Gameweek 14 reaches us as we start the middle third of the season. Week 13 saw few surprises though we did get the highest ever individual score. I made the error of having Fabregas as captain which I didn’t especially feel comfortable with but didn’t have many other options with Lampard and Drogba out injured, and Rooney out of form.

I did have David Dunn but didn’t fancy him due to two away games. In the event he proved me wrong. I regret not bringing in Bullard or Dempsey as I was looking at both pre-deadline. Sometimes it’s better to take the four point hit for the rewards it can bring. Don’t even get me started on having Thomas Sorensen’s 14 points left on the bench…

Gameweek 13 Top Gun (aka Tom Cruise Approves):

When I was looking back over the top scores from last week, I had a moment of panic when I thought there was a three-way 18 point tie for 1^st and I’d have to find another Top Gun character to join Maverick and Goose.

Then I remembered that someone called Jermain Defoe scored five goals against Wigan. Yes, the pint-sized striker scored a full handful of goals and picked up three bonus points. It might just be me but it almost feels like 25 points isn’t enough reward for such a feat. I guess that’s what happens with just four points for a striker’s goal. I’m sure the people who had him as captain weren’t complaining – 50 points was only two off my whole total for the week. Anyway, it’s the highest score ever from one game, even Ronaldo never got that.

As mentioned previously, following Defoe you had Dempsey Hunt and Lennon all with 18 points. The former two took advantage of playing twice while Lennon was the provider of three Defoe goals as well as getting one for himself in that 9-1 victory. A mention too for Michael Essien who scored 16 via two goals and his third man of the match award of the season.

Maverick should really be using all five hand digits to approve of Defoe's performance.

Three Captain Choices:

1. Adebayor/Man City – Every run has to come to an end and I think Man City might finally stop their run of six consecutive draws and beat Hull at home. Hull have picked up since Bullard’s return with two wins and a draw but they’re still leaky at the back while Adebayor scored his first goal in two months against Liverpool. He tends to feast on weaker defences, get bonus points when City play well and thus is a good shout for captain this weekend.

2. Drogba/Chelsea – The best defence faces the best attack this weekend as Chelsea face Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday. Normally I wouldn’t suggest picking someone from this fixture but Drogba loves playing Arsenal and has terrorised them down the years. What scares me even more is that due to Gallas being doubtful, there’s a tiny, tiny chance we might see Big Phil Senderos make an appearance. I’m shuddering at the thought, Drogba owns him.

3. Rooney/Man Utd – Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Slightly trickier now that Pompey have Avram Grant newly installed but Rooney and Man Utd should still have more than enough to beat Portsmouth.

Gets a Captain's tick.

Three suggested transfers in:

1. Evra/Man Utd - The French left back has been putting together a good season and in his last few games has picked up and assist and three bonus points. Man Utd should be good for a clean sheet against Portsmouth and after that Man Utd face West Ham, Villa, Wolves and Fulham which should provide a few more opportunities.

2. Johnson or Dann/Birmingham - I’m sure many of you already Joe Hart in your team but why not add Roger Johnson or Scott Dann to your side too? The two centre backs were a newly formed partnership at the start of the season having both been signed from Championship clubs but have adapted to the Premier League well. Johnson is the pricier of the two and more likely to get bonus points but Dann is just £3.9m leaving you plenty of case for elsewhere.

3. Hunt/Hull - Some people’s form rating is skewed by one massive week whereas others are a bit more consistent. If Bullard is out of your price range then Stephen Hunt is a good option having scored five points or more in four of the last five gameweeks.

Might be worth a pick.

Three to avoid:

1. Everton players - They were woeful against Hull and have generally struggled this season. There have been bright spots like Baines and Saha but they have a tough three games (Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea) coming up and then no fixture in week 17. Avoid for now.

2. Gibbs/Arsenal – Just as soon as he was becoming a cheap option while Clichy was out, he breaks a metatarsal and is now out for three months.

3. Owen/Man Utd - Just 24 points so far. The goal against Man City is literally the single good thing he’s done this season. Diouf, N’Gog and Ghilas all have more points. Having said that, what better opponent than Portsmouth to prove me wrong.

Are you taking the mick?

T.

Last Sunday the New York Times ran an article about GE’s worries over flagship broadcast asset NBC. No surprise, NBC is in trouble.  So much trouble that GE is about to dump it. Think about that.  GE leaving broadcast television, and NBC on its way to minor league status.

Four years ago Time Warner sold Warner Bros Records and all of its cousins, packaged as the Warner Music Group. It was bought, and subsequently taken public by, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., scion of Montreal’s Seagram’s dynasty. He had already tried, unsuccessfully, to run Universal Pictures and Records after using his Seagram assets to buy controlling interest in Vivendi Universal, but was forced out. Bronfman, as the saying goes, has more dollars than sense.

MGM studios is $23 billion in debt and about to be auctioned off. The lead bidder?  Indie movie house Lion’s Gate.  MGM-  the lion- passing through Lion’s Gate.

What does it tell us, at large, when big corporations leave the entertainment business? You could say, cynically, they are rats jumping from a sinking ship. That would be a truth, but a limited view of the truth. Corporations tend to be profitable when then can regularize production and monopolize, or least funnel access to a desired product through their proprietary channels.  Both of those things have fallen apart for corporations in entertainment.

Production. The cost of producing a record or film used to be a barrier to entry. It took cash, and it was the big companies that could supply it. With the cash came strings. Artists of all types: musicians, filmmakers, producers, actors, signed with a corporation for exclusive rights to their work, for (typically) a long time. They got paid (usually), but they did not control their own work, and they did not have the wherewithal to produce and market it on their own.

That has changed.  A movie or record or tv show can be produced for a fraction of what it cost ten years ago. Digital technology has reduced cost and increased quality by orders of magnitude. Marketing is still expensive and complex, but distribution is not. The Internet solved that.

Monopoly. Corporations love monopolies. That is the ideal. Seldom is there a pure monopoly, unless you count your local power and light company, but corporations  thrive on controlling as much access to a desired thing as they possibly can. Now, in entertainment and many other fields, everyone knows there are multitude options, legal and not, for obtaining anything digital. In other words everything the entertainment industry puts out. Two critical pillars of corporate advantage, limited access to production and monopoly status, are gone. Which is why the corporations are leaving.

Is this a good or bad thing, this leaving? It depends on where you sit, and how old you are. If you are a band like Fleetwood Mac, and you are used to the infrastructure of corporate backing, you are unsettled in the newly atomized world. If you are a young act with a great business team and Internet savvy, you might like it fine. Those that can tap the Internet to build their own base will have an advantage very few of their predecessors ever had– an unmediated relationship with the audience. When Elton had a hit in 1974, he had to sell two million copies to make a million bucks for himself.   An artist with ownership of his own product AND ownership of the audience channel, needs to sell only 100,000 units to make a million bucks.  I expect that soon we will see some rich musicians and management, doing it numbers drastically smaller than the Old Days.  Where does the corporation fit in?

Good question.

What a weekend!  It’s always fun to visit with friends at a hometown show (the annual Vero Beach Boat Show at Riverside) especially when you really do have something to talk about.  And talk we did…about boating, fishing and how productive the Indian River is right now…snook, trout, reds.  Our local gallery “The Backcountry” put together an impressive display of Dragonfly Boatworks’ latest models.  Included were a 16′ Emerger with a 40 Evinrude Etec and a gorgeous 17′ Dragonfly (soon to be on its way to Capt. Billy Glenn in Charleston, SC).  The real show stoppers, however, were the “electric” fishing kayaks.  Locals got a chance to see Fly Fishers for the first time.  They’re one-man fishing kayaks innovatively designed.  So fun!  They were flying out the door.  You’ll be seeing them on the river soon.

Our next assignment in web design was to create a design comp for a movie pre-1990, aka, before movies had their own web sites. I decided to create mine around the 1986 movie, Top Gun, staring Tom Cruise. A requirement for this design comp was to create a video player within one of the pages with the skin resembling or complimenting the rest of the site design.

Here are the home and internal pages of my design comp. I downloaded the font I used in order to give it a more digitized feel, combined with the bright green I was hoping to get the feel that you were looking through the high tech helmet of a fighter pilot…or at least the look of a simulator.

This week Sarah Palin’s books hit the market and talk about a fanfare! Whether you love her or hate her (and there are few who are in the middle) you have to admit she makes us all take a deep breath and ponder what does success means today.

On the one hand, she has a following in conservative groups because she says what they’re thinking and stands up to the “liberal media and liberal agenda”.  Political movers and shakers in the Republican Party are all aghast that she just won’t go away quietly.  And her book, which sounds like a tell all on the makings of a presidential candidate, is causing a firestorm of conversations.

So what are the lessons on success we can learn when you step out of the emotionalism surrounding her? Who really defines what is successful – the public, leaders in an organization or the person? After years of research we know success is defined by the individual.  So…What are the possibilities for Mrs. Palin’s future job success?

a)      Everyone is asking, “Is she preparing to mount a bid to be the 2012 Presidential candidate for the Republican Party”.  Since Mrs. Palin went “rouge” it is clear that she has bigger aspirations than to be the governor of Alaska, a mother, a wife and a moose hunter.  Being President is just one goal but there are a lot of others for her to consider.

b)      There are people who think she’s looking at a possible talk show, movie deal or news commentary position in her future or

c)       Of course she could be looking to form a “Mavericks R Us or Going Rouge” coalition with people who believe she’s just right on a number of issues that no one wants to talk about. Issues like, Levi Johnston is simply being used and selling tantalizing photos of his body is wrong, government spending that leads to high deficits is wrong, expecting politicians to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

The truth is no one knows how she defines or measures success but she has all the hallmarks of one who will be successful.

1)      Passion- no matter what you think of her politics Sarah Palin is passionate about stirring the pot and influencing politics. She has consistently demonstrated excitement, drive and stick-to-it-ness in spite of popular opinion.  All the signs of someone who’s passionately believes in their purpose and competence.

2)      Purpose – We may not know for sure what she believes is her purpose but one thing is clear she does believe that our political system needs a shake up and she’s the woman to do the shaking.

3)      Decisive – The Republican Party (and for that matter every other party) is split and non-functional. Before you jump down my throat just take a look at the last mid-term elections. In spite of record turnouts for the Presidential elections voters were disenchanted and simply not engaged with the November elections.  The spirited debates, the call to action and the interest in the candidates was missing in action folks. That’s an opportunity for someone who can electrify the populist.  And she sees the opportunity and is willing to go after it.

4)      A Plan – We may not know it but it looks like she knows where she’s going and is flexible enough to capitalize on whatever comes her way.

5)      Lastly, her execution appears efficient and (at least for right now) effective. Time will tell whether she’s good at execution. However one thing is for sure. The final judgment on how well she executes is determined by Sarah Palin not us. Only she can say whether, in the end, she achieved her goals. Just look at Al Gore. One door closed for him and he opened another and today by his own admission is happy, following his passion and making money doing it.

Hmmm?!? Given what we know about success, I’d say this lady has what it takes.

After what’s seemed like an age since the last Premier League matches, we return to domestic action after the international break. Plenty to consider this gameweek as four teams play twice and a host of stars are injured. More on that later.

Last time round saw an above average score of 52 for myself but this was still quite far off the high score of 107. I was not helped by Drogba and Rooney predictably doing nothing in the big clash between Chelsea and Man Utd; while I also had 13 points marooned on the bench via Joe Hart and Scott Dann, who I hadn’t thought would do much vs Liverpool.

Our captain choices did well, with Fabregas having another big week while RVP and Adebayor also had fair contributions. If you had gone with the suggested transfer of Clint Dempsey, he would have scored you seven points too.

Gameweek 12 Top Gun (aka Tom Cruise Approves):

Maverick thinks John Terry is a fool, but his fantasy score last week was good.

Yep, John Terry was Gameweek 12’s Top Gun with the now ubiquitous defender’s score of 15 points for winning goal, clean sheet and three bonus points. The number of times this has happened is ridiculous but fair play if you’ve reaped the benefit.

But wait I hear you cry, there was someone else who also scored 15 points last week. Yes dear readers, for the first time this season we had a tie for highest score of the week. John Carew almost double his season’s score with a goal, two assists and three bonus points in Aston Villa’s 5-1 destruction of Bolton. This means Maverick needs some help in approving so what better person to have than his co-pilot Goose:

Goose approves of being involved in such silliness.

It was a struggle bringing him back from the dead, but through the powers of Google search and Photoshop I managed to do it. Maybe next time Iceman will muscle his way in on the show… Elsewhere Gomes saved a penalty to score 14 for Spurs while Wright-Phillips and Fabregas both got 13, the latter getting his fifth straight man of the match award.

On to this week.

Three Captain Choices:

With Torres and Drogba very doubtful and Van Persie and Lampard definitely out, the usual field of captain choices is substantially narrowed. In addition to that Hull, Blackburn, Fulham and Everton all play twice so it might be time for some leftfield thinking in terms of captain this week.

1. Bullard/Hull – Feeling brave? Quite the gamble this one but it could well pay off. Bullard is a good player but has been injured pretty much the whole time he’s been at Hull. He made a belated home debut last week and was the key figure in a win over Stoke scoring an assist and three bonus. Now one whole game isn’t much to go on but with Hull having two games at the KC Stadium, one against lowly West Ham you’d assume he would play a part in anything good Hull may do.

2. Anelka/Chelsea - With Drogba doubtful after Jonny Evans’ kung-fu kick to his ribs, and Fat Frank injured after attempting to sprint in England training, it leaves Nicolas Anelka as the most likely source of points for Chelsea this weekend. They face a home tie against Wolves which is as near to a gimme as you can get. I fully expect a comfortable home win with a goal or two from the Frenchman.

3. Fabregas/Arsenal - Fabregas is fast becoming the new Ronaldo of fantasy football. If in doubt for a captain choice, go with him. Sunderland away is the not the easiest place to go this season, but Arsenal have a good record there in recent years and should have enough to win, even without Robin van Persie.

Gets a Captain's tick.

Three Suggested Transfers In:

1. Eduardo/Arsenal - Now that Van Persie is out for several weeks, joining the already injured Bendtner, the onus falls on Eduardo to lead the line for the leading scorers in the team. He has had a very stop start season so far but has still got two goals and two assists in just over 300 minutes of action, which isn’t bad at all. With full fitness and a new contract in the back of his pocket, he should do well over the next couple of months.

2. Etherington/Stoke – He’s kind of slipped beneath my radar but is one of the form players of the last few weeks. In his last five games he has three assists and two goals as well as a few bonus points. Over the next four weeks, only Arsenal is a game which you would class as tough for Stoke.

3. Alexander/Burnley – His price has gone right up now but as long as Burnley keep getting penalties, he’s still worth it I’d say.

Might be worth a pick.

Three To Avoid:

1. Van Persie/Arsenal - Out for a couple of months in case it wasn’t already clear. Let’s hope he doesn’t rush back from injury like he has done in the past.

2. Benayoun/Liverpool - Has been in great from this season but has tweaked his hamstring. Also, knowing Rafa he’ll probably find a way to drop the Israeli now that Aquilani is approaching full fitness.

3. Bolton players – Bottom of the team stats with just 345 points between them.

Are you taking the mick?!

T.

Sarah Palin - Going Rogue

The Sarah Palin comeback tour has officially begun this week with interviews and a small town book tour, promoting Going Rogue.

In fact, I want to call this the beginning of the Sarah Palin grassroots campaign tour for the 2012 presidential election as she travels through midwestern towns (one just 30 miles from where I’m originally from) discussing her book and current ideals on the country. But as many feel her time in the political world has long surpassed its run and it is time to throw in the towel, Sarah Palin has cautiously and strategically positioned herself to be a potential force in the future. For the former governor has used her image to place her on numerous magazine covers and even landed her an interview for The Oprah Winfrey Show.

In an essence, Sarah Palin’s position in the political sector is what Dolly Parton is to the entertainment industry. For both women use their looks, small town ideals and naive disposition to appeal to a crowd that will provide them the success they need to stay afloat in each respected demographic. And what’s completely ironic about this whole situation is that though Parton’s act has been widely accepted through numerous demographics, Palin has only managed to gain approval from the dominant male group. And frankly, that is all she needs to do in order to survive in the political world…gain attention to those who make the stories run.

When we first saw this former Alaskan beauty queen, she was standing behind the podium in St. Paul, Minnesota, accepting her nomination as vice-president of the United States. Many had the slightest clue where this woman came from for she was never considered to be a front-runner for the position. In fact, many media outlets were clueless because out of the many months Sen. John McCain had after the primaries (reminder, he won the GOP nomination back in April/May…way before the Obama/Clinton fiasco was finished), he decided to pick a woman whom had little to no political experience outside of Alaska.

This apparently was evident because not soon after she began campaigning alongside McCain, she found herself in a media frenzy with her as the bait. She made countless mistakes in network media (who can forget the Katie Couric interview) and was also satirically written into weekly Saturday Night Live skits (This further catapulted Tina Fey’s fame as an actress).

But through all of the scrutiny, she was still able to form a following. Surprisingly enough, she was able to use her sex appeal even as she promoted her Alaskan heritage and small town morals. And in going further, Palin was able to break the stereotype of the typical female politician because she was not one who spoke out asking the general electorate to disregard her race, but instead, she confirmed her gender to the public and stated said to judge her as is.

Palin’s tactic was one no other female politician ever chose to do. Even Hillary Clinton, as questioned during the primaries on her toughness, had to relate her own personal traits to a man’s perspective instead of a woman’s. Clinton had to prove to the general public she was tough enough to withstand the pressures and morbid future this country faces. Overall, Clinton had to fit a masculine male’s role instead of her own female self.

This was not the case for Palin and ultimately, in my opinion, it is what caused women to repel against her. Like Parton, Palin amped up her beauty to further appeal to the already salivating male genre, which ultimately cost the GOP potentially millions of votes. It wasn’t her air ball interviews or her cheesy speeches (remember “maverick” during the one and only presidential debate?). Those mistakes only aided to the whole idea that a sexually provocative women was selected as a vice-presidential candidate for the country. It was what turned men on but turned women away from the McCain/Palin ticket to a sensible Obama/Biden ballot.

With the outcome of November 4, 2008, many breathed a sigh of relief as they felt Palin would slowly and quietly tuck herself back into the boundaries of Alaska, where she belonged. But following her resignation as Alaska’s youngest governor, Palin flew under the radar and began to not only attend various GOP funded events but she also penned her latest book, Going Rogue, which is already a bestseller as it is expected to sell over a million copies its first week.

In her book, she writes on the ‘08 election and continues to maintain her image as a good ol’ gal from Alaska. In her interview with Oprah yesterday, she repeatedly spoke of her memories from her childhood and her day to day life as a normal moral American. By doing this, she further thrusts herself into the political gossip of 2012. She chooses to maintain/strive for a positive PR image as this grassroots movement is setting its foundation. Palin took the time to pin her book and in turn, gave herself enough leverage to forge a possible career in national politics.

In doing so, Palin will continue to be what she has always been. She will dress and look like a glamorized soccer mom in her 40s while all the while preaching her moral Alaskan roots. It’s the image she’s created and therefore she will maintain it until the end. But what she needs to do in order be be considered credible is to stop being the headlining target of the media and get down to business as a politician. She must show what she is passionate about through her actions rather than a best-selling book. By doing this, then she could be seen as a reliable and real political figure.

Now, I am by no means a Sarah Palin supporter but I do have to give her credit for being able to hang around the news for this length of time. In all honesty, I thank her for giving the election to Obama because she didn’t just hand it over, she served it to him on a cold cut platter. But through it all, we still read about this woman on a weekly basis because for some reason the country is still fascinated by this woman. Whether or not people believe she is suitable for a national public office (believe me, no one believes she is), Palin has still been able to generate a significant political buzz that really only Obama has been able to do over a long period of time. She has been seen as a normal person wanting to create a change in this country (though I don’t really consider her homophobic, Bible-thumpin’, animal hunting tactics as the change needed for this country).

We just need to realize that Going Rogue is her attempt at a comeback and a way for the public to realize the media will never stop with its fascination on this woman.

And yes, you bet I’m going to get my hands on this book.

Look out 2012, here comes Sarah Palin

SHE’S BA-ACK – and with a vengeance. Sarah Palin’s new memoir, ‘Going Rogue: An American Life‘, hits stores Tuesday. (Should have been called ‘Mavericky: How I Thought the Election Was All About Me and Helped Kill Whatever Chance John McCain Had of Winning It’).

The Baracuda has returned. She never really left, of course. Since failing in her bid with McCain for the White House, and resigning as governor of Alaska in the summer, Palin has served as a vocal conservative counterpoint to the American left, staying in the thick of things by sharing her views – mainly through her Facebook page – on the issues of the day. (She helped perpetuate that whole death panel thing, for example.)

Dobbs for president? He certainly looks the part.

With her book hitting stores this week, you’d have to think Palin is taking a first major step toward a 2012 presidential bid. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Palin could get the nod from the Republicans for the nomination. After all, the party is currently bereft of any notable new contenders. (Though perhaps Lou Dobbs could be one now – he certainly looks presidential.)

UPDATE (Nov. 25): Lou Dobbs weighs Senate run, as a steppingstone

Palin, when she’s not raging against the “liberal media,” has a certain folksy charm and conservative views, all of which is appealing to them there down-home ‘real Americans.’  And it turns out she’s not as clueless as she seemed in her disastrous interviews with Katie Couric during last year’s election.

Why wouldn’t the Republicans go with Palin? President Obama is up against it these days, with two wars, a battered economy, health care reform and climate change. So far, though, he’s had few victories to speak of and has left many supporters wondering what happened.

Crazy though it may seem, is it possible disenchanted independent voters (those who decide elections) would give up on Obama and opt for Sarah Barracuda?

For now at least, there are few signs of that being a possibility. A recent Gallup survey found that 63 per cent of voters would not seriously consider Palin for the White House in 2012. And while she may be popular among Republicans, only 28 per cent of independents – those who make or break elections – think she is qualified to be president.

I can't see the difference, can you?

Still, politics and certainly elections are driven by personality, and Palin has plenty of chutzpah (I have to admit, though, I find it hard sometimes to decipher whether who I’m seeing on television is actually Sarah Palin or Tina Fey… more often than not it’s Fey.)

Plus, for what it’s worth, she’s apparently sexy enough to inspire a new porn series: “Who’s Nailin’ Palin?” (with both “Obama” and “Joe the Plumber” making appearances as co-stars).

Let’s see Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney beat that. On second thought, let’s not.

ryan@roadtostarrdom.com

Related: AP says Palin’s book goes rogue on some facts

>> Palin calls Newsweek cover ’sexist’ and ‘degrading‘

This week the train stops at Madonna’s unforgettable 1986 album “True Blue”, dedicated to her then husband Sean Penn this album was deemed more girly and fun than her predecessors Madonna and Like a Virgin. Spawning 5 hit singles this album is said to be the one that secured her place as a superstar in the 80s. I disagree I feel all of her albums up to this point helped her career as they all had several major hits but this one I suppose is different as she took it in a different direction sound wise.

Track List

1. Papa Don’t Preach

2. Open Your Heart

3. White Heat (SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SINGLE)

4. Live To Tell

5. Where’s The Party

6. True Blue

7. La Isla Bonita

8. Jimmy Jimmy

9. Love Makes The World Go Round

10. True Blue (The Color Mix) *

11. La Isla Bonita (Extended Remix) *

* Bonus Track On The 2001 Remastered Version
   Bold = Single

 Photography By: Herb Ritts

Heyyyyyyy readers…… hope you are all doing great….. Its time for a little change….. Arjun had promised a special edition for this week I suppose…. The thing is that he preferred another author to do this week’s blog…. And Its meeee… I am writing this week’s edition… I dunno whether the special edition is really special to you… but I ve done my job… hope you all like it…. … Though people who are close to me can easily make out, I am not revealing myself for now…. HERE IT GOES……..

HIGH SCHOOL – The place where we spent the sweetest part of our lives – our teens. It is the time we just start learning things. (Ohhhh yeah!! A lot of things…)  The time you start liking a girl without your own knowledge and for a reason which you could not explain to yourself till date. ‘ You like her coz she is pretty?? Or she smiles at you in class?? May be your neighbour??? Is she someone else’s girl friend??(you see.. it happens sometimes..)’…. I am sure we never had answers to these questions. You just reply “Man…!! I donno all that… but I like her…” (BTW, the same goes to the girls tooooo.. stop flying arnd and get back). It was the period of our life we dint know anything fully, a mind which was not qualified enough. Take my words friends, those days, ironicaly becomes the happiest and the most joyous episode in our journey towards grave.

Howwwwww??? Well…. That’s simple….. WE DIN’T THINK BEYOND.… In fact, we dint know to think beyond.. We were not exposed to the real life challenges… real emotions.. real betrayals… Simply speaking, ‘Daddy is there to take care of the telephone bills, then why the fuck should I stop calling her’.., this was our life…. We lived in a world of our own; a virtual world full of mysterious happiness and fallacious pains; the pains which we laugh at by now as they were no match to the pains and grieves we come across in this true world.

We the ‘Mavericks’….. of course…. belonged to the same category of high school boys and girls.. we were just those normal students you see….. But what made us look aberrant?? What was so special about our school days?? Why are we writing these blogs?? What forces us to share our school days with you??….. Well…! Everything has a reason…

After us, GG was never the same….. just to give you an idea, here are the few rules and regulations put in effect after us… a few rules introduced and a few modified (forced to modify)….

• The Interact club of the school was completely banned.(believe me… there was no reason for it… we in fact contributed a lot of money to the school trust through this club… we booked the theatre for a new movie which released at that time and sold the tickets for a double  fare…. It was a successful plan as the tickets sold out fully… a huge profit… you may wonder then why the hell was the club banned… now read this… ‘the thing is…. the movie turned out to be an “A” certified movie…’ why the fcuk were they bothered about that…. The result is what matters…  )

• No more more inter-school fests.  (aaahh!! They made sure no more bets..)

• The students should not maintain personal relationships with any teacher in the school and vice versa.   (goshhhh..! why was that…. We never proposed to any lady teacher.. did we guys??)

• No student should visit a teacher’s residence without informing the management priorly.. (wonder why !! was that to protect the teacher’s daughter’s and wives??? How cruel..L)

• The nominees for the school pupil leaders, assistant school pupil leaders, the sports captains… all were selected by the management and the election was held among them.. (and yeahh…. They even made sure who wins in the election from that nominee list… they selected leaders who will give a big nod of their heads when the management says ‘dear.. The sun rises in the west’).

• No get-togethers unofficially… ( only official get-togethers to sit and listen to Mala mam’s songs… MIDDLE FINGER)

Those were the few effects of our impression inside that campus…. Poor juniors… Sorry guys, no offense…. Things just happened….. but I am sure our juniors loved us coz we were just the right seniors for them in every aspect…. (we sometimes even guided them to capture a girl’s heart… Ohh… that’s quite simple bb… we’ve got every strategy in the book when it comes to such things…) The mavericks never spared their issues toooooo.. any argument with the management, we ll be right there without an invite…. Heyyyyy….! They are after all our brothers and sisters… Oooooooops!!!! Did I see say sisters????? Goshhhh…. Typing error….. change it to JUST FRIENDS…

Apart from the school premises, a problem anywhere anytime in the city, a call and the dons (heyyy.. stop wondering who those dons were… who else) appear(even a missed call for that matter)……; Luckily our city is not so big….. it hardly takes 30 min from one end to the other end of the city….!! Its not those big metro cities filled with malls and multi-plexes…. But…. this city was our Las Vegas….. this…. was our heaven…. Now.. before… and forever…. Well… if u wonder what is it that we could have done in such a small city without such sources of entertainment……  you r wrong….. We took the most out of that place….. TUM TUM… again… not those big malls… a simple shopping complex …. We call it our ‘spot’.. the ultimate place… the place where every operation(ahemmmm!!) of ours was planned…. Even today, the roaming romeos catch up at this place only once in a while when we make it to our city…

‘The Roaming Romeos’….???? Yuppp…. That’s how the maverick boys were called in those days….. mala ma’am was the one who knighted us with that tag….. As I said everything has a reason…. The city has three very famous girls’ (only) schools (poooooooor girls…. Ur cries were heard, dear ones.. we were there for uuuu…)…. Famous??? Yeah… they had good academic standards…. But who cares…. They were even more popular for their charm…. The best girls in the city were in those 3 schools… goshhhh…. I get flattered even now when I think of those faces now…(oooooh noooo…. I can never keep my mouth shut… ). Anyways… they were the dream girls of those days for the boys in the city…. All eyes were on them…. But u know what……. their eyes were on us…… heyyyyy…. Stop smiling and get back u readers…. I am serious…. I swear…. I promise….. hence, we deserved the title ‘The Roaming Romeos’.

Those girls never miss any fests or games in which we play around the city…(they don’t miss even our practice sessions for that matter… yes or no guys???)… the mavericks had cricketers, athletes, basket ball players, table tennis…. indoors outdoors… etccc…..  players not for name sake alone…. They were really really good in every sport they indulged in… trophies and medals…… we were there everytime….. we rocked in every field for sure…. Awesome days they were….. to some extent, we performed so well atleast to impress  our ‘just friends’ and sometimes even to show off to the next target or may be even to impress another guy’s girl friend…(we’ve done that too guys…. Time to admit.. after all love is blind…) damnnn…. We never felt sorry for those poor guys also….. And you know, the mavericks had lovely orators, writers(there is an example for it in arjun), actors(wowwww… v rocked in that) and we had scientists tooo(saddyyyy.. the researcher)… One example for the talent we had, we organized the major event for our teacher’s day programme in just one evening during 2003 and 2004… what a hit that was!! Remember guys????

In general, the mouths that bombard us and the legs that kick us, will all just shut their asses when it comes to academics… We were the best!! Guess what!! The best English writers in school were the highest degree creators… this was well agreed by our senior faculty a$$.. ooops! sorry…. by our senior faculty mala ma’am…We made sure we perform well in academics…. Ahemmmm!! atleast to prevent ourselves get kicked out of school….(Did I say that??) Or I am sure they would have sent us home any fine morning for the havoc we created…. In fact we went to school everyday expecting our TC within that day…. During the last bell of each day, what satisfaction!!.. ‘yipeeeeeee…! Today is successfully over..’…

I don’t do justice and the blog is incomplete rather if I don’t write about the sweetest part of our entire school days. The girls… our JUST FRIENDS.. I always believe that woman is the most beautiful creation on earth… (stop smiling guys… let me write something serious.. plzzzzz)… And the teenage girls…. Wowww… honey should be ashamed…. The sweetest thing for me! We had the privilege of getting around with such girls… Thanks for all you girls who made our teenage and school life complete and so special… thanks for giving us those moments… Years have passed… we may lose touch, break off etc…. but you are our first crushes…. The girls we came across in our school, the other schools, our neighbours.. everyone… You were the first girls whom we admired.. knowingly or unknowingly… but, we or at least, I agree to that whole heartedly… you were there everytime to cool us down… everytime we got into trouble… everytime we needed company… healing all our problems with just your smiles.. you will all, forever, be in our memory…. (guys…. Just in memory…. Not outside…. Don’t get into trouble in future… your wife will whip you then…)

At times now, I think of those days… those lovely moments… and offer a small smile… coz that’s the only thing I can do…. coz I know those days will never ever come back… Even today, when I go to school and see those empty classrooms, the canteen, the ground… I can see us…. I can see us running around without worries…. I can see us giving a secret stare to our just friends…. I can see our dear teachers firing at us.… I can see us perform on that stage…. Those green tress, those tables and chairs, the basketball court… all still rest there…. Allowing us to cherish those memories… I am sure…. those walls will remember us… the windows will miss us… those teachers will miss  us… those buses and vans will miss us…. GG WILL MISS US… and we long for those days knowing that we will never make it there once again….

– The Tale of the Mavericks

PS: Thanks a lot to my friend for writing this wonderful piece down for me. Readers, lets see how well you have got the story so far, try guessing the author. Also, do let US know how you liked it in your comments.

Happy Birthday to Agraj Sethi and Kajal Mahdani.

See you all next week.. and Yes, I ll be back…. though I can see a few readers wanting the Special Edition author to continue..  your votes dont count in my books.. No, Maverick at Work is not a democracy. Fly high till then “In the cold November Rain“….

“Life is a challenge, meet it.” - Mother Teresa

God loves an old lady who can set anyone straight in a sentence. Clear, simple, elegant and packed with truth. This statement grabbed me by my guts and forced to face more than a few situations. The bottom line of life in general is that it is not easy. The sooner we get over that, the sooner we can begin to live.

It does beg the question, What are you refusing to face?

I am sure that there are goals you want to achieve and I am equally sure there are obstacles in the way. Again, it’s how we view those obstacles that will determine our level of success. When I take individuals through experiential activities like firewalking, board breaking, walking on broken glass and bending re-bar with your throat I ask people to take a physical challenge and look for the psychological or mental challenge that they can relate the experience to. There really isn’t a huge difference between the two. That is what makes that experiential intiatives so strong. If you can face your fear and achieve under those circumstances, what else can you do?

Life is one long string of challenges that began with our first breath. Through our first steps, into our mastery of language, mathmatics, and social relationships to name a few, we have all learned by facing the unknown. There is no magic pill or secret information. There is only “do” or “do not”. Take a step forward and you will learn. It’s guaranteed.

So….what will you do now?

After experiencing a viral attack on our old host, Maverick shifted our blog to another host and it’s finally working again. We’re tweaking the blog but here’s something that I posted on on the resurrected blog this morning:

Lessons for Business in the Cicak-Buaya fight

There is a valuable lesson for Business in the conflict between the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Police Force.

It is a lesson of what to do when a seemingly vulnerable institution is threatened by a powerful one. It is the story of how, in Indonesian terms, the cicak (gecko) managed to stand its ground against the bullying buaya (crocodile).

Compared to the Police, which has wide ranging powers and seemingly unlimited resources , the KPK’s influence and power is miniscule. So when it came under attack from the police for alleged corruption among its commissioners, the KPK was in a quandary.

If the KPK was a business entity it would most likely hire an expensive lawyer, engage some lobbyists to probe who could be mollified to settle the issue, and then hunker down in silence. It would also have gone into denial, treating the matter as a pure legal issue and hope that the truth would set them free in a court of law.

If the KPK had done all these, they would have been finished by now.

Read more here.

 

Check out this Mission sidewalk graffiti, courtesy of Don’t Ask Me, I Just Work Here:

I JUST ATE SOME OF THIS SHIT FOR LUNCH!!!!!

So anyway, The Wall Street Journal says hipsters in New York and California love mac and cheese.   No big deal, but Safewaygirl totally called it like two days before that article even came out.

Where’s the best m & c in town?  I would say Maverick, but I talk about Maverick too much.