Tennis

I am back after a tennis match early this morning, a match in which I was eventually outslugged 6-2, 2-6, 2-6 in 1 hour and 30 mins. This is also my third straight loss after just one win against the same opponent. But on the positive side I'm starting to feel good about my game a little bit and believing in it.

In the first set I jumped to a 5-0 lead, then I lost two strainght games , before eventually closing it out at 6-2. The second and third sets were pretty bad as I managed to win only my first and last service games, eventually losing the match. My opponent is a slow starter, but his first serve percentage keeps improving as the game progresses and he makes fewer unforced errors than me.

Tennis on Sundays is also my workout for the day, very rarely do I head to the gym on sundays.
My personal trainer, Chad (well I got a two session complementry service- cant afford to hire him cos he costs $30 an session!) was telling me what kind of diet I shoud l maintain.
Chad was one of the trainers who has previously worked with Richard Hamilton.

Richard Hamilton is an NBA player who represents the Detriot Pistons, This guy puts in more miles than a marathoner, more miles on court than any other NBA player. So the reason they say is his fitness regime and a totally organic vegetarian diet. Another celebrity who is now following a similar diet is Andre 3000 of the Grammy award winning group Outkast.

Now back to the vegan diet Chad was talking to me about:
Bread, Cereal and Grain Group: 6-11 servings daily
Vegetable Group: 3-5 servings daily
Fruit Group: 2-4 servings daily
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese Group: 2-3 servings daily
Dry Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Meat Substitutes: 2-3 servings daily
Fats, Oils, Sweets, Salty Foods: Use sparingly
and always- "Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and dinner like Peasant."

Thanks Chad!

Page 3

Recently I picked up a Hindi DVD from a video store, an award winning movie by acclaimed director Madhur Bhandarkar, 'Page 3'- Winner of the national award for best Indian movie of 2004. Suprisingly there was another award category for best Hindi movie which went to internationally acclaimed director Rituparno Ghosh's 'Raincoat' (Another abstract, offbeat film).

Back to 'page 3'-The title originates from the 'page three girls' published in the UK tabloid 'The Sun'. A Page Three girl is a woman who models for topless photographs, the writing that accompanies the Page Three girl picture usually explains the model's name, age, where she 'hails from', and some brief details of her personality.

Many people opposed the publication of 'Page three' claiming it to be sexist, demeaning and exploititive. Similarly Bhandarkar's movie is also provocative and hard hitting.The movie shows the naked truth about wannabe 'bollywood' starlets and exploititive film makers (the casting couch) and explores many other issues like dysfunctional families, (gay) infidelity, paedophilia, drug culture and even wife-swapping The movie proves that in Bollywood only Sex, Sleaze & 'SRK' sell.

Konkana Sen Sharma stars as the protagonist, a 'Page three' Journalist madhavi sharma and the film follows her story as she frequents the ‘Page 3’ circuit of parties, events, and soirees, mingling with the who’s who of Mumbai(Bombay- Home of Bollywood). Gay fashion designers, wannabe models, aspiring actors, debauched socialites and moneyed industrialists all jostle for attention, and the need to be seen.

The movie stars also stars Atul Kulkarni, Boman Irani & Bikram Saluja.

The German impact!

Tennis superstar & one of my idols Andre Agassi and adidas have entered into a long-term partnership starting with the Mercedes-Benz Cup in L.A. As of July 25 he started exclusively wearing adidas footwear and apparel, of the adidas-Salomon AG fame, headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Agassi's move came as a suprise for me as he's has been associated with the Beaverton-based swoosh for nearly two decades now. Personally I have always loved the swoosh apparel, and this may sound weird, but I might now consider(seriously) flipping over to Adidas as well! I wonder how many millions of Agassi fans may switch over as well.
The reason for Agassi's jump to Adidas according to a spokeperson was because the swoosh company refused to contribute to Agassi's foundation, which focuses on children's causes and thus ending the $120 million deal! This agreement also offers a wide range of marketing opportunities for the German firm, as the world's most famous sports couple, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, are now part of the adidas family!
Suddenly Germany/German Firms are impacting my life in more ways than i know, to name a few- SAP AG(Software I use),Michael Salzmann(My German Manager), Lufthansa AG of the Star Alliance Fame( Airline(s) I fly), UBS AG (My Financial Services firm- Technically Swiss), "Audi" of the Volkswagen AG fame(My next car), Swatch AG(My first, & now only watch), Seimens AG(My GPS system) and now adidas-Salomon AG. By the way AG stands for the German term Aktiengesellschaft meaning a corporation which is limited by shares. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, referred to as the ASG region.

Hail AG!

It's Eddy Merckx not Lance!

Lance Armstrong recently won his seventh consecutive tour de france, a phenomenal achievement! yet he isn’t regarded as the greatest-ever cyclist! Great cyclists such as Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain say Lance Armstrong is not necessarily the greatest cyclist ever. Hinault won the Tour five times while Indurain won the Tour each year from 1991 to 1995.
So now who is regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time? the answer is Eddy Merckx.

In his Tour de France debut in 1969, Merckx won the yellow jersey (overall leader), the green jersey (best sprinter) and the red polka-dotted jersey ("King of the Mountains" - best climber in the mountain stages). No other cyclist has achieved this trifecta in the Tour de France, and only Laurent Jalabert has been able to match this feat at the grand tours level, in the 1995 Vuelta a Espana. If the young riders' white jersey (for best rider in the Tour that is under 25 years of age) had existed at that time, Merckx would have won that as well, as he had only just turned 24.

Eddy Merckx, has 525 pro victories that include four world championships , five Tours de France, five Tours of Italy (Giro d'Italia), a Vuelta a España and the hour record, cycling’s most hallowed benchmark. And he did all this in about 1,500 starts. With 34 Tour de France stage wins and 96 days in the yellow jersey — both records — King Eddy’s dominance is unquestionable. The fact that even Armstrong can’t eclipse the Merckx record for days in yellow (despite riding in 11 Tours versus 7 by Merckx) makes Merckx a Tour giant. The Belgian is still the only man to win the maillot jaune, King of the Mountains and sprint jerseys in a single year — and he did it at his first-ever Tour, which he won by a crushing 18 minutes.

Lance’s singular focus on the Tour, and only the Tour, is why he isn’t the greatest-ever cyclist despite those seven titles. No racer in history has enjoyed that kind of advantage. There have been other racers who built their seasons around the Tour, like Jacques Anquetil and Greg LeMond. But Armstrong is the only competitor to have an entire team built around him for the express purpose of riding into Paris in yellow.
In beating cancer, he’s an inspiration. But in beating cancer and conquering the Tour, he’s larger than life and where do I place Lance, Among the greatest sportsmen of all time.

The "A list"

I'm not a big movie buff (certainly not the kind whos hooked onto Blockbuster or Netflix) but I consider myself a major critique, but there are days when i drive down to the amc a couple of miles away to relax, spend ten bucks (including the popcorn & coke) and watch a flick, typically once a month or so and more often on HBO. I like realistic movies, Romantic comedies and Action flicks.Im trying to list about 100 movies and why I like 'em, they are in no particular order but the not so serious ones would be towards the bottom, and might be pushed out as I continually update the list, so here goes first strike..

Sathya- RGV. Chak, Bajpai.
Good Will Hunting- Williams, Damon, Affleck & Driver.
Million Dollar Baby- Swank, Eastwood, Freeman.
Training Day- Denzel.
The God Father I,II- Brando, Pacino, Deniro.
The Matrix I,II- Concept,Story, Stunt Sequences, Special FX.
DDLJ- Songs, SRK-Kajol.
Company- Devgan, Lal, RGV.
The Great Escape- Sturges,Clavell,Attenborough, McQueen.
The Guns Of Naverone- Thompson, Peck, Quinn.
Jurassic Park- Speilberg.
Cinderella Man- Ron, Crowe, Zelwegger.
Farenheit 9/11- Moore, Hard Hitting.
The Gladiator- Crowe.
The Bourne Supremacy- Damon.
Seabiscuit- Story, Mcguire.
American Beauty- Alan Ball.
The Sixth Sense- Screenplay, Shyamlan.
Shiva- Amala, Nags, RGV.
Thalavattam- Lal, Priyan.
Hey Ram- Kamal.
Devdas- Bhansali.
Face Off- Travolta, Cage, Action Sequences.
Anniyan- Shankar, Kenny.
Kaakha Kaakha- Surya.
Super Size Me- McD's/Fast Food No More.
You've Got Mail- Meg.
Conspiracy Theory- Concept, Donner, Gibson, Roberts.
Spiderman I, II- Mcguire, Dunst.
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar- Aamir, Songs, Jhulka.
Dalapathi- Rajni,Mani.
Moonram Pirai- Mahendra, Kamal, Songs.
Page 3- Bhandarkar,Sen, Kulkarni.
Kireedam- Story,Lal.
Dog Day Afternoon- Pacino.
Devar Magan- Kamal, Nassar, Shivaji, Revathi.
Silence Of The Lambs- Hopkins, Foster.
Sarfarosh- Aamir.
Kurithipunal- Kamal, Screenplay, Gouthami.
Reservoir Dogs- Story, Tarentino.
The Titanic- Cameron,Horner.
Oru Vadakkan Veera Katha- Story.
Kilukkam- Lal, Innocent, Sreekumar, Revathi.
Sholay- "Gabbar",AB.
Fight Club- Concept,Screenplay.
Gangajal- Dialogues, Devgan.
Lagaan- Screenplay, Aamir.
Ayutha Ezhuthu- Screenplay, Surya.
Anbe Sivam- Story, Script.
Dil Chahta Hai- Story, Aamir, Khanna, Preity, Songs.
Kaala Pani- Lal, Priyan.
Iruvar- Story.
Douthyam- Story, Lal.
Ocean's 11- Clooney, Pitt.
Pulp Fiction- Screenplay, Tarentino.
Tezaab- Songs, Kapoor, Dixit, Pandey.
Nayagan- Adaptation,Mani, Kamal.
Mouna Raagam- Mani, Revathi, Mohan, Karthik, Songs.
Agni Nakshatram- Karthik, Prabhu, Amla.
Oru CBI Diary Kurippu- Story.
Iyer The Great- Story.
Cast Away- Hanks.
Police Story- Chan.
Catch Me If You Can- Di Caprio, Hanks.
Die Hard I,II- Willis.
1942 A Love Story- Chopra, Songs.
Mission Kashmir- Chopra, Roshan, Dutt Jr.
Man On Fire- Denzel.
Phone Booth- Concept,Schumacher.
Meet The Fockers- Stiller.
Saving Private Ryan- Speilberg, Hanks, Damon.
Ashoka- Sivan.
Mr & Mrs Iyer- Bose, Sen.
Monsoon Wedding- Nair.
Forest Gump- Hanks.
Enter The Dragon- Lee.
Kiss Of The Dragon- Li.
Indira- Chiru.
Baasha- Rajni.
Padayappa- Rajni.
Hyderabad Blues- Kukanoor.
Rockford- Kukanoor.
Darr- SRK, Juhi,Songs.
Terminator II- Cameron, Arnold.
There's Something About Mary- Diaz, Stiller.
Meet The Parents- Stiller, Deniro.
Gone In Sixty Seconds- Stunts, Cage, Jolie.
Munnabhai M.B.B.S- Screenplay, Dutt, Dutt Jr, Wasi.
Rumble In The Bronx- Chan.
Liar Liar- Carey.
Baby's Day Out- "Baby Bink".
American Pie I, III- Sean "Stiffler" William Scott.
Austin Powers-I,II,III - Myers, Hurley.
Dhoom- Bachhan, Abraham.
Home Alone- Culkin.
The Gods Must Be Crazy- Uys.
Mask Of Zorro- Jones.
Watch Out We're Mad- Hill, Spencer.

Jaya Jaya Lalithe

This piece of news really amused me- Jayalalitha gets what Tansen did'nt.
The legendary musician who has created countless ragas and whose melodies are supposed to “have made rain” does not have a single raga named after him. Tamil Nadu’s Amma has.
Carnatic music great Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna christened a new raga Jaya Jaya Lalithe in her honor.

The Mysore born actress-turned politician was the first elected woman chief minister of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and she is also the first chief minister to be declared guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act! Jayaram Jayalalitha has many firsts to her credit. As of now, there are as many as 15 major corruption cases against Jayalalitha!

She is now ruling Tamil Nadu in her second term.
Some of the successes to her credit are
The banning of high interest private loans .
The elimination of the much feared bandit Veerappan.
Introduction of Videoconferencing in Jails and Courts, thus eliminating the need to bring the accused to extend the remand every time.

Her failures that caused her party to be routed in the 2004 Lok Sabha election(some of which were rolled back after the rout)
Fired 200,000 government servants at one go,
Banned Lottery tickets unemploying 1000's,
Stopped free power to farmers
Increased the price of rice in the ration shops,
Cancelled ration cards of all those who earn more than Rs 5,000 per month,
Hiked power and bus charges,
Passed a law seeking to curb religious conversions,
Banned animal sacrifices in temples.

Her closing salutation is always "Periyar namam vazhga, Anna naamam vazhga, Puratchi thalivar naamam vazhga".

Shawn Corey Carter

Here's a little about Jay,

Jay-Z (aka Jigga, HOV and Hova) born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969 in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, NY. He was known as "Jazzy" in his neighborhood, a nickname he soon shortened to "Jay-Z" while in pursuit of a career in music. The name Jay-Z is also a homage to his musical partner Jaz-O as well as to the J-Z subway lines that go from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Besides pursuing his own career, Jay-Z was one of the founders of Roc-a-Fella Records, a successful hip-hop label which also launched the careers of Beanie Sigel, Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Young Gunz, Freeway, and others. Jay-Z is one of the most respected rappers in the music industry before announcing his retirement from recording in 2004. Jay-Z is now the new president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. As of 2005, he is estimated to be worth $320 million.

Apart from being President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z is also one of the owners and founders of the Roc-A-Fella empire, which includes Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-A-Fella Films and Rocawear, a clothing brand established in 1999. Roc-A-Fella also distributes "Armadale," a Scottish vodka, in the U.S. Jay-Z is a part owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team, and is rumored to be one of the franchise owners interested in relocating the team to Brooklyn. He also co-owns The 40/40 Club, a New York sports bar, and has a line of Reebok sneakers called The S.Carter Collection. These shoes still hold the record for fastest selling Reebok shoe in history and made him the first non-athlete to have a signature line of sneakers.

Pyromania!

Pyromania (literally meaning "a mania for fire") is the third album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1983. The album was produced by Mutt Lange, who came up with the line "All I've got is a photograph." This gave them the idea to write a song about a guy who's crazy about a girl, but all he has of her is a photograph.That went on to become the sizeable hit "Photograph".The lyrics tell of falling in love with a photograph of a model, but knowing that you'll never get to meet her.

I’m outa luck, outa love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Passion killer, you’re too much
You’re the only one I wanna touch

I see your face every time I dream
On every page, every magazine
So wild and free so far from me
You’re all I want, my fantasy



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