to come from.
There is plenty of blame to go around and most of it has been laid at the door step of an under-achieving defence and the new DC Bill Sheridan.
Surely you can't admit your QB is not a top 10 QB rigth after signing him to a huge year contract.
If you've watched the last 4 games you would have seen this pattern repeating itself.
The Giants offence comes out and has a series of 3 and outs, Feagles comes out to punt the ball to near mid field and the opposition proceed to merrily score after driving 50 yeards or less.
Want proof?
How is this for proof. The Giants defence is 1st overall in the NFL in yards conceded but 21st in terms of points. So its obvious that while the opposition is scoring , they are not racking up the yards, since Eli and Feagles are conspiring to the give the gift that keeps on giving, field possition.
So before you get on OC and Tuck, maybe apporition the blame to where it truly belongs.
There is plenty of blame to go around and most of it has been laid at the door step of an under-achieving defence and the new DC Bill Sheridan.
Surely you can't admit your QB is not a top 10 QB rigth after signing him to a huge year contract.
If you've watched the last 4 games you would have seen this pattern repeating itself.
The Giants offence comes out and has a series of 3 and outs, Feagles comes out to punt the ball to near mid field and the opposition proceed to merrily score after driving 50 yeards or less.
Want proof?
How is this for proof. The Giants defence is 1st overall in the NFL in yards conceded but 21st in terms of points. So its obvious that while the opposition is scoring , they are not racking up the yards, since Eli and Feagles are conspiring to the give the gift that keeps on giving, field possition.
So before you get on OC and Tuck, maybe apporition the blame to where it truly belongs.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
See Something Do Something.
Most days are like other days, some good some bad, but mostly indistinguishable from another. Don't believe me? Ask yourself what you did last week this day(without peeking at the appointment book). You get my point.
Today was not such a day.
The events that transpired were both disgusting and uplifting at the same time.
The last three days have been tough and stressful, I have been getting in early to work leaving late, and circling back to work after my 2-hour stint in the gym. Today I was exhausted, so exhausted that I didn't even think of heading back to work. Instead I left the gym at 9:45pm to head back home and hopefully to Sushi in a nearby restaurant I was craving(Yes we have sushi in Jackson Heigths, as strange as it may sound).
As I got my keys out to enter my building I saw what appeared to me a confrontation between a boy and girl.
The girls back was to me. And my first instinct was to think it was between 2 individuals who knew each other.
This happened barely 10 feet from me.
The girl was a petite Asian girl , the boy a South Asian teenager.
There was some shoving and suddenly the boy slapped the girl. Before I had time to process , he slapped her again.
At this point I walked towards him and basically put myself between the boy and the girl.
and asked him what was going on.
Some lady thought it best to drag the girl away from the situation. The guy also crossed the street and started walking away. At this point though shocked at what I had witnessed (and not prevented) and still unclear as to what really went down, I turned around and started to head back to my door. I was stopped by a Bangladeshi gent who was with his daughter who asked me why I let the guy get away.
I tried reasoning with him saying that I had just gotten there and I didn't really know what went down, so when the girl left I considered the matter closed. His daughter who was with him piped in saying that she wouldn't have stuck around if she was the one caught in the situation.
As we talked something happened that I wouldn't expect in a a 100 years.
The girl who was assaulted thus on a busy street came back.
She came back to find the guy. She was not the type to take shit like that. That to me was the most uplifting part about this experience(disgusting as the situation was).
I did what I thought was best and walked with her as she tried to locate the guy.
I tried to talk her into calling the police(I had left mine at home).
As we rounded a block I spotted him and made the same mistake that I make fun of at the movies. I pointed at him and told her "there he is". he spotted us and made a dash for it. he had a good lead on me, but luckily for me I had my running shoes and workout clothes on so I managed to gain some on him, sadly it was not enough. He got away. A Passerby pointed us to a building. When I entered the building I noticed that there were only 2 South Asian names on the buzzers. I also spotted that there was a way out the back.
By this time the girl had caught up and she finally called the police. The cops came took down statements. I was put down as a witness. I told them of the only 2 South Asian families on the buzzer. Clearly the kid either lived there or had been there before(to get out the back)
The police ignored the implication and definitely didn't go ringing any door bells.
I was asked to ride in an unmarked vehicle (which I did, so Now I can say I have been in the back of a police vehicle) to try and spot the guy in the neighborhood, like he'd actually be dumb enough to show up.
The one saving grace as I found out later was the store in front of which the assault took place had cameras. I called the cops to try and tell them that. But surprise surprise, I was told that they would call me if they heard anything.
As I got home, i tried asking around to see if anyone recognized the guy or his friends. One dude had the temerity to tell me "Why did that girl leave, in the first place?, Why did she not ask for help"
Also asked me "How is she related to you?"
Talk about blaming the victim.
What surprised be was the level of hostility reserved for the one guy who actually tried to do something about it.
Talk about no good deed going unpunished.
The hero in this piece is The Asian girl Erika.
How many girls you know would fight back after being eve-teased on the street(for those who are wondering what eve-teasing is, its euphemistically named - sexual harassment)
I guess its so rampant in south Asian societies that we actually have a name for it.
I feel compelled to ask myself the question, if this was not Jackson Heights but was the Bronx, if it was not some Bangladeshi teenager but a big African American dude, would I have done what I did? I'd like to think so. But Both you and I know better .
Finally if you've stuck it out this far, there is no mistaking the message. If you see Something do Something. True I would not like to get knifed over some guy playing grab-ass some girl on the street, but you have to do what you can do, and do it even if no one else will.
Today was not such a day.
The events that transpired were both disgusting and uplifting at the same time.
The last three days have been tough and stressful, I have been getting in early to work leaving late, and circling back to work after my 2-hour stint in the gym. Today I was exhausted, so exhausted that I didn't even think of heading back to work. Instead I left the gym at 9:45pm to head back home and hopefully to Sushi in a nearby restaurant I was craving(Yes we have sushi in Jackson Heigths, as strange as it may sound).
As I got my keys out to enter my building I saw what appeared to me a confrontation between a boy and girl.
The girls back was to me. And my first instinct was to think it was between 2 individuals who knew each other.
This happened barely 10 feet from me.
The girl was a petite Asian girl , the boy a South Asian teenager.
There was some shoving and suddenly the boy slapped the girl. Before I had time to process , he slapped her again.
At this point I walked towards him and basically put myself between the boy and the girl.
and asked him what was going on.
Some lady thought it best to drag the girl away from the situation. The guy also crossed the street and started walking away. At this point though shocked at what I had witnessed (and not prevented) and still unclear as to what really went down, I turned around and started to head back to my door. I was stopped by a Bangladeshi gent who was with his daughter who asked me why I let the guy get away.
I tried reasoning with him saying that I had just gotten there and I didn't really know what went down, so when the girl left I considered the matter closed. His daughter who was with him piped in saying that she wouldn't have stuck around if she was the one caught in the situation.
As we talked something happened that I wouldn't expect in a a 100 years.
The girl who was assaulted thus on a busy street came back.
She came back to find the guy. She was not the type to take shit like that. That to me was the most uplifting part about this experience(disgusting as the situation was).
I did what I thought was best and walked with her as she tried to locate the guy.
I tried to talk her into calling the police(I had left mine at home).
As we rounded a block I spotted him and made the same mistake that I make fun of at the movies. I pointed at him and told her "there he is". he spotted us and made a dash for it. he had a good lead on me, but luckily for me I had my running shoes and workout clothes on so I managed to gain some on him, sadly it was not enough. He got away. A Passerby pointed us to a building. When I entered the building I noticed that there were only 2 South Asian names on the buzzers. I also spotted that there was a way out the back.
By this time the girl had caught up and she finally called the police. The cops came took down statements. I was put down as a witness. I told them of the only 2 South Asian families on the buzzer. Clearly the kid either lived there or had been there before(to get out the back)
The police ignored the implication and definitely didn't go ringing any door bells.
I was asked to ride in an unmarked vehicle (which I did, so Now I can say I have been in the back of a police vehicle) to try and spot the guy in the neighborhood, like he'd actually be dumb enough to show up.
The one saving grace as I found out later was the store in front of which the assault took place had cameras. I called the cops to try and tell them that. But surprise surprise, I was told that they would call me if they heard anything.
As I got home, i tried asking around to see if anyone recognized the guy or his friends. One dude had the temerity to tell me "Why did that girl leave, in the first place?, Why did she not ask for help"
Also asked me "How is she related to you?"
Talk about blaming the victim.
What surprised be was the level of hostility reserved for the one guy who actually tried to do something about it.
Talk about no good deed going unpunished.
The hero in this piece is The Asian girl Erika.
How many girls you know would fight back after being eve-teased on the street(for those who are wondering what eve-teasing is, its euphemistically named - sexual harassment)
I guess its so rampant in south Asian societies that we actually have a name for it.
I feel compelled to ask myself the question, if this was not Jackson Heights but was the Bronx, if it was not some Bangladeshi teenager but a big African American dude, would I have done what I did? I'd like to think so. But Both you and I know better .
Finally if you've stuck it out this far, there is no mistaking the message. If you see Something do Something. True I would not like to get knifed over some guy playing grab-ass some girl on the street, but you have to do what you can do, and do it even if no one else will.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Racism and Australia
Racism is a touchy topic, and rare is the country that has no issues with racism at all.
Australia and racism in Australia has recently hit the headlines in India, following the series of attacks on Indian students studying there.
Some of the attacks might be copy cat types and others might be opportunistic preying on a vulnerable section. But the undercurrent of racism in all this has been dismissed by the Australian police. This I find appalling. Its almost as if they are saying "What? Racist and us? You must be joking".
Well if you don't believe those Indian students were attacked because of the color of their skin or their accents, maybe we should check in with the Aborigine's about the Australian attitudes towards racism. Maybe Muralitharan the Sri Lankan spinner who has been given a horrendous time in Australia each time he plays there can testify.
My aim is not to malign all of Australia, but when racial prejudice results in Physical violence , it is probably time to examine attitudes to racism within the country.
Australia and racism in Australia has recently hit the headlines in India, following the series of attacks on Indian students studying there.
Some of the attacks might be copy cat types and others might be opportunistic preying on a vulnerable section. But the undercurrent of racism in all this has been dismissed by the Australian police. This I find appalling. Its almost as if they are saying "What? Racist and us? You must be joking".
Well if you don't believe those Indian students were attacked because of the color of their skin or their accents, maybe we should check in with the Aborigine's about the Australian attitudes towards racism. Maybe Muralitharan the Sri Lankan spinner who has been given a horrendous time in Australia each time he plays there can testify.
My aim is not to malign all of Australia, but when racial prejudice results in Physical violence , it is probably time to examine attitudes to racism within the country.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Let Vick Play
Michael Vick former the Atlanta Quarterback, who has done jail-time for involvement a dog fighting operation, is now out, and knocking on the door for NFL reinstatement.
Its not entirely clear how long of a suspension he'll have to serve if he is allowed back or for that matter it isn't quite clear if he'll b allowed back. My hunch is economics will eventually get him a look-in.
What Michael Vick did was appalling and he has served time for that. There will be a lot of people who will want to see him banned completely. I am sure the level of passion n the anti-Vick side will be a lot higher than any fledgling pro-Vick side.
I couldn't care less if he ever played again.But there is an element of natural justice that would be violated if he weren't allowed to play. After all once a man has served his time, shouldn't e be rehabilitated in society? We extend that courtesy to people accused of crimes including murder.
So why deny Michael Vick the right to earn a living?
There are no guarantees, but chances are he can do a lot more good to society thought the value he generates on the field rather some other profession.
So in conclusion Let Vick Play.
Its not entirely clear how long of a suspension he'll have to serve if he is allowed back or for that matter it isn't quite clear if he'll b allowed back. My hunch is economics will eventually get him a look-in.
What Michael Vick did was appalling and he has served time for that. There will be a lot of people who will want to see him banned completely. I am sure the level of passion n the anti-Vick side will be a lot higher than any fledgling pro-Vick side.
I couldn't care less if he ever played again.But there is an element of natural justice that would be violated if he weren't allowed to play. After all once a man has served his time, shouldn't e be rehabilitated in society? We extend that courtesy to people accused of crimes including murder.
So why deny Michael Vick the right to earn a living?
There are no guarantees, but chances are he can do a lot more good to society thought the value he generates on the field rather some other profession.
So in conclusion Let Vick Play.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Upon further review - General Elections 2009
- Yes Conress and the UPA has won big, but I do not believe this is a ringing endorsement for their governments performance, its a case of the other guy doing worse(like the left in Kerala and W Bengal) or a convenient proxy undercutting the main opposition(like the PRP in Andhra and MNS in Maharashtra.
- Hats of to Rahul Gandhi for putting in the effort he has in reviving the Congress organization. The proof is in the pudding and if they do end up winning 20 seats in UP, its hard not to give credit to Rahul Gandhi.
- The BJP screwed the pooch in Rajasthan, it would be hard for them to recover the ground they lost in the last assembly election, and they never did.
- I guess getting black money from Swiss bank accounts as a point on the manifesto is more philmy than evocative after all.
- I think the Congress missed a trick by not projecting Rahul Gandhi as PM(don't be shocked if Manmohan Singh , quits midway due to health concerns). It would have made quite a contrast to the octogenarian Advani.
- Cosying upto Kalyan Singh wasn't such a brilliant plan now was it , Mulayam?
- Whatever happened to big bad Mayawati? I guess building massive parks and statues dedicated to yourself and Kanshi Ram , did'nt impress the electorate after all.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thougths on the early trends Indian General Elections 2009
Here are some quick thoughts based on the leads information currently available.
- Congress is holding its own in Andhra Pradesh, looks like the Chiranjeevi factor bit the TDP in the ass more than the Congress.
- Congress leads big in Kerala . the Vijayan vs Achutanandan ugliness is hurting the Left big time.
- Rasjasthan looks like its swinging for the Congress. I'd like to think it was the Gujjar agitation.
- The UPA seems to be holding its own in Tamil Nadu, which means the Vijakanth factor took a big chunk of anti-DMK votes.
- Looks like the exit polls were not too off the mark this time.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Born Again Virgin
India the world's largest democracy(yes a democracy's size is actually measured by the number of people eligible to vote) is reaching the end of its 5-phase election that spanned 6 weeks.
The principal coalitions doing battle are the "secular" UPA and the "communal" NDA.
There are possibly another dozen regional parties that represent various caste groupings.
So why the unusual title?
The Congress party the principal constituent of the UPA has taken upon itself the Divine right and duty to issue "secular" or "communal" certificates to all and sundry. The absurdity of such classification is , that groups who have been allies of the BJP(the "communal" party which is the principal opposition party) in the past , are courted just us vigorously as any other party.
So the if you are with the Congress you are secular and you are communal if you are against it.
Its the absurdity of concept of a born again virgin. If you've lost your "secular" virginity to the BJP, going back to the congress can give it right back.
The principal coalitions doing battle are the "secular" UPA and the "communal" NDA.
There are possibly another dozen regional parties that represent various caste groupings.
So why the unusual title?
The Congress party the principal constituent of the UPA has taken upon itself the Divine right and duty to issue "secular" or "communal" certificates to all and sundry. The absurdity of such classification is , that groups who have been allies of the BJP(the "communal" party which is the principal opposition party) in the past , are courted just us vigorously as any other party.
So the if you are with the Congress you are secular and you are communal if you are against it.
Its the absurdity of concept of a born again virgin. If you've lost your "secular" virginity to the BJP, going back to the congress can give it right back.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
India no threat says Zardari
I get a bitter sweet feeling on hearing that one line. Actually more bitter than sweet. After the carnage in Mumbai, one would hope that the Pakistani establishment would at least consider the possibility that India would not hesitate in taking military action if the culprits of 26/11 were not brought to book. But the Pakistani establishment has quite smartly recognized the Indian establishment's reluctance (some might call pusillanimity) in striking at Pakistan.
So why is it sweet? India ever since its indepence has had to reassure a hysterical Pakistan, that India was no threat to its existence. Pakistan on the other hand has evolved in the manner it has, as a response to the percieved threat from India.
The Military which has ruled Pakistan for the majority of the time since Partition, has acquired its power an pelf by shouting from the rooftops, that it was the only institution that stood between Pakistan that beacon of hope for the Islamic world and the Kafir Indian's who threatened the nations very existence.
Hardline Islamic groups were encouraged to be used as a weapon against India.
If Pakistan is on the verge of being a basket case , its because of the Military and the Mullahs, who in turn achieved their power by labelling India as the bogeyman.
And its only now that finally wisdom dawns on the Pakistani's that India is not a threat.
Ironic would'nt you say? And somewhat sweet.
So why is it sweet? India ever since its indepence has had to reassure a hysterical Pakistan, that India was no threat to its existence. Pakistan on the other hand has evolved in the manner it has, as a response to the percieved threat from India.
The Military which has ruled Pakistan for the majority of the time since Partition, has acquired its power an pelf by shouting from the rooftops, that it was the only institution that stood between Pakistan that beacon of hope for the Islamic world and the Kafir Indian's who threatened the nations very existence.
Hardline Islamic groups were encouraged to be used as a weapon against India.
If Pakistan is on the verge of being a basket case , its because of the Military and the Mullahs, who in turn achieved their power by labelling India as the bogeyman.
And its only now that finally wisdom dawns on the Pakistani's that India is not a threat.
Ironic would'nt you say? And somewhat sweet.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Break Me , Shake Me Take Me
So went the lyrics of a Savage Garden song that I liked(I took some liberties with the arrangement).
Seems kind of appropriate to the Rihanna Chris Brown drama.
Why does it matter? For more than a couple of reasons.
Rihanna is a gorgeous and talented young woman who has the world at her feet(an overstatement , but you get the point).
She definitely isn't with Chris Brown for his money, since she has enough of her own presumably.
Yet after a highly publicised horrific beating at the hands of Chris Brown,t there are reports of them making up, and getting married.
Picture a young woman of modest means in a relationship which though passionate, is marred by domestic violence. What would she think of this situation?
Let me give it a shot .. "If a woman of Rihanna's stature could forgive a indiscretion such as Chris Brown's , what chance do I have?"
What's the young woman's partner thinking?
"Hey if Chris Brown, can do that to a woman like Rihanna, then I can too"
A little overly dramatic, but its not entirely inconcievable.
There is also the matter of a little something I read in the Tipping Point.
The story in question involved suicides in a tiny polynesian nation(the name I cannot recall).
Researchers found a high incidence of suicide amongst the young, over stuff that would be considered relatively minor.
A little more digging unreathed a local celeb(maybe a royal) who had committed suicide oer matters of the heart. Overnight something with negative connotations(suicide) had gone to being cool.
This arguably lead to a spike in the suicide rate.
This example was used in the book to make a point about how ideas achieve traction and finally explode.
If we do have a spike in cases of domestic violence, wonder we will think to link it back to Rihanna and Chris Brown.
Seems kind of appropriate to the Rihanna Chris Brown drama.
Why does it matter? For more than a couple of reasons.
Rihanna is a gorgeous and talented young woman who has the world at her feet(an overstatement , but you get the point).
She definitely isn't with Chris Brown for his money, since she has enough of her own presumably.
Yet after a highly publicised horrific beating at the hands of Chris Brown,t there are reports of them making up, and getting married.
Picture a young woman of modest means in a relationship which though passionate, is marred by domestic violence. What would she think of this situation?
Let me give it a shot .. "If a woman of Rihanna's stature could forgive a indiscretion such as Chris Brown's , what chance do I have?"
What's the young woman's partner thinking?
"Hey if Chris Brown, can do that to a woman like Rihanna, then I can too"
A little overly dramatic, but its not entirely inconcievable.
There is also the matter of a little something I read in the Tipping Point.
The story in question involved suicides in a tiny polynesian nation(the name I cannot recall).
Researchers found a high incidence of suicide amongst the young, over stuff that would be considered relatively minor.
A little more digging unreathed a local celeb(maybe a royal) who had committed suicide oer matters of the heart. Overnight something with negative connotations(suicide) had gone to being cool.
This arguably lead to a spike in the suicide rate.
This example was used in the book to make a point about how ideas achieve traction and finally explode.
If we do have a spike in cases of domestic violence, wonder we will think to link it back to Rihanna and Chris Brown.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Gandhi's effects
A private individual claiming to be a disciple of Gandhiji's teachings has plans to auction some of his personal effects. This has been taken as a slight by some.
The Government of India has pledged to do what it can to prevent an auction.
The latest news of this front indicates that the would be seller has placed some stiff conditions including spending more on the poor and less on weapons.
On the face of it , this is in line with Gandhiji's teachings , and seems noble indeed.
But look a little deeper and it would appear that this is nothing but a money grab. The seller wants his payday but also wants the moral high ground. He should know that the fates of a billion people cannot be decided by his word. India is no bannana rebuplic.
Some have criticised the rich Indians(many of whom are worth billions) who haven't publicly come out and said that they would'nt allow these effects to get to the auction stage.
I wonder what Gandhji would consider more important, spending money on the betterment of his people or buying his effects so that they can be placed in a shrine.
I think we all know the awnser.
The Government of India has pledged to do what it can to prevent an auction.
The latest news of this front indicates that the would be seller has placed some stiff conditions including spending more on the poor and less on weapons.
On the face of it , this is in line with Gandhiji's teachings , and seems noble indeed.
But look a little deeper and it would appear that this is nothing but a money grab. The seller wants his payday but also wants the moral high ground. He should know that the fates of a billion people cannot be decided by his word. India is no bannana rebuplic.
Some have criticised the rich Indians(many of whom are worth billions) who haven't publicly come out and said that they would'nt allow these effects to get to the auction stage.
I wonder what Gandhji would consider more important, spending money on the betterment of his people or buying his effects so that they can be placed in a shrine.
I think we all know the awnser.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)