The nonsense post

Going in line with the activities of the past few weeks, I have been constructively spending my time doing nothing. After my life at IIT Madras, I never thought I could reach such depths of utter joblessness. But I constantly keep surprising myself.

Anyways, one such voyage into the realms of vettiness took me to the FBI homepage. Yes, you read it right. The FBI homepage. My eyes were cast immediately upon the so-called-nemesis of the US, one Mr Osama Bin Laden. The calm grin in the picture said it all. It almost yelled out In-your-face. It was upon further dwelling I realised that there is a bounty of $ 27 million on him and best of it all, the website has not been updated since November 2001. Even funnier is the labelling of a 77 year-old among the top ten most wanted fugitives. You got to be kidding me now!! Its not as if he could run away from the cops. For all you know, he must be rotting in the basement of his house. I get this incredible feeling from the look of things that the FBI aint as smart as the movies make them to be.

I have been longing to write a post after the Champions League draw was made. Must say that it was totally in the script. Barcelona were destined to be in the same group as Chelsea. The prospect of the re-match is mouth-watering to say the least. Eidur would have a point or two to prove after being deemed surplus to requirement at Chelsea. At times, the treatment meted out to players like Eidur, Gallas, Duff and Parker by Chelsea has me perplexed. Its one thing to have money, but too spend it recklessly makes no sense. Here are players who could easily walk into any team in the world, and despite it they are being replaced by equally, if not more, capable players. Just dont see the point in it. But hey, how would it matter to you if you had coupla billions of dollars and didnt know what to do with a few millions!! Arsenal on the other hand seemed to have a quiet transfer window with much of the activity happening on either ends of it. It goes without saying that William Gallas and Julio Baptista would almost straightaway walk into the starting team. Its not always that this happens to a new addition by Arsene Wenger. So this is a huge boost for the team and the fans. Arsenal in the Champions League was a huge revelation last time around, making an impressive run to the final. The five-man midfield, which was successfully employed in the previous campaign, looks very strong with Baptista coming in. He should add that extra bite in the middle which was lacking since Paddy left for pastures afresh. I am already relishing the idea of Gallas and Toure pairing up at the heart of the defence. This might be the toughest defensive pairing in Europe, let alone the Premiership. However its the attacking option which seems to be quite interesting for me. With Reyes and Pires moving on, Arsenal do seem to be a bit lightweight on the flanks with Hleb, Rosicky, Freddie, Walcott and maybe Van Persie. The forward options are filled to the brim, with Adebayor, Van Persie, Aliadiere and Walcott. The future prospects of Lupoli and Bendtner seem to have Arsenal on course for the next couple of years. Hopefully Cesc will go on to embark on greatness which he seems to be destined for, and it should be a smooth couple of seasons for me to watch at the Emirates Stadium

Anyway one of the most hilarious reads regarding the recent Gallas-Cole fiasco.

This post doesnt deserve a title

SIGH!!!

The lull before the storm

The silence had been piercing the ear drums. It had become unbearable. The persisting need to fill up the gap. Gaps which were being plugged but created just as quickly, like quicksand. The constant effort leading to fatigue. It is not the fatigue to be worried about. But the urge. The usurping need which is to be worried about. The intermittent journey has taken way too long, thus making the gaps obvious and the agony increasing by the moment. There had to be an escape route. There had to be a path leading him to safety. To his humble abode. The very thought of the linen curtains hung on the windows brought comfort to his mind. The image of the winding passageway leading upto the garden at the front of the house warmed his otherwise frigid heart. He had been fooled before. Of an escape path. Of alternate ones. But he knew there is only one. The tortuous path had made him wiser. So he thought. He had to endure. He had to continue plugging the gaps.

Endure he must, Plug he must. For without them the task of reaching his abode, his destination, would be all the more ominous. The path all the more thistly.

Scarred

The quiet autumn evening was broken by the movement of an animal in the woods. Its entry had demystified the sullen mood of the woods. The rider's grunt had raped the serenity of the woods. The horse's hoofs were covered with a mix of blood and mud. The drapes put on the horse to justify the regal position enjoyed by the rider was in tatters. The elegant beast, which had previously left the stable shining in the middle of the day, was left in the woods to recover from the wounds of the ensuing battle. The rider was in no better condition. His armour shattered. His morale battered. The horse had taken the path through the woods to distance itself from the mind-numbing battlecries and merciless killings. The drizzle had made the soil wet and the path ardous for the animal to cross. The rider lay motionless on the horse; trying to recovering from the shock of combat. The images of the sword piercing the metal armour and into the flesh of his troops still lay in his head. The pleas of the soldiers lying on the ground, stained by carnal remains, still rung in his head. Things had gone awry. This was not how the plan was supposed to work. This was not how his King wanted the campaign to move. The weather seemed to change for the better. The rain had receeded and the moonlight showing him the way through an otherwise dense woodland. The sun had set just before the arrow had pierced the rider's right leg. The rider did not seem to mind the pain as he had been through worse. The rider was beset with the implications of the battle on the campaign. The rider knew that the woods would lead him back to the safety of his lands soon.

But there was much left to do. Much left to plan. Much left to achieve. Much left to succeed. Much left to travel.

It is time...

Well, it has finally begun!! The World cup has made the indolent author move his ass around for a change. It was quite an entertaining start to the World Cup with Germany winning in a high scoring encounter against the Costa Ricans, but one would be surprised if they do score more than once against a higher caliber team like Brazil or Argentina (You would want me to put England here, dont you ??). The absence of Germany's inspirational captain Ballack can be called as a reason for the lack of real spark in the game. Just a reason!

Anyway, the English didnt differ much from the Germans. Pathetic would be an understatement!! I did miss the first half of the game, but the second half was just horrible. The game plan clearly showed the lack of a second forward for Sven after Crouch and Owen, and he absolutely has no confidence to bring on Walcott in place of Owen. Downing showed complete lack of creativity on the left flank in the few minutes he had on the pitch, which he used well to run down blind alleys. How Ashley must be missing Arsenal now!!

One guy who must not be missing Arsenal is Van Persie. He has been performing admirably on the right side of the Dutch attack, which has been spearheaded by Van Nistelrooy. It goes without saying that Robben has been collosal among the trio. He had an absolute ball on the left side and completed a beautiful move. This dutch side has been quite different from the sides before. The difference being the efficiency of the back four or five. Van Bronckhorst or Heitinga are by no means rampaging full backs and this has been the key to the midfield trio of Sneijder, Cocu and Van Bommel. They have been constantly keeping shape in the middle. Full credit to the Serbs, who fought till the end. However some questions need to be answered from their set-piece tactics and for not using the height of Zigic well. Otherwise it was a good effort from the Serbs.

The game between the Argentines and Ivory Coast lived upto its reputation. Fast and furious!! The Africans showed steel and purpose in the middle of the park. Zakora, Kone, both the Toure's and Kalou to some extent played wonderfully. Drogba as expected spent more time twitching on the field. And how could i forget the Argentines. Their football is a delight to watch. Despite the physical strength of the Africans, Cambiasso and Maschereno held fort quite admirably. Saviola was lively throughout and that pretty much makes the case as to why Tevez is absent in the starting eleven (Did anyone miss Messi??) . Not much needs to be said about Riquelme. He is probably one of the most complete attacking midfielder currently. He holds the ball brilliantly, almost never gives it away and worst case he gets the team a free kick. I vividly remember him holding the ball with Gilberto, Cesc (and I think Henry) breathing down his neck. This makes one question the Barcelona team policy, with both these South Americans shipped out to other La Liga clubs. Quite tragic!


Anyways teams and players I am looking forward to in the group stages:
-->France vs Swiss Army: Want to see if Senderos is good enough for Henry.
-->Togo: Apparently one Emmanuel Adeboyar is their key player, so have to watch the comic spectacle.
-->Holland vs Argentina: Duh!!
-->Brazil vs Australia: Think this is going to be a cracker!
-->England vs Sweden

What we have learnt so far:
-->Germans are impotent in attack and will struggle against good teams.
-->The English team is a joke. It is an even bigger one that they are supposed World Cup hopefuls. Hopefully Rooney will return to boost their game and morale.
-->Argentina have proved why they are to be feared.
-->Iranians are not as puny as the Saudis!!
-->Ivory coast have proved to be the most feared African nation, they need some more luck. They were making the right noises in the game.
-->Holland's quiet World Cup campaign is on track.

How much is too much?

With the modern technologies available at man's disposal currently, nothing is impossible (as the Nike slogan shouts) . The "man" can build a nano-motor to a storage dam with breathtaking accuracy and efficiency. Anything he deems necessary is made feasible by paying off certain costs with the environment, which are ofcourse collateral damage. Anyway, that would be digressing from what I intend to state in this post. As the title clearly conveys when does a person know if the time is ripe for closure. Closure for anything. Love, Peace, Lifestyle, Habits, Information and quite a few things.

When can one clearly identify the point of no return, the point beyond which there is only a one-way ticket to perdition?

If not, is there only one way to find out the destination of the journey? (I hope not.)

Or does one have to experience them to make a better call the next time around (if we get a second chance) ? This does remind me of the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Anyway to end on a lighter note:


P.S: With an Ordinary Differential Equation to be solved, guess what the smart IITian decides to do??

The Aftermath

As i said, I was gutted. Things didnt go the way it was planned.

Anyway had to do something to cheer myself up. So watched a telugu movie and the rest as people say is crap!! It was the typical tollywood conveyor belt product. The movie was called Asadhyudu (please forgive me if I got the spelling wrong). It is supposed to mean the guy who does the "impossible" (or whatever) and the director takes it a bit too literally. He tries to do everything. A bit of Matrix, a bit of Mission Impossible. But forgets the essential component of a movie. The story. The movie can be effectively broken down to a maverick college-going hero who doesnt like anyone standing in his way (for that matter anyone's way). He is the supposed to be the flag-bearer of the society. What a twist in the tale!. You didnt see that coming, Did you?? Me neither. He fights against the mafia of Vizag and Hyderabad combined. An interesting observation in the movie is that the supposed mafia only rule the cities with swords. They never fire a gun. Heck, the only gun there was with the cops, who as usual do nothing. Bit of Japanese influence I must say.



The villain is probably the most interesting character in the film, along with his eccentric brother who bordered between a psycho and a constipated comedian quite efficiently. And as most telugu movies lay thrust on Physical Training, there was enough focus on the pelvic thrusts. It goes without saying that any Telugu movie without a significant show of skin does not warrant a presence on the wide screen. The heroine stalks the hero from vizag to Hyderabad, where he impresses her with his dare-devil antics and "moral" values. The stunts, the agility, the skill, the choreography. Phew. Even John Woo would have been proud of the action in the movie. Anyways, no points for guessing how the movie ends. The hero wins. Runs away with the girl to an exotic beach where they dance as if the world depends on it(Close!).

Btw it should be noted that a small perturbation of this movie would result in yet another classic Telugu movie. The task at hand for Telugu directors and writers couldn't get any harder. Hail to the Chief !!

P.S: Another movie on the hit-list is: Rumour has it!! Please dont go anywhere close to watching even the trailer.