A Suspiciously Long Match....

This was one eye catching game which broke all barriers. The longest Tennis match ever and dear God it was really long. Lasting 11 hours and 5 minutes, with a total of 183 games, this mammoth match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner ended with Isner as the victor with the scoreboard reading 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. Yes you read it right 70-68 !! At first I couldn't believe my eyes but a look at the official site confirmed it.

My first reaction was disbelief and then appreciation for both the players involved. Their effort and commitment was commendable and praiseworthy. My thought now moved on and I started thinking how exhausted they would be after such a performance. I knew the winner would definitely give up in the next match due to fatigue. As I kept thinking about the match, a hint of suspicion crept into my mind. "Would anyone really play that long ?"  "Could this match be fixed ?", I asked myself. Hmmm, very much possible. It could be a remarkably well-scripted marketing strategy I thought. Prior to this, Wimbledon was not occupying significant space in the news or the papers and it was not discussed by the sports enthusiasts(that includes me) at my workplace as well. Every inch of sports space in the news or the newspapers was taken over by the Football World Cup leaving Wimbledon news to the corners. Brands like Federer and Nadal also failed to catch attention. The success of the tournament was at stake now. At this time, probably the organisers took help from a few brilliant minds, who may have suggested something fancy like this that was utterly unusual and so strange that it would create a flurry everywhere. But who can the organisers approach to carry out their scripted play. Definitely not the biggies like Rafa or Fed as they would not like to jeopardise their careers for the success of a tournament. But two players like Mahut and Isner,who are hungry to get their names on the record books, may gladly oblige, and some publicity like this would definitely boost their brand value. So now we have two players, playing a record breaking match over a period of 3 days, at the end of which the players and organisers and viewers have something to take home. Also some space for Wimbledon in the news space and some substance for enthusiasts to chat about.

Wow. Now I have built up a great story which makes me believe that this match was possibly fixed. Looking back at how i pieced together a convincing story for myself actually brings a smile on my face. I am sorry if I have downplayed the real effort of the players with my "theory" (rather a hypothesis) but i am glad to have conceived and developed a fascinating piece of imagination here.  

Credit to the photographer...This pic shows a tired referee stopping play on Day 2...

Creativity.... unleashed or inspired..

Creativity is about hiding your sources. 

Many of us have fallen for this quote by Albert Einstein. Special mention would be our musicians.They have turned "Creative" by hiding their "sources". But when someone manages to dig out the "sources" these people claim they were just "inspired" by those sources. And by that time they have already received the "Creative" tag and would have run away with sacks of money.

However among the musicians we also have AR Rehman. His heavy talent has turned his works into a source for other people. But many of them have chosen to be "Non-creative" by not hiding him as the source.They have duly given him credit in their versions of his songs. I managed to dig out a few of them and I am sure a lot of "Creative" people too have emerged because of him.

Crisis...revisited...

The last 2 years really changed the lives of everyone.Well if its a recession it obviously would have had a big impact. As I recall it totally changed the mindset of the working class and more importantly the mindset of Techies. For once I observed that the Techies were now working harder or atleast pretended to. Everyone started loving their companies and strived to excel. Quality and efficiency gained prominence. People did all this and more just to stick on to their job. Many dreams were shattered and many had to make compromises with their personal life goals. Companies cut spending and outings and lunches were totally off. Also among the things cut-off were gifts and other goodies to employees. Forget hikes and promotions,for many of us it was a decrement in salary. And we braved it all.

But come February this year and normalcy was restored. The recession mood slowly disappeared. Techies grew in confidence and knew they didn't have to pretend to work.CVs were written afresh. Techies started doing what they are good at ,i.e, switch jobs, spend money, while away time, play around in work place, openly show criticism of work and working conditions, etc. Job sites saw a huge rise in traffic. And attrition at our workplaces are back to normal levels again.

The recession was caused by a catchy term called "Sub-Prime Crisis". I did manage to dig out and get a faint idea as to what it meant by googling around. Real estate market collapsed, banks and financial institutions shut shop and there was a ripple effect on all industries and people across all sectors worldwide. I then stumbled upon this video which made it crystal clear. Here is the video for all you folks who are yet to figure out the cause.

Thriller ??..Nah its Comedy...

A few years back when Doordarshan was the only channel available at home I had a fancy for one particular serial named "Aankhen". It was supposed to be a action-thriller with a  good vs evil theme and was supposed to instill patriotism and love for our country. But it turned out to be the most hilarious comedy serial of all times.The names of the characters and their deeds are permanently imprinted in my mind and also in the minds of others who loved the serial. The Terrorists Carlos and Kangaroo tried every trick in the book to destroy the country and their guardian angels code-named Aankhen. The Aankhen team comprising of the wise leader Col. Dhyanchand , strong guy Hardayal (who always thinks different) and other sidekicks prominent among whom was Anil were always there in the nick of time to spoil the Terrorists' party.

Now the funny part. It was a show full of  bloopers. Helicopters looked like our buses with a bar for the people standing to hold on to.They had curtains instead of doors. Aankhen team had a Finger print recognition software.All they had to do was place the finger print of the person on a CD and they would then push it into the CD drive upside down and voila all data connected to the person are displayed (pretty much like the UID system being planned). And there were also many other fun stuff including hiding behind trees or flower pots to dodge enemy bullets, 1 guy taking on entire gang of enemies, grenade explosions which do not leave behind any mark anywhere,Shotguns which were converted to Snipers by sticking telescopic sight on them, countries named Kingsland,Queensland,Princeland,Watumba,etc.,episodes with stories flicked from famous movies like Tears of the Sun and others....I have seen and enjoyed it all.

Every Thursday at 10 it was a must watch for me.I am desperately looking for this series but not a single video is available in the markets or the net. The only material I could find was this.

Pic from their site. Hardayal 2nd from left and Anil 2nd from right in the back row. 

Shoot 'em up...

There was a time when taking a snap was a luxury. You had one chance to do it right. No screw-ups. Or you waste 1 important photo from the 30 in that film roll. And we have now, in our hands, the Digi-cams and the tiny cams in our cellphones which has given us the licence to screw-up.Shoot n shoot till you drop.Thats the mantra.Upload the ones which are not screwed-up.And as the days pass everyone is a Pro.Well aint it obvious. Don't people get lucky atleast once in the thousand snaps they take.And Photoshop is there to clear some of the screw-ups too.A bunch of highly evolved apes, however, think different and come up with videos like the ones shown below.These apes are responsible for opening new windows for the others to follow. Hats off to you guys for opening a new dimension.

Aint it Football Time...

Its Football time and everyone wants to cash in on the occasion.The biggies are on a signing spree to get all the Stars they can lay their hands on.The Ad Gurus are out with their best concepts.And we have a visual treat for ourselves.Here are a few of those great ads.

Ahem....in 3D..!!!

Well, after Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, How to Train your Dragon and scores of others going the 3D way, this was something expected. The other form of entertainment is going 3D. Leading the way had to be PLAYBOY with a 3D centerfold inside.The brainy guy behind it had this to say.

“What would people most like to see in 3-D?” asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.  “Probably a naked lady.” 

And not surprisingly, this could be their Best Selling edition ever.Wonder how many people will be able to get their hands on it.

Shake 'em up boy...

A few days back, I was in a meeting and my boss was explaining our new organisational structure. As it happens this was a visionary plan prepared by our newly appointed Head of Operations. A look around the meeting hall and one could find puzzled faces all over. The only exception being myself .Why ?? Well I have been watching and reading a lot of Dilbert Cartoons and I truly understand what is expected from a newly appointed Head of Operations. Here is a snip for all you folks who want this gyan (especially for the puzzled faces present in the meeting) .

Views from the Enlightened One..

Everyone puts forward his or her views.Some of them are accepted, some are challenged and some are blindly rejected.But we do come across one enlightened individual whose views we tend to appreciate almost all the time.For me i think this is Scott Adams.Scott Adams has contributed the Dilbert cartoons. My words will do no justice in describing him and I prefer relying on his own quotes to portray this man. Here is a snip from one of his books.

There ought to be a Beginnin....

Finally after pondering over for months and innumerous attempts I have bumped upon a name which exudes Ridiculousness, Joyous Vibrancy, Superiority and a sense of Magical Ideation yet down to Earth. Finding a distinct name was a big challenge .Now that the name is in place we are ready to go.

Starting this blog has its own purpose.

I reckon if I don't get my own ideas out of my brain and into the minds of like minded individuals, then when I die the ideas are going to die with me. That would be bad. I consider it an honour to corrupt fickle minds with my atrocious ideas,unimaginable explanation to certain phenomenon and thorough analysis of disparities.I will be providing examples for all "Postulates" or "Theories" of mine and the examples will be real incidents i come across.

I begin this engrossing journey of blogging expecting only schizophrenics to reach out for it.