Goodbye Blogger; Hello Wordpress!


Shifting homes is sad, especially when you've been there for (a bit) more than a year, and you've entertained 10,000 unique visitors and some 50K page loads.

You get use to it your little place in cyberspace, and start feeling homely, but ofcourse there are those things that bog you down, and when they start creeping up, you feel like trying out another place. It's a tough choice, to go into the unknown again.

But it has to be done, I've made up my mind this time (there have been may times I tried before). So What can I say the times have been good, but I'm hoping for better times.

After all if it doesn't work out, I'll still have my old home. So then it won't be good bye, but see you later!

So, please drop in for a cup of Sri Lankan tea and my usual rants HERE!


PS - Don't forget to let me know, what you think of my new home. Comments and criticism, welcome as usual!

PPS - Taking a pick from Cerno's post, let me take this opportunity to thank Indi, the janitor and the brain child of Kottu (I believe). You see without Kottu, many of my visitors wouldn't have found the road to the place I call home.

Claymore found at Summit Flats

The Airforce has found a claymore mine near Summit Flats close to TNA MP Sivajilingham's house. The Air Force Commander's residence is also in close proximity.

The Price of Vigilance and Living in Terror

The news items followed after the Blast in Nugegoda, apart giving out different death tolls had one thing in common. That was the message from Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara asking the public to be vigilant and noticed any suspicious activity or parcel to notify the Police, and not to act on their own.

"So what if you see a suspicious parcel, notify the authorities and half an hour later your still looking at the bloody parcel waiting for the cops."

This is not a hypothetical situation. This was the actual situation at the site of No-Limit, the Clothing Store where there Blast occurred in Nugegoda. After waiting for 30 mins, for the Kohuwela police who are literally next door, the security guards together with a Traffic Cop decided to do their own poking.

As to whether the Bomb was on a timer, or whether it was detonated using a Mobile phone or some sort of a remote by an unsuspecting Terrorist silently watching all this happen we are yet to know. It's easy for us to blame the poor security guards, but what about the response time of the so called emergency unit.

Anyway, what I want to focus on this is not who to blame, and how this matter can be resolved as we all have our own opinions on that. I just wanted to stress the fact that, after some time I think it was the Kebtigallawa Massacre, (which seems like ages to us as everything becomes second nature to us) the LTTE or the Cowardly Pussies (as identified by some in the blogsphere, including my self) have resorted to targeting civilians, after a host of missed attempts on high profilers.

Upto now we happy go lucky folk were pretty much ok, although bombs went off in our backyard, it was targeted at some bugger who wizez past in a couple of Range Rovers accompanied by about 10 Defenders (just the AD for the Rover Company one would think). To get caught in one of those bombs, you really have to be unlucky. A by-stander on the road, a motorist on the opposite lane of traffic etc.

But when these buggers start dropping off parcels at Sunday Polas and Shopping Complex's your chances of getting bumped off are more. Very much more than a Guy in a Sarong, with a Crimson shawl around his neck traveling in a Level 3 Armour'ed RR. What I am trying to say is that while certain Ministers may point out that these are the last tactics of the Tigers, blah blah, while there might be some truth to it, you cant take away the fact that the terror has moved from our back yard to our door step. The very fact that schools were closed and Liberty Plaza was sweep'ed for bombs are mere examples of this. After all that parcel could have been delivered to ODEL, House of Fashion or your door step.

Blast in Nugegoda - Sri Lanka


















Just received news of a Blast at the Nugegoda Junction. No news of casualties and who (if any) was the target of the Explosion.

Will update when I hear more... Looks like there will be some post celebrations by the Big Kitty after all.

UPDATE

The Sirasa Breaking news reads as a Vehicle near the Nugegoda Traffic lights exploded and caused a fire (Duh..). There is no indication whether this is a terrorist activity or a merely car blowing up.

Now what are the odds of that?

Meanwhile I'm stuck at work, as the roads are jammed with Traffic, with commuters shifting to alternative routes.



UPDATE 2

Appearently it's not an explosion in a Car at all. Supposedly some bloke had handed over a Parcel to Security Guard at the New Shopping Complex near The Nugegoda/Highlevel Road Traffic Lights. When accepting/poking the parcel they suspect the explosion to have occurred.

The Cat Survies the Blast in Narahenpita - Sri Lanka

Douglas Devananda, who shall be referred to as the "Cat" here after (by me for successfully surviving a good 9 times of more) survived another attack on his life this morning. This time it was a female suicide bomber, apparently appearing to be a polio/handicapped patient. Well the bomber was stopped at the entrance to his office, and she had 2 options available :
  • Get Caught -or-
  • Go with a out BANG!
Obviously choosing the latter, she took the lives of 2 other security men of Dougy, and seriously injured a few. The fatalities could have increased if she had gotten any closer, being an Open Day for public to meet the "Cat" himself and discuss what ever issues they had.

OPEN for Refurbishment

It all started last Saturday. The ritual is that on weekends (mostly on Lazy Sundays)... we (the babe and I) head out to McDonald's to enjoy some cuddling time and eat 2 Sausage Burgers, 2 Hash Brown and 1 Hot Choc (for her) and 1 Cappuccino all for the Rs. 330/= (There I have done my bit of Viral Marketing for you folks at McDonald's).

After a stressful week, and maybe a drunken Saturday night, the Sunday morning thing seems like the right thing to do.. atleast for me..

Unfortunately what we realized on Saturday was that, McDonald's (Col-3) was closed for Renevation... quick alteration of route...to KFC (Bamba).. closed for Refurbishment.... dude... do they plan these things together?

Anyway later in the weekend I realized that even Flower Drum is being refurbished although they are open...

So the moral of this story you ask?

I dunno.. just wanted to say that I'm alive... and I've realized that this Blog Sucks.... and needs a revamp.. and more than anything... MORE POSTS.. for crying out loud...

So I will try my best... I promise!


Oh I almost forgot... I'm getting MARRIED NEXT year...! Busy booking people and running around... Expect more posts about my Experiences.. Who knows I might turn my blog into a Wedding Planner...!

Are we prepared for war?

For a long time since the mistakes made like Black July, Sri Lankans as a whole have come to the realization of the hard truth that this Ethnic Conflict (which in my books is more a power struggle, the true ethnic conflict was over way before the 2nd or 3rd Ealam War started) cannot be won by war, but a negotiated peace settlement. Atleast that's what the majority believed, including my self.

However if you haven't noticed together with the media, there is a small hype being created for continued war. Specially with this nonsensical brandishing of the Thoppigala victory. Either I'm dumb or can anybody see where all this is heading? Isn't it what you call Politicalisation of the War, and those who sacrficed their lives for the war.

This is how I see it :

Mahinda made loads of promises ("Chinthanaya") that he hasn't been able to deliver. People are sick of the rising cost of every bloody consumable known to us, that there basically sick of this Govt. In order to shift our focus, this chap is putting this war in our faces, with the help of nearly all media stations and todays "Mini Independence" ceremony.

I mean what is he trying to say :

"That this war CAN be won, and to keep HIM in power come election time".

What does he really mean :

"You fools as long as I can get you to believe that this war can be won, this war can be justified. So can the spending on my Range Rovers, the cut I have from the MIG's and flying my wife and children in a Helicopter from Kandy to Colombo on a daily basis. After all there is a war going on! So my stupid mistakes in governance and policy making can be covered up."

The sad truth is :

Mahinda (if he has his way) is not going to end this war, like many chaps in the armed forces want to, but pro-long it for another 10 years by which time he would have completed his second term as Exec President and probably have one of the members of the Rajapakse clan running for President. Just to ensure the continuity of their power, and the down fall of Sri Lanka as what we know it.


And courtesy of those plans he presents to you "Nagenahira Navodaya"


3 Days of inconveniencing public with road blocks, waisting the time setting up security check points around the premises, where these chaps should be stationed in Thoppigala, guarding what we won (or is the agreement that we have to hand it over after the celebrations..), the millions of public funds waisted on a stupid show off that could be done with.

My opinion :

What ever celebrations should be done in Thoppigala. Not in Colombo. Not because it's going to inconvenience me, but it's the folks in Thoppigala who deserve the celebrations, after all they were the one's who lost their homes during the battle. It's the soldiers who gave there lives who deserve the Honour, not the president and his cronies. It's their families that should get the money, that is being spent, and the celebrations should be for those soldiers who fought extreme hardship to win the battle.


Ranil's boo boo :

Yup he does it again. While trying to give out the same message what does he go and do? Calls Thoppigala a "Jungle". While on the outset it is, calling it is only going to rub salt in the eyes of the Soldiers who fought for it, and he's basically putting his neck (I was thinking of something more graphic... but then again) out between the door, and giving the Govt the opportunity to slam the door on it! Just like the "Chewing Gum and Bracelet Story".

All I can say is that all this stupid crap is turning people. Specially those in the rural areas (who were initially brain washed by him in the first place.. then after the election realized that they them selves were the suckers...) who thought of a negotiated peace settlement are now telling them selves.. "Ok so if we won Thoppigala.. we might as well finish the rest!"


As for the reality of that happening will all have to wait and see... and this blog post will remain here.. as it doesn't have to it's breath.


Pic Courtesy of : Daily Mirror

63rd Bradby Shield Video - 2007

Royal College managed to regain the Bradby Shield and bring it to it's rightful resting place this year. I thought I'd post the links to the videos of both the legs. The delay in posting is coz, Rapidshare took ages to upload each file.

So hope this is worth for those who missed the match, specially those who are abroad, and for those of you who want to re-kindle the match again.








Bradby Shield 1st Leg (Kandy) - 9th June 2007

  1. bradby-1stleg-2007-01
  2. bradby-1stleg-2007-02
  3. bradby-1stleg-2007-03
  4. bradby-1stleg-2007-04
  5. bradby-1stleg-2007-05
  6. bradby-1stleg-2007-06
  7. bradby-1stleg-2007-07
  8. bradby-1stleg-2007-08
  9. bradby-1stleg-2007-09


Bradby Shield 2nd Leg (Colombo) - 23rd June 2007

  1. bradby-1stleg-2007-01
  2. bradby-1stleg-2007-02-part1
  3. bradby-1stleg-2007-02-part2
  4. bradby-1stleg-2007-03-part1
  5. bradby-1stleg-2007-03-part2
  6. bradby-1stleg-2007-04
  7. bradby-1stleg-2007-05-part1
  8. bradby-1stleg-2007-05-part2
  9. bradby-1stleg-2007-06-part1
  10. bradby-1stleg-2007-06-part2

PS - The part files are rar's broken into two parts. You'll need to download both to unrar(extract) the file.

Happy Downloading!


Photo Courtesy of : Vishkid

Thoppigala.. Jungle or LTTE Strong Hold


Yesterday saw the fall of Thoppigala or Barron's Cap. Firstly our hats out to those who fought bravely and also a moment to mourn those who fell, for their motherland.

Now we have to deal with the comments after the big win.

  1. Is Thoppigala just a Forrest like Opposition Leader Ranil W. says?
  2. Are we going to spend more defending Thoppigala?
  3. Was this all a put on show by Mahinda and Prabhakaran?
To start with the last question first, my political knowledge is not enough to comprehend the buy-outs and sell-outs between the two parties. However LankaWhistleBlower has the details of the Mahinda-Prabhakaran deal.

With regard to the Second Question, only time would tell, how many of our soldiers will fall keeping those FDL's.

Now to the first and most important question in my opinion. What is Thoppigala to us? And what is it's worth?

The Govt. implies it's one of the security fortresses of the LTTE, and all their equipping of Suicide-Bomb Trucks are carried out there. There was also some indication that the cannabis that the LTTE use to trade for their weapons are grown in those jungles, thereby cutting some of there cash flow.

For the people living around Thoppigala, you'd have to ask them who'd they prefer as a Neighbour.

As a firm believer of "This War Cannot be Won", I believe this is going to play a bigger role in pushing/pressurizing the LTTE into Peace Talks. Which in turn is the right track to settling this conflict.



UPDATE : A detailed account on the mission to free the east, and the Thoppigala victory can be found here.

"Charrmax" on LakbimaNews courtesy of Rajpal

Well the newest heat on the Blogsphere is courtesy of Rajpal. So I don't need to get into the minor details, if your an avid reader of the Kottu community, you'd know. If not here are some places you could start.

  1. Rhythmic Diaspora
  2. Cerno
  3. Pissu-Perera
  4. Sanjana
So hoping you didn't get lost in the blogs above, I've been silent all along coz, the article they ripped from me didn't make it to their website - www.lakbimanews.lk, but was copied word for word, picture to picture.

You can be the judge of it.... The Original Post - "What to Shout at Rugger Matches"













Not only have they copied everything but they have copied my "Bonus"... which any Editor in their right mind would have a problem stating in their news papers. Wonder what Mr. Brian Thomas has to say abt it.

So now that you know how unprofessional these folks (Mr. Rajpal specially) are, here are my issues to a certain reply he (assuming it's him/them) have posted on another blog.

Anonymous said... Hi Mr Rhythmic etc., (others)
Greetings!
First thing, we tried to contact you, but it’s not possible in most of the blogs. We did contact some of the others though, who left contact e mails.
You bloggers know that you are anonymous.
We'd like to publish the stuff you write, of course, more of it! Profuse apologies, but the reason was that we here were unable to contact you guys was your anonymity.
Maybe a post would have helped; but didn't think about the exact efficacy of that. because we did post at some sites, with our contactsw, and nobody bothered to reply!
But then, it would have been difficult to give our contacts to you that way..
Anyway we like the comment that this is a tribute to Sri Lankan bloggers. If your stuff is good we’d like to publish -- it’s in the public domain too. So I think you should have a positive take on it.
It’s not as if any stuff was published without credits.
Anyway, we’d like to publish more of your stuff; and as you may have noticed, 90 per cent of our still is NOT from blogsites, so its just that we'd like to use SOME good stuff that comes from blogs that are of relevance to Sri Lanka..
We'd also like to pay you -- for anything published in the future, as well as what was published. We don't pay enormously, but we pay reasonable rates.
So please write to us at sumathienglish@gmail.com, and we would like to get the payment across to you, if you furnish an address.
In the meanwhile, we'd like to use some more of the blogs -- and we hope you can send some of your other material on the e mail so that we can publish it..
Many of the boggers we published -- including some such as Mr Fazli Sameer have got on board, and we hope you do that too. They write EXCELLENT stuff, and were not so harried. We don’t expect the same reaction from everyone, but then we are trying to set the record straight here.
We would have liked to get you on board at the very outset, except that your contacts were not available. At least, they were not available at our scrutiny; maybe they were available somewhere.

Thanks then, and so here is to the blogosphre -- and here is to the mainstream!! We'd publish more, I hope you can write to us at our e mail and we'll use more of yours, and pay you as well.
Thanks and no offence,

‘Mr Lakbima’
alias
those at Lakbimanews.
My reply :

Well Dear Mr. Lakbima,

This is with regard to the word-for-word copy and picture-to-picture copy of my post “What to shout at Rugger Matches” which was published on your paper under “Local Rugby Lingo” page 28 - July 8th 2007.

http://chaarmax.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-to-shout-at-rugger-matches.html

I would like to bring your attention to a few points, you mentioned that contradict certainly in my case.

1. ///First thing, we tried to contact you, but it’s not possible in most of the blogs. We did contact some of the others though, who left contact e mails.
You bloggers know that you are anonymous.///

Well all you had to do was leave a comment. Just like the one you left here.

2. ///If your stuff is good we’d like to publish — it’s in the public domain too.///

Just because it’s in the Public Domain it doesn’t give you the right to publish, without proper citation and stating the sources. Just mentioning the Blog Author’s name in the “by XXX” is not enough. That would give the impression that the Blog Author is writing for your paper, and indeed getting paid for it as well.

What you need to do is, state the source, as “Source - www.abc.com” or “Courtesy of www.abc.com“.

As in my case, I wish to bring your attention to the Creative Commons License that I have, I certainly hope you are aware of it, and that your are committing an illegal act. Also you had incorrectly spelt my name as “Charrmax”.

3. Are you going to take responsibility for the statement “Brian Homa”, as for I did not write it, with the idea of my publishing’s to get into the mainstream print media. I certainly hope you guys do a better job as editors, than blindly copy content without going through them properly, checking for what might cause an offense to others.

Lastly, it’s not that we (atleast myself) aren’t glad to get our writings published but, with proper attribution to Us and our Blog web sites.

I certainly hope you would be more careful, since this is not the first time that this has happened.

Yours,

Chaar~Max
Contact Email - chaarmax-at-gmail-dot-com



I got one of my friends Confab to call the newspapers and this is what happened :

Over the last 24 hours I've been acknowledged, abused by and apologised to by Rajpal. The reason for this post? Just to make sure the blog sphere (and the ever intrusive and secretive Lakbima Reporter) is kept abreast of what went down. (more)
What I, and I am sure most of the other Bloggers will want is :

1. An apology to be published in the papers.

2. Proper Attribution (Proper spelling of the Bloggers name/pseudonym and Link to the Bloggers site)

3. Approval from Blogger before publishing his/her post.

This may seem to be blown out of proportion, but it was aggregated by Rajpal and Co. them selves. If they responded in an appropriate manner when contacted and owned upto their actions and apologized I would have let it go.

They may buy some of the Bloggers with their notes and "get on board" crap, but not me. I didn't start my blog to make money. If I want I'll set up google ads.

Mind you it's not like I'm NOT flattered that my rants and ramblings our worthy enough to be published in the main-stream media, it's just the case of not wanting to be a part of an Institution that does NOT honour the rights of others.

After all it's not the first time. I believe Sach will agree with me.

So Rajpal try and ignore the CC license a second time and see what happens. Interestingly enough I wonder how many Bloggers have been featured on this weeks Lakbima. All those who got left out, are bound to get included this week. I think the "Mag" should be called "Local Blogsphere".

How to tell what the Referee is Signalling at Rugger Matches

Well it's been almost a year since I guided you in "What to Shout at Rugger Matches". So I'm thinking you bookmarked the post, took a print out of it and stuck it up on your wall, and take a glance before every match. If everything has gone to plan, you still have all your limbs, and no bruisers after any of the matches. Chicks dig that your on "top" of the game, maybe you landed one even... (if so you owe me a Drink). If you have a GF, she's mighty proud of you, and her friends think your cool too. :)

Untill she or one of her friends ask, "Hey what happened?" and you see the Ref, doing a number with his Hands... bomber... Ok so you say "you didn't see it", it's gonna work maybe a couple of times if your on the 200 buck Concrete Tier being shoved and pushed, but if your in the Grand Stand.... hmmmm.... I've got just what you want..

Objective :

Give you the ability to connect the with top man of the game, the Ref, who gets to call all the shots on the field (Off field feel free to throw a Flower Pot at him). If you thought you were on top of the game before, you'll feel like you grew an extra 6 inches... vertically ;)

In the end.. upgrade you from Cool Dude to "Rugby Jock", just in time for the 2nd Leg of the Bradby, tomorrow! Go Royal!

Assumptions :

You have already read and followed My Previous Guideline, and it's a fair assumption that you have made the upgrade from "Geek" to "Cool Dude". :)




So a few tips before you get behind the wheel, Ref's unlike our parents do not reward us for good behavior (don't expect an XBOX or a PS3 for being a Good Sport), so when you know he's signaling something that means somebody gonna get a hurt.. (oops sorry that was Russel) basically your only chance is that, your opponents committed the crime and maybe it's Christmas for you after all.


Here goes --> IRB Ref Signal Guide!!! (PDF 1.2MB)

NOTE :

If you want to upgrade to "Rugby Guru" try going through the entire IRB Rule Book (PDF 15MB). If your found murdered in your Hotel Room the next day, only to be later realized that you died of natural causes, you know it WORKED!!

As usual, my disclaimer as follows :

"If you Score.. I'm your Man... If you Screw Up... There's always another Rugger Match next week" :)

Another Year - Same Result

Well they say, it's all water under the bridge, but then would Blogs exist, if people just let it go, and not stop to bitch about it, and then maybe let it go?

So it's this thing that comes around every year around this time, that get all those who have a liking for the stage excited, 4 weeks (sometimes more.. sometimes less) of tiring practices, and getting the set, costumes organized for the Big Day. Actually 2 Big Days, if your lucky enough to get passed the 1st one.

The goal is to put up a good show, and in the meantime knock the socks off 3 individuals seated some where in the middle of the audience, in whose lap sits the scrap of paper that your fate is decided on.

In all this my experience is slightly different being the old geezer I am, still find my self roped into this whole experience. So obviously I'm not the schoolboy who's on stage, but come the time of announcing the verdict my heart beats equally to the tempo of the school boy. I share the same sorrow, but I know the feeling of winning is worth all the sorrows, and in time they will too. But 3 years in a row is enough waiting and I hope the light shines upon them next year.

As I hit the "Publish Post" button I cant help but think whether it would have been different if we had gone ahead with the original plan, specially with the judges routing for the comedy against the tragedy.

The Bard would say.. (from the Play itself) "What's done cannot be undone!"....

No More Invites!

Hello... ppl.. so I finally found some time.. amidst the bombs the road blocks and the million dollar corruptions. So what do I decide to empart on you lovely folk today? The simple answer to all those of you who haven't switched and still stagnating in your archaic web mail providers.. Yes.. the answer to Why use Gmail?






The good news is, it's no longer limited to Invitations.. so YOU don't need to feel LEFT OUT anymore!



What can be Better than Gmail you ask? That's Gmail on Firefox coupled with the following Extensions :

  1. Gmail Manager
  2. Better Gmail

Is the TRUTH out there?

There was a report by the LTTE and subsiquently all Foreign Media sources picked up on it about an Attack on the Pallaley Air Force Base in Sri Lanka.

This is a snippet on what the LTTE carried out. (I dont like linking to TamilNet, so therefore I'm just going to take a snippet off their site.)

Two attack aircraft of the Liberation Tigers bombed the Sri Lankan military’s main base complex in the Jaffna peninsula in the early hours of Tuesday morning, inflicting heavy damage and casualties, LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet. Both planes returned safely to base, he said. Meanwhile sources said continuous explosions were heard from inside the High Security Zone for five hours after the air raid, fuelling speculation that a major ammunition dump had been hit.


However the SL Govt, have categoraly denied the statement, and issued their statement, saying it was artillery fire , and that too away from the Pallay Base.

The Sri Lanka Air Force denied the statement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) that the Tamil Tiger air planes bombed the Palali air strip by using their propeller driven two fixed winged air craft and called it a complete fabrication. But military sources said by artillery fire six soldiers died at Myladdi , away from Palali air strip.

Reuters carried both version of the story :
This either another blown up set up by the LTTE propaganda machine, to justify the moola rolling in from TRO and other dim-wittted LTTEsympathisers, for their new light aircrafts, reportadley manned by the junior prabha him self.

On the other hand, this might be a cover-up by the local army chaps, in-order to show face despite the serious security lapses being brought to light.

What ever the case, my hind-sight tells me that the Happy-Go-Lucky Islanders (specially in the south) have bigger things to worry about at this moment. No it's not the increasing price of fuel, and the domino effect on consumer goods, it's the plight of Sri Lanka at today's World Cup Semi-Final. :)


Dilhara or Maharoof - Tharanga or Atapattu

Hey folks, braking the shackels, and cleaning up the spider webs on this blog I decided to bore you with my 2-cents on the team selection for the all important semi's. The team selection is all but final except for 2 spots, according my limited knowledge in the cricketing fields. That would be :


Fast/Medium Pace Bowler #3



After a stunning performance in the game against Ireland, the overuled Maharoof bought himself a spot to contend for the above position. Although Maharoof is not the most reliable of Bowlers, specially due to the fact that he has this nack of bowling short, and getting wolloped to the boundary at times, his late order batting skills make him a good contender.

Dilhara is yet to pass the fitness test, but from what I hear he's bound to be fit, thereby causing a little dilemma for the thinking dept. of S.L. Cricket. After all he's seemed to find his form during this world cup, bowling at good space, over come his over stepping problems, and the last over against England was a proving factor that he can hold his nerve (or he got lucky).



Opening Partner for Sanath

The master blaster is having a pretty good world cup, despite loosing out on the last 2 games. The only problem we seem to have is that his partner is suffering a bad patch, despite the century he scored in the practise match against the Kiwis.

Therefore giving rise to many a cricket wise folk in this island nation to question as to why former captain Marvan Atapattu has not been given a chance.



My Choice for the Semi's.

To start with the latter, it would be wrong to dump Marvan in the opening slot, without a proper chance to bat, and expect a ton from him, althought knowing the class of Marvan and the technique, he could deliver it, on his day. I would suggest get bringing Sanga to open (I know he's had a rough patch over the past games too) and drop Tharanga. Thereby opening up a vacancy which Maharoof could fit in, in the late order.

So, now that I have stirred up a controversy, in the fact of going against one of the cardinal rules of "Dont Change a Winning Combination", I will rest my case, and go hide under a rock, for fear of fanatics stoning my house and my blog. He he..

Another World Cup Weekend

With Sri Lanka taking a break till Thursday, I figured the weekend will be a dull one, but has the WC 2007 ever had a dull moment? To start off, Bangladesh pulled another shocker to beat South Africa on Saturday. One of the few regrets I have in the WC, is not getting up to watch the 2nd innings of the match despite setting the alarm. The other being missing "Slinger Malinga" 4-in-4 live.



England saw their hopes being dashed after Aussies sailed though for a comfortable victory. Well atleast Prince Harry was enjoying him self. :)


In other news Indian Cricket Board Empire Strikes Back. The BCCI chappies have decided to tighten their grip on the cricketers. Not allowing em to give statements to the media without permission and limit their sponsors to 3. I'm sure that like a heavy blow to the Cricketers, coz the little Indian TV I've watched (thanks to the WorldCup) I've noticed that Indian Ad's are bomb-barded with either their Bollywood Stars or their Cricketing Gods. Yes you wouldn't be surprised to see Sachin Tendulkar jumping on a couch to catch a packet of Crackers - one of his endorsements. Maybe those chaps will now get a chance to concentrate more on their Cricket.

Amnesty International's Cricket Team

The gutter politics that Amnesty International are using is yesterdays news, so I wont waist time talking about that. If you want to read up, here are what some bloggers think abt it:

1. Voice in Colombo
2. Sitting Nut
3. Billy - Ground Views

Instead I thought I'd post this picture that I got as an email, as MY PROTEST!



Sri Lanka stick head out in Down to the wire game against England

Good morning sleepy Sri Lankans. If your feeling groggy at work, the feeling is mutual mate, after a killer match last night, those who missed it, missed some good cricket played by both the sides.

To start off, there were a lot of bad omens on the Local Scene, being our popular waterhole not putting the match on Big Screen in the garden area (coz of the rain), and yours truly had to run back home to change in to a pair of jeans to gain entrance to the bar.

That being the case, missed the few blasts of the Master Blaster, and just as I was getting back, the dude had to get out. I'm sure that was the deciding factor of Sri Lanka getting a TON or not. If Sri Lanka need a 300 score this dude has to fire.

After the departure of Sana and then Sanga, Upul and Mahela steadied the ship just to get out when we needed to consolidate, which was definitely the deciding factor for a 250 score not being reached. Even our "Not-out Arnold" had no choice but to get out trying to hit out. This is where we lacked Maharoof yesterday and the run out of Dilly. They're the closest we've got to a Symonds.

After a quick breakthrough which I think Vaughan was maybe a tincy wincy bit unfortunate, Peterson and Bell steadied the innings. But Mahela did well to tighten the screws by holding back the last power play, and operating the spinners. I was concerned for a moment thinking shit, he might have to "power play" the last 5 overs, but this is where luck comes in the form a of a paka run out, by Jayasuriya to dismiss Bell, and upset the partnership.



Mahela not missing a trick called for the last power play which saw further wickets crumble, most importantly the in-form Peterson, and many thought (including yours truly) that it was time to right off England from the game.

But a superb partnership by Nixon and Bopara brought it down to the wire like nobody including Mahela expected. The last overs were bowled by Murali and "Slinger" Malinga. Malinga came good in the last 2 overs, which makes me think he's more of a tail end knocker than a first up bowler. Only time will tell. The master spinner Murali got sent off in style being whacked for 6 by the form of a Reverse Sweep by Nixon, which in my book was unorthodox but the shot of the day.

When it came down to the last over with 12 runs needed in 6 balls my choice was Vaas, but Mahela thought otherwise and brought on Dillo. Not letting down his captain Dilo held his nerves to bring down the target to 3 runs in the last ball, and when some thought there might be a Draw in the cards the bugger manages to bowl a "You miss, I hit" ball under pressure!

Although Sri Lanka go away with the 2 points, England too go with restored pride to face the in-form World Champions. Till next time your favourite reporter from the popular waterhole in Colombo signs out!

Royal Thomain 2007 - The Big Match


Oh my god I'm so excited that I cant belive I'm sitting here and bloggin about it instead of being there in the midst of all the Papara Bands, Filthy Baila Songs, Loud Chants, and the Sweet Smell of Alcohol (and even maybe a few of Hot Chicks, but looking at them makes me feel old right now).

Unfortunately a quick reality check tells me I gotta be at work. Maybe I'll sneak off after 3pm or so. Can't wait for Saturday!

Why am I so excited? Well it's been 3 years since I'm getting to enjoy the Roy/Tho in it's purest form without any bother about stupid exams (which happen to fall right smack in the middle of the whole thing).

Oh added the fact that it's gonna be my first big match since the conversion!... well dont you think thats enough reason?

So till I get over there... here are the scores at the end of the first day!


Royal College won the toss and decided to field.

S. Thomas' College - 1st Innings 374 / 7 declared
(A. Peiris - 161, N. Mazahir - 162 / Thanthirigoda 14.1-0-47-2)

Royal College - 1st Innings 40 / 3 (234 needed to avoid follow on)


Live Scores Brought to you by - RoyalThomian.info

GO ROYAL!! - THORA PARIPPU!!
(oops did I speak too soon.. oh hell.. THORA PARIPPU!)


Show Day of Govt. Inspector

By now you ought to know that there is a Paka play happening this weekend at the Lionel Wendt.. Well today is our Opening night, so thought I'd leave this final reminder for those of you who missed all our publicity stunts...


So.. leave your thinking caps (after all you know that it's not the REAL Government Inspector that has come to inspect the town..) and the Thespian in you (this ain't Shakespeare or any sort of deep stuff, just plain and simple) at home, and enjoy an evening of pure rib tickling humour! :)




Dose of Cynical Satire - The Government Inspector

By Vidushi Seneviratne

Literally walking into a rehearsal of the latest thespian innovation to hit Colombo, it was interesting to note the mix of intensity and informality in the atmosphere. To top it all off, the cast member accompanying me, went from having a perfectly normal conversation, to delving unannounced into his character, and joining the scene being rehearsed! Just a taste of the extremely original action promised when The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, is performed at the Lionel Wendt from January 26 to 28 at 7.30pm. (More)

Courtesy : Sunday Times





Coming Soon to a City/Town/Village Near You - The Government Inspector

Gentleman I have bad news...the courtroom is filled with three hundred geese, the hospital doesn't have any beds, the postal department is full of delays and the English teachers can't utter a word without stuttering.

If you think thats bad, the streets are filthy, and the soldiers haven't been given their rations. There's also about forty cartloads of garbage stashed behind the old fence near the cobbler's. What a nasty little town this is. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

And who'll be blamed. The Mayor of course... along with his cronies (oops Distinguished Officials I mean).

Will they Survive.. a visit from The Government Inspector on the 26th, 27th and 28th of January, at the Lionel Wendt , from 7.30 pm onwards.???

Be there to find out!
P.S. - Hope this justifies the limited amount of Posts, you've been seeing recently on my Blog.

Happy New Year - 2007

This message comes to you all the way from the happening city/town of Hikkaduwa. My other roomies are still passed out, after the heavy partying, but myself on the other hand have this thing that I cant sleep past 8 a.m. So I get up take a shower, long stroll on the beach and when I get back on to the Galle Road, what do I find? “Cyber Cafe” – 1min 2 rupees. So there you have it!

So I shall end this post with an SMS I received for the New Year :

“May God increase your Happiness daily like the price of Petrol & decrease your sorrows like the skirt length of Anarkali’s...”

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!