Frayed Umbrella

Life, as it is, is so complexly unpredictable. There are so many times when we all have said "If only I could go back in time and correct this or do that".

Well, I saw this movie last night called...well, it has so many names. I asked my movie rental house to give me "If Only" as a friend had recommended it. What they handed out to me was this one (which I later found out was called "If Only" in Australia, but is generally known as "The Man with Rain in his Shoes"). Despite actually not having the movie that I wanted to see, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

The story begins with this woman who is about to get married and her out-of-luck-actor ex-boyfriend who has realized that dumping her was the worst thing he ever did in his life. And thro a strange turn of events, he manages to get back to the day where all hell broke loose.

And there he tries to be the man of his woman's dreams. And here's the twist....

I don't want to say more here, but I would most certainly suggest that you watch the movie. It's a fabulous movie and a must watch.

And probably then you will understand why my post is called what it is.

Gmail conversations are really great

When I communicate with friends, it's so great to organize all the communication on that topic. And Gmail does a really great job at it. Simply terrific. Gmail is probably my most used online service. And I am thankful to Google for this innovation.

And that concludes possibly my shortest post ever!

That's as concise as anybody can get

This is what Michael Schumacher had to say about the accident in yesterday's race involving Nicco Rosberg and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Q: Michael, you had a pretty good view of the Montoya/Rosberg incident.
What happened?
MS: They crashed! I will leave it to them to explain

I don't think anybody could have said it any better!

Becks magic saves the day

David Beckham curled a trademark free kick into the back of the Ecuadorian net to give England a single goal victory tonight.

After a fairly disasterous game, with England coach tinkering with the formation to leave Rooney out alone in front, the game looked like it was going away from England and heading towards penalties.

But Becks stepped up to place all of us, his fans, hold him so highly. And with pin point, as if laser guided accuracy, he curled the ball over the Ecuador defense and beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.

The score line remained where it was and England are now through to the quarters.

Hopefully, we will play better against Portugal.

A wonderful disaster

How can the same round of golf be wonderful and disasterous? How can I talk about it using the two contradictory words in the same breath?

Once you hear what I have to say, I think you will agree with me.

Me and a friend had gone to Batam to play at the Tering Bay course. We had decided to play off the blue tee, just for kicks. Sometime last night, I thought I knew what was wrong with my swing. It had mainly to do with wrist cock and I was not doing it right. I decided to correct it consciously during this round.

My tee shot landed far away in the center of the fairway and it was the best opening shot I could ask for. But as I stood and started my swing for the second shot, some idiot from the group behind me teed off when I started my back swing. And I flinched and hit left. From a terrible lie, I made bogey.

What came next was amazing.

Par. Par. Par. Par. Bogey. Birdie. Par. Double bogey.

I had just played my lowest ever 9 hole score at 3 over for a 39. I was ecstatic and thought this would be a good round.

On the back nine, I started off well with a par and then made a triple bogey. Then a par and a bogey again. And then we came to the 5th hole (we had started from the back nine). And disaster struck.

I hit two consecutive tee shots out of bounds!

I was so stunned with what I had just done that I hit my approach into the water. After taking a 5 stroke penalty, I finished the hole with a massive seven over 11. Until this hole, I had played seven over for the round, and here I had hit seven over in a single hole.

All the fight went out of me right there. I still managed to par the next two holes and then finish the round with a bogey and a triple bogey. But I realized that I had played the last 9 holes at 15 over with one single hole costing me half the number. Had I shot bogey at that hole, I could have shot a round of 84, one of my lowest.

But then, if wishes were golf carts, handicappers would ride.

So I slumped back to the club house in total disbelief, something that had been feeling since the hole that was.

So you see, the round was wonderful because I could play a round where I shot 3 over on 9 holes, where I made 8 greens in regulation, made 9 pars and a birdie and was pretty accurate with my irons.

It was disasterous because a single hole managed to take my focus away and also my score.

But I think I am taking this a lot more positively. That I have the game to shoot low scores. I just need to focus more and practice my driver a bit more than I have.

So it's back to the driving range.

And then she scratched...

I was watching Star News Asia this evening. As the anchor wound down the show and came to the standard "Good Night", she watched the camera move away from her so that it was between her and the desk.

And when she thought the camera could not see what she was doing, she actually SCRATCHED HER LEG. She actually lifted the side of her skirt and scratched herself. It was almost like she was dying to do it for a while.

And then she smiled with relief to signal the end of the show!

I never knew watching news could be this funny.

Nothing like watching comedy to get over feeling down

I do this so often, I thought I should share it.

I watch comedy shows. Stand-up shows. Comedy series episodes. Anything that is really really funny.

And it makes me feel a lot lot lot better. It's a great way to feel better.

Guaranteed to make u lose the blues, as they say.

Shoot Sol Campbell

England drew 2-2 with Sweden early this morning (my time, of course) in a fairly pacy game, but one which showed just how shaky the England defense was.

We never looked comfortable when Sweden took a corner or a free kick. And more than once, the ball almost went in.

In fact, the second Swedish goal was almost comical. A throw-in from the side line was missed by Sol Campbell completely and then by Robinson as Larsson touched it into goal. It was a rediculous bit of defending and the blame for it solely rests on the shoulders of Campbell.

When he came on in place of Rio Ferdinand, Campbell was immediately the hole in the England defense. It was almost like everything he did was wrong, save a few good tackles.

I think he should not even be in the squad, let alone play. Anybody is better than him when it comes to defense.

Sack him, Swen. Sack him now!

Memories

Sitting around for a coffee
Watching people pass you by
Walking around doing shopping
Not noticing how time can fly

Walking around in the subway
Looking for stuff at the mall
I'm looking just like a bouncer
You're looking just like a doll

Sitting around in a quaint place
Chatting away about things far away
What a lovely thing is your face
The ebb and flow of conversational sway

Sitting around watching movies
Picking our favourite scenes
Talking about what gets us mushy
And all the sweet little things

A walk in the dark on the sea side
A sip of a drink on the beach
A conversation moves in with the high tide
And refuses to leave us in peace

A burger for dinner, a sausage for breakfast
Some pasta thrown in for lunch
Moments like these are not meant to last
But they remain with us in a bunch

The horrible sight of you packing
The stuff that must all go away
Wanting to speak, but feel choking
Wanting so much to ask you to stay

And then the final wave of goodbye
And the knowledge that this is the last
Trying to make my face smile
Despite the emptiness in my heart

A lonely way back home
A sadness beyond compare
Feeling so damn alone
Nothing to hold and care

Memories can be so heart wrenching
I think Meatloaf was right by far
"Objects in the rear view mirror"
"May appear closer than they are"

A very expensive shot

Phil Mickelson came to the 18th hole of the final round of the US Open golf championship with a one stroke lead, a few months of intense preparation for this tournament and two consecutive major victories (The PGA last year and The Masters early this year)

Geoff Ogilvy had finished the round and was waiting in the club house with a score for second place.

Neither men were ready for what happened next.

Proving that the Pros are human, Phil shanked -- yes, SHANKED -- his drive into the rough where he had a terrible lie. He then tried to get out of it, but hit a tree and then hit his third shot into a bunker for a fried egg lie. He needed three more strokes to finish the hole. And just like that, in the matter of a few minutes, the US open had slipped out of his grasp.

A par would have won him the championship. A bogey would have put him in an 18-hole playoff with Ogilvy. Instead, Phil double bogeyed his final hole to hand the trophy to Ogilvy.

A visibly distressed, and rightly so, Michelson later commented that he was "an idiot". I can only imagine what he must have gone through.

To come into the tournament with so much preparation, with two consecutive Majors under your belt and a chance to break into an elite company of only two other golfers (Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods) to win 3 consecutive majors, and then lose it on the final hole with a double bogey is just heart wrenching. My heart goes out to him.

Phil is a true champion. Always smiling and gracious. Focussed, yet fun. And he has a beautiful swing. Not to mention one of the best short games anyone has seen in the game.

Go, Phil! On to the next major triumph. The Open awaits. Go for it!

The founder deserted

As you know, I am moderator to the IndiPPC forum (which tries to answer questions on the Windows Mobile (formerly Pocket PC) platform based phones)

The founder of the forum, codename Bobby, has just deserted the platform.

He assures me that it is only temporary. It all started with his O2 Atom misbehaving. His screen routinely went white and would not recover unless the phone was reset. Even after a hard reset, the problem remained. So he just went out and SOLD THE PHONE!

So right now he is on a non-PocketPC phone (I pity the bugger) and I am not sure he has come to grip with the inferior environment.

I give him a couple of days before he gets completely frustrated and goes out to buy another PPC device.

Humps Ahead!!!

After a few drinks, one's mind always reads things differently.

That is exactly what happened when I went to join a couple of my friends at Sentosa. They were there for, I think, the whole day and I joined them in the evening. After a while, we went to KM8, the bar at Tanjong beach.

After a few drinks and a lot of blabbering, we started to walk back. And we saw a sign on the road which said "Humps Ahead". And the first thing that screamed to my mind was "WHO?"

Ha ha ha.

Then the mind went twisted where we went berserk on more interpretations of the sign. One even looked like Sentosa was promoting the "Humps Ahead". We even talked about calling ahead to the Sentosa Visitor Center for a slot in the marked spaces. Just so that we could "Hump Ahead"

It was good to have a bit of juvenile fun.

Superman strikes again

Steven Gerrard struck one of the sweetest football shots in the world cup to score England's second goal against Trinidad and Tobago.

After 82 minutes of frustration and deadlock, David Beckham put a superb cross in the path of Peter Crouch and a good finish ensured that England had their first goal of the match. Seven minutes later, Gerrard hit an absolutely unstoppable trademark shot from outside the box which brought England the eventual 2-0 victory.

There were other chances which did not go in, Frank Lampard being the most unlucky. He had 8 shots on goal, none of which went in.

The statistics were lopsided in favour of England, who maintained 67% possession, had more corners and more shots on goal than T&T. The only statistics which were higher for T&T were the number of fouls committed and the number of yellow cards shown.

This match showed how a team can put a lot of people in their own box to defend. Every single missed opportunity showed that T&T put as many as eight people behind the ball to defend. It finally took a fabulous delivery from Beckham and a simply superb finish by Gerrard to finish the game.

Wayne Rooney came on late in the game and showed a lot of pace and energy when he came on. But it was Aaron Lennon who showed a lot more influence on the right flank, significantly boosting the pace of the England play.

As England sits on top of their group, they await their next match in five days with Sweden. A lot of things will come into play, points wise and group A positioning, which will decide how England wants to play the Swedes.

Another interesting titbit. This is the first time England has won it's first two world cup group matches. I hope this run concludes with my team lifting the cup.

Go England!

Fight tooth and nail only to lose in the last minute

What a game it was last night between Germany and Poland. For most of the game, I actually thought Poland was on top. They fought for every single ball, never allowed Germany to settle into any kind of rhythm and just played better than the hosts.

Unfortunately for the Poles, they had Sobolewshi sent off after getting a second yellow card. And with 10 men, they could only defend so much. And so in the 90th minute, Neuville put the cross from Odonkor into the back of the net and came away with the full three points to top their group table.

I did not think the Germans deserved the win. The Poles deserved it a lot more. But then, in soccer, the final score is what matters and the Germans came away with the crucial 1-0 sqeak.

Tonight, my team (England, in case you missed so many of my earlier posts) plays Trinidad & Tobago. This is the same team which came away with a 0-0 draw with Sweden in their first match. As per David Beckham, this will be a tough match. But I am hoping England smash them.
In the background, there is a lot of noise about Wayne Rooney's return to the team. I don't think his return should be rushed and he should be asked to play only if his foot has healed completely. Anything premature and it could mean the end of Rooney as we know him. And that would be a shame. He is such a wonderful talent to watch.

As usual, I will be in my England jersey shouting my head off.

Of bad refereeing and prolonged agony

Yesterday's clash between Australia and Japan was a wonderful match. Japan got ahead with a contraversial goal (Australia claiming that the goalie was fouled) and then stayed ahead for most of the match.

And then Australia hit three goals in the last 8 minutes to secure all three points in the group. Way to go, Socceroos!

I am dismayed at the refereeing at this World Cup. And it's true since the first match (Germany vs Costa Rica). I just thought that the first match was bad. But up until now, almost every single match has gone by with me watching the referees make one astonishing blunder after another.

Bad challenges going unpunished, good tackles being punished, offsides not caught, yellow cards being shown unnecessarily. Being used to the very high standard of refereeing in the English Premier League, this level of refereeing, especially since it's the highest level of football, is appalling.

Take the England - Paraguay match for instance. The Mexican referee seemed to be more interested in handing the benefit of the doubt to Paraguay. And the number of times Peter Crouch was called for a foul is simply amazing. Even when he was being fouled.

I just don't get it.

Thank God for sight

I have a friend who suffers from night blindness. Until yesterday, I did not realize how serious that is.

We went to watch the Da Vinci code together and I just walked in, not realizing that she was right behind me and that she could not see a thing. I only realized it when she called out to say that she needed help.

I did not expect the effect of the condition. She could not see a thing and I had to guide her every step to her chair. She had no trouble watching the movie, but later needed my help to get out of the theatre.

So I thought that it was only when things were really dark, there was a problem. But that's not the case. Even in low light conditions, like the area in between two street lamps, she has trouble making out the space ahead of her. It's like blind spots.

I just want to thank God for giving me what I have.

It's only when you see someone else who is not as fortunate as you are do you realize how fortunate you actually are.

The most dishonest movie I have ever seen

I finally saw The Da Vinci Code yesterday. I don't think I have ever been disappointed this much.

Well, to begin with, as the movie begins with the murder of Jacques Saunier (which is pretty much as in the book...and probably the only thing in the movie which is), the scene shifts to a longer-than-usual haired Tom Hanks playing Robert Langdon. The presentation he goes thro is actually quite good as he explains the interpretation of symbols. And then comes the arrival of Lt. Collet -- in the middle of a book signing!

That's not what happens in the book. Langdon is woken from his sleep at the Ritz and therefore the "lack of alibi" status and therefore he is the suspect. But not in the movie. The plot is twisted beyond belief as they go further.

As Langdon and Fache enter the Louvre, Fache is shown to wear a small button with a cross on it. Supposedly the symbol of Opus Dei. In the book, he is wearing a Crux Gemmata and has no connection to Opus Dei.

Also, as they enter the Louvre, it is brightly lit and not under subdued lighting as described in the book.

And from here the story spirals out of control. It goes from far fetched to the bizarre. And shows no signs of coming back.

I had a weird experience while watching the movie. When Silas suddenly attacked Langdon at Teabing's house, the woman sitting behind me screamed out loud which jolted me out of my diselief. By the time I had stopped laughing, they had boarded the plane. Which incidentally they take to Switzerland (not England as in the book).

It is the worst movie I have ever seen. I am not sure how Dan Brown allowed the story to be mutilated so much. Sure there was a lot of pressure from religious groups which demanded that the story go a bit different from the book. But this was way, way, way too much.

Really disappointed with the movie. It sucks.

And then there was one

In the 4th minute of play, David Beckham launched a trademark pin-point-accurate ball toward the Paraguay goal and the ball sailed in after a light touch from the Paraguayan captain for England's goal.

The goal held for the entire match and England came up trumps with a 1-0 finish.

It was not the best game England have played by far. The side did not look as fluid and there was very little effort at passing and keeping possesion. Both strikers, Crouch and Owen, looked out of sorts and were rarely within striking distance.

In the second half, the ball stayed mostly on the left flank. The world's greatest passer (I am talking about Becks, of course) did not see a lot of action in the later half of the game.

Frank Lampard had a few shots on goal which, unfortunately, all went toward the goalkeeper. Steven Gerrard almost hit a similar kind of shot as his second goal in the FA cup final. This time, the ball sailed high over the goal post.

While I am happy that my team collected all the points, I was not entirely happy with the way they played. A lot of blows from the Paraguay side were successfully parried by the defensive wall of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, both contributing to very good defensive play.

All in all, a good game. But I am looking for better play and am hoping that as the tournament progresses, England will fall into a rhythm and do what they did 40 years ago.

Today's the day!

The Football World Cup kicks off in Germany this evening!

This is the first World Cup that I have the opportunity, luxury and possibly time to watch in the entirity. And I have been looking forward to this for a while now. The countdown stops today as Germany, hosting the tournament, plays Costa Rica for the opening match of the tournament.

I am, of course, waiting for tomorrow's match. England plays Paraguay in the first Group B match. Wayne Rooney has been cleared to play and will hopefully be fit for the elimination rounds. I hope the wait for him is worth it.

I am, as I said a long time ago, putting my money and my mouth on England to win this year's world cup.

Disappointed with James Horner

You know who James Horner is, don't you?

He's the guy who composed the wonderful background scores for Braveheart and Titanic (among many of his very well known soundtrack scores). He is the man who came up with the theme for the Titanic, which was later defiled by Celine Dion by using it in her "My heart will go on" song. I love the theme, not so much the song. He is also the man who composed the haunting "Gift of a thistle" in Braveheart which is probably the most soulful piece of music I have heard in a movie.

So if I like his compositions so much, why am I disappointed with him, you ask?

I'll tell you why.

I was resting my foot the other day and was watching TV (as I had nothing better to do with my foot the way it is) and they announced that the Bobby Jones movie was coming on.

If you dont know who the great Bobby Jones is, I pity you. He is only probably the greatest golfer who ever lived. His domination was such that he either won or came second in most of the tournaments that he entered. He also accomplished a feat which nobody else has a claim to in all time.

He won The Grand Slam! He won all the four major tournaments of golf in 1930 and retired as the most successful and dominant golfer ever. His feat has never been accomplished, even to this date. Tiger Woods has come close...holding all four major titles at the same time, but he has not held all four in the same year. That is what makes Bobby's feat so unique.

Coming back to the movie, it was to chronicle the life of Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (a.k.a Bobby Jones) and his crowning achievement. As the movie started and the background score reared it's head, I felt like I was watching Braveheart.

So uncannily similar were these two scores that I actually waited for the credits to show who the composer was. And no surprises when James Horner's name came up.

The reason I am disappointed is that the soundtrack sounds like a B-side of the Braveheart soundtrack. All of it. It is almost like James Horner just gave away the unused pieces of his Braveheart recordings for the movie. Nothing original here.

I was really disappointed. I have a very high regard for him and his compositions. This movie just made me lose a little respect.

Flaw in the movie

I'm talking about "Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban"

Of course there are a lot of flaws, I hear you scream. But this one is so blatant, and yet gets missed. And it happens at the absolute beginning of the movie. Know what I am talking about?

As the movie starts, you see a window glow with the light from Harry's wand as he tries to read his book under the sheet. And he hides by pretending to sleep everytime his uncle comes into the room.

Here's the problem. How is he saying "Lumos Maxime" and his wand showing the light? Isn't that magic? And aren't underage wizards forbidden to do magic outside of school?

And there in lies the flaw.

And it's a stupid flaw. There is no reason why the movies cannot stay true to the story. But no, they have to distort it for something more dramatic, despite the fact that the story by J.K. Rowling is already very dramatic.

But at least this part of the Harry Potter movies is better than the one that comes later. That one distorts the story to no end.

I am not sure how Rowling allowed it to happen.

It has to be fate

If you look at all the great achievements in sport, most of the people who have achieved greatness have had the opportunity presented to them.

Please understand, I am not taking away anything from them. What they have achieved is fantastic and to be aspired for, and they have worked really hard to get where they are. But all of them, every single one of them, has been given the opportunity to succeed in their chosen field.

Look at Tiger Woods, look at Jack Nichlaus, Michael Schumaker, Sachin Tendulkar, David Beckham. All of them, in their respective childhoods, were given the chance to take up their respective sports. Of course they all worked really hard to get better at their choice, they still were presented with the first step. That first step is immensely crucial. Especially when you consider that more than 99% of people do not even get that opportunity.

It's almost like your life is pre-decided. Call it destiny if you like.

What you are, you are born with it. What you make of it is entirely up to you.

What I mean is, there are two parts here. One is getting the opportunity and two is making use of it.

It's like Eminem says in "Lose Yourself", one of his greatest songs and one of my absolute favourites. "You only get one shot. Do not let your chances go, cause opportunity comes once in a lifetime!"

All of this came from a thought that occured to me when I was wishing I had started playing golf when I was young. I could have been a lot better. But that opportunity was never presented. Not that it matters now.

ROONEY IS BACK!!!

I'm sorry I yelled out, but this is a momentous occasion!

Wayne Rooney took part in light training with the England team at Badan Badan, Germany after recovering (almost completely) from an broken bone in his right foot.

I take this as a sign from the heavens and I think I will double my money on England to win the World Cup.

In any case, the tournament kicks off in 3 days. Hopefully Starhub will show all the matches that count -- read ALL England matches -- in HD.

Oh, and since I forgot to post this earlier, my HD reciever has come in and is connected. It is like watching DVD quality television.

England, England, England!

GO, Go, GO!!!!

OUCH!! Part II

I thought I had completely recovered from my foot injury, but late Sunday it started to hurt again.

Today I cannot even walk properly. Every single step I take is agony. And it's a funny kind of pain. It completely disappears sometimes and then returns with a vengence, I think just to remind me not to take it lightly.

Just getting out of bed to use the loo or to grab a bite has become an ordeal. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. If it isn't, I am going to very quickly run out of options in terms of food. I am already sick of eating what I have at home in the "ready-to-cook" department.

Ouch...ouch...ouch!

I'm going HD

Just got a call from Starhub to confirm that I am going to be part of the HDTV trial here in Singapore.

What that means is starting Monday evening, I will be viewing HD content whenever Starhub transmits it. That includes watching the entire world cup in High Definition.

The only fly in the ointment, which I thought Starhub should not have done, is the fact that Starhub will only be providing RGB cables to connect the HD set-top-box to my TV. I would have imagined that since this was a trial, they would want users to feedback on the picture quality and so use the best connector (HDMI) for the connection.

What they have told me is that only RGB (which is the PC type connector) will be made available and that I would need to buy the HDMI connector on my own if I want it connected that way. I thought that was a cheap way of making money on the connector.

Even so, I am thrilled that I will be making the most of my HDTV and be able to enjoy the World Cup experience a little more.

On top of it, I get full access to all the Starhub channels during the trial period which lasts until December 2006. After that, I can choose to continue with the service or choose to return the reciever.

I will decide when they come out with the pricing model for HD.

Ouch!

My foot really hurts!

I was running around having fun with my daughter before she and my wife left for their vacation. Sometime during all of that fun, I twisted my foot and it started to hurt real bad. So much so that I could not walk at all and so could not go to the airport to drop them.

So I was at home by myself the whole time sitting in one place surrounded by phones and my laptop. I could not use the laptop for long as I could not connect it to power and I could not get up to do it either.

All in all, a very painful day.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better.

Singapore Airlines screwed us - Part II

As you might have read from my last post, we did not exactly have a great experience with SQ yesterday.

After my wife stepped off the plane, she was welcomed at Mumbai airport with the usual chaos what reigns supreme at that time of night. We knew that there are a lot of flights arriving in the night and so the arrival hall at Mumbai is really busy. That was one of the reasons we specifically chose the morning flight where my family would land fresh and relaxed amidst relatively free immigrations and arrivals.

That was not the case. There was a huge queue for immigration and an even bigger rush for baggage collection afterwards. And since we had checked in our luggage early in the morning, out bags came out at the very end.

So all in all, we have Singapore Airlines to thank for a really bad experience.

I am not sure I want to travel with SQ again.