Blogosphere: March 27, 2007

PICK OF THE WEEK

Shaki-rage…

My rage over Mirage Promotion's unscrupulous work in organising Shakira's concert... If there's one word to describe the whole event, then it must be... Disaster.
The overall stage performance was really great, Shakira gave us a wonderful show alluring the crowd with every minute of her booty shaking and singing. I must confess, how Shakira tirelessly shook her body for more than an hour was fascinating. And who didn't love her belly dancing part? The crowd went crazy when she started shaking her hips while an Arabesque instrumental played in the background.
However, the show itself was the only good part of the whole concert event last night. Now here are the bad and the ugly parts. The venue: disaster. Organising a very big concert in that location was a very bad idea. The traffic was barely moving simply because of the huge number of cars and trucks sharing the same road. Really, it's time for Dubai to have a proper place for large concerts. It's a shame how international artists would have an overall bad concert because of the organisers's lack of proper preparation on their side.
http://falapeno.blogspot.com/

And more rage…

Never again will I attend a huge concert in Dubai. Never again will I attend a concert organised by Mirage Promotions. Last night can be described with just one word: DISASTER.
Dubai wants to organise concerts that attract international artists? Dubai wants an event where there are 25,000 people attending? Well, Dubai better start setting up a decent infrastructure that will be able handle such a load ... because the logistics of Shakira's concert were simply ridiculous!
It took us 2 hours to get to the Dubai Autodrome (from the Greens), because the traffic on Al Khail Road was moving at a snail's pace. When we finally got near the Autodrome, we realised why traffic was so backed up: there was simply one entrance, with one lane (!!) to the parking area of the autodrome. Umm, I may not be an engineer, but HELLOOOO! Don't you think that's a recipe for disaster right there?
We told the cab driver to stop up at the roundabout before the autodrome, and we walked a good 20-30 minutes to get to the ticketing area. And there, we were met by yet another disaster.
http://dxbsunshine.blogspot.com/

A positive tale

While stories of guests bad behaviour are normally my style, a few nights ago in the hotel restaurant, my faith in humanity was restored. A young couple had just sat down for dinner, when the woman went to the bathroom. The man asked the waiter for two glasses of house bubbly, and told the waiter he was going to propose. The waiter asked if he would like a bottle, to which the man said he couldn't afford it as he'd spent almost all his money on the ring.
At the next table, a more mature couple overhead the conversation, and the husband went to the waiter, ordered and paid for one of the most expensive bottles of champagne on the wine list. He had it sent to their table on the condition the younger couple didn't know who it was from. When we asked him later why he would spend so much money for complete strangers, he replied simply "I remember what it was like to be struggling for money and in love, everyone deserves a nice bottle of champagne to toast their engagement".
http://bohindxb.wordpress.com/

World Cup fallout

Never in modern Indian history, unless it was war ..., has one single incident united the hundreds of political parties and politicians ranging from the extreme right to the extreme left including the middle secular parties.
An outraged political establishment called for an inquiry into India's shockingly pusillanimous performance in the cricket World Cup and demanded that the administration of the game be made more accountable so that national prestige did not take a hammering as it has in the West Indies.
Cutting across party divides, MPs said that commitment of the players to the game was clearly questionable as commercial interests seemed to have been accorded a higher priority.
http://freemind007.blogspot.com/

It's over

We are officially out of the world cup. And I am thankful. The Men in Blue (MIB) saved me the embarrassment of watching us getting thrashed by any regular cricketing nation. Now I can go and attribute our stunted world cup trip to a really bad day against Bangladesh and a regular day against Sri Lanka. Isnt this what Dravid also said - alluding to how the format in the last world cup allowed playing at least 5 matches :)
I feel sorry for the Indian cricket team. Now that they have to come back to their homes in Jharkhand, Mumbai, Hyderabad or wherever, they can't spend their well earned advertising and endorsement dollars on more hedonistic pursuits in the Carribean islands.
http://neurojava.wordpress.com/2007/03/25/thank-you-india-bye-bye-world-cup/

300 in Amman

The cinema: packed. Apparently, the hottest sold out ticket in town. A 95 per cent male audience by no coincidence: Ammanis sway to the "oohs" and "aahs" as I write this post in my head. The last showing on a Friday night. Enough blood, death and testosterone. Enough six packs to make us all want to join gyms. A round of applause at the end. Everyone rushes outside to light up a smoke. The word is spreading.
By next week, 300 West Ammanis, armed with their mobiles as swords and sunscreen for shields, will climb into cars and set out to "Free Palestine". They will only make it as far as Abdoun before being distracted by the thought of a Starbucks Orange Mocha Frappuccino.
http://www.black-iris.com/

Stop the money train

It's up to you to do the right thing - boycott the products. Burning posters of Indian players and beating the pictures with sandals doesn't help at all. We have the next series with Bangladesh and once we win one or two home series everything will be forgotten. But if you are determined and a real fan then this is what can be done to reflect your anger.
Boycott the products endorsed by the cricketers till we bring the next World Cup home. This means, you must try all other options before opting for products endorsed by cricketers.
http://www.cricket-blog.com