The Quick-'Fix' That Cricket Needs

This article also found place in the columns of the online sports journal Sportskeeda.com:http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/24/the-quick-fix-that-cricket-needs/

A few days ago the entire cricketing fraternity, especially the fans, were shocked to learn that the IPL that they had been following with such passion and fervor; skipping their offices and delegating their other commitments at times; was fixed, or at least a few matches were, without a doubt. Three players of
the Rajasthan Royals team, one of them being a National Indian side speedster, were allegedly said to be involved in what the media has liked to baptize as 'spot-fixing'. These players have been charged of accepting tranches of money from bookies to concede a minimum number of runs in an over. So its seemingly clear, and alarmingly sad for Indian Cricket, that these players were in cahoots with the bookies and contrived with them to make some quick fortune by indulging in spot-fixing and ultimately dragging Cricket into unprecedented notoriety.

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That they betrayed not only the sport but also its fans is apparent. I would not comment much on the entire episode of spot fixing, rather I would bring into light the loopholes and lacunae in the cricketing system that have facilitated such a disgraceful act.
Long before Cricket had been a gentleman's game - not any more. The grandeur and royalty that this sport brings along with it; in the forms of money, popularity and fan-following has driven many players to self-destruction. It has tempted the players to run after money and, those unsuccessful in doing it the right way, resort to methods like this. If this proposed hypothesis is true then it would be right to conclude that "Cricket is spawning greed"...
However, even if the hypothesis is not true, there is definitely something going very wrong with Indian Cricket. Some strict corrective measures are the need of the hour.The fact that its not the first time that Indian players have found themselves caught in such quagmire beckons some urgent action. Truly speaking, Indian Cricket is in crisis and something needs to be done urgently to revamp the system.
Lets look into the possible measures that can be taken.
First, it is the sole responsibility of the BCCI to regulate not only all kinds and all levels of cricket played in the country, but also to keep a close watch on the probity and fairness of the players. BCCI should come up
with strict guidelines which need to be followed at all cost. Anyone found to have contravened these guidelines should be punished severely irrespective of their stature and seniority. Acts like these will serve as
a precedent and borne some fear in the minds of other players, harboring even the slightest of thought of doing an unprofessional act and thus scarring their probity. If their conscience has not been able to deter them from indulging in these acts at least fear would.
In addition, the BCCI can also look forward to take a step ahead and compile a statute book defining
every possible act of indiscipline and also pronounce a punishment for the same. The punishment could vary depending on the seriousness of the mistake and range from just a deduction in match fee to even criminal proceedings in serious cases like this. Pessimist might argue that any law making agency or BCCI on that part, can't make a holistic statute book and list every possible act of indiscipline. Yes, but if we eye a long term aspect, then it is always possible to get that book updated on occasions when we come across something that has already not found place in this list of these activities. This would ensure two things - Not only it would make the players aware of all the activities they are restricted to do when in contract with BCCI but it would also make the players, and everyone involved with cricket, know that since there is a Control Board law in place there is no escape.
Actions like these and more are necessary to ameliorate Indian Cricket and maintain its sanctity. Indian Cricket is in danger and needs help to fade away the notorious and commercial image it is shaping for itself.
A Quick-'Fix' is what Cricket needs today, and certainly no other case of Spot-'Fix'. Actions should be taken urgently and for good.

Pseudonym : h!v

Go Goa Gone

My Verdict: 7.5/10
Comments: Good

Courtesy:http://www.moviehdwallpapers.com/

'Go Goa Gone' is more than what   you might be thinking of it. It's a fairly good movie and people, specially boys, looking forward to some typical raunchy humour would be delighted.The dialogues are pretty well timed and delivered, which gives that extra punch to the dialogues.The humour is very natural on most of the occasions. It is unlike the poorly executed and artificial humour which is typical of the movies of Rohit Shetty.
The movie takes you to Goa where three friends, and luckily a girl as well, land into all sorts of trouble. They end up coming to a secluded island where possibly they are the only humans left - rest everyone being zombies!!!
When there is no way out left, the actor-producer Saif Ali Khan comes to their rescue.
Let it be a suspense as to how and why the zombies come to existence in the first place and eventually how does our group of youngsters manage to get rid of them.
Saif Ali Khan is an add-on in the movie only to boost the star cast. Kunal Khemu, especially, has stolen the show with his quick-witted dialogues and ribaldry.Expect expletives!!!
A pretty light movie to watch and a good way to spend time with friends.
The music is good but not very soothing to the ears.
Overall a good complete package of fun-filled evening.

Pseudonym : h!v

The Cobweb Of Social Networking

We live in an electronic age, or to say in contemporary parlance : an e-age. Well, people here are suffering from a syndrome of putting the letter 'e' almost before everything.We have e-mail, e-ticket, e-bill, e-banking, e-networking and e-dating as well !!!
I guess in years to come we will soon witness e-births and e-cremations. (Pun intended!)
Nevertheless, not long before, all of these 'e-activities' were taken up in person physically instead of just logging in, typing a few words, clicking a few buttons and then eventually logging out, sitting back and watching the 'e' do its work. It's indeed phenomenally magical. But its equally unorthodox, unconventional and lackluster, to say the least.The internet today is replete with various sites of its own kind. From Facebook, the mother of all social networking sites, to Twitter, from Instagram to Flickr, from Flipkart to E-bay, there is a litany of such examples to follow.
Undoubtedly, internet has not only made life more easy and comfortable, but it has also helped people in staying more connected and bolstered the feeling of social oneness among them.So far, so good.
But what internet has also done in the course is often forgotten : it has rendered some vulnerability to every individual using the internet.Looking at the trends today, it is easy to conclude that the people, particularly youngsters, are addicted to the social networking sites of the likes of FB, Twitter etc.This has two-pronged effect - one, their sense of friendship and knowing people is contracting to the internet community only. Youngsters prefer to make friends over the internet and some 'out-of-mind' characters even go on to as far as dating someone they have known only over the internet. No sane soul in this world would support that idea but then there are always exceptions.
Two, the information shared or rather broadcasted on these social networking sites makes an individual's personal credentials and private information easily accessible to people.This facilitates unwanted people and intruders to peep into one's life and transgress one's privacy. No level of security can avoid such incidents because more often than not, sooner or later , there always is a glitch that can be exploited and taken advantage of to access one's personal information.
If we talk of organized Cyber-crime then the situation is even worse.The biggest and the most dangerous cases of frauds and heists have been perpetuated over the internet. Cases of money laundering involving huge amounts of cash are littered all over the web. Recently, several of the banks operating in India declared a cumulative loss of close to 6,600 crores because of cyber money laundering in the periods of Jan-Aug, 2012. Further a survey by Norton claims
one out of three internet users is a victim of cyber-fraud. The numbers are undoubtedly alarming and uneasing. Yet, people take this with reckless attitude and do not adhere to the rules of online banking strictly. Their nonchalant disposition is one of the reasons for rampant cases of cyber-frauds.
Optimists believe that a person is equally likely of being a target of an actual robbery and getting mugged of physical cash. But what they fail to realize is this - Cyber frauds are pretty more likely to be the mode of crime in this world of ever-increasing tech-saviness. Add to it that the perpetrators of these crimes are difficult to nab, given the sophisticated nature of the crime.
So the point to be driven home is this - the comforts and facilities that this 'e' age has showered upon us, offered just at the click of a button, should be used to the fullest. But it shouldn't be made a habit and a necessity, because sometimes the conventional way out is the best and the safest way out.

Pseudonym : h!v

Advertisement - The Inside Story

What started of as a way to make one's product known to the public, has now turned into a dirty game, whose only objective is to appease the public and tease them into buying ones product, even if it's not exactly what they need. The advertising industry has vowed to deceive the public by making them fall prey to one of their many charades and end up proving their marketing sops a perfect bait.
Celebrities and individuals of public appeal can easily be spotted endorsing a variety of products in add campaigns and on TV. However, there is one really important question that comes to the surface from here. Are these products really useful to the extent that our much-revered and fanatically-followed celebrities force us to believe???
Their personality juxtaposed with their aura, charisma and public image has such captivating effect on the minds of the people that they cease to cogitate the utility of the product.
Nevertheless, what really intrigues me is this question - Do our celebrities ever use the product that they endorse with so much conviction, in the first place???
Do we really know and for that part, should we really believe that Katrina Kaif's long silky hair, that she loves to flaunt, are the way they are because of a constant nourishment from the shampoo she endorses??? That seems a bit too hard to get into the head, at least for hardliners like me.
Furthermore, do you really believe when you see a Hrithik Roshan jumping 10ft down a cliff into water after having gulped down a soft drink??? And before jumping he chants the famous catch line of the even more famous soft-drink, to make believe the naive people that all the adrenalin that was needed to execute this super human effort was managed as a by-product of the drink. If it's true then it is expedient for the Sports Ministry in India to make that drink the official refreshment of the Olympic contagion we send every four years to different places around the world only to witness ignominious defeat in most of the sporting events, if not all.
The truth however is far from what we perceive. The celebrities endorse the product to receive fat pay cheques and contracts. But the public taken by the aura of their favorite celebrities end up shopping a not-so-useful product.
So advertising, in today's world of cut-throat competition, has become more about luring or tempting the customers to buy a product than the mere traditional motive of making it known amongst the people.
Another perfect trick that people succumb to is what I would call the "conditions-apply" catch. So the companies, to all extent, try to prove a deal way more profitable and favorable to people than it really is by using just two words and an asterisk - "*conditions apply".
They advertise rampantly about a particular deal offered or a discount given. Tempting, so much so these deals sound, that the customers can't help but to check it once. This however proves to be a futile mistake because the articulate salesperson inveigles them into buying that deal. The gullible customer only realizes later that he/she did not qualify for the deal or got only a fraction of what was promised because of a small miniscule footer - in possibly the minimum font size - whispering in a muffled tone: "Dude!!! You almost got mugged. This is what would happen if you would fail to notice me. Better luck next time."
A study also proves that a customer actually ends up spending more money when he , or precisely 'she', shops during a sale. That's because of the frame of mind a person is in when shopping in a sale. A false feeling of "I'm saving money, if I'm buying something now" dominates the thought process and by the time that feeling subsides half the work is already done. Indeed the customer might have saved some money, but effectively he/she has spent much more in proportion.
But we, the people, innocent as we are, have a relatively fading memory. We are foolish and blind and make such 'Oh-my-God-I-wasted-it' type investments again and yet again.
In the end no more serious talks and absolutely no suggestions, just two more words - Happy Shopping!!!
Pseudonym : h!v