The games we play

As kids we were pretty creative in making our own games. I remember playing “cricket” with a dirty rag rolled into a ball and an old notebook or exam pad used as bat. Then there was box cricket, Chinese cricket etc. Another favorite pastime was playing “tennis” on the road with old chappals as the “net”, while our hands served as a “racket” to hit an MRI ball across. Fun times.
Nowadays, kids are playing different kinds of games. Apparently some kids are playing the “choking game" in which they try to experience a fleeting "high" by cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain. U.S. says 82 youths have died in "choking game".

The report, the first effort to track this nationwide, identified the deaths of 82 people ages 6 to 19 from 1995 to 2007 that appear to have been caused by the choking game. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the report likely underestimates the toll. Boys accounted for 87 percent of the deaths in 31 states, the CDC said, with the greatest number of deaths among boys ages 11 to 16.

It also is known as the "blackout game," "passout game," "scarf game" and "space monkey," the CDC said. The CDC does not think publicity caused by the report will lead to more children trying the practice, Toblin said. "We chose to go ahead with the report because we think it's critical that parents, educators and health care providers become aware of this phenomenon so they can look for the warning signs of it."

Warning signs that a child may be trying the practice include bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, severe headaches, the presence of ropes, scarves or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor, or the unexplained presence of dog leashes or choke collars.

What would be interesting is to find out what is influencing the kids to play this game? Is it because of the perverse crap they see/read on the internet? How do you educate such kids and prevent this from happening? And more importantly, how do you teach someone not to kill themselves?

Doesn’t anyone play ball anymore?

Let is snow...

I need:

Not just the snow blower, but someone to blow the damn thing too.

Sun. Lots of it.



It should be pretty apparent after the 'graphic display of emotion' - we are getting a lot of snow. At the beginning of the winter, yours truly bravely made the decision to shovel this year instead of getting a snow blower. How hard would it be, I thought. In fact, it'll be fun. Besides, I could use the exercise. And with global warming catching up, it might not even snow. Afterall, we all know the inconvenient truth.
For the hopelessly ignorant (like me): Shoveling is hard work. Very f*ing hard work. And let's not forget the sub zero temperatures. It's definitely not fun. And if I need exercise, I can always get up from the recliner and walk up to the TV to change channels. No problems there. Global warming? It's a myth. Just ask George Bush.

Obviously, I missed the direct correlation that exists between the snow storms and me not getting a blower. I could make these winter storms stop. All I need to do is get a blower and it won't snow here for the next 5 years.

Incidentally, did you know that typical winter conditions (a little more than an inch of snowfall and temperatures that dip below 20 degrees) cause death rates from heart attacks to triple among men 35 to 49 years old?

The Wimbledon Final and the small matter of a shaving cream

We are fortunate enough to witness a terrific rivalry between Federer-Nadal which can only get more interesting in the days to come. Federer looked relieved after the match which could have gone either way. But then champions have this uncanny knack of stepping it up when it matters the most – which was exemplified by the way Federer fought back twice when down 15-40 on his own serve in the 5th set to elope with the trophy. But all was well as Bjon Borg pretended to be happy for Federer just like the Duke pretended to be genuinely interested in the private lives of the ball boys and girls.

But as far as I am concerned, Wimbledon 2007 will not be remembered for the high quality of tennis on display. It will be remembered for the Gillette ad featuring Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry and Roger Federer. Is it just me or was this commercial a little gay? (Not that there is anything wrong with it – Seinfeld). I think the media is getting carried away with this Woods-Federer friendship. I mean, here are two champions, dominating their sports like nobody’s business and instead of understanding and appreciating their friendship and respect towards each other, we have some interviewer asking Federer after the semifinals whether he bought Tiger a gift! WTF! It’s like they are lovers or something. Maybe in the next commercial we can have Federer shaving Tiger's head.

Shaving creams apart, I consider myself extremely lucky to have watched Sachin Tendulkar play cricket, Pete Sampras play tennis, Maradona play soccer, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan play basketball, and Tiger Woods play golf. I think Roger Federer is well into this group now and I sincerely think he could be the best tennis player ever. Unless of course he decides to promote Gillette Venus.

Feeling Blue

JetBlue Airways founder and Chairman David Neeleman admitted Tuesday that he wasn't pleased when his company's board forced him to give up the CEO spot in May, and said he believes he'd still have the job if not for the ice storm and service meltdown that hit the airline in February

Strange are the boardroom machinations. I do understand such decisions are taken in the ‘best interests of the stockholders’ and considering the competitiveness of the corporate world, the decision may be right. What bothers me is that he is the founder of the company. For me, it’s like saying, “Thanks for designing and building this wonderful vehicle that we are all riding in. We just don’t want you driving it anymore.”

Aint no sunshine when she’s gone…

I am always perplexed by the amount of print space Paris Hilton occupies. Anyway, this is what Smoke Signals has to say about the whole charade of sending her to prison and the unnecessary media attention.

CNN—the most trusted name in news noise—covers CNN covering Paris Hilton— who was thrown in jail for being a drunk, then released after just five days inside because the LA county sheriff ‘feared for her condition’. News, clearly, of such paramount importance, that CNN decided to dump an interview with Michael Moore, maker of a movie on the American health industry, to make room for the ditz with more money than sense.

Caught with your pants down?

For every Shilpa Shetty – Richard Gere episode in India, you have ‘the case of the missing pants’ in the US. “Justice prevailed” as the dry cleaner won in the $54M pants case.

Incidentally, if this reminds you of the famous McDonalds coffee lawsuit, here is where you can get your facts right.

The Cost of War

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. – Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

The cost of war in Iraq (for the US) is $436 billion and rising. I am curious to know how this cost is calculated. How is the price of a loved one’s death calculated? Is this “price” baked in to this “cost of war”? More than 3800 Coalition troops and anywhere from 65,000 to 70,000 Iraqis have lost their lives in this war. You know when it really hits you? When you put a face to the number…