Havent found myself in a more sombre and frustrated mood in ages. Job search is turning out to be one long haul for me. Its so f***** frustrating. Feels like you are banging your head against a brick wall. You keep hitting in the hope a brick will fall and a ray of light will shine through
tats.
March 31, 2005
March 24, 2005
Tats misses Taco times
YoYo
Just downed a couple of chalupas in about the same number of minutes. Thats the vigor with with I devour them. One of the things i miss desperately since 411 split up is our tradition of going to Taco Bell on Sunday nites.
Almost like a ritual it was. Play volleyball, take a shower and barge into taco. Once there order some dozen or so chalupas for 5 people, a mex pizza, and a few Fiesta potatoes-nacho cheese seperate.Next take a ton of hot and fire sauce (not kidding bhai, once I complained to Taco cust serv on their 1-800 no. when I observed that our store used have a shortage of fire sauce on sunday nights, Thats an unpardonable offense sir....) and plunder and gorge.
It was a routine that was followed with an uncanny regularity. Now Taco Bell is no glamorous place for a dinner but in my heart and that of my roomies it holds a special place. Nacho Cheese Chicken Chalupa is my favorite and Zesty Chicken Bowl a close second. When it comes to having a quick and low cost dinner nothing quite beats good ol Taco Bell.Over a period of time I have come to like American Food , their cuisine or whatever they have as an excuse for it, Tacos and Subways and Chicken Grills have become a part of life. The only Indian food that I genuinely miss is at Vaishali that too more for nostalgic reasons than for those of the palate. But when I was in India it was the chalupas I was missing!
One of the funniest things in the whole process was to watch other folks stand with irritated expressions on their faces and giving us looks since all the Taco workers would be busy in processing our orders. On such ocassions we used to joke that "taco hang zala re...."
But those days are now gone.Today I was in Taco all alone and to say the least it feels weird.
I miss those nights ..........
tats
===========================
PS : I have the distinction of having my photo put up on tacos baord. It was taken on one of their customer appreciation programs. A fitting reward for my loyalty to Taco Bell, as I never tire of reminding folks
Just downed a couple of chalupas in about the same number of minutes. Thats the vigor with with I devour them. One of the things i miss desperately since 411 split up is our tradition of going to Taco Bell on Sunday nites.
Almost like a ritual it was. Play volleyball, take a shower and barge into taco. Once there order some dozen or so chalupas for 5 people, a mex pizza, and a few Fiesta potatoes-nacho cheese seperate.Next take a ton of hot and fire sauce (not kidding bhai, once I complained to Taco cust serv on their 1-800 no. when I observed that our store used have a shortage of fire sauce on sunday nights, Thats an unpardonable offense sir....) and plunder and gorge.
It was a routine that was followed with an uncanny regularity. Now Taco Bell is no glamorous place for a dinner but in my heart and that of my roomies it holds a special place. Nacho Cheese Chicken Chalupa is my favorite and Zesty Chicken Bowl a close second. When it comes to having a quick and low cost dinner nothing quite beats good ol Taco Bell.Over a period of time I have come to like American Food , their cuisine or whatever they have as an excuse for it, Tacos and Subways and Chicken Grills have become a part of life. The only Indian food that I genuinely miss is at Vaishali that too more for nostalgic reasons than for those of the palate. But when I was in India it was the chalupas I was missing!
One of the funniest things in the whole process was to watch other folks stand with irritated expressions on their faces and giving us looks since all the Taco workers would be busy in processing our orders. On such ocassions we used to joke that "taco hang zala re...."
But those days are now gone.Today I was in Taco all alone and to say the least it feels weird.
I miss those nights ..........
tats
===========================
PS : I have the distinction of having my photo put up on tacos baord. It was taken on one of their customer appreciation programs. A fitting reward for my loyalty to Taco Bell, as I never tire of reminding folks
March 17, 2005
On Tendlya and our perception of him
Yo
Am writing a blog on Tendlya and all the while I was constructing it my mind kept flowing back to an email I sent to my MiltonKatta group a few months ago. Now heres what happened.
1) Start with the link I have pasted. I dont think its working but It is about Tendlya bashing.
2) Some guy sent an email to Manya in defense of the tendlya (I mean against the Tendlya bashing) and Manya promptly forwarde that mail to MiltonKatta.
3) I responded to it
So read the mails as I have pasted them. Enjoi and wait for my blog on Sachin
tats
=======================================
1) http://sify.com/connect/discussions/viewpostsflat.php?
f=13446421&pid=16343
Am writing a blog on Tendlya and all the while I was constructing it my mind kept flowing back to an email I sent to my MiltonKatta group a few months ago. Now heres what happened.
1) Start with the link I have pasted. I dont think its working but It is about Tendlya bashing.
2) Some guy sent an email to Manya in defense of the tendlya (I mean against the Tendlya bashing) and Manya promptly forwarde that mail to MiltonKatta.
3) I responded to it
So read the mails as I have pasted them. Enjoi and wait for my blog on Sachin
tats
=======================================
1) http://sify.com/connect/discussions/viewpostsflat.php?
f=13446421&pid=16343
2) Sachin has record of hitting maximum times of 6 on 99!!
Well,i juz came across intresting stats,which will keep mouths of Sachin bashers shut forever.Source wisden www.cricinfo.com
Sachin has record of hitting maximum times of 6 when on 99:he had done this feat 7 times!!! second best is richards at 4 now i dont understand y people think he is getting slow wen on 99?
Strike rate of sachin from 75-100 - 116.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Sachin from 1-75- 89.00 runs/100 balls
NOw coming back to comment made by hayden,Mr rantunga(ex crickter of Sl) has come up in defend of subcontinent players with interesting stats
Strike rate of Ricky from 75-100- 98.00runs/100 balls
Strike rate of ricky from 1-75 -82.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Hayden(hes big mouth) from 75-100-78.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Hayden from 1 to 75- 87.19 runs/100 balls
Now this stats are offical.If u all Sachin bashers can read and have good eye,compare the strike rate and u will see dat ricky and hayden gets slow as they
approach century whereas tendulkar strike rate increases.I think u people are jealous of Sachin.Tell u all,even if u all die,no one will be other to ask
for u.So anyways u all Sachin basher need some cricketing lessons and can i suggest u all to hide behind ur mom's "pallu" cuz u all r still kiddos,u
argue without any stats and facts. Recently Sachin has slowed down from strike rate of 97.00( present strike rate of 89.00 is good buthes been label as selfish slow player!!!)
Reasons for his slowing down from 97 to 89 are
1)hes maturing as crickter( even great richards slow down a bit).Every does slow down after certain age and years of cricketing experience
2)hes been told to pace his innings by team management including captain
3)his injuries has robbed him of few stroke making shots.
Inspite of this hes NO 1 and hes been selected in richie benuad team of world 11 and also been selcted by Don bradman in his team.Viv richards once told" we
> need Sachin in our team rather than Lara!!" Either all these great cricket legends are fool and u => all Sachin bashers are wish.Can u all Sachin basher answer me y Bradman,Richard,Richie benaud,GeoFF boycott,Chappell calls Sachin as No 1 batsmen of all times??? are they fool?U people argue dat Sachin fans are fanatics okay for sake of arguments lets accept it.But what about these cricketing legends? and always
> stats says look for stats and compare Sachin with others.
>
>
> I sometimes wonder if u all Sachin bashers are aware wat bat and ball is? Do u know how much toll cricket takes on a cricketer's body? Have u ever faced ball?
> have u ever hold bat? Most of you will be having big beer belly and most of u must be impotent" and ur wives must be sleeping around with someone" so u guys
> are frustrated and vent out ur frustration here by writing all kinds of crap.
> what have u done for India? other than bashing Sachin and other Indian cricketers? Cricket is game of luck,it needs juz one good ball to get batsmen
> out.Take it in sporting spirit.Sachin,Dravid,Ganguly,Laxman,Shewag,Kumble have
> enuf of money for their coming 5-6 generations.Then why are they playing? they are playing for fame not money.Understand this and undertand very well.No one
> is playing for money.They play for fame and their individual selfishness is good for India.Some foolish guy posted "Sachin plays slow" Strike rate of 89 is
> slow??? lol! i feel u all guys need to go to mental asylum.
>
> Before i end,a final stats which will end the debate about whos the best bat
> No of matches Sachin won for india 118( 54 abroad)
> No of finals Sachin won for india(read it ,its
> final)-3
> No of Series Decider Sachin won for india-6
>
> Sachin has also record of having highest no of Man of match Sachin has record of wining india matches(single handedly)-116 Sachin has record of wining crucial matches for india
> All these records and stats are there for u blind people at www.crickinfo.com
>
> No mordern cricketer not even ViV richards have such record. I agree,Sachin has slowed down,but even now his strike rate is more than Hayyden,Ricky,Lara,Gibbs,Jayasuryia.
>
> Some foolish people argue,Sachin never plays when > require then how come he won 116 matches for us?> including 3 finals and 6 series decider?? second best
> bat in world regarding this is ViV richards(3 finals> and 5 series decider).Viv is rated high cuz he won> world cup for Westindies.But dont forget Viv had
> support of 10 good team mates.Sachin never had and> will never have cuz other players never perform in> crunch time(Dravid did once,now hes regular failure 37
> runs in his last 8 innigs,he never performed in> crucial matches!!)
>
> So stop Sachin bashing,do some collective work and if> u people dont have work,i suggest u something,Go Fu*ck> Urself!!
======================================
nOW IF YOU READ THRO THIS READ MY RESPONSE TO THIS ARTICLE
Well,i juz came across intresting stats,which will keep mouths of Sachin bashers shut forever.Source wisden www.cricinfo.com
Sachin has record of hitting maximum times of 6 when on 99:he had done this feat 7 times!!! second best is richards at 4 now i dont understand y people think he is getting slow wen on 99?
Strike rate of sachin from 75-100 - 116.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Sachin from 1-75- 89.00 runs/100 balls
NOw coming back to comment made by hayden,Mr rantunga(ex crickter of Sl) has come up in defend of subcontinent players with interesting stats
Strike rate of Ricky from 75-100- 98.00runs/100 balls
Strike rate of ricky from 1-75 -82.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Hayden(hes big mouth) from 75-100-78.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Hayden from 1 to 75- 87.19 runs/100 balls
Now this stats are offical.If u all Sachin bashers can read and have good eye,compare the strike rate and u will see dat ricky and hayden gets slow as they
approach century whereas tendulkar strike rate increases.I think u people are jealous of Sachin.Tell u all,even if u all die,no one will be other to ask
for u.So anyways u all Sachin basher need some cricketing lessons and can i suggest u all to hide behind ur mom's "pallu" cuz u all r still kiddos,u
argue without any stats and facts. Recently Sachin has slowed down from strike rate of 97.00( present strike rate of 89.00 is good buthes been label as selfish slow player!!!)
Reasons for his slowing down from 97 to 89 are
1)hes maturing as crickter( even great richards slow down a bit).Every does slow down after certain age and years of cricketing experience
2)hes been told to pace his innings by team management including captain
3)his injuries has robbed him of few stroke making shots.
Inspite of this hes NO 1 and hes been selected in richie benuad team of world 11 and also been selcted by Don bradman in his team.Viv richards once told" we
> need Sachin in our team rather than Lara!!" Either all these great cricket legends are fool and u => all Sachin bashers are wish.Can u all Sachin basher answer me y Bradman,Richard,Richie benaud,GeoFF boycott,Chappell calls Sachin as No 1 batsmen of all times??? are they fool?U people argue dat Sachin fans are fanatics okay for sake of arguments lets accept it.But what about these cricketing legends? and always
> stats says look for stats and compare Sachin with others.
>
>
> I sometimes wonder if u all Sachin bashers are aware wat bat and ball is? Do u know how much toll cricket takes on a cricketer's body? Have u ever faced ball?
> have u ever hold bat? Most of you will be having big beer belly and most of u must be impotent" and ur wives must be sleeping around with someone" so u guys
> are frustrated and vent out ur frustration here by writing all kinds of crap.
> what have u done for India? other than bashing Sachin and other Indian cricketers? Cricket is game of luck,it needs juz one good ball to get batsmen
> out.Take it in sporting spirit.Sachin,Dravid,Ganguly,Laxman,Shewag,Kumble have
> enuf of money for their coming 5-6 generations.Then why are they playing? they are playing for fame not money.Understand this and undertand very well.No one
> is playing for money.They play for fame and their individual selfishness is good for India.Some foolish guy posted "Sachin plays slow" Strike rate of 89 is
> slow??? lol! i feel u all guys need to go to mental asylum.
>
> Before i end,a final stats which will end the debate about whos the best bat
> No of matches Sachin won for india 118( 54 abroad)
> No of finals Sachin won for india(read it ,its
> final)-3
> No of Series Decider Sachin won for india-6
>
> Sachin has also record of having highest no of Man of match Sachin has record of wining india matches(single handedly)-116 Sachin has record of wining crucial matches for india
> All these records and stats are there for u blind people at www.crickinfo.com
>
> No mordern cricketer not even ViV richards have such record. I agree,Sachin has slowed down,but even now his strike rate is more than Hayyden,Ricky,Lara,Gibbs,Jayasuryia.
>
> Some foolish people argue,Sachin never plays when > require then how come he won 116 matches for us?> including 3 finals and 6 series decider?? second best
> bat in world regarding this is ViV richards(3 finals> and 5 series decider).Viv is rated high cuz he won> world cup for Westindies.But dont forget Viv had
> support of 10 good team mates.Sachin never had and> will never have cuz other players never perform in> crunch time(Dravid did once,now hes regular failure 37
> runs in his last 8 innigs,he never performed in> crucial matches!!)
>
> So stop Sachin bashing,do some collective work and if> u people dont have work,i suggest u something,Go Fu*ck> Urself!!
======================================
nOW IF YOU READ THRO THIS READ MY RESPONSE TO THIS ARTICLE
Good one manya
I think its the unrealistic expectations of cricket fans that cause us to belittle him.First we proclaim him to be GOD and then we actually expect him to play that role.Then we discover to our horror that he is human after all (though in a different league than most of us)and we go on denying what we were proudly asserting in the first place.Its a comical-tragedy
But i dont agree with the arguement "Have u ever held a ball in ur hand etc etc".This arguement is childish,frivolous and based more on emotion which is a typical trait of an INdian cricket lover.Cricket is a profession like any other and the public is free to say what they want.Going by the authors logic politicans cant be criticed coz none of us enter that arena, business policies cant be critictsed
becoz not all people are business men and so on.Not being a cricketer is not a valid reason for preventing anyone to comment on it.A couch Potato and Richie Benaud are both allowed to criticize except that everyone cares on Benaud's comment
I feel,we have historically given importance to individuals rather than team work.Hence we are on the lokout for that one hero and gods liek Amitabh Bacchan or Tendlya.SInce we are short of heroes we are desperately looking for some-one to fulfill that role .Sachin fits perfectly since he rose on talent, hardwork from a middle class background.He is a inspiration for us and symbolic of our dreams ro
rise above ordinary.In him we see a little bit of ourselves.But since most of us are mere mortals and cant rise above mediocrity we desperately want him to fulfill our dreams and glories.Tendlya is our substitute.When he sometimes falls short, we fell betrayed since we feel that our trust has not been vindicated.If India had a gold
winning bunch of althetes,a handful of Tennis and Badminton,Squash players on the Intl circuit, a football team worthy of standing upto even Japan and a hockey team that wasnt such a embarassment, the pressure on Sachin and our expectation from him would have been lesser to a great degree.
3. " What have u done for India ".Following is my arguement on this.This is not in context with Sachin but more as a general comment on the author asking us what we have done for the country as compared to sportpersons.
Sportperson bring glory to INDia and make us proud.They raise our self-esteem a few notches and make us happy collectively.But Sportpersons sometimes make it sound as if they are doing a favor or obliging the the nation by playing for the country. I hate it when they say this.What are you exactly talking about? These guys get paid beyond anyones dreams,lead the life of a superstar and in general are at the top layer of society for DOING WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION.Remember that.Its their damn
profession.Iyts their JOB like you and me except that the stakes are too high.Instant stardom and equally faster fall-down. It is their choice to be a cricketer/sportperson in the public eye.They know well what the pros and cons are.When all of a sudden things become too hot to handle they start dragging our nation into the picture and talk of "sacrifices" and "served the nation loyally". Did u ever hear anyone say that I am getting paid too much OR say that I dont deserve a Ferrari...or that I dont think I deserve a sea-face flat in Mumbai ? I am not grudging these folks their due.They worked harder than any of us can imagine,
made "sacrifices" (Eg V.Amritraj mom used to wake him at 4..send him to practice....schooling etc prac again...Vijay was w weak child,,tennis is an expensice sport in INdia.Note the context in which I am talking about sacrifice.)Its about these poeple giving up normal luxuries,travelling a couple of hours for good practice facilities etc.These are sacrifices but pls dont equate with "sacrifice for the country"
Bharat-Mata is too great and when anyone decides to talk about sacrifices we must keep in mind that it is our country we are talking about.Not a trivial issue. And When u talk of service to nation it is our soldiers and Jawans who we should think about.Get paid peanuts and put lives on stake.And What about the faceless
workers engaged in social service like Baba Amte ?Can you try and put things in perspective now ? And what is service to the nation exactly ? An honest office
goer..is he serving the nation ? A good public minded citizen who raises voice against corruption ? Isint taht service ? I can give 100s of such examples.I hate it when someone in sports talks about "Sacrifices" made by him for the country. When u do a sacrifice you give up something and not end up gaining something.Sacrifices for a nation are selfless actions not a give-take transaction.
Thats all folks
Manya- Tula laiiiiiiii marnar ahe.If I spent this time on thesis
Iwould have finished at least 3 4 more pages,,,,hahahaaaa
Enjoi folks and remember that I have written my point of view.No
personal issues.Have a good w/e
I think its the unrealistic expectations of cricket fans that cause us to belittle him.First we proclaim him to be GOD and then we actually expect him to play that role.Then we discover to our horror that he is human after all (though in a different league than most of us)and we go on denying what we were proudly asserting in the first place.Its a comical-tragedy
But i dont agree with the arguement "Have u ever held a ball in ur hand etc etc".This arguement is childish,frivolous and based more on emotion which is a typical trait of an INdian cricket lover.Cricket is a profession like any other and the public is free to say what they want.Going by the authors logic politicans cant be criticed coz none of us enter that arena, business policies cant be critictsed
becoz not all people are business men and so on.Not being a cricketer is not a valid reason for preventing anyone to comment on it.A couch Potato and Richie Benaud are both allowed to criticize except that everyone cares on Benaud's comment
I feel,we have historically given importance to individuals rather than team work.Hence we are on the lokout for that one hero and gods liek Amitabh Bacchan or Tendlya.SInce we are short of heroes we are desperately looking for some-one to fulfill that role .Sachin fits perfectly since he rose on talent, hardwork from a middle class background.He is a inspiration for us and symbolic of our dreams ro
rise above ordinary.In him we see a little bit of ourselves.But since most of us are mere mortals and cant rise above mediocrity we desperately want him to fulfill our dreams and glories.Tendlya is our substitute.When he sometimes falls short, we fell betrayed since we feel that our trust has not been vindicated.If India had a gold
winning bunch of althetes,a handful of Tennis and Badminton,Squash players on the Intl circuit, a football team worthy of standing upto even Japan and a hockey team that wasnt such a embarassment, the pressure on Sachin and our expectation from him would have been lesser to a great degree.
3. " What have u done for India ".Following is my arguement on this.This is not in context with Sachin but more as a general comment on the author asking us what we have done for the country as compared to sportpersons.
Sportperson bring glory to INDia and make us proud.They raise our self-esteem a few notches and make us happy collectively.But Sportpersons sometimes make it sound as if they are doing a favor or obliging the the nation by playing for the country. I hate it when they say this.What are you exactly talking about? These guys get paid beyond anyones dreams,lead the life of a superstar and in general are at the top layer of society for DOING WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION.Remember that.Its their damn
profession.Iyts their JOB like you and me except that the stakes are too high.Instant stardom and equally faster fall-down. It is their choice to be a cricketer/sportperson in the public eye.They know well what the pros and cons are.When all of a sudden things become too hot to handle they start dragging our nation into the picture and talk of "sacrifices" and "served the nation loyally". Did u ever hear anyone say that I am getting paid too much OR say that I dont deserve a Ferrari...or that I dont think I deserve a sea-face flat in Mumbai ? I am not grudging these folks their due.They worked harder than any of us can imagine,
made "sacrifices" (Eg V.Amritraj mom used to wake him at 4..send him to practice....schooling etc prac again...Vijay was w weak child,,tennis is an expensice sport in INdia.Note the context in which I am talking about sacrifice.)Its about these poeple giving up normal luxuries,travelling a couple of hours for good practice facilities etc.These are sacrifices but pls dont equate with "sacrifice for the country"
Bharat-Mata is too great and when anyone decides to talk about sacrifices we must keep in mind that it is our country we are talking about.Not a trivial issue. And When u talk of service to nation it is our soldiers and Jawans who we should think about.Get paid peanuts and put lives on stake.And What about the faceless
workers engaged in social service like Baba Amte ?Can you try and put things in perspective now ? And what is service to the nation exactly ? An honest office
goer..is he serving the nation ? A good public minded citizen who raises voice against corruption ? Isint taht service ? I can give 100s of such examples.I hate it when someone in sports talks about "Sacrifices" made by him for the country. When u do a sacrifice you give up something and not end up gaining something.Sacrifices for a nation are selfless actions not a give-take transaction.
Thats all folks
Manya- Tula laiiiiiiii marnar ahe.If I spent this time on thesis
Iwould have finished at least 3 4 more pages,,,,hahahaaaa
Enjoi folks and remember that I have written my point of view.No
personal issues.Have a good w/e
Hands up, Pants Down
Yo
I am a little bit confused by the recent expose by India TV regarding Shakti Kapoor et al. The phenomenon of casting couch is a open secret. However wrong it may be morally and socially one wonders if it is an offense as such. What I am trying to gather is if it is illegal at all,whether there exists an law that deems it an offense or a crime punishable in court. Reduced to simple terms it means two adult indivisuals consensually engaging in sexual activity. The practice is condonable and exploitatative no doubt and the few bad men (and women!) who engage in such behavior, I hope are only a very small minority of Bollywood, Indias glorious film industry.
What I was most bothered about is the manner of the expose.It appears to be a publicity stunt, designed more to garner TRPs rather than to expose the malaise afflicting Bollywood.
Consider the facts. The sting reporter visits SK .One wonders her choice of SK in the first place. He is neither a director/producer/leading actor and is infact a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to social behavior. (For this piece of info I have to say thanks to newspapers who dug up all the dirt on his past behavior like in S.A.) She visits him not in a office but in a hotel room of all places. She offers him drinks, gets him to loosened up a little and then asks him for a role. She offers herself *to do whatever is required to get a role*. Now it doesnt take an Einstein to guess what she is referring to. Unknown to SK he is being videotaped in his private hotel room. After such suggestive actions if at all SK responded to her, I would interpret it as SK being immoral person rather than one demanding sex in return for a place in Bollywood. Note that SK isint soliciting sex in the first place. And even if he were the sting would have only proved SK to be engaged in inappropritae behavior. It would not have been sufficient evidence of *Existence if casting couch in Bollywood*. If that is the channels objective, as they state it is, than they should have carried out many more sting operations for such a generalisation to be made.
My point here is that it is not whether the Casting couch exists or doesnt. The point of contention and dispute is that if India TVs aim was to expose this phenomenon than doing a sting operation on side actor, not reputed for his behavior, wasnt the way to go about it.It is in this context that the sting appears less of an expose and more of an exploit.To me it appears to be an attempt at sensationalism rather than journalism. Notice how the names of top-actors liek Ash, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee are woven into the operation. Again this name dropping appears to be an publicity stunt.
Sting operations will always border on the thin line between ethical and unethical. When they adrress relevant social issues, pose hard questions of national importance and expose some deep rooted malaise within a society they are acceptable. India TVs expose hardly addresses any of the above. Rather all it did was to send the TRPs of the Fledging channel northwards and gather the channel enough publicity.
March 04, 2005
Memorable Movie Characters
Every once in a while one watches a movie that leaves an impression that lasts beyond the couple of hours spent in the theater. More than the movie itself, it is the that characters stay with you for long and sometimes for life. Here are my favorite characters from Hollywood movies
1. Coach Boone in Remember The Titans : By far the most inspiring movie I have seen. Each time I watch it, I get an andrelaine rush and a feeling that I can achieve something in life. Denzel Washington's brilliant potrayal of a Virginia high school team football coach, who resurrects not only the fortunes of his school football team but by doing so brings the racially split community as one, was at once moving and motivating.No wonder Team Indias coach showed the same movie to his boys before the WC 2003. Outwardly harsh, outspoken and rude, Boone in reality is only trying to toughen his boys. His path is met with full resistance initially from the Hall of Famer Coach he is replacing, from the community and from the white players as well. However eventually Boone wins them all and guides them all the way.Super effort from Denzel,brilliant script and outstanding dialog
Memorable quotes :
1. Adressing the team on first day "This is no democracy. This is dictatorship and I, am the law."
Memorable Scene : 1) Football practice is over for the day. The Offense and the Defense make a huddle and chant "Left Side, Strong Side". Finally, Coach Boone has got his squad as one.
2) The Standing Ovation to Gerry Bertier's Mom even as Gerry lies injured in his hospital bed.
3) The early morning 3.30 am practice jog to the land where their" forefathers died fighting for the nation"
2. Col. Nathan R Jessop in A Few Good Men : No movie character has impressed me more and am yet to see a person so dominating in real or reel life. When I watched the movie for the first time I was stunned by the sher force of Jessop's dialog delivery. Unshakeable in his convictions about the manner of executing his duties, Jessop beleives that ends are more important than the means used to achieve it. Entrusted with the duty of defending his nation Jessop will go any lengths and use any means to do it.When someone attemps to get to the bottom of whats happening in his "Shangri-La" he doesnt take it too well. (This blog owes its name to this movie) Subjected to a court trial about a misconduct in his unit, Jessop looses his calm under intense questioning proving what was feared all along.
From the first line where he is seen questioning the integrity of PFC Santiago to his last wherein he threatens laywer Kaffe that he would "rip your heart and piss in your dead skull"Jessop plays his role with an intensity and passion that would can arise only from a man who has absolute control and confidence over what he is doing. I would love to have that level of confidence in me.
Fittingly, the end of the movie poses more questions than it answers. Who are the Few Good Men ? Is it Kaffe and Galloway for uncovering the truth ? Is it the pair of Dawson and Downey who were only following their orders ? or is it Col. Nathan R Jessop, Commanding Officer,United States Marines, Guantanamo Bay Cuba ?
Memorable Quote :
1. During the court room " You need me on that Wall. You want me on that wall"
2. You have to ask me nicely. You see son I can deal with the blood bombs and teh bullets, I dont want money and I dont want medals.What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white unform of yours and with your Harward mouth extend me some F***ing courtesy. You have to ask me nicely.
3. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 400 Cubans trained to kill me.
1. The breakfast scene at Guantanamo where he humiliates and lets the lawyers know exactly what he thinks of them without so much as shifting from his seat, with a cigar dangling in his mouth full time.
==
3.Maximus Decimius Meridias in Gladiator
Russel Crowe plays Maximus in this Ridley Scott directed movie set in Rome.The movie is visually stunning and depicts ancient Rome 180 AD in engrossing detail.Maximus,set to be appointed as the General of Rome,instead finds himslef sold into slavery as a Gladiator.He reutns to take his reveng. Maximus's chilling cold gaze,cool head under the threat of certain death and his thrist for revenge are what stay with the viewer.
Memorable Quote :
1. "What we do in life echoes in eternity"
2. "..............Father to a murdered son, Husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengenance, in this life or the next"
3."On my command,unleash hell"
=================================================================
4. Forrest Gump in and as Forrest Gump: This Oscar winning moving performance established Tom Hanks as once of the finest actors of his generation. Forrest's strong point as well as his drawback is his simplistic view of life. Whereas everyone sees life and see things in shades of gray,Forrest sees in a Black and White. He follows orders qithout questioning why and how. He doesn't think too much and keeps his life simple and uncomplicated. It is an attribute that only an young innocent child can have. As one grows and experiences the big bad world life becomes more mean and devious plotting and thinking about the underlysing meaning or message or implications of everything that is being said or done.
Memorable Quote
1. "My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates Forrest. You never know what you are gonna get"
Memorable Scene
1. The one where he discovers that his child is 'perfect' and sits down to watch TV with him
5. Black Mamba in Kill Bill: Not many will agree here but what the hell. In the hands of a lesser director Kill Bill would have been just another action flick. But Quentin Tarantino sets up this revenge saga in style, led by the stylish Uma Thurman in the lead role . The action in the film is as unconventional (the use of Japanese anime) as it is mind blowing.The story move at a nice pace throughout from Texas to Japan .Thurman is brilliant in all the action scenes and looks stunning. I might be a little gruding in granting this spot but my first reaction after watching part One was "Whens 2 coming ?"
Memorable Scenes
1. Sword fight against the snow background against O Ren Ishii. Its visually stunning and gory yet beautiful at the same time
===========================================================
Honorable Mentions :
1. Lt. Daniel Kaffe by Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men
2. Tony Montana by Al Pacino in Scarface
3. Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Carribean
4.Donnie Brascoby Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco
5. Joe by Clint Eastwood in The Good,The Bad and The Ugly
1. Coach Boone in Remember The Titans : By far the most inspiring movie I have seen. Each time I watch it, I get an andrelaine rush and a feeling that I can achieve something in life. Denzel Washington's brilliant potrayal of a Virginia high school team football coach, who resurrects not only the fortunes of his school football team but by doing so brings the racially split community as one, was at once moving and motivating.No wonder Team Indias coach showed the same movie to his boys before the WC 2003. Outwardly harsh, outspoken and rude, Boone in reality is only trying to toughen his boys. His path is met with full resistance initially from the Hall of Famer Coach he is replacing, from the community and from the white players as well. However eventually Boone wins them all and guides them all the way.Super effort from Denzel,brilliant script and outstanding dialog
Memorable quotes :
1. Adressing the team on first day "This is no democracy. This is dictatorship and I, am the law."
Memorable Scene : 1) Football practice is over for the day. The Offense and the Defense make a huddle and chant "Left Side, Strong Side". Finally, Coach Boone has got his squad as one.
2) The Standing Ovation to Gerry Bertier's Mom even as Gerry lies injured in his hospital bed.
3) The early morning 3.30 am practice jog to the land where their" forefathers died fighting for the nation"
2. Col. Nathan R Jessop in A Few Good Men : No movie character has impressed me more and am yet to see a person so dominating in real or reel life. When I watched the movie for the first time I was stunned by the sher force of Jessop's dialog delivery. Unshakeable in his convictions about the manner of executing his duties, Jessop beleives that ends are more important than the means used to achieve it. Entrusted with the duty of defending his nation Jessop will go any lengths and use any means to do it.When someone attemps to get to the bottom of whats happening in his "Shangri-La" he doesnt take it too well. (This blog owes its name to this movie) Subjected to a court trial about a misconduct in his unit, Jessop looses his calm under intense questioning proving what was feared all along.
From the first line where he is seen questioning the integrity of PFC Santiago to his last wherein he threatens laywer Kaffe that he would "rip your heart and piss in your dead skull"Jessop plays his role with an intensity and passion that would can arise only from a man who has absolute control and confidence over what he is doing. I would love to have that level of confidence in me.
Fittingly, the end of the movie poses more questions than it answers. Who are the Few Good Men ? Is it Kaffe and Galloway for uncovering the truth ? Is it the pair of Dawson and Downey who were only following their orders ? or is it Col. Nathan R Jessop, Commanding Officer,United States Marines, Guantanamo Bay Cuba ?
Memorable Quote :
1. During the court room " You need me on that Wall. You want me on that wall"
2. You have to ask me nicely. You see son I can deal with the blood bombs and teh bullets, I dont want money and I dont want medals.What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white unform of yours and with your Harward mouth extend me some F***ing courtesy. You have to ask me nicely.
3. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 400 Cubans trained to kill me.
1. The breakfast scene at Guantanamo where he humiliates and lets the lawyers know exactly what he thinks of them without so much as shifting from his seat, with a cigar dangling in his mouth full time.
==
3.Maximus Decimius Meridias in Gladiator
Russel Crowe plays Maximus in this Ridley Scott directed movie set in Rome.The movie is visually stunning and depicts ancient Rome 180 AD in engrossing detail.Maximus,set to be appointed as the General of Rome,instead finds himslef sold into slavery as a Gladiator.He reutns to take his reveng. Maximus's chilling cold gaze,cool head under the threat of certain death and his thrist for revenge are what stay with the viewer.
Memorable Quote :
1. "What we do in life echoes in eternity"
2. "..............Father to a murdered son, Husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengenance, in this life or the next"
3."On my command,unleash hell"
=================================================================
4. Forrest Gump in and as Forrest Gump: This Oscar winning moving performance established Tom Hanks as once of the finest actors of his generation. Forrest's strong point as well as his drawback is his simplistic view of life. Whereas everyone sees life and see things in shades of gray,Forrest sees in a Black and White. He follows orders qithout questioning why and how. He doesn't think too much and keeps his life simple and uncomplicated. It is an attribute that only an young innocent child can have. As one grows and experiences the big bad world life becomes more mean and devious plotting and thinking about the underlysing meaning or message or implications of everything that is being said or done.
Memorable Quote
1. "My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates Forrest. You never know what you are gonna get"
Memorable Scene
1. The one where he discovers that his child is 'perfect' and sits down to watch TV with him
5. Black Mamba in Kill Bill: Not many will agree here but what the hell. In the hands of a lesser director Kill Bill would have been just another action flick. But Quentin Tarantino sets up this revenge saga in style, led by the stylish Uma Thurman in the lead role . The action in the film is as unconventional (the use of Japanese anime) as it is mind blowing.The story move at a nice pace throughout from Texas to Japan .Thurman is brilliant in all the action scenes and looks stunning. I might be a little gruding in granting this spot but my first reaction after watching part One was "Whens 2 coming ?"
Memorable Scenes
1. Sword fight against the snow background against O Ren Ishii. Its visually stunning and gory yet beautiful at the same time
===========================================================
Honorable Mentions :
1. Lt. Daniel Kaffe by Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men
2. Tony Montana by Al Pacino in Scarface
3. Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Carribean
4.Donnie Brascoby Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco
5. Joe by Clint Eastwood in The Good,The Bad and The Ugly
March 02, 2005
Of Shoaib and Sania,
Yo
The Pak team is in India minus superstar Shoaib. Apparently, his teammates arent too mindful of the fact nor are they too crazy about having him on their bus.No doubt, they are fed up with his antics and would rather sort out the business of playing and winning games themselves.
But I am sure everyone except those 15 wish he had been on the squad, and that includes me as well, for there is no sight in cricket more thrilling than to watch a pace bowler in full flow charge in and test the batsmen with bouncers and swingers, with cutters and simply pacy ones.Except for that one test when he got Sachin and Dravid in successive deliveries, the Rawalpindi Express really hasnt been too much of a wory for us. But the thrill of watching a great showman is a spectators delight and it would have been quite a sight to see him bowl on INdias fastest pitch at Mohali.Shoiab, inspite of all the makings of a great bowler is still miles away from that echeleon. Most of the reasons why lie away from the 22 yards. Shoaib hopefully realises that. Time away from the game should *hopefully* keep him away from the spotlight and the medias incessant glare. A bit of introspection and I am sure the Rawalpindi Express will be back on tracks in full steam.
-----------------
Speaking of full steam Sania Mirza certainly seems to be at it. Her victory last nite over Kuznetsova, her ATP tour win at Hyderabad and the US open game against Serena all seem to point to the makings of a superstar. The game is there along with the confidence to take on the best. But what will really decide her future more than anything else is her support system. A full fledged trainer, a full time travelling coach, dietician and other issues like sponsorship, managing finances and learning to deal with media are the least of these. The ATP tour is one lonely place and travelling around the globe takes a big toll mentally and physically. One just hopes that Sania keeps her head on her shoulders and both her feet on the ground and achieves her stated task of cracking into the Top 50 by the year end.
------------------
PS : Saw a sexy yellow Lamborghni Daiblo last nite at Chilis. Wonder if I will ever drive even 1/4th as expensive a pair of wheels. Cut to reality : gotto go to school tomorrow. Gotto pump my tyres and oil the chain. Gundyas cycle after 2.5 years of service is still going strong but lately its been too squeaky.
The Pak team is in India minus superstar Shoaib. Apparently, his teammates arent too mindful of the fact nor are they too crazy about having him on their bus.No doubt, they are fed up with his antics and would rather sort out the business of playing and winning games themselves.
But I am sure everyone except those 15 wish he had been on the squad, and that includes me as well, for there is no sight in cricket more thrilling than to watch a pace bowler in full flow charge in and test the batsmen with bouncers and swingers, with cutters and simply pacy ones.Except for that one test when he got Sachin and Dravid in successive deliveries, the Rawalpindi Express really hasnt been too much of a wory for us. But the thrill of watching a great showman is a spectators delight and it would have been quite a sight to see him bowl on INdias fastest pitch at Mohali.Shoiab, inspite of all the makings of a great bowler is still miles away from that echeleon. Most of the reasons why lie away from the 22 yards. Shoaib hopefully realises that. Time away from the game should *hopefully* keep him away from the spotlight and the medias incessant glare. A bit of introspection and I am sure the Rawalpindi Express will be back on tracks in full steam.
-----------------
Speaking of full steam Sania Mirza certainly seems to be at it. Her victory last nite over Kuznetsova, her ATP tour win at Hyderabad and the US open game against Serena all seem to point to the makings of a superstar. The game is there along with the confidence to take on the best. But what will really decide her future more than anything else is her support system. A full fledged trainer, a full time travelling coach, dietician and other issues like sponsorship, managing finances and learning to deal with media are the least of these. The ATP tour is one lonely place and travelling around the globe takes a big toll mentally and physically. One just hopes that Sania keeps her head on her shoulders and both her feet on the ground and achieves her stated task of cracking into the Top 50 by the year end.
------------------
PS : Saw a sexy yellow Lamborghni Daiblo last nite at Chilis. Wonder if I will ever drive even 1/4th as expensive a pair of wheels. Cut to reality : gotto go to school tomorrow. Gotto pump my tyres and oil the chain. Gundyas cycle after 2.5 years of service is still going strong but lately its been too squeaky.
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