Do not go gentle into that good night

i wrote an article last year when roger federer won his 5th wimbledon crown, quoting dylan thomas.

those same words are true even today.

on a day when grey skies and rain hewed the day, the king and the prince set out to light fire. the blaze was of such raging intensity, that the skies had to reluctantly make way for the sun to come watch.

for those watching, the adrenaline had run out, the goose pimples had had their day, the mind had gone blank; couldn't believe the visual feast, and still the King and the Prince battled on.

till the Prince coming from the land of the moors tasted greatness.

in the same land which gave birth to a certain chunky cigar chomping persona who inspired the nation with " Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never - in nothing great or small, large or petty. Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense"

for the King's fans, it was bittersweet. On the one hand it was reassuring to see him come back in great style and make the Prince work for his win. On the other, one wished he could have lived the dream a little longer.

however time, age, change and revolution have their own agenda. that agenda left the King and the Prince swapping their roles, both teary eyed, and the audience wonder struck.

we will see lot of debate on whether the Prince is greater than the King, and whether the King can come back. there are even threads saying the King is dead, no doubt inspired by a certain lady during the A.O.

all this is irrelevant. what the King has achieved cannot be taken away from him. half a decade of sustained brilliance is unexpungable. What will happen in the future is unknown. The Prince might well go on to win 20 slams. That does not diminish the achievements of the King or of other greats.

as to the King being dead.. in tennis, Kings dont die. they become immortal, passing on the mantle of sovereign to the reigning great.

the clouds have come back today with a vengeance, as if denying yesterday happened.

But we witnessed what happened yesterday.

We witnessed Magic.

The Emergence of Ordinary

andy warhol is responsible.

not only does he takes crappy pictures of a crappy soup can, he then has the temerity to say everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.

lo and behold the internet arrived giving everyone the ability to be just that. the internet didnt remain at being just able to connect things and people in ether, but also ended up having a multiplier effect on all of society.

this has created a niche for the ordinary.

here goes my list of things ordinary

chetan bhagat's one night at the call centre - inane drivel

amy winehouse - lousy hair, lousy tattoos, lousy posture, lousy behaviour, a voice that mumbles. and she wins a grammy or two for that. go figure

tate britain, work no 850 featuring sprinters running in the gallery - crap packaged as art. surest way to sell. www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/duveenscommission/default.shtm

spiderman 3 - bollywood song and dance and love triangle. in english. with sfx

lindsay lohan and paris hilton - having a blonde day everyday

mona lisa - famous for being famous. otherwise an itty bitty painting.

big brother and all its spin offs in all countries - at one point television and movies provided escapism from reality. now reality provides escapism from reality. boring shit.