Wednesday 12 May 2010
Tuesday 2 February 2010
The Australian Open that wasn't..
The Australian Open 2010 may look like a normal Grandslam from the outset - Federer adds yet another slam to his overflowing achievements, Nadal is plagued by injuries again, Serena proves one more time that being tied up in bandages all over mean nothing, and the wait for a British slam champion continues.Let me, however, lift the curtain from some of the things which may go unnoticed lest one follows the championship like I did. So here are my top 5 off-the-beat-picks from the Australian Open 2010:
1. After being at the pinnacle for over six years except one, it's good to see Roger try his hands at something else: humor. In his post-match interview with Jim Courier, just after he dismantled Tsonga in the quarters, he was asked how much he works in the off-season. His reply - "It's all talent. I don't work. I just sit on the couch. All I do really is take care of the kids." On facing Murray in finals, he comments "I know he'd like to win the first major for British tennis, for what is it, 150,000 years?" Good to have you back, Roger.
2. John Isner is slowly and steadily developing himself to take guard of the legacy which Andy Roddick will leave someday. The 6-foot-9 giant serves like a machine gun, volleys well and has improved his agility many a times. He won a title in Auckland, dumped Gael Monfils before bowing out to Murray in a well competed match. Look out for Isner in coming slams.
3. A Russian marvel called Sharapova came in and went out of the slam in a flash, without people even noticing her lustrous blue dress. We know you've got potential Maria, but women's tennis is not as it used to be. Serena is fiercer more than ever, Belgians are back and your compatriots keep marching in every tennis tournament there is. So wake up before it's too late, else the $70 million contract which you've signed with Nike might just go to Kirilenko soon. Another Maria (and Russian) on the prowl, did I just mention?
4. The first slam to witness two Chinese players in the women's semifinals. Happy to see more Asian representation at the world level. Well done, Li and Jie.
5. Surprise, surprise. Nadal gets a marriage proposal this time on court. Not from the audience, but from a ballgirl. Rafa is such a sweetheart, isn't he?
- - -
[Waiting eagerly for the Roland Garros 2010]
Sunday 31 January 2010
iPad is here !!!
The wait is over for the Apple tablet, christened iPad. And I am not impressed. Well, the thing looks good and packs some features, but fails miserably short of what some people, including the people from Apple, hailed a revolution. Here are my three cents on the iPad:
a) The tablet looks good, but a $500 (starting) price-tag for the hardware on offer is a bit too much. There are $300 netbooks available in the market which sport a far superior processor and graphic capabilities.
b) They say I can use it to read books, listen to music, surf internet and watch high definition video. And then they say that the maximum storage on offer is 64 GB. I fail to see a connect between the two. Don't they know how much space a movie in HD can take. And did I say that I expect the 64 GB version to be much costlier than the stated $500!!
c) The device lacks a webcam. Which by the way comes in those $300 notebooks. I think a device meant for 'fun-on-the-go' should sport a webcam.
Finally, there is nothing extra which I can do on iPad and not on my iPod Touch. I mean, common guys, a larger screen and a slimmer body doesn't create a "revolution". I am not writing down my biased feelings here, in fact I love Apple. I love my iPods, iPhone was a terrific product and I am longing badly for a Mac, but I think Apple has failed to deliver upon expectations this time around. Or may be it's a flip side of riding on high expectations after delivering 3 blockbuster products. Whatever it is, I am not going with the iPad.
Oh by the way, I think that iPad is too predictable and too boring a name for this device. FYI: Mashable conducted a poll for the device name before the official launch, and iSlate got the highest number of votes. iSlate, hmmm, definitely better than iPad.
a) The tablet looks good, but a $500 (starting) price-tag for the hardware on offer is a bit too much. There are $300 netbooks available in the market which sport a far superior processor and graphic capabilities.
b) They say I can use it to read books, listen to music, surf internet and watch high definition video. And then they say that the maximum storage on offer is 64 GB. I fail to see a connect between the two. Don't they know how much space a movie in HD can take. And did I say that I expect the 64 GB version to be much costlier than the stated $500!!
c) The device lacks a webcam. Which by the way comes in those $300 notebooks. I think a device meant for 'fun-on-the-go' should sport a webcam.
Finally, there is nothing extra which I can do on iPad and not on my iPod Touch. I mean, common guys, a larger screen and a slimmer body doesn't create a "revolution". I am not writing down my biased feelings here, in fact I love Apple. I love my iPods, iPhone was a terrific product and I am longing badly for a Mac, but I think Apple has failed to deliver upon expectations this time around. Or may be it's a flip side of riding on high expectations after delivering 3 blockbuster products. Whatever it is, I am not going with the iPad.
Oh by the way, I think that iPad is too predictable and too boring a name for this device. FYI: Mashable conducted a poll for the device name before the official launch, and iSlate got the highest number of votes. iSlate, hmmm, definitely better than iPad.
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Saturday 21 November 2009
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Rahul Ki Life Badalni Padegi
After writing about a couple of great adverts, I just thought I'd flip. So here's a TVC, which in my view, would surely win the 'Advertising is a Joke' Award, had there been one. And I am sure that the agency, Percept, will still be happy to get an award, doesn't matter which one.
Watch this one and laugh out loud for all the wrong reasons.
Let's start the autopsy now. The commercial starts with Deepika consoling her friend, Rahul, on the phone (notice the thrills, courtesy: terrible background score) and then telling us how 'non-happening' is his friend's life. Non-happening?? Yeah. And then the viewer is introduced to what it means.
Situation 1: Playing a board game with his younger bro, and his younger bro complaining that Rahul never plays video games with him. You little poor kid, why did you sit with your elder bro with some board game in the first place. So that you can whine during the advert???
Situation 2: Girlfriend complaining that Rahul never shows her any movie. Madam, get a life. If your idea of spending time with your boyfriend is watching a movie on a cell phone, then he has all reasons to be 'non-happening' (arghh, i hate this word!)
Situation 3: Office, boss, tum kab sudhroge Rahul
Situation 4: Friends, party, let's go friends, he's so boring
BSNL 3G to the rescue..dhen ten den..it really changed his life, and mmm, should I say made it 'happening'. And hey, we didn't know that spectacled people get a pair of contact lens with every connection - may be that's why they used that ugly blue ribboned box.
The advert neither communicates to urban crowd, nor to rural junta. Terrible performances. Equally terrible score. Worse story boarding. And I can go on and on. Overall, one of the worst adverts I have come across in recent times.
@BSNL: Logon ki life badalne se pehle apni agency badlo !! It's time for you to wake up, like one of your PSU siblings, SBI, did to some extent.
Watch this one and laugh out loud for all the wrong reasons.
Let's start the autopsy now. The commercial starts with Deepika consoling her friend, Rahul, on the phone (notice the thrills, courtesy: terrible background score) and then telling us how 'non-happening' is his friend's life. Non-happening?? Yeah. And then the viewer is introduced to what it means.
Situation 1: Playing a board game with his younger bro, and his younger bro complaining that Rahul never plays video games with him. You little poor kid, why did you sit with your elder bro with some board game in the first place. So that you can whine during the advert???
Situation 2: Girlfriend complaining that Rahul never shows her any movie. Madam, get a life. If your idea of spending time with your boyfriend is watching a movie on a cell phone, then he has all reasons to be 'non-happening' (arghh, i hate this word!)
Situation 3: Office, boss, tum kab sudhroge Rahul
Situation 4: Friends, party, let's go friends, he's so boring
BSNL 3G to the rescue..dhen ten den..it really changed his life, and mmm, should I say made it 'happening'. And hey, we didn't know that spectacled people get a pair of contact lens with every connection - may be that's why they used that ugly blue ribboned box.
The advert neither communicates to urban crowd, nor to rural junta. Terrible performances. Equally terrible score. Worse story boarding. And I can go on and on. Overall, one of the worst adverts I have come across in recent times.
@BSNL: Logon ki life badalne se pehle apni agency badlo !! It's time for you to wake up, like one of your PSU siblings, SBI, did to some extent.
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