Guilty Tendlya
Ray
There are many good things about this world cup. And now since India is in the final, it becomes one of my favorites too. But then there is also stuff that is more cacophonous than the PA system at the grounds. For starters we all know the painfully mediocre theme song. But a commentator going by the name of Ganguly  have added their own symphony to the loud clangs and cliches that usually emanate from Ravi Shastri during the toss.

Patronizing the pakis is a habit for most and none more so than Ganguly and Manjrekar who just kept on waxing eloquent about the Akmal brothers as if they were their cousins. However, mistakenly Dada did utter a sagacious comment on Sachin's struggles and his reprieves - that Sachin almost looks too embarrassed to continue this innings. And how right he was!! Tendlya who prides himself to play that near-perfect innings everytime he bats, looked like he felt guilty about continuing further and preferring to scratch than refocus. 

And another good commentator Athers, said this about Steve Jamison's book Winning Ugly , where true champions are those that win even while not in rhythm. Sachin taking away the man of the match award just proved how mentally strong he is. Oh well even the Master has an off day.

Here's to the champion firing full cylinders at Wankhede. 
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Yuppie Mumbai here we come
Ray
And so.... India have made to the world cup final and not without the hiccups. But victory tastes sweeter against Pakistan and India worked hard for their win today at Mohali. It should be a cracking final against the Lankans on Saturday. What a dream send off it would be for Sachin Tendulkar, the most famous son of the soil, not only of Mumbai but of the nation , a World cup final at home in front of an adoring crowd , a chance to score his 100th international ton, a chance for India to make history with this wonderful set of talented youngsters. Kudos to Mr. Cool Dhoni who has given this team that extra cutting edge. 

Till Saturday then... - Bleed Blue
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The Blitzkrieg
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No it wasn't the war once again but Pakistan must have felt like being in one yesterday. Playing against the Black Caps at the new stadium in Pallekele, the men in Green were left shell shocked at the carnage they faced at the hands of Ross Taylor and company. The Kiwi innings seemed headed for a middling total until the 44th over when Nathan McCullum ignited proceedings by smashing two sixes in the stands. After his dismissal, birthday boy Ross Taylor who had been given two lives on 0 and 8 by butter fingers Kamran, plundered and smashed the Paki attack to all parts. New Zealand fired all the artillery they had and Pakistan had no answer serving up full tosses and wides. The sequence in the last 6 overs read 14,7,28,30,15,20 , an astonishing 114 runs. So terror-stricken were Pakistan, that when they came to bat, they just prodded around and before time were reeling at 23/4. A slight recovery only delayed the inevitable and NZ were worthy winners.

Today India gave another shoddy performance although they beat the Netherlands by a comfortable margin, topped the table and ensured qualification to the next round. A below par score of 189, was shown no respect initially and India raced off the blocks on the Sachin-Sehwag twin engine. A clatter of wickets in the middle saw India in a tricky position at 99/4. A better team would have made India sweat but the experience of Yuvi and Dhoni came in handy. However on the bowling and fielding front, India's performance remained iffy as usual such that it looked like they were out there with complacent expressions and the result being a foregone conclusion. Such attitudes won't take them far and India as I know will pull their socks up when the big boys come calling. The Proteas are next in Nagpur which would make for a fascinating tussle between the best batting team in the tourno and arguably the best bowling attack.

Might I add, a win might put us into a quarterfinals against our western neighbors. Can't wait for that moment.
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The World Cup Comes Alive
Ray
It was billed as the marquee match between two evenly matched sides and lived up to all the hype it had created. Tendulkar who had never before scored an ODI century against the English in India, put all that to rest in a swashbuckling innings scoring 120 of a 115 balls. The lower order collapsed in a bid for quick runs and in the face of some tight English bowling but we still ended up on a mighty 338. That would be enough or so we thought. 

There are not many innings that can overwhelm the Master's innings but what Strauss played today was a gem for the ages. Pulling and cutting the Indian bowlers with ease, Strauss scored a monumental 158 of 145 deliveries. At 281/2 in the 42nd over, India looked dead and buried. Enter ZAK, who scalped two in two to awaken the crowd. The Powerplay which had been taken by England spelt disaster yielding just 25/4 and let India put a foot in the door.

48 overs, 29 needed of 12, India were favorites but then two sixes in a Piyush Chawla over raised the tension to another level. 14 were needed of the last over which was bowled by Munaf. However even he got whacked for a straight six and ultimately it was two from one ball. Bang , to Yusuf at cover, England took a run and the game was a TIE. Phew!!. 

No fingernails left, several heartbeats skipped and superstition kept me in my bed for over an hour despite the urgent need to use the bathroom. (No I didn't pee all over the bed, not even in the excitement :P).

At the end of it all, I think India went home the happier team. But the bigger picture was, India's bowling sucks. We always knew that but we aren't going to perpetually score 300+. Time the bowling pulled up their socks.

Another big picture was and its been reiterated many times, if only the ICC had done away with the bloated format and stuck with the 10 teams for this cup, we would have many such games with more frequency. Side effects would be more heart patients, more queues for manicure and might I say "wet" seats for the superstitious among us. (stats reveal many cricket supporters are completely irrational :D )
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Movie Review - 7 Khoon Maaf
Ray
Marry Go Round
A macabre opera that does not translate into captivating cinema
When I heard that Vishal Bharadwaj was going to adapt Ruskin Bond's short story Susanna's 7 husbands, I was intrigued as well as skeptical at the same time. I haven't read the original story but I suspect its  narrative technique would be episodic, as the protagonist (or antagonist?) moves on from one husband to another. So it made me unsure as to how such a somewhat sporadic skin would be turned into  continuous flesh. Enter, Vishal , whose works in the past speak for themselves and if anyone could transform Bond's story into cinema, then it would be him. However, I think, certain tales remain stories that are best kept in books and we rather let them unfold in our heads to assimilate its guilty pleasure as they do not possess that lineament which makes them fit for an adaptation on celluloid. 

Susanna(Priyanka Chopra) starts as the battered wife of a invalid army man(Neil Mukesh) who we are explained has all the qualities of the typical Indian husband - boring, distrustful and flatulent. After bumping him off, she moves to another man, a junkie rockstar(John Abraham), a soulful poet with a sado-masochist streak(Irrfan), a cheating Russian(Alexandr Dyachenko), a greedy doctor(Naseeruddin Shah), a timid sex starved cop(Annu Kapoor) and a mystery man. 

The brandishes of Bharadwaj are there though if you look hard like the shiver-inducing sequence of the army man caressing Susanna with his half limb, the transitioning from marriage to funeral in one shot, references to literature, Tarantino-esque sequences like blood splattered walls and a cool cameo by Ruskin Bond himself towards the end. 
However, you cannot mask your disappointment when you cannot get inside the head of the main character. As the narrator Arun(superbly portrayed by Vivaan Shah) tries to dive into his  godmother's head as to why she kills her men rather than leaving them, we ask ourselves the same question. In the form of an anecdote we are told that when she was a child she used to be harassed by a dog while on her way to school, but instead of taking a different path she blew the canine's brains off. That is like a shining light, the tremendous gist of this film. Susanna in our eyes is then is a feminist vigilante, a voice for women lib, making this world safer from adulterous and oppressive men. But then contrastingly, she is shown as love-starved, a person who sluggishly just moves on from one bad relationship to another . We would then rather deplore the lack of judgment the woman has rather than applaud her liberties. Hard to sympathize eh? 

I couldn't bear What's your Rashee? What's with Ms Chopra doing in these type of looping sequence films. The episodes for this film are : Find husband, discover the rot, so kill him and this repeats and repeats.
Priyanka's performance meanders between the good and the average and lacks the depth you would associate while playing such a character. As a character, she does not get to display enough histrionics although the make up work is excellent. The supporting cast is pretty good while from the husbands, it is difficult to say which one makes an impact because of the abrupt screen times. Just as you are settling on one,  he is done away with that too with mind-boggling ease. However, Annu Kapoor records a worthy performance. 

7 Khoon Maaf would perhaps be best played out in the form of musical theater, a macabre opera(once again Gulzar and Vishal are in awesome form) because of its tantalizing atmosphere. As a movie, it fails and at times bores. As a fan of Vishal, with a good track record , I guess there is always scope for one bad movie maaf.
  Rating : 2/5
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Insurance Commercials
Ray
Of late, there has been an inundation of insurance ads on American television. GEICO, State Farm, Progressive and AllState are going all out to rope in as many customers as possible. Every second advert is an insurance message. This is because accident rates have gone down (partly due to better-built cars, partly due to an aging—and thus slower-driving—population), and claims have thus decreased. Since there's suddenly more money to be made, everyone's trying to grab a bigger share. The quickest way to do that is by ramping up your television ads.

But selling insurance can be the most boring job ever, the ads try to pack in a fair amount of humor as well. I don’t have many good words to say about GEICO since I went from being a GEICO customer to Progressive because of a few reasons. However, GEICO’s ads continue to remain the best ones among all insurance companies.

The humor is deliberately ambiguous or downright stupid and oddball. The only purpose behind it seems to make us remember yes , that’s the stupid ad belongs to GEICO. Their ones with the cockney speaking lizard are funny because it is a classic sight gag. More importantly, the theme remains light-hearted whereas other ads exploit the fear of accidents where the product kicks in.

However, it is the volume of ads that's so astonishing and annoying.
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Bollywood 2010
Ray
Another year went and the Hindi film industry threw up more bad than good once again. A middling /mediocre movie like Dabanng still seemed to hit a nerve with the audience proving that masala cinema still rules the roost. Despite this fact, it was the small budget films that created the biggest impact as it gathered a strong niche audience especially among the burgeoning middle class. These movies were superb in my opinion because of the detailing and research that was put into them. The results were not only authentic but at the same time entertaining.
  1. Udaan
  2. Do Dooni Chaar
  3. Band Baaja Baarat
  4. Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge
  5. Ishqiya
  6. Karthik calling Karthik
  7. Lafangey Parindey
  8. Raavan
  9. Tere Bin Laden
  10. Phas Gaye Re Obama
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