Marion Jones:Glory gone

October 9, 2007

After years of denying the use of steroids, Marion Jones finally came clean last week.
The American sprinter, one of track and field's biggest stars after winning five medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, has long denied that steroids played a role in her success.

But she pleaded guilty in the Federal court in White Plains, New York, on Friday, to lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.
Jones told the court she swallowed tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, also known as "the clear," which she said had been given to her by her former coach Trevor Graham.

She has subsequently relinquished the five Olympic medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Games and retired from the track.

Why was Farhan Akhtar's Don better than RGV's Aag?

While many filmmakers boast of doing things out of the ordinary, some of them are drawn back to the age-old magic of Sholay, Don, Umrao Jaan , or then others are trying to bring to the audiences the once-upon-a-time black-n-white box office rockers in colour. But it is the Naya Daur , and it's best that age-old classics remain untouched on their thrones of gold, than adapting them to current day and age situations, and then going ballistic about their new avatar, which is hardly new at all.

And that, we think, is the mistake RGV made. The film was an exact replica of Sholay , but remained unmatched in class and performances. Farhan Akhtar, too, was tempted to make a tribute to the movie he had grown up watching – Don. And though we bashed it for casting SRK as Don in it, let us tell you that his twist-in-the-tale was far more exciting than the picking up of Sholay and placing it on a new canvas. The old wine in new bottles, is just not working! And more so if you have the exact same story to tell.


Take Umrao Jaan as yet another example. We watched it on a television channel recently and vowed that the film should've fared better than what it did. It was simply told and beautifully executed, but the shaan and ada of that era, was obviously missing. But our filmmakers won't understand, or maybe they do but are just trying their luck shooting in the dark. What was a success story once, may just create history again! But dear Directors, only if told with the same charm, magic and panache.

Of all the re-makes and colour re-releases, Farhan Akhtar's Don seemed to have 'donned' more colour than the rest. Reason? It had enough commercial value to hold the audience' attention. And the story left even the yesteryear audiences stunned at the end of it. The masses didn't feel cheated, and were happy to have got a whole new experience when they walked out of the theatres. This old wine in a new bottle was tweaked. And that made all the difference.

New cars at used ones' rates!

Dealers of leading car manufacturers, including Maruti Udyog,Hyundai, Ford, Fiat and Tata are tying up with used-car owners to liquidate old stocks of car models that have been phased out or replaced by upgraded models.

The popular models in the market include the Hyundai Sonata (replaced by the Embera in August 2005), the Maruti Baleno (replaced by the SX4 in December 2006) and the Hyundai Accent Viva (production of which has stopped), among others (see table).

Prices of premium models like the Honda Accord and the Toyota Corolla were also expected to fall once the company launched upgrades, people in the know said.
"I have been contacted by car company dealers across the country to help dispose of their line of stock generated ever since car manufacturers phased out the older models.

The dealers are ready to offer huge discounts for the vehicles," confirmed Aarif Fazulbhoy, director, Fazulbhoy Motors, one of the largest car dealers in the city.
Due to restrictions imposed by car makers, dealers cannot advertise on their own for either discount offers or freebies on phased-out models that are hard to sell. The dealers then have no option but to sell these models through used-car outlets.

"Offers start to come in from all over the country as soon as a car maker launches an upgraded version of a model," said another reputed used car dealer. Such used car dealers generally get offers from cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and states like Rajasthan and Haryana.
Generally, the commission charged by a used-car dealer varies between 10 and 15 per cent of the total cost of the car.

Bhajji makes his case for Twenty20

Here's an interesting poser for the Indian selectors. Should they go in for specialist spinners or opt for bits and pieces players who double up as spinners for the Twenty20 World Cup?

While the selectors' mind will be known on Tuesday, one of the contenders, Harbhajan Singh, has already put his hand up to be counted. India's No 1 spin option until recently, the 'Turbanator' is currently toiling in English county cricket for Surrey. The shortest format of the game is considered to be cruel to bowlers in general, and spinners in particular, but Harbhajan told TOI from London: "In Twenty20 there are a lot more chances to take wickets than in any other form, especially if you are a spinner. The batsmen are forever looking to hit and that gives you a chance to take wickets. You just have to keep hitting the right spot." What might impress the Indian selectors is that the highest wicket-taker in English Twenty20 cricket for the last two seasons has been a spinner.

Left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi, son of former India spinner Dilip, has topped the charts and has made a case for slow bowlers. Nayan, incidentally, was Harbhajan's teammate at Surrey till he walked out of his contract. "Most wickets are taken by spinners even now. (Chris) Schofield (a leg-spinner) is doing well this time," added Harbhajan of his teammate. According to Harbhajan Singh, two seasons of Twenty20 cricket in England have provided him with the right ideas on how to go about playing in this format. "Obviously your mindset changes a bit. Remember, in Twenty20 you are going to be hit. But your mind has to be sharp all the time because of the fast-paced nature," opined Harbhajan. While most teams, including India, hedge on picking specialists, Harbhajan bats for his tribe. "Taking wickets is the best and only way to win matches whether it is Tests, ODIs or Twenty20. Even in Twenty20, if you score a lot of runs it is of no use if your bowlers do not bowl well. At the end of the day batsmen still get out the same way."

Baroda's off-spinning all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, brother of India discard Irfan, is considered an option. Yusuf is a clean striker and a tight offie, making him a perfect combination for Twenty20. But Harbhajan is not one to be cowed down by such threats. "Even I can bat. I have a good record in Twenty20 as I showed in the domestic tournament. I can also hit the ball a long way," said Harbhajan. As Harbhajan waits to know his fate on Tuesday afternoon, he presented his case one final time in his own style. "And in any case this is a World Cup, not any small tournament. You have to pick your best players," he said.

India's Sania reached a career-high ranking of 30 on the latest WTA list released Monday following her recent exploits at the US Open hard court series.

Sania, who was ranked 31 the previous week, reached the quarter-final at the Acura Classic, before going down 6-1, 6-2 to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

The 20-year-old Hyderabadi maintained her doubles ranking of 26. Rohan Bopanna, who has won three Challenger titles with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in as many weeks, broke into the ATP doubles top-100 for the first time, to be ranked at 92. The Indian, though, suffered a setback in the singles rankings. He lost seven places to be come down to 222 while Davis Cup teammate Prakash Amritraj slid six places to 268. Karan Rastogi came down a rung, to be ranked 340. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi held on to their positions at number eight and number 21 respectively in the doubles.

Another foodie experience

Was at Deccan Rendezvous yesterday night....Actually I was performing there..so another complimentary dinner...and boy,was it sumptuous!! There were quite a few things on the menu..I started off with the Alu & Fruit chaat,which was decent..something I'd not eaten anywhere earlier,followed by Spicy Potatoes in Coriander Sauce. Now this particular dish was a bit of a disappointment. The name and the looks of the dish were much better than the eventual taste. Interesting though..

In the main course I opted for the Mexican Grilled Fish,Kheema Mutter,Murg Roghani,Paneer Tikka Masala and Dum Alu. (Accompanied by butter naan of course)
Now the Fish looked great,but was a tad undercooked. It took time to chew it,which wasnt very amusing. The Kheema Mutter was absolutely scintillating. Fantastic. I swear if they'd hidden the name of the dish I'd be fooled into thinking that it was a veg dish! Never eaten a veg dish which tasted so much like a non-veg one! The Murg Roghani was good,but on the oily side. Paneer tikka masala was on the sweeter side and again,oily. No spicy taste that is otherwise normally associated with this dish. The Dum Alu was again,pretty good. The gravy tasted great,the potatoes were well done. But again,the oil....

I rounded off with Walnut Cream Pie and Rasmalai. Now this Cream Pie is something I'd never had anywhere earlier,and it was interesting. A bit on the drier side,but the mashed akrod(walnut) tasted quite nice...a pleasant change from all the regular deserts..However it wasnt so good that I could be tempted for a 2nd piece.

All in all,another great food experience at Deccan Rendezvous...Which again compells me to think..Am I among the rare people who have had good experiences at this place? Btw,all this was in the Conference Hall upstairs and not in their restaurant-Glass Window. The service was also good,except for 1 problem...there were too many power cuts for my liking.

Die Hard 4.0

Die Hard is back!! John McClaine is back!! A bit bald yes,but nevertheless..the super top cop returns. Here's a review of the movie published on a prominent website.

America is in chaos. Hackers are shutting down every computer system and network in the country, and cop John McClane is huddled up with a couple of geeky hackers in a basement that couldn't be any nerdier. The chief baddie, a deranged superhacker, makes his ultimatum clear, via webcam.

A distraught McClane turns to his hacker buddies to start coming up with a plan, placing his hand over the webcam as he talks. He's interrupted by the villain, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). 'Mr McClane, covering the camera does not turn off the microphone.'
'nuff said. Bruce Willis, now 52, isn't the yippee-ki-yay mo*bleep* cowboy he once was -- and even if he were, he's way past his sell-by date. Compared rightly (and obviously All-Americanly) to a Timex watch in a digital age, McClane can't cope with the country taken over by vindictive hackers.

All he knows is that these guys need to be shot. Oh, and he needs to save his daughter -- there's always gotta be some emo-involvement for John. It's as blockbuster as it gets, and the reason we love McClane -- who calls an astonishingly acrobatic villain names like spider-boy -- is because he's old-school.

So here we have this big, big, big film, the most amped-up Die Hard ever, full of explosions and chases. It's not as bloody as the other films, and bald John ain't as given to death and the profanity as we're used to -- though one assumes the latter will be much affected by the DVD release, free of the unholy PG-13 rating the big-screen release is straddled with. This one is more a typically summer blockbuster than the gritty violence the franchise is known for.
Directed by Underworld director Len Wiseman, Die Hard 4.0 echoes standard Hollywood popcorn, a movie echoing Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay.

Sure, there's some John McClane 'wit', but while some of it is nostalgic and fun, mostly it's obvious and contrived. He orchestrates a car crashing into a helicopter, and when his hacker sidekick Matt Farrell (Justin Long) marvels at the feat, he shrugs it off. 'I was out of bullets,' McClane tosses at the audience, evoking grin and grimace in equal, simultaneous measure. Yeah, it's that kinda movie -- and heck, it's been a while.

Oh, and about the rejoinder to McClane's unforgettable 'yippee-ki-yay' quote, well, it's there, and a bullet runs through it. Hell, that hurts.

As is convention for any decade-old action hero returning to the big screen, Willis finds much room for fathering his sidekick. Long, the less-malevolent of the genius hackers, starts off unrealistically cocky, but grows to predictably awed admiration. Besides, with a life increasingly under fire, there're few of us who wouldn't feel safer on John's side.

Anyway, as mentioned in the beginning, America is under threat. In this world of Youtube, the hackers trade letters clipped from newspaper headlines for a montage of words taken from various Presidential speeches to piece together their (admittedly goofy) threat to the nation. It's a fun idea, going from Clinton to Nixon to long stretches of George W Bush to make their position clear, reminiscent of all those movies with rubber President masks used for bank jobs. Gabriel and his svelte lover Mai (Maggie Q) are shutting down all systems, one by one.

Is it a coherent plot? Heck, no. It's just a big disaster movie, but thankfully, there's enough raw pace to keep you relatively involved in John's story, without worrying about the inconsistent details -- which include a mysterious computer virus capable of actually making your hard drive explode.

The stunts are massive, yet mercifully not overdone, graphically speaking. The film is pretty old-school in its overall styling, and the meat is well done. You may be a stunning, lethal hacker-assassin, but as Maggie Q discovers, when you try and kick John McClane's bottom, he responds in kind, worrying not about chivalry as he punches the villainess in the chomper, again and again and again. And that's him on mild, of course.

There's lots to whine about, particularly an overlong second half -- a 30-minute trim would have done the film a whole lot of good, as would a lot more Maggie Q, arguably the sexiest hacker ever -- but it's pretty much as good as it gets. The first Die Hard was a savagely funny actioner with a great character, a film that worked outside of traditional action audiences just as well. The second and third films sucked, and this one is a standard-issue Hollywood summer release -- lots of bang and boom, a dollop of avoidable emotion but enough testosterone to soak your popcorn in.

The only reason this film works is because of Willis. He wears John McClane like a raggedy second skin he's more than used to, and it's an irresistible performance from an actor arguably past his prime -- well, his primest, anyway. This is more a roleplaying job than an acting one, and -- exuberant as a 12-year-old with a plastic stengun -- Willis has a blast. It's totally worth it to watch him play.

In the end, of course, it's all about welcoming back Mr. McClaine. And you know what they say about old memories.

They die hard.