And again..

The 37th.

He is back...

The 36th.

Watch Watch Wal-Mart Watch

Wal-Mart’s policies and business practices have always been under the scanner. They haven’t found many supporters in labor unions, religious groups, environmental organizations etc. Areas of concern include the corporation's extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public subsidies, the impact of stores on the local economies of towns in which they operate, and the company's security policies.

In 2005, labor unions created several organizations to confront these issues, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and Wal-Mart Watch (Service Employees International Union). Now there is a website called “watching Wal-Mart watch” to well, watch Wal-Mart watch. This blog is my attempt to watch ‘watch Wal-Mart watch’. So I might not actually end up watching ‘watching Wal-Mart watch’ but it was funny as hell typing watch watch Wal-Mart watch. MS Word almost blew up on me. I love irritating MS word. Sigh. Now we sit back and – you guessed it – watch.

Get a divorce!

You heard me. "Life's short. Get a divorce"

Have you noticed that in this world of marketing and advertising, people will do anything to get noticed. When I first read this, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The obvious thing to say would be on the lines of ‘lawyers have no scruples’, ‘the trouble with law is lawyers’ etc. But when you think about it, is that line really out of line? I have heard of people getting a divorce because of their pets! Here is what I see in the ad – Life is too short (which is true), so don’t put up with crap you don’t have to (Hey, that’s an option!). Get a divorce. And now that you have decided to get one, here are our (conveniently placed) numbers. Call us (since we were the ones who put that idea in your head anyway. And heck this is our billboard you are reading). And in case you are still undecided, here are some pics of perfectly chiseled half naked people. Why go home to the fat and cellulite when you could not be going to these chiseled bodies?

Or maybe there is this satisfied marketing exec going, “Ha! Made you look!” Ah well, life is too short.

Brian Lara retires from ODIs

“You tell me” – Brian Lara a few months ago on being asked when he would retire.

WI has lost all 4 of their super 8 matches so far. As is the norm, just about everybody – from fans to past cricketing greats – is screaming for Lara’s blood.

For instance:
Joel Garner calls for Lara to quit
Michael Holding urges Lara to quit

Well, guess what? Lara retires from ODIs after the world cup. Now we will have the same people writing about how he is the best batsman in the world and why he shouldn’t retire. Yet another example of not appreciating something when you have it and longing for it once it’s gone.

Paris Hilton and Britney Spears

Amusing stuff this by Osman Samiuddin who has a tendency to go over the top

It’s strange, in fact, how India and Pakistan resemble each other so. On the field, there has been a spooky sameness; results and performances in South Africa were nearly identical, the Champions Trophy and World Cup, both failures. Both batting line-ups struggle in alien conditions, as fielders both are poor and both leaders increasingly embattled and embittered. Both now rebuild. Off it, they are cricket's Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. One, pure monied trash, influential for no other reason than having too much of it, the other straight-up trailer trash, cricket's true basket case. They are tabloid fodder, stumbling from one front page to another: religion, player factionalism, spats, coaching intrigues, politicking, doping and even possible murder. How much of the news that you have read about these two sides recently has been about their cricket?

Personally, I think the difference between India and Pakistan is that between a briefcase and a suitcase. A small briefcase and a BIG suitcase.

The Great Escape

Ford recalls 527,000 Escape SUVs

Engine fires in 2001-2004 models linked to corrosion on antilock brake connectors. Missing or incorrectly installed wiring harness seals on the Escape's antilock brake connector could allow water and other contaminates such as brake fluid or road salt to enter the ABS connector causing corrosion.

That will hurt the already beleaguered auto giant. Or maybe they will cut a few thousand jobs and get on with life. Why? Because they can.

On a separate note: Ford CEO earns $28M for 4 months work.
Another ‘unrelated’ article: Toyota's Sales Jump While GM, Ford Fall

Dravid's Bangladeshi fans

And here is why Bangladeshis can't stop singing Dravid’s praises. That’s the difference between a good player and a great player. Playing the game like it should be played – in the right spirit.

Putting things in perspective

Read an article which talks about how batsmen are instructed to lift their bats towards the pavilion each time they crack a fifty to ensure adequate TV exposure for the brand plastered on it as well as twirl around to allow enough time for photographers to capture the image. Bats are also not hung down when a player walks to the pavilion after a good knock as he has instructions to wave it to the crowd and the cameras milking additional publicity. The longer the time spent and more the runs scored all have performance based clauses which influence the way the batsman behaves out in the field. Personally, I don’t care and don’t understand what the big deal is. It’s not like this “behavior” is affecting the way they play. But since the media is after the Indian cricketer’s throats right now, maybe this following story might help put things in perspective…

Apparently the British captive soldiers (now released) are making money by telling their stories to the media. The controversial decision taken by the Ministry of Defence to allow the fifteen sailors and soldiers captured in Iran to sell their stories is causing uproar among Britain’s armed forces. Read British sailors tell media of Iran ordeal. Beat that.

The Minivan Part 2.

I shared the minivan episode with LN. I delivered the punch line with obvious buildup. And get this, I said, JB says, perfect for me and MY BAG!!!!
Then, I waited for LN to – a) Roll on the floor laughing (literally or I could have just said ROTFL)
b) Say something like JB is hilarious and she couldn’t wait to tell this story to all her friends.
c) Get into a philosophical discussion of how we (mankind in general) are becoming more and more materialistic and don’t value what we have – family, friends, health etc.
d) In case she didn’t care, say “that is so funny” like she meant it.
e) Any of the above
f) All of the above.

LN’s response? Dreamily, “She has a really pretty Gucci bag she got last week.”