Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Love & Indian Ads

A forward from Raj Shimpi

Want to propose a girl
Just do it - Nike

Before going to propose to a girl
Believe in the best - BPL

If you are hesitating before proposing to a girl
Vicks ki goli lo kich kich door karo - Vicks

If you are going to propose to a girl
Chances are 50-50 - Britannia

If a girl slapped you when you proposed to her
Take it easy - Limca

Girl says NO !
Jor ka jhatka dhire se lage - Mirinda

Those who succeed in love always say
We dream because we do - Daewoo

If some one wants to write a love letter to his girlfriend
Likho script apna apna - Rotomac

If you love someone
Go get it - Visa power

Boy riding a bike with neighbor's girl
Neighbors envy owner's pride - Onida

Not satisfied with your date
Yeh dil mange more - Pepsi

A guy having a number of girl friends
The Complete Man - Raymonds

A smart girl having a number of boyfriends
Yeh hai hamara suraksha chakra - Colgate

For those lost in love
Har shaam ka sathi main aur mera - Bagpiper Whisky

For a guy 'r gal who hasn't yet found one
Dhoondte rehe jayo ge - Surf Excel

Sunday, March 27, 2005

A view from the stands

by Nagraj Gollapudi India v Pakistan, 3rd Test, Bangalore on Cricinfo

The afternoon heat was steadily sapping my energy, but it didn't seem to affect most of the fans. There was this young couple who had valiantly brought their newly born. It was like the month-old baby was being trained to enjoy the favourite pastime of the entire country. And it didn't take her long to get used to it – when the heat irritated her and brought her to tears, it only needed some flag waving and screaming from the fans in the stand to get her to wave along happily. Cricket had become her baby-sitter.

My moment of the day, though, came when Sehwag got his double-hundred. When Sehwag was on 199, I noticed the man sitting in front of me get up. His right leg was immobile, and he was using a wooden crutch to walk. As Sehwag's miscue landed in empty space and he reached his landmark, the man clapped and shrieked, joining the thousands who were going wild in celebration. It was a sight that the fan inside me will treasure.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Miracles are closer than you think ...

I saw the movie Noel today.

Tagline: Miracles are closer than you think

Plot Outline: Five New Yorkers come together on Christmas Eve, seeking a miracle. Noel is lovely holiday fare. The tag line could be "Everything that happens, happens for a reason". This holiday story reveals characters that are easy to identify with and through the circumstances that unfold, their lives weave a tapestry of love, growth and the often overlooked kindness of humanity. The storyline and dialogue bring plenty of warm hearted sentimentality to the film which is nicely offset by incidents of comic relief. Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams deliver wonderful performances and you will find yourself deeply caring about their characters. Penelope Cruz is as lovely as ever lending inner beauty through her character as well. Alan Arkin plays a delightful character with a twist. The remaining cast, does a nice job of completing the ensemble and giving this story heart. Though the story revolves around the Christmas holiday, it may serve to remind us that each person is connected to one another within the human family no matter what the season.

Memorable Quotes:

Charlie: I don't wanna be alone when I die.
________________________________________

Rose: I like to think my life matters.
Charlie: Oh, your life matters, you've touched other people's lives in ways you don't even realize.
Rose: How do you know that?
Charlie: Cause you've touched my life.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

The IT Profession Pyramid

From an email by Rajiv Desai
I've had posts making fun of other professions. But I never had a post making fun of my profession. So here's the IT Profession Pyramid
The IT Profession Pyramid

Ganguly's revenge

From India Uncut - Amit Varma's blog

The press box at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, is open air, and just above the sightscreen at the Pavilion End, just above a right-hander's long-on. It's close to the action, the noise is fabulous, and the breeze is superb. There's just one problem: the press box is in the six-hitting zone of the strokeplayers in these sides.

Shahid Afridi and Virender Sehwag could go over long-on, and Sourav Ganguly could hit it over long-off, which would be especially ironic given the criticism he's got from the media about his batting form. "So you think Kaif should be in the team in place of me," one can imagine him saying. "Ok, take this." Thwack. One journalist carried away in a pool of blood. Thwack again. One more gone.

"I don't play for records," he could say later at the press conference. "I play for revenge."

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Ind v. Pak Cricket - How and Why India needs to win this series

I just got this email from a friend. This is not in any bad taste. Please accept it with a sense of humor.

Sehwag ki maa ko bulao,
Sachin ko Pepsi pilao,
Ganguly ko Chawanprash khilao,
Kaif ko Lays khilao,
Dravid ko Castrol pilao

Kaise bhi India ko jitao

Irade hai nek, hosle hai buland
kasam hai hindustan ki
phir wohi jalwa dikhaenge
rawalpindi express ko
local train banayenge

aaj ek ball aur khel lo
aaj ek bat aur pakad lo
aaj ek wicket aur le lo
aaj ek match aur jeet lo...

aaj bas aaj...

kya pata kal Pakistan ho na ho...

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Sledging your own team-mate

From India Uncut - Amit Varma's blog

Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly stand face to face in the nets at Mohali. Then they bend and assume their stance. They're batting in adjoining nets; Sachin is a right-hand bat, Sourav is a left-hand bat, and so they're actually facing each other in their stance before looking down the pitch towards the bowler.

The thought strikes me: do they ever talk? Could they hypothetically sledge each other in the nets. Imagine this:

Sourav: How's your elbow, Sachin? If you're not feeling well, Yuvi's there?
Sachin: At least he won't bat like Nagma, like you do.
Sourav: (Miffed) Wait till we have to run between wickets together.
Sachin: I suggest you look at the bowler. See, short ball.
(Sourav falls on the pitch, knocked out. Inzi walks by.)
Sachin: (To Inzi) I think he'll be late for the toss, Inzi.

Hmm. Maybe not.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Book-smarts vs Street-smarts

The educated Doctor and the smart Auto-repair man

(All you Apprentice fans out there, this post has nothing to do with it)

Book-smarts vs Street-smarts. This has been one of the age-old (can I call it that?) questions. Well, I would love to have the best of both worlds but my parents chose to educate me and I am yet to reach a level good enough to call myself a street-smart. Anyways, here's the funny(?) part.

An auto-repair man had a habit of telling the doctor jokes whenever he met him. One time, he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"

Indulgently, the doc lifted his right hand and made scissoring motions with his first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them." Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" doc asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you." "Why is that?" doc asked.

"Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."

Logical vs Lateral thinking

I guess many of us have read this or a similar story before. But it is well worth stating here.

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village money-lender, who was old and ugly and fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ...

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.