It's not been a good day for Cricket. Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer died in hospital a few hours after he was found unconcious in a pool of vomit at his hotel room. Murder? Suicide? Heart attack? It's too early to say but there's no denying that Woolmer was really upset after minnows Ireland ousted Pakistan from the cricket World Cup.
Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff has been sacked as England's vice-captain after having been apparently rescued from the sea in an inebriated condition one day before playing a World Cup match. Guess he didn't quite care for the World Cup. Details are sketchy in both cases.
But one thing is for certain, March 18 is not a date cricket fans are going to forget in a hurry.
March 2007 archives
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Cricket World Cup: Ireland to beat England, Australia
Well, bookmakers are actually offering odds that Ireland will go on to beat England and Australia in the Super Eight stage of the cricket World Cup. Given Ireland's victory over Pakistan and Bangladesh's trouncing of India in the group matches, this no longer seems impossible.
March 2007 archives
March 2007 archives
Friday, March 16, 2007
The March 2007 Blog Mela
Sakshi Juneja kicked off the nomination process for this Blog Mela. Her vote went to Desi Dabba's post here on how television is a bit thanda this World Cup.
As expected, the cricket World Cup is the flavour this season. Sportolysis reveals why it's India's turn to bring home the trophy this year. There's a Pope involved in it somewhere. And Anand Ramachandran introduces the Underarm Cricket World Cup to be sponsored by Rexona.
But even the World Cup isn't as hot a topic on the Indian blogosphere as Reuters journo Jonathan Allen's coverage of Liz Hurley's nuptials.
Divisha Gupta didn't quite agree with Allen's statement on Indian women and promptly blogged about it. Amit Varma, India's most famous blogger, wrote about it too and so did Sakshi. And here's my take on the issue. Sujay, MadMax and someone called My Utterances also had their say.
Meanwhile, Shilpa Shetty went right ahead and met the Queen. And nearly slipped. Sepia Mutiny's Anna wonders whether the actress was actually wearing a sherwani.
Beware of Einstein's Ides of March, says Atanu Dey. Harsh had to part with his chocolate bar after he made a little girl cry.
Don't frown and say 'Serves him right'. Children are Evil Incarnate. Ask the Jabberwock, he will tell you why. Falstaff's an expert on handcuffs. Maybe he could help.
And Shweta Baxi Tyagi finds a subtle connection between weeding and Europe's 'foundling wheels'
Weeding out plants is also Alaphia's dilemma - does one really need to cut down trees to save the blackbuck?
Vivek Kumar elaborates on why restricting internet access at IIT Bombay is not a smart thing to do.
And if you are an upcoming blogger, you should probably take Rohit Bhargava's advice and concentrate on making your blog a microbrand.
You never know what music can do for you. The Great Bong reveals how he's become a convert to Channel Bh. Simple pleasures create great memories for AB as well. And Jhansi Ki Rani analyses how her life has changed after marriage.
Where you live does matter. eM has a flashback. And of course, the Blank Noise Project is trying to make sure you can be yourself no matter where you reside.
Lastly, fashion designer Anand Jon may be in trouble for you-know-what, but Sepia Mutiny would have us believe he also 'allegedly' smells bad.
That's all for now. The Blog Mela returns in April - Nominate now Keep watching this space.
March 2007 archives
Blog Mela: The Final Countdown
The votes are in and the deadline has passed. As promised, the Blog Mela will be published in the next 24 hours. Watch this space.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
And you thought Hitler was German
If a German political party has its way, long dead Adolf Hitler could be posthumously stripped of his German citizenship - something that the Austrian-born Fuhrer had worked so hard to achieve in 1932.
Cool, huh! Am just thinking of how to strip some Indians of their citizenship. Ummm, how about kicking out Manu Sharma and Moninder Singh Pandher. Wotsay?
Cool, huh! Am just thinking of how to strip some Indians of their citizenship. Ummm, how about kicking out Manu Sharma and Moninder Singh Pandher. Wotsay?
Shilpa goes before the Queen
Remember the Audrey Hepburn film My Fair Lady - there's this scene where she's presented to the Queen and everyone is bowled over by her grace. Actress Shilpa Shetty tried to do a Hepburn at Westminster Abbey on the occasion of Commonwealth Day. And almost failed.
While attempting to curtsey before the British monarch, Shilpa nearly slipped because of her high heels. But the Duke of Edinburgh was at hand to warn Shilpa of the danger.
The 31-year-old winner of Celebrity Big Brother was one of five speakers to address the gathering on inter-racial respect and understanding. She spoke on the importance of tolerance and was all praises for the Queen's smile.
Shilpa, clad in a purple ensemble designed by Tarun Tahiliani, said she was happy no police charges had been brought against the other Big Brother housemates.
Don't know if she learnt anything else other than the meaning of the word 'punani' in there - after all Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara did show her how they could fart, snore and giggle at the same time.
FULL COVERAGE (on this blog)
Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother
While attempting to curtsey before the British monarch, Shilpa nearly slipped because of her high heels. But the Duke of Edinburgh was at hand to warn Shilpa of the danger.
The 31-year-old winner of Celebrity Big Brother was one of five speakers to address the gathering on inter-racial respect and understanding. She spoke on the importance of tolerance and was all praises for the Queen's smile.
Shilpa, clad in a purple ensemble designed by Tarun Tahiliani, said she was happy no police charges had been brought against the other Big Brother housemates.
I just want to say it was a reality show. Too much was made of itAnd how she was aware of the different kinds of people everywhere -
As a child growing up in Bombay, I was aware of the vastness of India and of its incredible diversity.And how the right to live with dignity was most important of all -
In India, in the UK, and the world over we are constantly reminded that we have to cope with difference on a daily basis. It is every human being's inalienable right to live with dignity. Differences must be overcome.The crowning moment in Shilpa Shetty's life came after she spent nearly a month ensconced in the Big Brother house where she displayed Gandhian virtues in the face of racial abuse and became the most recognised Indian face on the British Isles.
Don't know if she learnt anything else other than the meaning of the word 'punani' in there - after all Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara did show her how they could fart, snore and giggle at the same time.
FULL COVERAGE (on this blog)
Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother
Monday, March 12, 2007
Much ado about Jonathan Allen
CNN-IBN blogger Divisha Gupta is not too impressed by Reuters reporter Jonathan Allen's coverage of Liz Hurley's nuptials in Jodhpur.
On her blog, Divisha says parts of Allen's article are -
More importantly, isn't the statement true? Aren't most girls in rural India married off before they are 18. Even in cities, most women from low-income groups are mothers at 20. So who are we fooling here?
It's all very well to talk about shining India but does that mean we lose our cool each time someone makes a factually correct statement that may not be music to our ears. We must learn to take the bouquets with the brickbats.
Divisha's blog outburst got a number of reader comments (95 at last count) and as expected, the debate quickly turned into an India vs the United States debate (which is really funny considering Jonathan is British, not American)
On her blog, several "patriotic" Indians took Divisha's side and berated Jonathan Allen for his "biased" views. What do YOU think?
On her blog, Divisha says parts of Allen's article are -
...appalling, mindless bracketing, myopic stereotyping, West-side perspective and the inability to look beyond and rise above the "elephant-sadhu-snake-charmer" state of being!And here's the excerpt from Allen's story which triggered Divisha's outburst -
Indian women are commonly married off in their teens to a man of their parents' choosing, and are a cause of despair if they are still a spinster at 30... Even the humblest family will save up to make sure their children are paraded regally around the neighbourhood by lantern-bearers and a brass bandWell, I have a few problems with Divisha's rant. For one, she doesn't bother to link the original article so that readers could put the statement in context.
More importantly, isn't the statement true? Aren't most girls in rural India married off before they are 18. Even in cities, most women from low-income groups are mothers at 20. So who are we fooling here?
It's all very well to talk about shining India but does that mean we lose our cool each time someone makes a factually correct statement that may not be music to our ears. We must learn to take the bouquets with the brickbats.
Divisha's blog outburst got a number of reader comments (95 at last count) and as expected, the debate quickly turned into an India vs the United States debate (which is really funny considering Jonathan is British, not American)
On her blog, several "patriotic" Indians took Divisha's side and berated Jonathan Allen for his "biased" views. What do YOU think?
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Blog Mela on March 16 - Nominate NOW
Some people may think Blog Melas are a waste of time but for me it's a great way of showcasing the best of what the Indian blogosphere has to offer.
If you come across a nice blog post published in the first 15 days of March 2007, you can nominate it for this month's Blog Mela being hosted here on March 16.
Points to Ponder
- Posts should have been written by Indians or must have an Indian angle
- Please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated.
- Only nominations received before midnight on March 15 will be considered for inclusion
- Meanwhile, I'll also be wading through the Indian blogosphere myself so a good post which fails to get nominated may also be featured in the Blog Mela.
How to Nominate
- Leave a comment on this post OR mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com
If you come across a nice blog post published in the first 15 days of March 2007, you can nominate it for this month's Blog Mela being hosted here on March 16.
Points to Ponder
- Posts should have been written by Indians or must have an Indian angle
- Please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated.
- Only nominations received before midnight on March 15 will be considered for inclusion
- Meanwhile, I'll also be wading through the Indian blogosphere myself so a good post which fails to get nominated may also be featured in the Blog Mela.
How to Nominate
- Leave a comment on this post OR mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com
Measures to Net the Internet
So IIT Bombay has decided to curb internet access in its student hostels. What next? A military boot camp to cure Net addicts like the one in Beijing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Perhaps it’s genetic. Maybe I was distracted when the angels were imparting crucial life skills just before pushing us down womb chutes. I m...
-
I accepted the movie challenge thrown by Anupriya Kumar and watched the cult classic " Gunda ". Users on IMDb.com give the 1998 ...
-
Again in Leon . And using the opportunity to brush up my rusty Spanish as we roam the ancient city. A woman on the airport bus correctly gu...
-
Perhaps my most abiding memory of last week's trip to Darjeeling and Sikkim is that of taxi drivers obsessively cleaning their cabs....
-
When I was growing up in New Delhi, Mona didi was always the cool, big sister -- the better half of the "MonoTony" of neighbourin...
-
November 1965. The second India-Pakistan war had ended. Mankind had yet to conquer the moon. A group of schoolgirls (seven of them from Infa...
-
4321 by Paul Auster My rating: 4 of 5 stars "4 3 2 1" is the coming-of-age tale of Archie Ferguson, with four dramatically diff...
-
Interviewed Sebastian Barry for an article. Barry who? Well, for those like me who just got on to the Booker bandwagon - he's one of the...
-
For those who continually breathe a sigh of relief that I haven't posted for a long, long time - be warned this state of affairs will no...
-
A youngster I bumped into today wanted to know the time. No problemo. But what troubled me was the word he prefixed to his request - 'Un...