Bluffmaster's List

List of Bluffmaster's favourites and bête noires:

Cricket
Shane Warne, Rahul Dravid, Michael Bevan, Michael Hussey, Stephen Fleming, VVS Laxman, Mark Waugh, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee, W.J. Cronje, Graham Thorpe, Mohammad Azharuddin, Stephen Waugh and Lance Klusener.

Movies
Actors (female): Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jennifer Connelly, Ann Todd, Kim Novak, Demi Moore, Eva Mendes, Shannon Tweed.
Actors (male): Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai, Al Pacino, Aamir Khan, Christian Bale.
Directors: Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Vishal Bharadwaj.

Tennis
Thomas Muster, Patrick Rafter, Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras, Sergi Bruguera, Steffi Graf

Wrestlers
Robert Szatkowski, William Jason Reso, Michael Hickenbottom, Bret Hart, and everyone from the Old School.

Soccer
Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo.

Edit: Thursday, 22-4-2010, 11:37

I have decided to add on to this old list of mine without affecting its originality.

Cricketers: Shane Watson, Justin Kemp.

Movies
Actors (Female): Tallulah Bankhead.
Directors: Christopher Nolan, Shimit Amin, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

When I wrote that post I was on the verge of starting a new and promising phase of my life and now that phase has ended and I am at a dead end. How different life was back them. How optimistic I used to be. If only life was that simple as it used to be.

Anger Management

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."

Pressure

The only pressure I'm under is the pressure I've put on myself. As Milton said, "Pressure changes everything. Some people, you squeeze them, they focus. Some people fold."

Sad News

Tragic loss: Eddie Guerrero has passed away. He was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday morning. Eddie, the mamacita, was a superb athlete and at the prime of his life and career. Rest in peace Latino Heat.

Face To Face With Khushwant Singh

Excerpts from Khushwant Singh's interview with Harinder Baweja:

Baweja: Twenty-one years later and still little justice. How do you feel?
Khushwant Singh: I am very disappointed. I was expecting a more forthright denunciation of the people involved. Ninety percent of the report is of no consequence. It is all focused on police stations and I am sure the police could not have acted the way it did unless instructions had come from the very top. Delhi burnt for four days and there was no Section 144, no curfew, no shoot-at-sight orders. Finally when the government sent for the army from Meerut, the Sikh Light Infantry came and they had to be kept in the cantonment. The government was not visible. Even the President of India, Gyani Zail Singh, didn’t matter. I called Rashtrapati Bhawan but Zail Singh didn’t take my call and instead sent me a message asking me to take refuge in a Hindu’s house. Zail Singh should have resigned, even earlier, after Operation Bluestar. His stature would have gone up. Instead, he died unsung by his own community. The Nanavati report has only targeted the lieutenant governor and the police. I am disgusted. All governments make a mockery of these commissions of inquiry.

Baweja: If someone like you felt so helpless and is now so angry, what about the common people who lost their family members?
Khushwant Singh: I have no doubt that they will be having nightmares. It is not possible to forget family members being burnt alive. Some of them must have gone crazy and some others must be drugging themselves to sleep. 1984 made me conscious of being a Sikh even though I don’t practise the tenets. But I feel the hurt of the community. I had to move out of my house and was picked up by a complete stranger from the Swedish embassy. I was living in the lap of luxury but felt like a Jew in a Nazi camp. I was an exile in my own country. What shook me was the number of Hindus who revelled in this. Girilal Jain wrote in The Times of India that the Sikhs should have known that this was coming. The Sikh community had, in fact, been let down by their own leaders. Zail Singh and Sanjay Gandhi created Bhindranwale. They let him go when he had been arrested. No one realised the ill-will that had built up against the Sikhs because of Bhindranwale. Not one Sikh leader had the guts to denounce him when he made statements like, ‘each Sikh should kill 32 Hindus.’

Baweja: How do you feel as an observer of justice?
Khushwant Singh: This is the most gross example of miscarriage of justice. Jagdish Tytler is a liar, saying none of the commissions have even mentioned him. Rajni Kothari brought out a pamphlet just after the carnage titled, ‘Who are the guilty?’ Not one of these guys, Tytler or Sajjan Kumar or Dharam Dass Shastri had the guts to take Kothari to court for criminal lies.

Baweja: You have been a close friend of the Gandhis. Be it Bluestar or the 1984 carnage, the Congress was responsible.
Khushwant Singh: My closeness to the Gandhis is much exaggerated. I defended Sanjay Gandhi on the Maruti deal. I went to see the Maruti factory and let me tell you it was worse than a mechanic’s shop. The point is and I have said this again and again — the carnage could not have taken place unless there were orders from the very top. Even on the tabling of the Nanavati Commission report, the government waited till the very last day. This shows their malafide intentions and their lack of confidence. They knew they would come in for the severest criticism. I feel personally let down by the Nanavati Commission. I went to depose and the atmosphere was that of a tea party, except that there was no tea. Every one was laughing and joking.

Baweja: How do you see 1984 as a historian? What is the future for riot victims?
Khushwant Singh: Justice is for the rich and the powerful. Inquiry commissions just pass the buck. Any future historian will know they can’t rely on these reports and will have to seek other sources of information. Governments need to understand that a crime unpunished breeds criminals; 1984 remains unpunished.


Baweja: Are you upset that the Action Taken Report has been authored by a government headed by Manmohan Singh?
Khushwant Singh: I don’t think he has any say. We know the circumstances under which he became the prime minister. Sikh or not, he has integrity, ability and humility. The Sikh community needs to also look at the positive side. Was it even conceivable in 1984 that we would have a Sikh prime minister, a Sikh Army chief and a Sikh heading the Planning Commission?

Here are some excerpts from Khushwant Singh's article in Outlook:

I have only two words for Justice G.T. Nanavati's inquiry report on the butchery of Sikhs 21 years ago: utter garbage. I have the report in hand, all 349 pages, plus the Action Taken Report presented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government in Parliament on August 8. I thought it would take a whole day or two to go through it. It took only a couple of hours because it is largely based on what transpired in zones of different police stations and long lists of names which meant nothing to me. There are broad hints about the involvement of Congress leaders like H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler, Dharam Dass Shastri and Sajjan Kumar. He gives them the benefit of the doubt and suggests yet another inquiry commission to look into the charges against them. Yet another commission? For God's sake, is he serious? To say the least, I was deeply disappointed with the whole thing. But the game of shirking responsibility was to attain higher levels!

A few salutary lessons that the experience has taught us should be kept in mind by our leaders.The most important is to understand that crimes unpunished breed criminals. Another equally important thing to bear in mind is that the State must never abdicate its monopoly of punishing criminals, if it overlooks its duty or delays dispensing justice beyond limits of endurance, it encourages aggrieved parties to take the law in their own hands and settle scores with those who wronged them. If we do not learn these lessons now, we will have more holocausts in the years to come.

As an Indian, my head hangs in shame, again, because a doubting Thomas once pointed out: "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history."

The Wall Of Money

Source: Tribuneindia.com

Punjab Cricket Association president I.S. Bindra on Tuesday fired yet another salvo at the cricket board claiming that BCCI had lost Rs 44 crore by awarding telecast rights for ODI series against Sri Lanka and South Africa to Prasar Bharti.

"Doordarshan clinched the deal after offering BCCI a deal of Rs 7.5 crore per match. Another TV company had offered the Board Rs 135 crore for telecast of 12 matches as against Rs 91 crore what it will get now," Bindra said.

The former BCCI chief said the BCCI was playing 'fraud' with the country's cricketers and the cricket-crazy public as the rights for the 12 matches had been awarded to Nimbus for 1.75 million dollars as against Nimbus' own offer of 5 million dollars.

"It is a big fraud with the cricketers, state associations and the general public. Last year, the board lost Rs 350 crore by undervaluing what it could have earned by awarding various rights," Bindra said adding that he had on Monday approached Delhi High Court regarding the alleged fraud by the board.

Bindra, who has earlier on several occasions alleged that the board was not interested in marketing domestic cricket, said the board's reluctant attitude had cost domestic players Rs 37.5 crore in 2004.

Anyone who is aware of the niceties of cricket will know how true these allegations are. Jaggu Dalmiya, the mastermind behind BCCI, is the richest man and surely the biggest fraud in the history of cricket. Time and again cricketers have been criticized for match fixing. Fixing is a form of corruption, and that scam was nothing compared to BCCI's internal corruption. The administrators are the biggest frauds in cricket. Dalmiya is their kingpin. BCCI is also involved in several cases of tax frauds. If you remember, last year Zee TV got the TV rights for the cricket matches in India, only to be revoked after a few hours. It was Jaggu Dalmiya who botched up the TV-rights contract by creating a deadlock between Zee TV and ESPN Star. In the end, both the channels got nothing and Doordarshan got the contract once again. I don't have to rant about DD's incompetency and poor service. Doordarshan is the most undeserving TV channel to telecast a cricket match. Dalmiya is always on their side to gain political leverage and to stuff his pocket. According to some sources, BCCI has amassed such colossal amount of money that if they erected a wall their cash, the wall would never end, because of the speedy growth-rate of their unscrupulous earnings.

Raging Bull

Bluffmaster's Take on Raging Bull





The direction is flawless. From the initial inspired shot of Jake La Motta shadow boxing in the ring, we know that we are experiencing a work of true cinematic art. Scorsese's inspiring touch was to shoot the film in black and white. It adds atmosphere, underlines the brutal drama that is La Motta's life, and of course, enhances the gritty realism of the fight scenes where we join the boxers in the ring. There is no escaping the brutality of the fights. The confusion of sounds, glaring white light and Oscar-winning editing make these scenes unique and unmatched by any other film.

De Niro simply glows with brilliance in 'Raging Bull', like in none of his other films. His dedication to the role is astounding — going on a rigorous training program develop a boxer's physique and even competing in three actual boxing matches and then gaining 50lbs over a year to play a bloated overweight La Motta in later life. De Niro's presence, focus, remarkable attention to detail and great passion for the role all combine to make it the greatest acting performance in the history of modern cinema. Joined by two remarkable supporting performances from Joe Pesci as Joey and Cathy Moriarty as Vicky, the three main players bring the characters to life on screen with all their virtues and flaws in a way that is unfortunately rare to behold in films nowadays.

An example of true cinematic art, it combines brilliant and innovative film technique with a deep and provocative character study, and a raw unflinching look at the self-destructive element of masculinity. The violence and profanity must not deter anyone from appreciating this as a beautiful work of art. Simply put, Raging Bull is one of American cinema’s masterworks.

Cast: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
Director: Martin Scorsese
Year: 1980

Ratings:
Story: A-
Acting: A+
Direction: A+
Visuals: A+
Bluffmaster's Grade: A

The Most Influential Perverts

The infamous squad of the most dirtiest manipulators in cricket:


10. Ricky Ponting: A peach of a batsman, but a jerk of a person! A narcissistic, pompous, crude bastard who claims to be most authoritative captain in the world. Anyone aware with the nuances of cricket will agree that he's an ordinary captain blessed with an outstanding team. He is nothing what Cricket Australia claims to be. You have greatest bowlers in the world like McGrath, Lee, Warne, and you still place defensive field settings — only to prove your are different to inflate your rotten ego. You chose to bowl first on a flat pitch at Birmingham just to boast your authority like some naive obstinate gremlin. When you realized you could lose the ashes, you shirked off your responsibility and demanded not to be made a scapegoat. You call yourself an "authoritative" leader! You admitted defeat even before the final test. You dork, it's just a game of cricket.

9. John Bracewell: A big sick perverted bastard. New Zealand coach and tormentor responsible for ruining a good team with the help of selectors.

8. Rudi Koertzen: One of the most temperamental umpires. Known to have close relations with David Graveney and Ray Illingworth. Being an umpire makes him ICC's lethal weapon in controlling matches. The worst thing, is, he's highly inconsistent in his umpiring. A very prejudiced umpire who works like ICC's puppet. Another noticeable fact is the cricket authorities keep him clear of the media. Unlike some other umpires who seem to be media's targets due to their sour relations with some influential cricket officials.

7. Robert Merriman: Chairman of Cricket Australia's Industrial Relations, International, and Remuneration committees. Merriman is among the most influential men in cricket. Regardless of his prowess, cricket is still a failure in Australia — as a business — in spite of being the best team in the world. Holds the power to manipulate matches and pitches. He was responsible for manipulating the pitches during India's tour in 2003-04.

6. Allan Border: Has carved the image of an angel in cricket, especially in Australian cricket circuit. But deep down this mistaken angel, lies a selfish ogre. He was the kingpin behind Steve Waugh's exclusion from the one-day side, using smart marketing antics. Later on, it was he who pressurised Steve Waugh to retire from test cricket to glamorise India-Australia series and to also protect his record that was being threatened by Steve Waugh.

5. Ayaz Memon: Fake twang, fake comments, thinks himself as Fisk, but in reality is just a Dalmiya's puppet and writes whatever he tells him to. Extremely efficient at promoting the mediocre team India. Team huddle, seven captains, and all the s*** was glorified. I must add, he is an extremely biased journalist. For more details click here.

4. Ian Bell: The favourite brat of English selectors who ended legendary Thorpe's career.

3. Ehsan Mani: The money-making machine of ICC, can go up to any limit to earn money even if that means manipulating the outcome of the match. He had hot pants for USA, but the move backfired. Secretly operated to make India-Pak series of 2004 a roaring success by fixing matches.

2. Malcolm Speed: Another influential man in cricket who can make his team lose to generate money. Also responsible for retiring Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh.

And the Number One is... Jagmohan Dalmiya — the most dirtiest influence on cricket.

The last man standing. Menace to cricket.

1. Jagmohan Dalmiya: The most influential person in cricket who uses cricketers like his puppets. He has the power to manipulate even big world cup matches. He holds the authority to make or break a cricketer's career at will. His wish is ICC's command. Dalmiya is a clever 'politician' who is well versed with the nuances of the cricket politics. He's a guy who's stuck onto cricket like a leech.

Super Conspiracy II: Appeasement

The super test just finished. The result was inevitable owing to the defective and flashy team-selection. What's going on, Mr. Gavaskar? You are a respectable man in cricket. Be a man to reflect it in your work! Experts are criticizing World XI for lack of team spirit and intensity, but that's all nonsense. They always come up with theories and manipulate them as per "the wind's direction". It's a sacrilege to expect good results when some players get into the World XI by moaning and throwing tantrums.

The team selection in the Super Series is based more on popularity and less on logic. There are some in-form players who haven't performed well in the super series; hence, it's unfair to criticize the selectors for that. However, there are a few questionable selections in the World XI. They could have been a more potent team. They could have easily picked five regular bowlers in their team for they have a genuine all-rounder Flintoff: perhaps Pollock/Shoaib, Harmison, Flintoff, Murali, and Vettori. I am not a blind supporter of the five-bowler bandwagon, but it depends on team to team. Flintoff works best when he's not overloaded. England's key to the Ashes was their 'fatal five' bowling attack. World XI couldn't afford to play five bowlers because they had to accommodate a few star batsmen.

Pleasing individuals has become more important than the team. There's a madam curie in the World XI, named Inzamam ul-Haq, who sulked, moaned, cried like a sissy after not being initially selected in the team. Pakistan Cricket Board held an emergency meeting with the ICC, and later on they squeezed him in the place of injured Tendulkar. It's a simple case of appeasement where an individual is given prominence at the cost of the team. He virtually cried his way into the team like an obstinate kid crying for a candy or a ride in the Disneyland. I don't deny Inzamam's credibility, but this is World XI, and it's only possible to pick eleven players in a team. There are several world-class players who could have sulked at their exclusion form the World test XI. Some of them probably deserved to be there more than Inzamam or even Lara. Players like Sangakkara, Jayasuriya,Yusuf Youhanna, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Andrew Strauss, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Taibu, and above all, Laxman — who has a wonderful record against Australia and even Gilchrist expressed surprise over his absence — were all worthy of finding a place in the World XI, but none of them whined like sissies. What would have ICC done had all the above players grunted and whinged over their exclusion?

After the series, Inzamam whined that he couldn't motivate himself. His commitment wasn't the same. Hahaha. Look at his double standards. First he forced himself into the team to earn million dollars — only to score one run in two innings; and later he gave excuses and trashed the series. Loser!

Inzamam is a disruptive influence in his own national team. His own teammates aren't fond of him. When the World XI team was in the huddle, he just didn't look a part of the team. This guy has a history of brawls and verbal spats with his teammates.

Pakistani cricketers Younis Khan (L) and Inzamam-ul Haq (2nd R) are separated by Saeed Anwar (2ndL) and Shahid Afridi during a dispute while playing football during a practice session at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

The above picture is from the 2003 World Cup when he actually brawled with his teammate Younis Khan, who is now the vice-captain of the team. He has had tussles with Shoaib Akhtar, Yusuf, Aamir Sohail, Wasim Akram and many more players.

There's Brian Lara who hasn't played any international cricket for last 6-7 months and he finds himself a place in the World XI. They will continue to struggle until the team is more balanced and the selection is unbiased without any elements of appeasement.

The New 007

It's official: Daniel Craig is the new James Bond! The actor has been signed to a three-picture deal starting with the upcoming 007 film, Casino Royale. I haven't yet seen any of Daniel Craig's movies so I can't pass my judgement on him. His filmography includes Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Road To Perdition. He is the sixth actor to play the role of the suave secret agent double-o-seven.

After a long 4-year hiatus since Die Another Day, they have finally moved ahead. Die Another Day, although a huge commercial success, was undoubtedly the worst Bond film ever. The director, Lee Tamarohi, and the extra defensive producers were responsible for that. Casino Royale will be directed by Martin Campbell, who has also directed Goldeneye (1995), Brosnan's first Bond movie.

It's sad not to see Pierce — "Pyrus" as Maddy calls him — as 007. He could have been there for a couple of more films.

Since the release of Dr. No in 1962, Casino Royale will be the twenty-first Bond movie. The shooting will begin from January, 2006 and is due for worldwide release on November 17, 2006. The director, Martin Campbell, has confirmed that Casino Royale will be a "grittier" movie — with more character, and less gadgets and technology: "However, the traditional key elements that had attributed to the success of the series would still be there in good measures."

A Buffoon Named Tapan Joshi

A lunatic sports journalist named Tapan Joshi, from Times of India, who thinks he's in the genus of Robert Fisk, has written an article about the captaincy issue in team India. This spineless coward has mentioned that good players don't always make good captains. Does that mean you stop trying and accept the destiny of Indian team? Or perhaps Parthiv Patel or Ajit Agarkar would be the best options to lead India. Good players don't make good captains. Is he suggesting that Steve Waugh (the most successful captain of Australia) wasn't a good player? In his career, he scored 32 centuries, 10 927 runs @ an average of 51.06 per innings. As a captain, he made 15 centuries, 10 fifties at an average of 52. Don't forget, he was 34 when he became the captain. So in last 5 years, as a captain, he scored 15 hundreds. How about Imran Khan? Was he a 'bad' captain or a 'bad' cricketer? According to some buffoons Rahul Dravid is too 'old' to lead India. Steve Waugh was 33 when he became the ODI captain of Australia and 34 when he became the test captain. Had Cricket Australia followed that moron's philosophy, they would never had taken the 'risk' of appointing Steve Waugh as their captain.

This mendacious jerk has listed Rahul Dravid's weaknesses in his column:

1) "Too diplomatic. Prefers to make his willow (performance) speak." Is diplomacy a bad quality? Isn't your uncle Gavaskar a diplomat? You silly bastard, Tapan, what else do you imagine? Do you expect him to reveal all the dressing-room secrets to you? Or you want him to make comments on Chappell-Ganguly spat like the uncouth Harbhajan? He is a person who never creates any controversy and this, according to Tapan, is a weakness.

He also said, " Dravid prefers to make his willow speak." I know there are several slobs in Indian team who only talk and brag about how good they are, and they only perform once in 10-12 matches. They have to boast about themselves, because their performances are nothing. Here is a player who lets his performance do all the talking, and this is supposed to be his drawback according to Tapan! Are you sure, you moron, you don't smoke marijuana or some weed? How else do you expect him to prove his class? Should he stop scoring runs, and make big statements, and join the Jaaggu's bandwagon. Of course, a batsman is supposed to establish himself by scoring runs. What else do you imagine? Is he a Bollywood star who has to carve a phoney superstar image? Or flex his muscles? Get into a boxing match with his rival cricketer, or perhaps, have a brash 'I-am-the-best' attitude like some inept Bollywood star. What are you ranting about, moron? He's a class act who doesn't need any fake propaganda to be in the team. It's Dalmiya's good-for-nothing crew who needs such dirty tactics to get lifetime membership of the team.

2) "Mild. Can be steamrolled by coach Chappell." Tapan Joshi, you poltroon, aren't you steamrolled and manipulated by the BCCI? Is Chappell a monster? Even the imbecile Harbhajan protested against him. Why are they paying millions to Chappell if he's just going to sit, keep quiet, and be the captain's scullion? Wasn't John Wright steamrolled by Ganguly? Foreign coach is just fashion statement in India. If team wins, Jaggu and his favourites get all the credit and if they lose, coach gets all the flak.

3) "Lacks Ganguly's aggression." Oh, get a life, you hideous monster! Aggression doesn't mean profanity or making presumptuous and narcissistic statements to the media, and depicting brash and ostentatious image to the world. That's true he can't match Ganguly's madness. After all he keeps away from blasphemy. To match him he will have to arrest his mental growth to the age of 16. Perhaps, the peevish and cantankerous slobs, Harbhajan Singh or Zaheer Khan would be ideal successors of Ganguly.

Their definition of aggression is also very inconsistent and subjective. Is stripping off one's shirt, and hurling abuses aggression? Is acting like a haughty, phoney, grumpy rogue called aggression? Or swearing at other cricketers is aggression? Or acting like an overcharged, overheated, pompous asinine called aggression? Well, I agree Dravid can't emulate this. Neither Steve Waugh, Imran Khan or Kapil Dev did such acts to gain publicity.

4) "Has seldom stuck his neck out for his mates." Should he stick his neck out just like that dunderhead Harbhajan did? Would you be happy if he criticized Chappell/Ganguly or became a disruptive influence on the team? If you are also hinting at team selection, how can you expect him to take sides or 'stick his neck out for his mates' when he's not a captain. There are other senior players in the team like Tendulkar and Sehwag who don't stick their neck out for their mates. At least, be consistent in your views, you biased bastard!

Perverts like Tapan Joshi are responsible for creating hoopla, unnecessary media hype and controversies. The newspapers blatantly trash politicians in their articles, but when it comes to cricket they pee in their pants at the very mention of Jaggu Dalmiya, particularly Times Of India and Hindustan Times. Indian Express is the only newspaper that is not biased. It's sad how cricket politics has steamrolled true journalism.

There's another perverted sports journalist named Ayaz Memon who is a wannabe, with his fake twang, influenced opinions, but he is a moron who has no opinion of his own. The worst part, is, these guys think they are some sort of Howard Zinns or Robert Fisks. They are nothing more than a bunch of phonies who only write what BCCI and some players tell them to. I have just one thing to say, "Get a life, friend!"

Politics Galore

Rahul Dravid has finally got a "long term" stint as the captain of India. Interestingly, this "long term" is only restricted to two ODI series. Furthermore, the selectors have done their best to select the worst possible team by holding back talents like Laxman, Mongia, and Kumble. With Kaif also out of the way due to injury, Jaggu's plan is obvious i.e. to make the team lose by selecting mediocre and raw players like Venugopal, Agarkar, Raina, and ignoring Laxman, Mongia, and Zaheer Khan. I must say Sreesanth is a good choice, but he will take time to settle down. Besides, Sachin will also take time to get into his groove. Zaheer Khan's omission is baffling, considering he's the only experienced pace bowler in Indian team who bowls well on flat Indian pitches. Pathan has struggled on Indian pitches and with Nehra's injury Indian bowling has become too weak. Two big series losses (thanks to the poor team selection) will put Jaggu's pet, Ganguly, back on track.

I watch cricket as an escape from dirty politics, but sadly I see the same politics has engulfed Indian cricket. BCCI, media, and cricket experts are calling him a long-term captain, which is absolutely ridiculous. Right now, he's neither an adhoc captain nor a full-time captain. How can you appoint a full-time captain without officially dethroning the current captain? This is highly unethical and political. Dravid should have been the permanent captain or the selectors should have chosen Dravid or someone else for an adhoc job. This two-series-captain mess is utterly nonsense. When Steve Waugh became the ODI captain in 1998, he was appointed for the 1999 world cup and futher on. It wasn't just for 1-2 series. In 2002, Ricky Ponting held the position on a long-term basis, even beyond the 2003 world cup.

Super Conspiracy?

Australia has annihilated the World XI in the Super Series ODIs. They were under tremendous pressure after losing the Ashes. Aussies had everything to lose, but World XI had nothing to gain.

World XI looked out of sorts. Now that the series is over, many cricketing psychiatrists will explain why World XI lost and give their rubbish theories, but the fact is the selection criteria was more on popularity/market value and less on performances. The selectors were awed by the stars and pressuried by some cricket boards to include certain players. Shane Bond's absence was absolutely shocking! He has recovered from injury and made a strong comeback against India and has shown he can still bowl at 150 Kmph and swing the ball. He can still take heaps of wickets and win matches for his team. Sadly, his outstanding record against Australia was also ignored because they had to include "stars". He has troubled the Australian batsman more than the other World XI pacers. He has picked 22 wickets in 6 matches at an average 10.45 and a strike rate of 15.00 against Australia. The result is evident from the fact all the World XI fast bowlers struggled against the Aussies.

I wonder, somewhere, Bangladesh would be laughing at the World XI. In contemporary cricket, things aren't the way they appear on face value. Some morons can again brag about how only India can beat Australia. Ironically, Australia has won 8 out of last 9 ODIs against India and they even won the recent test series in India.

Natural Calamities

Today I woke up with the shocks of tremor — another natural calamity. They seem to have been occurring too frequently with a great deal of vehemence. Earlier in July, Mumbai (India) submerged due to excessive flooding as result of heavy rainfall, causing many deaths and financial losses.

Last year, Tsunami devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands in Asia, including financial losses worth Rs. 70,000 crores. Then Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The numbers are too heavy. Is it the nature’s vengeance for global warming and pollution we cause by abusing natural resources? According to some research environmentalists, pollution and global warming enhance the intensity of such natural calamities.

Perhaps it’s the time to turn on to renewable sources of energy for the amelioration of civilization.

Marketing Moguls

Sunil Gavaskar's quotes:

Sunil Gavaskar on how some cricketers achieved success with dignity without having to show undue aggression and 'ugly' body language: "Anyone who says that toughness is shown by ugly gestures and body language is talking nonsense. Vishy, Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar are prime examples of players who went about their jobs quietly, without fuss and scored runs when the situation demanded."

Gavaskar on the near perfect behaviour of champion performers Sachin Tendulkar, Pete Sampras and Tiger Woods: "Pete Sampras, Tiger Woods, Sachin Tendulkar are three sportspersons who are colossuses in their respective sport and wonderful role models too. You won't find them creating a scene on or off the courts, courses or fields."

I agree with his comments, but why different yardsticks for different players? Guys like McGrath, Donald, Shoaib Akhtar are always condemned for sledging and called all the bad names in the world whenever they happen to intimidate other cricketers. Steve Waugh's team was ostracized for sledging. However, when cricketers like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Andre Nel vituperate opposition players, they are touted as aggressive heroes by the media and other cricket experts. These guys are the most notorious cricketers who are actually lauded for their filthily abusive vociferation and lewd gestures. Hypocrites like Gavaskar hail their 'attitude' and always kiss their ass, but then if others do this, they are mercilessly detested. It's sad to see how marketing moguls have taken over the game of cricket. The notorious Indian cricketers are backed for their evil deeds, only to be used as marketing tools to boost TRPs. Unfortunately, these notorious acts are given more prominence than the game of cricket. In reality, the marketeers use the brash 'attitude' of such scallywags a positive light to promote them, because their performances are just not good enough to have them in the team. This is what they are good at: manipulating facts, cheating, and stealing.

A marketing executive once said, "In contemporary cricket, you are only as good as you are promoted." It's up to the marketeers to make an ordinary cricketer look talented and to hold back a talented player who isn't the captain's favourite or who poses a threat to his favourites.

An Incident

I will share a real-life incident involving my neighbours, which was originally written for Randymania blog Dreams & Brutality.

Two young and diligent girls, working in a pre-eminent software firm, came to the city of beauties, leaving their homes behind, with their minds full of dreams and passion to climb the ladder of success. They found an accommodation near my house. That ruin belongs to some abominable beastly ladies. My family established strong ties with the girls and they started visiting us frequently. The only discussions we had were about work, movies, and other friendly chat — nothing about their landlady.

One afternoon, the girls came home, which was quite unusual on a working day. Their eyes said everything and I knew the inevitable had happened. Finally their landlady, an old Jezebel, had shown her true colours. The stupid old harpy had abused the girls for no apparent reason and had threatened them of dire consequences if they wouldn't vacate their room. The reason was the crooked gorgon wanted to rent that room to a relative of hers.

The girls' behaviour was so flawless that the perverted landlady had no rational reason to turn them out at a short notice. Hence, the mendacious old Jezebel accused them of harassment and vituperation. They, however, reached an accord to vacate the room in two days. Even then the innocent girls chose not to protest, regardless of having the laws in their favour. Within a few hours of the incident, the grumpy old daughter of the landlady started spreading sick gossip against the girls. If that wasn't enough, the youngest perverted daughter of that repugnant ogress — severely suffering from inferiority complex owing to her ugliness and worthlessness — joined the fray and accused them of making a strangulation attempt on her mother; and threatened to lodge a police complaint against them, in case of any delay in their moving out of the house.

They went through all this drama just to get their room vacated, despite that the girls were leaving the house in a day. You all can imagine what those innocent girls must have gone through, being far away from their families, only to come across such violent dunderheads. Didn't the old lady have any compassion for the girls, in spite of being a mother to four daughters? How would she have felt if one of her daughters were treated in that manner? Unfortunately, the crooked lady felt nothing.

Following the showdown, the girls left the house and temporarily moved into a friend's habitat; and meanwhile, arranged another accommodation for themselves — within the "deadly deadline" of two days. On the relocation day, they wisely brought a few of their colleagues with them to collect their belongings from the doomed house. But who could have stopped that cantankerous and obnoxious pack of gorgons! My cousin heard some loud voices outside. The old landlady and her three callous daughters were hurling abuses at them like some immature brats, including her married daughter. As the Godfather would say, "that’s infamita." Standing on the roof, her debauched teenage grandson didn't keep quiet either. That moron looks like "a bent straw in a soft drink's bottle", as Omar Sharif would call him "jhadoo se bichda hua tinka", and "tarbooj ka sada hua beej". My cousin was a mere listener, and couldn't do anything because of the socio-political implications. The silly Jezebels then warned them not to visit my house. My house! Who the hell on the earth are they to stop anyone from visiting my house? I felt like crippling those perverts but my consigliere held me back.

At last, the girls are relieved. They can now concentrate on work and other important aspects of life than those cantankerous and hideous morons. They have now settled in a very amicable environment, with warm and affectionate landlords.

Who Writes Your Scripts?

Source: Times of India
Additional Comments by Bluffmaster

In a powerfully emotional speech, very unlike his characteristic measured approach, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apologised to the entire Sikh community and the "whole nation" on behalf of the "government, on behalf of the entire people of this country" for the 1984 riots, saying, "I bow my head in shame that such a thing took place." He also said, "I have no hesitation in apologising not only to the Sikh community but the whole nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood and what’s enshrined in our Constitution."

Dr. Singh said the progress achieved by post-Partition Punjab would not have been possible without the leadership provided by country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. "Who can forget the sacrifices of this family," he said.

Is he accepting that Nehru's family was actually responsible for that? First of all, what did Nehru have to do with the '84 riots? He was dead 20 years before the 1984 tragedy. Where the hell does he figure in the '84 carnage? Surely, he played a big part in the development of Punjab. But does that give legal license to his allies to instigate riots? So what Nehru was the 'developer' of Punjab? Does this give 'his' people the divine rights to destroy it and kill people?

Why on the earth did the PM apologize to the nation for something he had nothing to do with? Prime Minister represents the nation and nation can't apologise to itself. Rather than making big statements and demanding the usual inquiries, he should do something about the matter. Unfortunately, it's beyond his powers. And if he can't act, the apologies are absolutely unnecessary. Even an eminent intellectual like him has to bow down to the supreme political powers.

Five Decades

James Bond filmography:

Sean Connery
- Dr. No (1962)
- From Russia With Love (1963)
- Goldfinger (1964)
- Thunderball (1965)
- You Only Live Twice (1967)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

George Lazenby
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Roger Moore
- Live and Let Die (1973)
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
- The Spy who Loved Me (1977)
- Moonraker (1979)
- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- Octopussy (1983)
- A View to a Kill (1985)

Timothy Dalton
- The Living Daylights (1987)
- Licence To Kill (1989)

Pierce Brosnan
- GoldenEye (1995)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Die Another Day (2002)

Source: www.mi6.co.uk

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