Whew!

Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man! What a match! Not that it was a brilliant football match, at least not on Germany's side, but it was a brilliantly fought one. Turkey on top in the first half, Germany not really attacking but managing to go into half time with a 1-1 draw. Schweinsteiger really pulling it through for Germany. He saved the match for Germany right there.

In the second half we got to see Germany attacking quite a bit more and then ..... the telecast disappears. Talk about bad timing. We miss Klose's header giving Germany a 2-1 lead and get the coverage back just in time to see Senturk score the equaliser. It looked like Turkey had done it again - pulled a last minute goal out of nowhere to save their match.

But then surprise surprise .. Germany pulls a "Turkey" out of its hat. Lahm manages to fire one past Rustu in the 90th minute and Germany wins 3-2. Sweet revenge for Lahm.



Due credit to Turkey. They played their hearts out and if I'm truthful they did at least deserve a shot at extra time .. Turkey was the better side today. But in the end Germany's experience got them through and I for one am overjoyed with this result.

(Don't think I could have lasted out extra time (and maybe penalties) with the telecast disappearing all the time ... Big thanks to BBC Sport for giving me ball by ball coverage)

Poor Čech

Turkey sure sucker-punched the Czech Republic. Talk about it just being your day! 2 goals in two minutes to win a place in the quarter finals and then their goalkeeper being sent off with 3 minutes to go. Nail biting finish and I mean that quite literally.

It's real good fun watching such a match when you're not rooting for any one side. Tomorrow's match, though, is another story altogether. Do or die for Germany, so I'm not going to enjoy that match as much as I did today's. Will be sitting in front of the telly and biting the rest of my nails. Oh well, at least I save on the manicure.

Silly Old Bear

Saw "Winnie The Pooh" today. Well, the movie, though I did meet him at Disneyland a month ago. Really friendly guy (or should I say bear?) Coming back to the point - as a kid I saw this movie (on video then (yes I am that old, that I lived through video) a gazillion times. During the holidays we would spread out all the videos and choose which movie to watch that afternoon. The choice always came down to Pooh bear or Alice in Wonderland. No prizes for guessing who won.

So after meeting him last month I went out to buy the DVD (since I don't have a VCR anymore, though the much-used video is still there) and found out that none of the stores in Bombay have the good ol 1977 classic "The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh". Long live Amazon! Got it (and Alice - couldn't leave her out, she did win some of the time) within 2 weeks and saw it this evening with my nephew and niece.

And I must say it was amazing! It hadn't lost any of its magic, the songs were still catchy and I even remembered most of the words. (Patting my back as I type.) And the movie got the much coveted stamp of approval from my nephew and niece - as soon as it was over they said in unison "Again!".

Constantly reaching new heights

Today I was left feeling useless, unworthy and inadequate. A sumo filled with mummy, papa, dada, dadi, 8 kids, plus the families of the nearest two neighbours stopped to ask me - I repeat: they stopped to ask me - directions to Juhu "Chowpatty". Speaking of which in Bombay we seem to have a helluva lotta Chowpattys. We got the original Chowpatty Chowpatty, then Dadar Chowpatty and finally Juhu Chowpatty. Extending the same logic, why isn't it called Manori Chowpatty and Goa ki Chowpatty? And Chowpatty doesn't even mean beach. Oh well, I digress. So they stopped in the middle of Bandra to ask how to get to "Chowpatty" in Juhu. Being the nice person I am I try to help them, which anyone who knows Bandra will know how difficult it is to guide someone from Perry Road to Juhu. Anyway I'm in the middle of my explanations when they simply drive off! How is that for appreciation and thanks?! I was left standing there in the middle of the street scratching my head wondering what is the world coming to and what values those poor 22 kids will learn? Or are they in training to become Government officials? Because they (the government guys not the kids - at least not yet) always make you feel like they are doing you a big favour when they stamp and sign that form that needed stamping and signing - the stamping and signing of which happens to be their only job. Another "oh well" needed here. Oh well!

Another bit of rudeness that I experienced in a similar scenario was in Hongkong. Me lost little tourist with map goes up to lady who is looking into shop window and hence not really busy (unless she was spying on husband inside. In that case I've perhaps misunderstood the whole situation.) Anyway, I ask her how to get to Chin Wan (or something similar, I'm sure) street. And her reaction? Nothing! A big fat nothing. She doesn't look my way, doesn't acknowledge my pitiful lil existence, nothing. And again I was left scratching my head in the middle of the street.

This asking or giving directions business is getting too complicated for my liking. Am I breaking some sort of unwritten rule in my behaviour in imparting my knowledge of roads or when asking others to share theirs with me?

Indy's back

Caught Indiana Jones yesterday. I went in there with minimal expectations and so I enjoyed the film. The thought of a 60 plus Harrison Ford playing this role was too much to swallow but, like he has been saying, Indy is older as well. There are enough references to his age in the movie - just in case you think he is still only "Junior". Shia LaBeouf isn't an irritating sidekick, which was a huge relief. (You can see how little I expected from this film.) All in all well worth a dekko, though it has its fair share of corny dialogues. But that can be forgiven. After all it's Indiana Jones!

Oh and how can I forget mentioning Cate Blanchett?! Hilarious stuff ... That lady is awesome. She's played a queen, Bob Dylan and now a Soviet agent. Maybe we'll see her as a nice little Indian woman in a sari next with the typical Indian accent a la Peter Sellers.