Rooten eggs, Bad Apples , IPL and entertainment

Expectations bring Disappointment.

Not trying to be philosophical but just being practical. If someone thought that Cricket were a religion and IPL was a ritual that was being performed and it sanctity destroyed... ew!

Cricket is no longer the gentleman's game and all men involved are gentle enough to fill their pockets. The going under the hammer auction in itself was a start of the direction IPL was heading. It was clear that  when players were sold at millions that billions were at stake.

Cricket in itself is entertainment and just IPL redefined it and took it to the next level. If someone felt that it was to promote cricket , I pity them. If they feel they have been deceived by the spot fixing well I can only laugh at them.

IPL is nothing but a reality show with lots of twists and turns, when one can watch a movie knowing very well that the hero is the one who is going to ultimately triumph, is it not match fixing? Has there been a successful movie where the villan has won? No. Then it is scripted, all entertainments are scripted and so is IPL. When WWE/WWF can have scripted sports why can't cricket have its share? It is alleged that even all reality shows (like BigBoss etc) are scripted to some extent.

So treat IPL as though you treat a movie, laugh when the player hits a six, cry when he gets out, pray the hero wins. In this case sometimes the villian does win and well can any other entertainment top that.

If you treat cricket as a religion and think these people represent the country in a war with other nations like an army soldier. Well good luck and be prepared for more heart brakes, for its money that matters not the nation or the sport. Besides these people represent BCCI and not India.

Entertainment is best forgotten when the TV set is switched off.

2G, Coal, Rail, ... IPL

As usual there is a lot for meat for the media in the latest IPL scandal. It is a golden opportunity to earn some TRP ratings. It is time to grab some CCTV footage and let all Inidans know how they were cheated and deprived of ....well wait what are we deprived of.

"One billion people cheated" flashed the headlines and I started wondering do all the 1 billion watch Cricket and that too IPL. Of the 1 billion , many women do not watch or even like Cricket. Some many too do not watch or like Cricket , some are crazy for Man U that they don't give a damn even if Bradman is batting.

So that wipes out maybe a half of that 1 billion. How many follow IPL really, is it so popular in cities outside of where they are played? Anyway lets leave the statistics and come to the cheating part.

Did I loose money, No someone betted that some team will won , he lost, maybe he won so what is in it for me? Nothing

Did he take my tax money and paid for the bets? No

Did the exchequer loose money? No

Ok he paid money for people to underperform so that he can win money on bets.
Did someone force me or even ask me to watch the match? No
Did someone force me to follow a team/player like crazy thinking they are the Gods and Demi-Gods? No

Did I miss some work or lose my pay for watching Cricket? No

When I think of the other bigger scams where my dear earned money I paid as tax was looted, price of commodities increased as someone siphoned off with my tax money, when the exchequer lost lakhs of crores , it did hurt, it was a blow below the belt but this well this is just entertainment.
Media better stay focussed on issues that matter.

19B: Display of the Dog's collar

Earlier posts 19B

First of all no offense meant.

As far as I remember in my childhood only dogs used to have collars which would identify a dog to its owner. Then slowly the IT industry and now every corporate has enforced employees to wear one. Yes I am referring to the ID card that hangs around your neck.

For various reasons mainly related to security, this has been enforced. It makes corporates think that these tags ensure the physical security of their premises. Well there are many loopholes and myths surrounding this (thats for a later post) but anyway these tags provide necessary security.

The ensure the security guard that only authorized person is entering the premises and also doors are now a days access controlled. One is given access to a certain door one and only if he is eligible and needs to use it. Fair enough.

My point here is why should this be displayed in public and in public transport vehicles. This needs an analysis

1. To show off that one works in a reputed company, IT company and is to be respected. Well the conductor gives a damn about it and the autowallah ensures he asks you double when you display your tag.

2. Men may display this again to show off to woo women.

3. Women is where I don't understand why display ID card in public. You are giving more details to a stranger than necessary, One can easily find what company you work for, what is your name, in same cases blood group and why not even home phone number could be there. Why would someone display so much personal info in public.

Beats me!

DD Days - 2 : Johnny sokko and his flying robot

Saturday evening around 4:30 I think there used to be a scramble to watch the nearby TV wherever it was available. Not all houses had TV those days, and most were mere black & white ones. However this program called "Johnny sokko and his flying robot" was quite a popular one.

This program was one that showed larger than life pictures on television. It I guess introduced the concept of robots to many a common man and children. One can still remember Johnny soko controlling his robot from outside a perimeter kind of place (more like a boxing ring) and fighting other alien kind of things which as far as I remember had tentacles and all.

The Giant robot would follow instructions of Johnny and kill the enemy alien. Well the story was more or less the same every episode and Robot and Johnny would win all the time. There was a team behind Johnny helping him and the robot.

The people were mongoloid looking (Japanese) but they used to talk in Dubbed English but as I said the story did not matter the sheer larger than life and an entry in to an imaginative world was good enough to get us hooked for half an hour and wanting more.

Now I see Wiki Entry it has lot of information and also there is an online shop for the episodes (cannot vouch for the same).

Those days it did not matter much one was happy to have a window to something unique and refreshing, even if it lasted all but half an hour for 6 months. It has stayed for long in the heart.