Wimbledon

The greatest, oldest and most eagerly awaited Grand Slam of the year is here. Wimbledon with its special charm and great respect for tradition always promises fantastic tennis and entertainment.

This year's tournament has something new with the ball boys and ball girls changing to blue and cream coloured Ralph Lauren uniforms, giving up the traditional dark green and mauve. But the prize money issue is still hot. I think female players deserve equal amount. True that they play fewer sets, but then, we don't watch the ladies just for the tennis.

I'm confused about whom to support in this year's championship. It isn't as easy a question to answer as it was last year, or the year before that. There is a long queue of gentlemen vying for my moral and vocal support for their campaign this year.

The God

Federer. Even after his loss (at Nadal's hands yet again) at the Roland Garros, my heart refuses to give up on his neat serve-vollyeing and classy gameplay. Federer is poised to win his 4th consecutive Wimbledon and equal Sampras's and Bjorn Borg's feat. Only something extraordinary, rather supernatural can prevent him from becoming 'The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World' yet again.

The Underdog


My natural tendency to favour underdogs is what has landed me in this problem. When I was fully for Goran Ivanesevic in 2003, it wasn't soo difficult to choose. He was my favourite in his two previous final clashes with Sampras also.

With Andre Agassi announcing that this will be his last Wimbledon, I'm undergoing an emotional turmoil. Should I give up my loyalty for Fed and switch sides to Agassi? From his days of denim-shorts and long hair to the present, mature avatar, he has been a great player, fighter and icon. Bouncing back from world ranking of 142, toiling through tier 2 tennis circuits, isn't a piece of cake for anybody. Also he is my all time favourite Steffi's husband. Anything for Steffi!

The Brit

Tiger Tim can be called the 'Semi-final man'. It is incredible how he has managed to keep on fighting in spite of the semi-final exits against the eventual winners. I seriously feel pity for him. But, in spite of being unseeded this year, he is still a contender. Can he shock everyone and be the first Brit after Fred Perry to be kissing the cup on the Centre court?

The Others

Tennis has become quite unpredictable in recent years because of the rise of many young players who keep causing major upsets in many tournaments. Likes of Andy Murray, Ljubicic, Fernando Gonzalez, James Blake have the potential to show the exit to some of the best in the game on their day. I just pray it happens to Nadal, who is another force to reckon in spite of being only a shadow of his clay-invincible self on grass. I hate him, for being Federer's nemesis. Not to forget Roddick, who is very much capable of ending his drought of major titles.

The Ladies!




The ladies competetion is also a source of worry. The problem is even more difficult with too many pairs of beautiful legs and attractive faces to choose from. There's Sharapova(my current favourite) with her no-sweat Nike outfit, Hingis making a comeback, Daniela Hantuchova and Nicole Vaidisova (who suffered a painful loss against Kuznetsova in French open semi), supposed to be the one of the Maria tradition. If we disregard the X-factor (why would anyone do that?), there's Justin Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Venus Williams and many more.

I think the I'll just wait and watch. A hard-fought Federer v/s Agassi final would be a feast as good as a ladies final between Sharapova and Vaidisova.

May the best gentleman and the loveliest lady win!

Sunday!

A great Sunday deserves a post. What makes a Sunday great?

Wake up at one in the afternoon, after a satisfying sleep. Finish daily chores, eat. Call home, talk, joke and laugh. Write mails to friends who've been out of contact for a long time. Listen to some good music as you read the latest posts on your favourite blogs. Go for a walk in the evening with your friends to explore some new spot. Spend some time absorbing the peace and quiet of the place. Meet the friend who has come back after a longish break. Eat and go for a walk again. BC about everything under the sun during the walk and continue the session later. More BC and more music. Surf and find a really nice picture of your favourite actress. Set it as your wallpaper. Then write a post to record the day on your blog.


While I was surfing around for a picture to adorn my desktop, I felt that black and white pictures capture the beauty of things much better than coloured ones, they somehow communicate more. They are much more effective than coloured pictures. As if the essence of things gets lost in the noise of too many colours. Maybe the reason is the simplicity of b&w photographs. Beautiful women appear more beautiful, expressions on people's faces appear more honest, more pure. Is it just me or do others feel the same?

Does it happen to you?

That you catch yourself humming a song which you despised when you heard it for the first time?

That you say you hate orkut and scrapping, but end up checking it 10-12 times a day?

That on a day when you wake up with the feeling that I'll do kickass work today, you sleep throughout the day?

That you delete bulk mails everyday on yahoo in spite of knowing that they don't add to your quota?

That you realise you've been blowing up too much money but spend much more that very day?

That you decide to give up your nocturnal habits but stay awake watching movies till 5 in the morning?

That you think you too should watch the FIFA WC, but don't feel interested enough to actually move your lazy ass out of your room?

That you dismiss Linkin Park songs as bloody loserish, but scream along when someone is playing Faint?

That you think you should try new music which is slightly lower on the decibel value and the only songs running in a loop on your playlist are by Metallica and Rammstein?

That you label so many blogs as undiluted crap but do nothing to prevent your own from being labeled as one by others?

That you demand a ban on all romantic/senti movies, but end up not only downloading movies like Casablanca, Shall we dance, Pretty Woman etc., but actually watching them?

That you decide to watch every ball of the last 2 days of India-WI test thinking that it's a win-win situation for India, only to be denied the chance by rain in St. Lucia?

That you predict Fed's win at Roland Garros and the dumbass loses yet again to Nadal?

That you tell yourself that you better do some work and then spend all the time reading Freakonomics?

That you sit down to write a post about something and after you're done, it turns out to be about something completely different?

I Hate Tragic Endings

Just finished watching the movie 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest'. I got the book from the library a few days back. But saw Jack Nicholson's picture on the cover and thought I'll watch the movie first.

The movie is great. Jack Nicholson is fantastic in R.P.McMurphy's character, fighting Nurse Ratched's dictatorship in the ward, in spite of being fully aware, that he's fighting a losing battle for the patients. I was half expecting a tragic end, though I didn't want it.

But somehow, tragic endings always leave a greater impact, isn't it? They make people think, make them look at their own lives. Maybe suffering and tragedy are too common in this world. So common that people have become insensitive? So common that it doesn't move us anymore? And then we sit down to watch a movie, trying to get away from reality and it hits us with such endings. Hits us when we don't expect it, when we are vulnerable.

There is something sad, something painful about life. And discovering that something, the source of ultimate joy?

French Open, British GP, FIFA World Cup

Lot of sporting action is coming up this weekend, with the French open's final showdown, the world cup's ties and the GP at Silverstone.

The French Open final between 'Fantastic Federer' and Nadal promises a lot of excitement and great tennis. I've been looking forward to this since the beginning of the tournament and all my prayers would be answered when Federer brings Nadal's clay court juggernaut to a halt. I've a gut feeling that this time it won't be another disappointment for his fans. I was favouring Ljubicic in today's semi-final. Ljubicic was good today, it's just that Nadal, I have to admit, is exceptional on clay. Exceptional, not unbeatable, as we'll see this Sunday. I missed the other semi-final where Fed turned the match on its head with a stroke of his genius. Too bad that the spectators were deprived of the action with Nalbandian pulling out.

I'm not really interested in the FIFA world cup, at least till the initial stages are on. I'll keep myself updated using Google news and Footiefox. I'm not supporting any side, not knowing much about any of them. More about the "Which Team to support?" dilemma by Apoc.

With these high profile events, Formula One has taken a backseat. Lets hope that Alonso widens his gap over Schumacher.

So, stock up all your junk food, get down on that couch, carpet, bed, floor or whatever in front of your TV and enjoy all the action.

Superhero test

Followed the link on Siddarth's blog to take this test.

Turns out that I am Green Lantern! Never heard of him... have you? What a stupid name for a superhero. The high % of Supergirl and Wonderwoman content is also surprising and of course, annoying.

If you take this test, don't forget to leave a comment telling me your result.
Shameless I am, using such excuses for comments.

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Spider-Man 70% Superman 70% Supergirl 62% Robin 59% Wonder Woman 57% The Flash 55% Hulk 50% Iron Man 45% Batman 40% Catwoman 25%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Ice cream

There's some secret power in ice-cream. One moment the thought of ice-cream occurs and the very next moment it becomes an overpowering desire and I'll go to any extent to fulfill it.

There are so many images that come to my mind when I think of it, the sundae, the cone full of nuts and chocochips, the simple good old cup, the softy, the bucket, the stick with the solid chocolate at the core hidden under a layer of chocolate icecream and then the family pack which I plan to have one day, all for myself (just to see whether I can consume a litre of ice cream single-handedly). I bet no one can resist the temptation if such vivid pictures start dancing in front of your eyes at the mere mention of the word.

Another thing I have observed is that you can never have enough of ice-cream. After devouring numerous scoops, even if the stomach is full, there is always room for another one, and another one and infinitely many more. Almost as if the stomach is a black hole for ice-cream.

Some people have favourite flavours, black currant, butter scotch etc etc. In my opinion chocolate and its various forms are the best. But a true ice-cream lover isn't bothered by petty concerns like flavour. Bring on anyone and I'll eat it with utmost delight. Yes, even plain vanilla is welcome.

An equally alluring alternative for ice-cream is its desi counterpart, Kulfi. But it really takes a master to make kulfi which will sweep you off your feet. One such master has blessed the cantonment town called Mhow. Few years back, to meet the insatiable demand of the gourmet in Indore, he shifted his base to my hometown! Another alternative is Falooda, but it is more like milkshake and nowhere close to ice-cream and kulfi in its charm.

Ice-cream is especially wonderful during winter. People who refuse it because of the cold absolutely baffle me. If hot tea in summer is alright, then why this discrimination against ice-cream? It is the all-season, all-occasion dessert, God's gift to the human race.

To end this post, here is the ultimate tourist destination for the month of August.