Me & My Thoughts

Second Test Match

2011-06-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka start the next test match tomorrow against a England team who must be ecstatic about the way they managed win the last test match. Although that result can be blamed on the stupidity & the incompetency of Sri Lankan batsman, English bowlers did an admirable job of maintaining a good line & length. Sri Lanka can only go up after that debacle & all Sri Lankans are praying that our two batting behemoths do not suffer a collective failure again. In truth we can’t bear even one of them to fail in both innings, Mahela & Sangakkara must be at their best & guide the other players around them.
Although this defeat can’t be blamed on Dilshan’s captaincy, he still have everything to prove. I don’t believe he was the right choice for captaincy, but sadly he was the only choice after Sangakkara’s resignation. If anyone is to blame, then it is Mahela for resigning to give captaincy for Sanga. If Mahela has not resigned then he surely would have been the captain until the world cup & then the baton could have been passed to Sanga with Anjelo as his deputy. This was the ideal scenario that should have been, but due to various known & unknown reasons the two best players of our generation decided that the Sri Lankan captaincy is too much of a hassle.
Now it rest on player who said to have actively campaigned for it, who many believe is unsuited for the responsibility. But doubt is something Dilshan has to endure for much of his carrier, if not the entirety of it. Upto now he has managed to beat all the odds against him & carve out a good record for himself. Hope he does the same with the captaincy & prove his doubters wrong once & for all.

It's 3 AM & I'm awake!!

2011-05-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

The above will surely surprise few of my friends who believe that I can't stay awake later than 10 PM. The truth is that they are correct. But the other side of the same fact is that if I awake after that I can stay awake. Which is happening right now. With Man Utd losing to Barcelona in champions league & CSK winning IPL its not a good day to awake in to, but that's the peril of being a ardent sport fans.
Hope the next blog entry will be sooner rather than later...

Protest Against Private Universities

2009-10-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

Why this agitation against the impending arrival of private universities? Is it a privatization of the education ? will this be the end of free education of Sri Lanka ? As far as a outside observer can see, this is an agitation solely based on the survival of these student unions & their affiliated political parties. Because there is no privatization of any existing universities. Only there will be new privately run universities which offers degrees programs for a fee for people who wants to pursue higher studies but were unable to attain the necessary qualification through Advance Levels. Even currently this is happening & only thing different is the universities are in abroad. And because of that students has to spend more money & every single cent of these monies spend will be going out of Sri Lanka. And due to the higher cost involved due to stringent visa processes, many are unable to pursue this method even when they are willing to do so.
Local private universities will provide those people a easy & affordable method of higher education while avoiding the outflow of money from Sri Lanka. So everything is good, right ? unfortunately no. Because the JVP student union has seen this as threat to their existence, although they are not saying it as such & try to dress it up as a threat to the free education of Sri Lanka. Because if these private universities becomes a reality the students in the government universities will also see the truth. That is the futility of the most of the so called student union actions. Strikes, protest, picketing & hunger strikes will be reduced immediately & these political pasties & their lackeys in unions will lose a very important sector of their support. Because who will want to strike & prolong their time in universities when their counterparts in private universities mind their own business, do their studies & graduate earlier than them & get jobs ? Except for a very minor section majority will see the futility of most these union actions & the current status enjoyed by the inter university student council will cease dramatically.
This is certainly will not acceptable for the council leaders& the JVP. Because currently it is the only demographic which they have a major following. So they will try to dupe the students & the general public in to believing that this is a great black monster, which has come to eat up the free education. But now many are wise to their tactics & seems that the common sense will prevail (Amunugama backs private universities ). At least it will be a one correct decision taken by this government regarding national education after the recent blunders committed.

A method in his madness or a madness in his method ???

2009-10-13T03:40:00.001-07:00

Two days are elapsed after the southern provincial election & all the furor surrounding it before has died pretty quickly. As usual UNP has recorded another abject failure & JVP are now looking like one of the old left parties. Very soon JVP will have to either give up or become a partner to an alliance with either UNP or UPFA. The problem there would be that if they take either option, they will lose whatever the grass root support they currently enjoy. Tough luck. On the other hand UNP must be praying that the new alliance they are trying to form becomes a reality soon & all the parties in the opposition comes together under that banner & be able to at least give a fight to the UPFA in whatever upcoming election (General or Presidential ??). Which is wishful thinking at the best of times, because there will be a big scramble for the nomination of Presidential candidate, when its hard to see Ranil supporting any other candidate while he is the leader of UNP. Mangala & Co knows that they don’t have a chance of winning with Ranil as the Candidate. Anyway all these parties are hardly compatible with each other (whatever Mangala seems to believe) with UNP & many other potential partners are speaking to the same demographic (ethnic & religious minorities). They will not have a good way of appealing to the majority Sinhala – Buddhist demographic with this coalition, unless they find a very good neutral Candidate for the Presidential election. That is if the presidential election if the first to come. If it is the other one, then the JVP support seems to be bare minimum requirement for success of this new alliance. Again are JVP desperate enough to go down that path ??

Anyway the speculation about the Chief Minister post for the southern province seems to have gone away after the Former CM has got the highest preferential votes in the entire province. All though its not yet confirmed, hard to think that it will be given to any other person. Except if Shan Wijelal is offered a nomination in the upcoming general election as a incentive to not to pursue the CM post. Which is plausible in the current political environment in SL. Anyway the much hyped candidates from the Galle district managed to win, but utterly failed to get the expected number of preferential votes in the case of Sajin Vass & defied the hopes opposition in the case of Anarkali. Interestingly Nishantha Muthuhettigama, who seems to be one a single man crusade against these two candidates from the same party has succeeded in his effort to get the attention of the voting public to become the third highest in the votes list. He was accused of being thug, being unruly or being completely insane during the cause of this election. But he seems to have achieved his goal. Was there a method in his madness or a madness in his method ???

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

2009-10-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Now this is a proper movie. It have a gripping story, good dialogue & two actors Denzil Washington & John Travolta, who nail their parts perfectly. Denzil Washington as the subway dispatcher shows why he is regarded as one of the best actors in Holywood. Seems he is the favorite actor of the Director Tony Scott. This is the fourth film Washington has done for the director.

Unlike the previous movies by the same director, this time actual action takes a back seat. More prominence is given to the two actors interaction with each other over the phone as the negotiator & the hostage taker. This is where Denzil Washington excels. He perfectly captures the emotions of the under pressure train dispatcher, who is suddenly find himself as the negotiator in a hostage situation. We see him as the man with few skeletons in his closet, the little imperfections & mannerism are skillfully portrayed & captured. Travolta does his usual thing, which he does when doing action movies, trying to be a cool bad guy with a messed up sense of humor. While it’s not bad, it could have been better.

Film does have some action scenes with some car crashes & the inevitable shootings at the end, which doesn’t hurt the flow of the film. All in all it was a good movie everything falling in to place to make it an good & interesting movie.

Transformers 2

2009-10-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Finished watching Transformers 2. It’s the typical Micheal Bay film. It’s loud ; has impressive special effects, but no coherent story. And its atleast too long by 30 minutes. All those metal clashing gets too much around the 1 ½ hour mark. That’s not to say that its not enjoyable. If you remember that this is just pure vanilla entertainment & especially if you are guy, most of you will be entertained for the duration of the film. If you are expecting intellectual stimulation, great acting, good Sci-Fi story then you will be sourly disappointed.

Why did it take me so long to watch it? Because due to one reason or the other I was not able to watch it when it was screening at Majestic City, quite strangely a good pirated copy was very hard to find, until last week when Thanu somehow found it.

On the pending list G.I Joe, Harry Potter – Half Blood Prince, Taking of Pelham 123, Twilight & Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What will be the next one? Not sure. But sure it will not be Twilight. Many are not very impressed with it, saying it’s a girly vampire movie. Whatever that means…

Machan....

2008-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

Went to see the movie Machan. Heard a lot of good things & few bad things about the film before seeing the movie. All seems to be accurate & slightly over blown. This is not a ground breaking master piece. But it’s a good movie. Which is a rare case in Sri Lanka. Like that cliché about London buses, the last two much hyped Sinhala films (Aba & Machan)which I went to watch were good. It is absolutely not the case always in here. Almost 90% of the commercial films are crap & 60% of the so called 5th Circuit films are incomprehensible to most viewers. These two films have effortlessly bridged the gap which exist in Sri Lanka between commercial cinema & artsy cinema.

Talking about the film, its loosely based on the infamous Sri Lanka handball teams vanishing trick in Germany. In the real incident the team mainly comprised of upper middle class Sri Lankans while in the film it is almost all are from very poor backgrounds. Story is well written & the acting is very good. It is helped by selecting very experienced & talented crew are actors for even the minor roles. Although many very nasty words regularly are used by the actors during the cause of the film, many evokes laughter & all seems quite genuine. This I mentioned is because these words are not used often in Sri Lankan cinema & on many instance cause the film to categorized a ‘ More Suitable for Adults’ film. Mahendra Perera’s word to German immigration officer specially comes to mind. 

On the bad things said about this film, where some accuse of depicting Sri Lanka in bad, negative light it must be said they are completely over blown. Yes, film only shows the dirt poor side of the Sri Lankan capital. But it does exist. Characters like Stanley & others live among us. Almost everyone of us know who has be duped by a bogus foreign employment scheme. We have friends who tries very hard to support their families, but see no let up of their hardships. Although I laughed at them when watching the film, it also made me think about the current financial gloom spreading around globe which is slowly but surely affecting Sri Lanka. When they celebrate the single point they scored at the handball tournament, I can’t help but be happy about them. Because they have achieved what they want. They have come to a European country, they are not going back & they manage to score a point in a game they had no clue against decent opponents.

I wonder where those brave, ingenious 23 guys are right now. I hope they are doing well & looking after their relatives back in Sri Lanka. If by any chance one of you guys read this.. well done brothers. It was very nicely done………

……Those who would murder innocents…….

2008-11-29T02:06:00.000-08:00

Since he was & is the man of the moment for some time now, let me quote Barack Obama's words about the killers of 9/11: "My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with such serene satisfaction". I can’t even comprehend having empathy towards such kind of monstrous animals who kill in the name of god. To kill innocent kids, women & men who goes on minding their own business trying to survive, to make their & their families lives better were killed needlessly & without any compassion in the last few days in Mumbai, the financial hub of India. There can be no dispute that this atrocity was committed by people blinded by religious favor who are looking to be martyrs to a misguided cause.

To think that there are people & organizations out there who support, collect money & advance causes of these terrorists is the biggest concern right now facing the free world. They hide behind the wails of religion, race & various other bogus rights. The most recent example we Sri Lankans had was the protests held in Tamilnadu, India by various political parties & entertainment industry against the war waged by Sri Lankan forces against LTTE, the most deadly terrorist group in the world. It is them who has introduced suicide attacks, it is them who glorified killing innocent civilians in the name of liberation. To those protestors in India, they were freedom fighters who were fighting for just cause. The fact these so called freedom fighters fight by setting up Bus bombs, attacking & killing villagers were not their concern. Even that LTTE has killed all the prominent Tamil political figures who fought for the truth, which is LTTE is no sort of representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka let alone the sole representative has escaped Karunanidhi & the protesters. Just like in Mumbai, Bagdad or Kabul, LTTE terrorists have killed tens of thousands of innocent kids, women & men of Sri Lanka irrespective of whether they are Sinhala, Tamil, Buddhist, Christian Hindu or Muslim. They are keeping their own people from reaching safety because these innocent civilians are used by them as a human shield against the advancing government forces.

Just like to see what these protesters now have to say about the incident in Mumbai. Are they also freedom fighters fighting for a separate homeland in Kashmir or whatever piece of land they want? Or are they are terrorists since they killed people of your race & in your motherland ? What everybody needs to understand is terrorists needs to be defeated whatever means necessary. Sadly most of the time it is only a military response these animals understand. All the supporting groups of these terrorists need to be brought before the law & punish according to their offenses & then only the terrorism can be eradicated from our lives. We have to destroy these support structures & make sure everybody do their bit in the fight against the terrorism. Otherwise we will have to wage bloody wars against very organized & capable groups who doesn’t understand peace, cohabitation & equality.

Change........

2008-11-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Why am I doing a Blog ? Because I have delusions of grandeur of being a writer or because it’s something I want to do as a hobby ? I have no idea actually. Anyway blogging has not happened as frequently as I hope & wanted it to be. Why am I blogging now ? Mainly because out of the blue I got a comment for the my last post. By Theja who is a colleague of mine @ my work place. His blog conscience is a nice thoughtful blog which I found interesting. Which suddenly made me wants to update mine. Hope this interest lasts….

These last few months has been an interesting passage of my life. I found my life changing bit by bit after the marriage. Beforehand I never thought about how it will change my daily routines. But now I find myself leaving work as soon as possible since now she is pregnant. Before I was one of the last to leave the office, but now I have to plan about the days I want to be late & adjust my schedules. And look after her needs & make sure that I keep her happy & comfortable. Many say that having kid is a big responsibility, but I still didn’t feel like that. I’m sure in the near future I may have to seriously think about it. As the new US president elect Barack Obama (Aren’t we all glad that he won!)said “we need change”. And fate has delivered the change to my once aimless life & currently I’m enjoying it thoroughly .

Getting out of Jail in Style.....

2008-07-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan team as pulled their usual trick over Indians in the Asia Cup yesterday. At first glance of the score sheet you would think that they bat first, compile a big score & squeezed the life out of the other team via their spinners. But it was anything but ordinary. Sanath Jayasuriya (39 years young, as commentators now describe his age) played a whirlwind inning of sheer brilliance, that if he had failed to pull it off would have labeled as a reckless inning.

In the end it was what set Sri Lanka on the way to that fighting score, but then came Sehwag. He came, he saw & was not very impressed with our Fast bowlers. He flayed. To all parts of the ground. In comes the mystery spinner. In the 10^th over of an ODI no less. And voila! He spin his brand of deliveries with amazing accuracy & control. Which Indians who were supposed to be the best players of spin didn’t have a clue.

With Mendis taking 6 wickets & Murali as usual not giving anything away, Sri Lanka won by 100 runs. The pressure was simply too much for the much vaunted Indian batting line up. They were simply bamboozled by the “Mendis Magic”. Sri Lanka got out of jail, but did it in style. Firstly by the whirlwind batting of the master blaster & the Spin Magic of Ajantha Mendis.

To quote Indian captain Dhoni “It was like you were playing something else, and the ball was something else. I won't really blame the batsman, we couldn't pick the deliveries.”. Neither could many who were present at the grounds including the two umpires. With the Spin Wizard Murali operating from the other end the apprentice magician Ajantha Mendis has sent the clear message to the whole viewing public, that now Sri Lanka has another mystery spinner. And by the look of it many batsman will have sleepless nights over the fact of facing these twin spin terrors.

A Beautiful Waterfall

2008-07-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

This is Ravana Ella, which is situated in the Ella - Wellawaya road. Rumored to conceal a hideout/ secret pathway of legendary King Ravana.

Colombo Landscape

2008-06-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

These were taken when I was at the HNB Towers @ Union Place, Colombo with my Sony Ericcson W700i.

Home Coming Day !

2008-06-26T01:35:00.001-07:00

This is me & my dear on our home coming day!!!!

Not saying anything

2008-06-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to say anything about my absence or make promises about regular updates. Life is too fickle to make grandiose promises. Anyway the life has dramatically changed now compared to the last time I blogged. Namely now I’m a married guy. So a totally different life to the one I had before. Anyway life is not bad. 

And I’m Back !!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully ……………..

Saluting Murail... The Unassuming Champion

2007-12-03T03:09:00.000-08:00

Finally he has done it. By bowling Collingwood Muttaiah Muralitharan has become the leading wicket taker in Test Cricket. This friendly, unassuming man from Kandy Sri Lanka has lead the Sri Lankan bowling attack for so long that it is a miracle he still has the enthusiasm, which he displays when ever he is in the field. All Sri Lanka has waited for this amount & all of us a proud of him.

The following extracts are from a fine article in Cricinfo.com

"You wouldn’t think there could possibly be anything more he could do to embellish the legend, but even as the warm breath of the Kandy Man’s most momentous feat enveloped the Asgiriya Stadium, came another reminder of his uniqueness.

When Fred Trueman became the first man to take 300 Test wickets at The Oval in 1964, he observed with typical drollness that, if anyone outdid him, he’d be “bloody tired”. Having sent down 38,000-odd balls to Trueman’s 15,000-odd, most of them in steamy, strength-sapping conditions, Muttiah Muralitharan had even more reason to prattle on about work ethics and sweat-drenched toil. Heaven knows he’d have been justified, in the heat of the moment, in hailing his historic delivery to Paul Collingwood this morning as the greatest ball of his career, an impeccable fusion of sorcery and sauce. What followed was as unexpected as anything he has ever served up for our delectation. "

Complete Article

A Cure for AIDS

2007-09-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

This was published last week in a weekend newspaper. Sincerely hope this is true. If this is then just think about the impact of a cure like this have for the world in general & specially for a small developing country like Sri Lanka.

After the Hiatus

2007-08-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

Well I back. Its not that I have been away, but I sort of lost interest in blogging or more specifically didn’t want to allocate my free time for that. Since I’m now working at a new place my free time is increasingly becoming an endangered thing. Anyway hope to update the blog regularly once more. And the blogging landscape has drastically changed from the last time I was here as a regular visitor.

Anyway lets hope for the best………………….

All Hail Sir Fergie!!

2006-11-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

"My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f**king perch. And you can print that."

Well Done Sir Alex. Bloody Well Done!!

A Historic Memorandum Of Understanding

2006-10-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Today will go down in Sri Lankan history as a momentous day. Today the two main parties of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Freedom Party & The United National Party has entered in to a historic Memorandum Of Understanding on Six common issues to Sri Lankan problems.

This is unprecedented in Sri Lankan policies, where major elections are marred by the winners abusing the loser party supporters, violence & even killings. But the current President Mahinda Rajapakse has shown that he is above these petty politics & expressed his willingness for an understanding with the major opposition parties to take Sri Lanka forward. He had already shown that he is no push over, by staunchly resisting against the LTTE terrorists while expressing his commitment to the peace process.

Opposition leader also must be praised for this effort, because for sure there was few who didn’t want this to happen. They want to topple this democratically elected government by any means what so ever& get to power. So, they can keep profiting, taking bribes & all other dirty things. But MR. Ranil Wickramasinghe has taken the brave & sensible decision of supporting the government within a frame work for the good of the nation.

Very well done fellas! Lets hope this situation prevails. If all are sincerely committed to it, this will take Sri Lanka forward. Otherwise unfortunately there will be no hope. For this is truly the last chance saloon for Sri Lanka.

Paul Scholes scores Goals

2006-10-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

He has gone and scores another one. Against the biggest rivals of my favourite team. Paul Scholes has appeared 500 times for Manchester United & he celebrated the oocasion with a goal against Liverpool. And this interview was on Man Utd site commemorating his 500 appearences for the club.

"Paul Scholes gives ManUtd.com an insight into his favourite goals and the best players he has played with and against...

Best goal scored
It was probably the volley at Bradford from Becks’ corner. There was also one against Panathinaikos where I chipped the keeper, which I think was a better team goal. We had about 25 passes before I scored, I think. It was definitely one of my favourites, but probably the Bradford volley is the best.

Best goal seen
I'd have to say Ryan Giggs against Arsenal in the FA Cup. It was just unbelievable. I was asking him to square it - I don't know why and I'm glad he didn't! He just smashed it in the top corner. It was an unbelievable goal and with the circumstances it was in, it was amazing.

Best player played with
Ryan Giggs. Well, Ryan or Roy Keane. They’re very different players but if I had to choose one it would be Ryan. He can do anything with a ball.

Best player played against
Rivaldo. Zidane and Ronaldinho are obviously fantastic players but watching Rivaldo was brilliant. We played against him at Barcelona and also at the World Cup with England and he was just amazing. He was different class in the two 3-3 draws with us and when Brazil knocked England out of the World Cup.

Best stadium
It's got to be Old Trafford, there's nowhere else to play! I like playing at Newcastle's ground, actually. There's always a good atmosphere, the crowd really get behind their team and we always tend to do well there. "

What a special & humble player.

Twentyfourothon

2006-09-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

Had a twentyfourothon! It is like a marathon, with watching season one of 24 instead of running. Finished the first 16 episodes within 26 hours starting from 7 pm Saturday to 9 pm Sunday. Still 8 more episodes left. Although 24 id airing in one of our tv channels I have never been able to watch it continuously. And I don’t watch tv often. Only if cricket, football or any kind of sports or a good movie is airing. So when I burrowed the first season of 24 from Suranga I had to wait till I get a considerable amount of free time to watch it. And it is hard not to watch it continuously, considering how well it was made to make the viewer compelled to watch it. Right now Terri, Agent Bauer’s wife is suffering from amnesia, his daughter Kim is stranded without her Mom & Bauer is clueless about their travails. And presidential candidate & his entire family along with Bauer’s family are in danger by Serbian militants, who are hell bent on getting revenge for their family. They were killed by Bauer & his team during a mission to assassinate a war lord, who was the head of Serb’s family.

24
Kiefer Sutherland

Super Silly Quiz

2006-08-15T01:21:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Check out these questions and send me the answers!!! Let's see how "BRAINY" you really are!!!! Game?

1. The maker doesn't want it; the buyer doesn't use it; and the user doesn't even see it.What is it?

2. There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced incorrectly. What is it?

3. What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?

4. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?

5. What is one thing that all wise men, regardless of their religion or politics, agree is between heaven and earth?

6. How could you rearrange the letters in the words "new door" to make one word? Note: There is only one correct answer.

7. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg *are* white" or "The yolk of the egg *is* white"?

I will post or e mail the answers.

The barbaric act that claimed a cherub

2006-08-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

The following article was on www.dailynew.lk site remembering the 3 year old littel girl who was killed by LTTE terrorists by a car bomb. This is the truth about these so called libarator's of Tamils, who explode bombs to kill other Tamil activitist with utter disregard about the civilians. And this innocent little child because of their barberic acts.

"The last memory of her granddaughter John Rasiah would prefer to recall is that of a jovial cherubic child swinging her tiny legs from a high chair, her eyes twinkling with childish excitement at receiving a new pair of shoes. But the gory recollection of the scorched remains of the tiny figure at the roadside keeps tormenting his mind ever since last Tuesday.

"She was very happy when she came to see me that day because I had bought her a new pair of shoes. She insisted on wearing them right there and walking to the bus stop. I never imagined I would see her dead when she kissed me 'Good bye' before leaving with her mother," a grieving Rasiah recalls.

Rasiah, an employee in a restaurant in Wellawatte is the grandfather of two and half year old Jegatheswaran Asvini who was brutally killed in Tuesday's LTTE bomb explosion in Milagiriya targeting ex-EPDP Parliamentarian S. Sivadasan.

Little Asvini was proudly waddling her way home in her new shoes with her mother when the bomb went off near St. Pauls College, Milagiriya killing her and two others.

Her tragic death has proved for the umpteenth time that terrorists have no regard for the age or race of their victims.

Asvini's mother John Sasida who was critically injured in the explosion is fighting death at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Colombo National Hospital ignorant of the most dreadful news any mother could hear.

"My daughter and son-in-law work as labourers in a house in Bambalapitiya. Since there was no one to take care of her, my daughter used to take the little one with her to work everyday. On finishing work they would always drop by the restaurant where my wife and I work and Asvini would play with me for a while," Rasiah who was the best friend and playmate of little Asvini says.

He recalls how Asvini was filled with joy on that fatal day when she heard the good news that from Thursday her grandfather would be doing only night shifts. "Then I can stay at home and play with you the whole day", were her final words.

Rasiah who has peacefully lived in Colombo among its Sinhala and Muslim communities for the past 18 years would never have imagined that her daughter and granddaughter would fall victim to the brutality perpetrated by a few people from his own brethren.

In fact, when we reached his poverty stricken house in Siddhartha Mawatha, Kirulapone, the Tamil and Sinhala residents of the area were unitedly putting up white flags to bid farewell to the little girl who used to run and play up and down the street.

A wailing S. Saroja, Asvini's grandmother who was also unfortunate enough to witness the incident said she was working at the restaurant when she heard the explosion.

"Asvini came to the restaurant that day to play with her grandfather and he gifted her a new pair of shoes. When I went to her she pointed to the shoes which she had already worn. I kissed her feet and said they were beautiful. We heard the explosion barely 10 minutes after they left".

"My husband and I ran to the junction only to see her lying dead at the roadside. I could not bear to look at her scorched lifeless body. I ran back to the restaurant screaming like a mad woman".

"We are innocent people who have not done any wrong to anyone. We have never caused harm to others or earned money by wrongful means. I cannot comprehend what I did to deserve this fate. I have lost my little daughter, and my wife is in hospital unconscious," Asvini's father B. Jegatheswaran said overcome with emotion.

His eight year old son who is not old enough to realise the gravity of the situation is still waiting for the return of his mother and sister. Occasionally he cries when his father breaks down not knowing that the tiny casket in their house contains the remains of his little sister.

Two and half year old Asvini who was bubbling with life only a few days back said good bye to her loved ones yesterday. But her tragic death would always remind us of the thousands of children who have fallen victim to LTTE terrorism in the last two decades."

Sri Lanka in the brink of an all out war

2006-08-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well some would argue we are already in a full-scale war rather than approaching it. Anyway LTTE are firing mortars & rockets indiscriminately into government held areas, more often than not killing innocent civilians. Thousands of Muslims in muttur have become homeless & are fleeing from the violence. Government forces are still advancing on the mavilaru sluice, which was the focal point of the present increase in violence. LTTE being the terrorists they are have closed the sluice for no apparently justifiable reason denying water to thousands of people & their paddy fields. Government had no other option than a military one to get that sluice open again.

And for the first time in recent times Sri Lankan government has taken a hard stand against the terror tactics of LTTE & many do not disagree with that decision. But the situation has escalated to dangerous proportions & it should not be let to get out of hand. SL government should decide whether to stick with this joke of a MoU or finish what they have begun.

Sun Microsystems: Where Unix came to die.

2006-07-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the slogans suggested by a Microsoft fan to Sun Microsystems after Sun has began an advertising company targeting Microsoft. Following are the list of his suggestions from his blog.

ü “We sell SPARC CPUs. Remember SPARC?”

ü “Sun Microsystems: Where Unix came to die.”

ü “Solaris, er, Linux, no Solaris, no Linux, uh Solaris, no, aw never mind”

ü “AMD CPUs. Linux OSs. We just add the cool logo.”

ü “It's a good thing we didn't buy Apple.”

ü “At least we didn’t throw chairs when Bill Joy left (they were repossessed).”

ü "We're the kings of open software (except Java)"

ü “Spite is so a business strategy”

ü “Yes, we are still in business. Why does everyone ask us that?”

A nice comeback or what ?

All in a Days Work

2006-07-05T01:57:00.000-07:00

As IT personals in a non-IT company we have to attend to some crazy computer problems almost daily. And user ignorance is the main cause of these scenarios. Received the following by e mail from one of my friends, which are very close to actual happenings.

01. When you call us to have your computer moved, be sure to leave it buried under half a ton of postcards, baby pictures, stuffed animals, dried flowers, bowling trophies and children's art. We don't have a life, and we find it deeply moving to catch a fleeting glimpse of yours.

02. Don't write anything down. Ever. We can play back the error messages from here.

03. When an I.T. person says he's coming right over, go for coffee. That way you won't be there when we need your password. It's nothing for us to remember 700 screen saver passwords.

04. When you call the help desk, state what you want, not what's keeping you from getting it. We don't need to know that you can't get into your mail because your computer won't power on at all.

05. When I.T. support sends you an E-Mail with high importance, delete it at once. We're just testing.

06. When an I.T. person is eating lunch at his desk, walk right in and spill your guts right out. We exist only to serve.

07. Send urgent email all in uppercase. The mail server picks it up and flags it as a rush delivery.

08. When the photocopier doesn't work, call computer support. There's electronics in it.

09. When something's wrong with your home PC, dump it on an I.T. person's chair with no name, no phone number and no description of the problem. We love a puzzle.

10. When an I.T. person tells you that computer screens don't have cartridges in them, argue. We love a good argument.

11. When an I.T. person tells you that he'll be there shortly, reply in a scathing tone of voice: "And just how many weeks do you mean by shortly?" That motivates us.

12. When the printer won't print, re-send the job at least 20 times. Print jobs frequently get sucked into black holes.

13. When the printer still won't print after 20 tries, send the job to all 68 printers in the company. One of them is bound to work.

14. Don't learn the proper term for anything technical. We know exactly what you mean by "My thingy blew up".

15. Don't use on-line help. On-line help is for wimps.

LTTE back to its Murderous Ways

2006-06-15T02:53:00.000-07:00

A bomb blast in Anuradhapura has reportedly killed more than 50 civilians. It goes without saying that all of them are innocent people going about their work & LTTE bastards are behind this. The so called peace process has now gone beyond joke status & has virtually become a tragedy. LTTE has broken almost all the clauses in the MoU & acts as it does not exist. Government on the other hand is under pressure from the international community to adhere to the MoU. If this continues any longer the general public will surely turn against the government in protest.

What everybody should understand is LTTE is not a rebel movement in normal sense. They are first & foremost a terrorist organization. Their leader Prabakaran dont want a democratic solution. He orders his soldiers to drag school children to be trained as soldiers while his two children are comfortably studying in abroad.They do not want a political solution where other Tamil parties co exists with them in north. LTTE want north & north east for themselves and ready to kill any one who go against them. The only language they understand is violence & unfortunately government will have to resort to some military action soon or later. It will save many innocent lives is it happens sooner rather than later, but there will be the inevitable casualties from the military side. It is easy for the not involved people to say go to a war. But it is a huge decision on the government side, which will mean lower investments by foreign companies & other draw backs.

But right now the only way seems to be a military solution where at least the government should push LTTE to corner where they have to accept a political solution & lay down their arms. But if past experience is any indication LTTE will never accept it. Just like this time they will use the time of negotiation to strengthen their military & go back to their usual murderous ways. Time has come for President Rajapakse to take a tough stance & eradicate this curse from our island once and for all. While all before him failed in this regard most Sri Lankan’s believe he is up to it.

The Da Vinci Code Banned in Sri Lanka !

2006-05-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan president has banned screening of the movie “ The Da Vinci Code” in Sri Lanka. It is said that the decision to ban the film was taken on an appeal by the Catholic Bishops Conference in Sri Lanka. This is an outrageous decision to say the least. A movie which has been very well received in all the countries it was screened last week was deemed to offend the sensibilities of the Catholic Sri Lankan. Total damn bullshit! This film is & will be shown in all the major Christian European countries no one has banned it. But Asian Catholic Church has begun a major offensive against it claiming all kind of nonsense. Is only Asians have frail sensibilities that are so easily offended? Or do they think Asians ( which incidentally includes these bishops too) are utter idiots to confuse a work of art based on a fiction with the facts ?

To quate a part of the article,

“The Bishops charged that the movie is a product of a "totally perverted mind" and that it reaches the height of moral corruption. "It matters greatly to us as it adversely affects the most sacred beliefs of our people when it levels the charge that the Catholic Church is essentially a vast network founded on maintaining the lie of Jesus' Divinity."

Calling the film and the book blasphemous, the Bishops said the book attacks the very person and mission of Jesus Christ. "Those who say the book is just a story do not understand that this deception is part of the book's power. The book and the film are offensive to Christians. Brown and Howard are clearly targeting Christians when they attack what is most sacred to us, namely the person of Jesus Christ," the letter added.The Bishops pointed out that while artistic creativity needs a climate of freedom, such freedom cannot be separated from responsibility.”

What he basically means is creativity is just fine until you reach Jesus Christ. Beyond that is off limits. These are the kind of people who banned Satanic Verses of Salaman Rushdie & placed a bounty of his head, as well as Thaslima Nasrin. These kind people some how got the then government of Sri Lanka to ban Bettie Mahamud’s “Not without My Child” too. They just worship a different god. Their intolerance & ignorance knows no bounds. They mentally still live in medieval times, where freedom of expression was suppressed & burning at stakes of any person who had any different view was the inevitable punishment. To them questioning their faith is unthinkable.

Da Vinci Code is a fiction which was based on some actual facts, which incidentally has been debated for centuries. Some of those facts a disputed by many scholars while some are accepted as truth. Neither Dan Brown nor Howard have claimed that the film to be the truth. It was their imagination & creativity working towards creating art. Not anything else.

The problem Catholic Church sees in this film is that it will make the viewer think. Not because they believe it to be truth but because they will see some parallels, some things they heard before & discarded. They will go and search about them. Catholic Church is afraid that. They want their followers to accept what ever they say as the gospel truth. They don’t want any questioning, just blind faith. And any kind of expression against them, whether to be fiction or factual is anathema to them.

I have bought the book and was looking forward to see the movie in big screen. Now I will have to watch it on my pc with a pirated DVD & be satisfied. This is quite sad & upsetting. We are deprived of a movie watched & enjoyed by millions worldwide by religious bigotry. And that is quite unacceptable.

More Udurawana Jokes!

2006-05-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

Uduravana in Heaven

Mr. Uduravana died and went to heaven.

When he got to the pearly gate Saint Peter told him that new rules are in effect due to the advances in education on earth. In order to gain admittance each soul must answer two simple questions:

1. Name two days of the week that begin with "T".
2. How many seconds are there in a year?

Mr. Uduravana thought for a few minutes and answered...
1. The two days of the week that begin with "T" are Today and Tomorrow.
2. There are 12 seconds in a year.

Saint Peter said, "OK, I'll buy the Today and Tomorrow answer, even though it's not the answer I expected. But how did you get 12 seconds in a year?"

Uduravana replied, "Well, January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd, etc..."

Saint Peter opens the gate without another word.

Uduravana Relaxing!

Mr. Uduravana was enjoying the sun at the beach in America.
A lady came and asked him, "Are you relaxing?"

Uduravana answered, "No, I am Uduravana"
Another guy came and asked him the same question.
Uduravana answered, "No! No! Me Uduravana!"
A third one came and asked him the same question again.
Uduravana was totally annoyed and decided to shift his place.
While walking he saw another Sri Lankan soaking in the sun.

He went up to him and asked,
"Are you Relaxing?"

The other man was a lot more educated and answered, "Yes, I am relaxing."
Uduravana slapped him on his face and said, "Stupid, idiot. Everyone is looking for you and you are sitting over here!"

Uduravana, Rupavahini & Hidden cameras

Mrs. Uduravana caught her husband Mr. Uduravana searching high and low all around his living room.

Mrs. Uduravan: "What are you searching for?"

Mr. Uduravan: "Hidden cameras!"

Mrs. Uduravan: "And what makes you think that there are hidden cameras here?"

Mr. Uduravan: "That guy on TV knows exactly what I am doing. Every few minutes he keeps saying, 'You are watching Rupavahini channel'. How does he know that?"

Uduravana's English Exam

Mr. Uduravana finished his English exam and came out.
His friends asked him how he did his exam.

He replied
"Exam was okay, but for the past tense of THINK, I thought, thought, and
thought, at last I wrote THUNK!!!"

Uduravana : Questions in brief

Mr. Uduravana is appearing for his University final examination.
He takes his seat in the examination hall, stares at the question paper for
five minutes, and then in a fit of inspiration takes his shoes off and
throws them out of the window. He then removes his shirt and throws it away
as well, followed by his pant, socks and watch.

The invigilator, alarmed, approaches him and asks what is going on.

"Oye, I am only following the instructions here," he says, " it says here,
'Answer the following questions in brief'.

Mr. Uduravana & Wash Basin

Mr. Uduravana goes to a hotel in Colombo and eats heartily.

After eating he goes to wash his hands but starts washing the basin instead.

The manager comes running and asks him, "Mr. Uduravana, what are you doing?"

Mr. Uduravana replies, "Oye, see the board here, "Wash Basin".

Travel

Mr. Udurawana was attending a conference in London. He was flying for the
first time.

Getting on at Katunayake airport, the passengers were climbing the steps to board the
plane. A foreigner missed his step & slipped. He shouted "Oh, I lost my
balance!" and the moving got slowed down a bit. Udurawana was at the bottom
of the steps anxiously waiting to get in to the plane for the first time and
he shouted, "Doesn't matter you fool, I have enough coins in my pocket.I'll
give you some later! "

EMBARKATION CARD

When it was closer to London, Passengers were given the embarkation card to
fill. Udurawana started filling.
Full Name : Heen Banda Udurawana
Sex : Ticked the Female Box and wrote below : unlike these foreigners, we
always have sex with females !

GETTING OFF

Getting off Finally, the plane arrives at Heathrow. Udurawana was excited
and anxious to get off. So he went to the door before anyone, and prepared
to jump down.

"Wait sir, Wait" cried an air hostess.
"75 Kilograms" replied Udurawana and jumped off the plane!

HURT

Seeing Udurawana jump off the plane, an airport worker came running to his
aid. "Sir, Are you hurt? " He asked, helping Udurawanna to stand up. "No, I
am not Hurt. I am Udurawana" he replied.

IN THE HOSPITAL

In the Hospital After his jump from the plane, Udurawana was taken to a
doctor to be treated for minor injuries. While awaiting his turn for
treatment, Udurawana smiled with an old Englishman sitting next to him.

"Hello" said the Englishman " I'm suffering from Influenza"
"Hello" replied Udurawana. " I'm Udurawana from Sri Lanka"
The Englishman confused, said "I mean my Influenza... came from Catarrh".
"I know, I know" replied Udurawana.
"Though I say Sri Lanka, I am also from Pettah."

CONFERENCE

Conference proceedings 1

Fortunately, the injuries were not serious and Udurawana was able to
participate in the conference. The Chairperson said "Mr. Udurawana from Sri
Lanka will now address you !" Udurawana rose from his seat, and said:
"Udurawana Walawwa No. 29, Ranawana Road, Katugastota, Kandy, Sri Lanka."

Conference proceedings 2

When Udurawana announced his postal address to the audience, his Secretary
came for assistance.
"That is not what you are supposed to do, Sir", he said, giving him a five-page written-speech. "You are supposed to speak to them. Please read this speech to them!" Udurawana started reading aloud. Other than for a few mistakes in pronouncing, things were okay for a few
minutes.

Then, suddenly, Udurawana shouted: " Patto!" The audience got a bit excited, but Udurawana continued to read as if nothing happened. After another few minutes, another loud "Patto!" was
heard. Udurawana's secretary wanted to find out the reason for this,so he carefully followed the written speech.
And he found that.....
UDURAWANA WAS READING THE 'P.T.O.' AS PATTO!

LUNCH BREAK
During the conference lunch break, Udurawana dropped in at a restaurant
with an English friend. The friend ordered a Fanta and our Udurawana ordered a
Coke. The Suddah friend sipped the Fanta and said, "Aaah.....Fantastic...."

Our friend Udurawana sipped the Coke and yelled,
"Aaaaaaah.....Cockastic...."

AT THE BAR

It was a chilly day and as he wanted to warm himself up, he went to a PUB.
He saw two Englishmen sitting near the counter and joined them.

The first Englishmen said to the bar man "JOHNNY WALKER, single" The Bar man served
him. The second Englishmen said "JACKDANIEL, single". The Bar man served him too.

Now it was Udurawana's turn and he said: "HEEN BANDA UDURAWANA, MARRIED"!!!

Understanding

One day when Udurawana was waiting for a bus at a bus stop in London, it
started raining. But this wasn't a problem for Udurawana who used to take a
large umbrella with him all the time.

Having resorted to the shelter of his umbrella, Udurawana looked around to
see how the others at the bus stop are doings. Then he saw that there was a
white girl who didn't have an umbrella.

So Udurawana thought of helping her, and said." Why are you outstanding"

"Please come and understand my umbrella"

2006-05-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

Me & Suhith @ Ambekke, which is world famous for the magnificent wood carvings.

2006-05-05T01:26:00.000-07:00

Dupliacte Stonehedge ????????????

2006-05-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

Part of Ambuluwawa Garden captured from the top of Chetiya

2006-05-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

At the viewing platform in Ambuluwawa

Weekend @ Kandy

2006-05-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Kandy, hometown of my buddies Senka & Nuwan. There were six of us with Suhith, Meeya & Tempa. We went by motorbikes on Saturday afternoon & came back on Tuesday morning. Had a wonderful time with roaming around Kandy city & visiting historical & religious places like Gadaladeniya & Ambekke Temples.

The best place was Ambuluwawa. While it a fairly new construction, the bio diversity & religious harmony site was a magnificent place with all the major religious worshipping places situated at the mountain top. And the road to the top is not an easy one. None of the bikes were able to climb it in any other gear than the 1^st gear. The view at the top of GoviJana Chetiya is breathtaking, with Gampola town surrounded by mountains & Mahaveli River going between them. And the surrounding garden is a landscaping masterpiece by Sri Lankan standards.

And no trip in motorbikes is complete without an accident & we had a one. When we were coming from Colombo Meeya who was riding my bike had a glancing blow from a lorry & had a mighty tumble. Fortunately he was not hurt, but the bike was damaged a bit. And still I haven’t had the time to get them repaired.

How business is done

2006-04-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Father: I want you to marry a girl of my choice
Son: " YOU will choose my bride!........? "
Father: " But the girl is Bill Gates's daughter. "
Son: " Well, in that case...ok "

Next Father approaches Bill Gates.

Father: " I have a husband for your daughter. "
Bill Gates: " But my daughter is too young to marry!"
Father: " But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank. "
Bill Gates: " Ah, in that case...ok "

Finally Father goes to see the president of the World Bank.

Father: " I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president. "
President: " But I already have more vice-presidents than I need! "
Father: " But this young man is Bill Gates's son-in-law. "
President: " Ah, in that case...ok "

This is how business is done!!

A tribute to determination & concentration

2006-04-03T00:50:00.000-07:00

Before he went to Australia & won Gold meddle in Weight lifting almost no one has heard of him. But overnight Chinthana Geethal Vidanage has become the poster boy of Sports in Sri Lanka. After his splendid achievement every one including the big wigs in sports are rushing to organize events to honor him. Chinthana won his event without any nourishment, wholesome food or vitamins which are used by the weight lifters. He simply could not afford them. But rather than those he had a vision, to win the Gold meddle in commonwealth games. He was determined & he was fully concentrated on it. Rather than thinking about things which he didn’t have, he utilized what he had to the best extent he can. And he achieved his goal.

And what has he done after coming to Sri Lanka after his victory. Did he demand more facilities for himself in order to win an Olympic meddle (certain athletes come to my mind). No. In a recent interview with TV he said that many athletes who represented Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth games have many problems. If sports ministry could look in to that, they will also be able to win meddles! Unbelievable!! When pressed to say what he wants he said that better training facilities would certainly help him. He didn’t ask for money or that he should be based in Colombo.

What we should understand is that this young fellow is a unique sportsman in a field filled with greedy & selfish. Chinthana is a true sportsman. A shinning beacon which should be followed by any aspiring sportsman in any field.

2006-03-20T22:33:00.000-08:00

21st Century...

Our communication - Wireless

Our dress - Topless

Our telephone - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our youth - Jobless

Our food - Fatless

Our labour - Effortless

Our conduct - Worthless

Our relation - Loveless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Valueless

Our follies - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our boss - Brainless

Our Job - Thankless
.
.
.
Our Salary - Very less

After a Long Absence

2006-02-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the quite a long absence from blogging. Many of you would have not noticed at all. Anyway the blogexplosion users would have found it quite nuisance to stare @ the same page for at least 30 seconds quite a few times. It was absolutely impossible to write anything in the past few weeks because we were under a huge & frustrating virus attack. All the 40 odd computers @ Head Office were giving one problem or another. And several other PCs on the WAN were acting funny too. Since most of the PCs are not running the latest virus Guards it took forever to clean them up. Then the E Mails started to bounce saying “550 5.7.1 Email rejected due to sending server misconfiguration - see http://www.spamhaus.org/#why_rejected “.

Apparently the viruses were mass mailing & some servers hadblocked our mail server from sending mails. Result? Utter Chaos!! Every other department were on our head demanding E Mails be restored ASAP. How I hate days like these. After requesting to remove our IP from their lists the damn servers wanted 24 hours! So, had to use Yahoo & Gmail for urgent correspondence. That means giving internet access to quite a few users. A sure way to get a machine infected. Had to install Firewalls & take other security measures to avoid that happening. That means working 14-16 hours a day for weeks!

However things are sort of back to normal. So back to blogging it is!!!

The Wizard of Spin

2006-01-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Muttiah Muralitharan has captured 400 One Day International wickets. The following is the article published in CricInfo regarding his latest bowling feat.

"The delicious irony was that Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's off spinning genius, celebrated his latest 400th wicket milestone and the joining of another exclusive club at Adelaide. The ground has been the scene of so much personal heartache back in 1998-`99 when Ross Emerson, egged on by hatchet-men determined to bury his freakish genius, called him (his off breaks and leg spinners) for chucking for the second consecutive tour of Australia. Unfortunately, for a man who cherishes team success more than personal milestones, it did not prove a completely triumphant return as Sri Lanka botched their run chase at the final hurdle and slumped to a frustrating defeat.

But you can't deny Muralitharan a moment of self-congratulation in the rubble of defeat. Here was the single-most important reason behind Sri Lanka's combativeness in the past decade, a supremely skilful spinner who with Shane Warne has reinvigorated the slow bowler's art, a man who has endured ridicule and injustice throughout his career and emerged stronger at every crisis, reaching yet another richly-deserved landmark in a record-strewn career. Johannes van der Wath was his 400th victim, prodding forward diffidently and caught bat-pad first ball to a whoop of delight.

Muralitharan has put his team interests first throughout his career and here he was again, just three days after his wife Madhi had given birth to their first child thousands of miles away in a Chennai hospital, wheeling away for Sri Lanka. He might easily have jetted home for such a special moment like most international cricketers nowadays, escaping the boorish no ball taunts that have sadly continued during this VB Series campaign, but he stayed on to play his part in Sri Lanka's revival after a terrible few months. For those who know him, it was no surprise.

During the last five years, as shown so graphically by Cricinfo's statistics, Muralitharan has been the world's leading one-day bowler, claiming 194 wickets in 116 matches at an incredible average of 18.97 and a frugal economy rate of 3.49. In a batsmen's game he has been simply brilliant. Still just 33, fitness permitting, it only appears a matter of time before he overtakes Wasim Akram's 502-wicket one-day world record.

But this may well be the one record he does not take before bidding farewell. Muralitharan's main target now is to play until the World Cup in the West Indies. After that will follow a reassessment of his career and life. One suspects that he will follow in the footsteps of Warne and concentrate on his main love: Test cricket. Sri Lanka will miss him dearly but the logic behind an early one-day retirement is unarguable, protecting as it will an increasingly tired and fragile body and allowing him to hopefully extend his playing career until the end of the decade.

The news of another Muralitharan record would, of course, not have been met with unanimous glee. Although most have now been persuaded that his action is freakish but clean, there remains a hardcore that refuse to believe what biomechanists have been saying for 10 years: Muralitharan's deformed elbow creates the optical illusion of throwing but the actual arm-bend is miniscule, now well within the ICC's new 15 degree tolerance limit.

This hardcore will always exist, as Muralitharan now accepts. While the no-ball taunts in Melbourne and Sydney during the past week must surely frustrate him, there has been no obvious visible sign that they do. He has moved on from the past. There has been too much in his life - from the terrible ethnic riots of his early childhood that threatened the lives of his family to the tsunami last year that created so much mayhem, death and destruction - to worry about the perceptions of a minority.

So Muralitharan will continue, in Australia and elsewhere, to lead from the front for his team-mates and his beloved island. And for those who feel his powers must surely soon start to wane, don't be foolish. Muralitharan is also working on new tricks, desperately experimenting in the nets and trying to wizard-up new variations that will keep him one-step ahead. He has new deliveries up his sleeve but, this time, don't expect any public announcements about their arrival for he has learnt the doosra lesson. Just watch and marvel because such genius and character may never come again. "

Comings & Goings

2006-01-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hectic times at office. Quite a few are leaving & new people are coming for their places. First of all our visual merchandiser & dear friend Nuwan decided to leave due to some misunderstanding with our directors. He is actually a one of a kind guy. Who will standup to what he believes & won’t take bullshit as a part of his job. He handed over the resignation letter when it became clear that his way of working doesn’t suit the company & he was not recognized for the work he did. It was a sad loss, because he was a very good friend. Office is but dull without him.

Then the last colleague of the original IT FOUR Nazlin left. Now only I’m left of the original inhabitants of the IT department. He got a good offer from a company in Kandy & he decided to take it. The main new addition is the IT Manager Suranga. Although he is not exactly a new person. He worked closely with us when he was with his previous company. And finally there are some new girls. As usual they get the all the attention right now.

Branching Out

2006-01-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought it? Now I have two blogs. From having none in June 2005 to a regular blogger with 2 blogs in January 2006! Why? I have no idea maybe because I have delusions of grandeur of being a writer. My subconscious must have loved the idea of my ramblings being read by other people. Anyway since I read so much (in fact my mother has banned me from taking any books home when I go home for holidays) & watch as many movies as can, I thought it would be better to have a dedicated place to write my thoughts about them. Hence http://not-a-review.blogspot.com .

There I intend to write about the books I have read & liked in the past & about books I currently reading. And about Movies & Games too.

Starting the Year with King Kong

2006-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ended the first working day of the New Year by going to Liberty Cinema to watch King Kong with Suhith, Senaka, Thanu & our new IT Manager Suranga. Actually I tried to watch it on 31^st December, but had to go back because it was house full. Even today the cinema was full at 6.30 pm and many were dissapointed. It started at 7 pm & finished at 10.20 pm. It was simply awesome. Visually it is a perfect movie. In fact it had bit of everything, comedy, thrill, love & tragedy. Peter Jackson is a visual magician. He has taken CGI to another level. Just as George Lucas & Stephen Spielberg has done before him. The fight with 3 dinosaurs & the scene where the ship crew running in midst of them were fantastic. Although some may say those scenes were little bit too long it doesn’t get boring. Will go to see it again, just to enjoy those magical scenes!

Cricket, Crazy Cricket

2005-12-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

Sri Lankan’s are doing it again. They get India in trouble in the first part of the innings and then let one of their batsmen to perform a getting out of jail routine to post a very good total. This has become so routine no one is surprised by it now. More like disgusted! And then the batsmen perform so ineptly that a casual observer will wonder how the other team got a so big total.

What complicates the matter is that Lankans have opted to drop one of their most experienced & talented batsman in the form of Sanath Jayasuriya and Jehan Mubarak is the man deemed good enough to replace him. Pure bullshit! Mubarak’s first class average hovers around the thirties! This is not the first time it has happened. He continues to get selected, while more talented compatriots like Micheal Vandort, Ian Daniels, Shnatha Kalavitigoda are sidelined or given scant opportunities.

And this all have been good if he can play decently. Mubarak has failed miserably in all the 3 inning he batted & shows no sign of improving. His inclusion is mystery to everyone. Of course the current predicament of Sri Lankan team can’t be blamed solely upon Mubarak’s batting. Sangakkara continues to thrill & frustrate the Sri Lankan fans in equal measure. He plays some lovely shots & in the next instance plays some bloody stupid shot & gets out. Attapattu & Jayawardane are doing ok, but they need to do more than ok. They are the most experienced players & they should take more responsibility. As of now Sri Lanka were all out for 206 & they narrowly avoided follow on thanks to Dilshan & Malinga Bandara. Let’s hope we can at least salvage a draw & avoid a 2-0 series loss.

2005-12-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

Sea viewed from top of the Trinco Fort

2005-12-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

A Short but Nice Trip to Trincomalee

2005-12-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Went to Trincomalee with mother & Sis. Actually went to Kantale & then from there went to Trinco. Stayed at one of sister's friend's house in Kantale.
It was the first time I've been to Trinco. The beach was quite wonderful. Which made it all more sadder the fact we couldn't visit Famous Nelaveli beach beacuse of the hartal situation prevailing in Trinco. The sea at Trinco is a one huge plate of blue water with almost no waves.
Visited Koneswaram kovil in Trinco Fort. There were quite a of deers inside the fort. They were running here and there without slightest regard about humans. They are unharmed due to the fact that they are mainly living in and around the Army camp.
I will definetely go back again to spend moretime there & to visit Nilaveli too. Since I have quite a bit of leave left should organize a trip soon.

Brian Charles Lara - The King

2005-12-08T01:21:00.000-08:00

Full name Brian Charles Lara
Born May 2, 1969, Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad
Current age 36 years 220 days
Major teams West Indies,ICC World XI,
Northern Transvaal, Trinidad & Tobago,Warwickshire
Batting style Left-hand bat

This is a somewhat late post. But it has to be done. He utterly deserves it. He is the best in the current generation (1990 onwards) of cricketers. No-one since Don Bradman has built massive scores as often and as fast as Lara in his pomp. Although some argues that Sachin Tendulkar is better many neutrals (I’m not a neutral, after Sri Lanka Windies are my favourite team!) lean towards Lara. With his eye catching stance with bat raised high, weight balanced on his right foot is a sight many cricket lovers love to see. This is the only man to reclaim the highest scorer in an innings record. This is a batsman who has scored 688 runs in a 3 match series (against Sri Lanka) with scores of 221 & 130, but ended up in the losing side.

Of course Lara has many lean periods as well as majestic peaks. When he in concentrated on his batting he is the biggest nightmare of any bowling attack. Ask any England test bowler. Both Muralitharan & Warne held him highest regard as the best batsman they have bowled against. Even in the twilight of his career he remains a constant threat against any bowling attack & unfortunately most of the time the only hope of West Indies team. Although he is 36 years old he showed in the Australian series that he can continue sometime without any problem. May he get the strength & the determination to entertain us for many years to come, because he is not the prince, He is the King!

Hip Hop @ Anuradhapura

2005-12-07T00:42:00.000-08:00

If you are a Sri Lankan, Yes The title is correct. Last saturday the first ever Hip Hop concert was held in New Town Anuradhapura. It was organized by one of my friends ( Shamika). Me & Della (Nuwan) went to A'pura on Saturday morning to help. Actually more of us were supposed to go from colombo, but as usual come saturday morning they had varies other tasks(damn lies & lazy buggers). Anyway we two had to man the ticket counters since the Shamika & guys didn't want to be there since if they were issuing tickets many would want to get in to the hall for free! It was held at Swarnamali Girls convent Hall & around 800 to 900 people attended. Actually I was suprised to see such a big crowd for concert of this kind in Anuradhapura. Doggynation, B & A, DirtyCry, 6th Lane & Iraj & IllNoize performed.

All went quite smoothly except that Iraj wanted more than what he has agreed beforehand. We had to pay around Rs.10,000 more for him & his team. Anyway they were the main attraction & they rocked the hall. For the maybe the first time I can remember we were at a musical show or a concert while being sober. Alcohol was prohibited to all the organizers & considering the fact the way some of our gang behave after consuming alcohol it was a prudent decision.

Although at the beginning I doubted, Shamika was able to make a little profit in the end. Since this was the first, it was a good start. Sunday morning he gave a party to all of us near Nuwara Lake where wild boar, Old Reserve & Toddy played major parts. Anyway we managed to catch a late evening bus back to Colombo since both me & della had to come to work on Monday.

Can U Read this?

2005-12-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

At Frsit cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs sarhe it.

Jayasuriya, Ganguly & Roy Keane

2005-11-24T02:27:00.000-08:00

The old guards of sports are finding life slightly difficult these days. The players who once were the kings of their respective teams are finding that they surplus to the current requirements of the team. Sanath Jayasuriya who was a pioneer of pinch hitting in the first 15 overs of Ona Day International Cricket matches & a batsman most bowlers wanted to avoid has being dropped from the Sri Lankan Test Team for the coming series against India. He was not performing well in the ODI series & many wanted him dropped from the team. But Test Match is whole different ball game & he hadn't done badly in the recent past. But he was not wholly fit & selectors decided to try a new one.

And India has already dropped their former captain, Prince of Culcatta, Sourav Ganguly from the ODI team. He was a late & somewhat surprising inclusion added to the Test squad. Captaincy of the both form of Cricket( ODI & Test) has been given to Rahul Dravid. Ganguly's case is very different from Jayasuriya's. He has been underperforming for sometime & he was in the side due to some unknown ( read: internal politics ) reasons. Finally he got injured before the Sri Lanka series and selectors jumped for it. He is in last chance saloon. And if he fails in Test matches against Sri Lanka ( assuming he manage to get in to the side) his future looks bleak.

And Roy Keane has been sensationally dumped by Sir Alex Ferguson from the Manchester United team to utter disbelief of most observers. Keane has been the captain & the main source of inspiration for Man Utd for countless years. But he is ageing & is prone to injuries more often than before. And his infamous temper has not helped him, his teammates or the manager. I think he would have had at least another season at Old Trafford if he has not given that now infamous interview to ManUtd TV which subsequently got banned. But unlike the other two players mentioned here Keane's departure will be felt more keenly by his team. They do not have a readymade replacement for him & the other players could not cover his absence. Although Manchester United has moved on after Eric Cantona, Brian Robson & others. They will do so again this time, but the problem is with Chelsea’s sudden dominance the pressure is much much more than usual.

After the Moment of Truth

2005-11-21T00:24:00.000-08:00

Finally its over! 2005 Presidential Election was held on 17th November & the Fifth Executive Prime Minister was sworn in on 19th. It was unbelievable in many aspects. First the candidate with more money, more resources & more media backing lost! Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, who launched massive media campaign against his rival Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa lost by 180,000 votes. It’s not a huge amount, but a win is a win. Last few days before the election was a complete barrage of advertisements in electronic media by United National Party in support of their candidate Mr. Wickramasinghe.

But in the end Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the Fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka. He got a huge majorities in south region ( Galle, Matara & Hambanthota Districts) & in Gampaha & Kaluthara Districts. On the other hand Ranil was not able to get big wins except in Central Province. And his strategies were blown up to high heaven when LTTE has ordered the Tamils in their areas not to vote. He was banking on them to make him the Leader of the country & it back fired.

Some try to say that Mahinda’s victory as a win for Sinhalese Buddhist extremists, which is patently wrong. There is no arguing about the fact that most of the votes for Mahinda were cast by them but Christians & Muslims contributed to his wins in Gampaha, Hambantota & Digamadulla districts.

Anyway now we have a new president. A man, who came from south. A man with a reputation of being a people’s man. It’s up to him to take our country forward. To give a solution the ethnic crisis, which can be accepted by all nationals. And it is up to us to give him time to achieve these targets & to guide him along these paths.

A new forum & A Fantasy Team

2005-11-11T02:04:00.000-08:00

Had an easy paced week so far. It was not hectic as usual, no major computer breakdowns or no new bugs identified in the POS & Inventory systems. It doesn't mean I have been idle, but lets say that I had more spare time @ work than usual.

Spare time = Surfing. And surf I did. Found a new forum to participate called neoseeker.
It is mainly a gaming & hardware forum, but have many interesting threads. I found it while searching for some driver using Google & it directed me to it. Previously I was only participating in Spymac.

But after its updation it is acting kind of weird. It is very slow for one thing and it’s still not functioning fully. And I find the posting is not as numerous as before. Maybe they are waiting till it’s back as before. Anyway it is a very good site & I had many interesting & constructive arguments in their forums.

And I have registered in Fantasy Premier League & I find it quite good. I have fantasy soccer teams in Premier.Fantasy-Manager & Channel 4 Fantasy Football Monthly 2005-06. But I liked FPL’s format quite good, it gives you 100million to have a 15 member squad while the other 2 limit you to 50million on 11 member squad. Anyway have a party to attend in the evening & tomorrow is Saturday! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!

Some Football Jokes

2005-11-09T03:25:00.000-08:00

David Beckham walks into a sperm donor bank,
"I'd like to donate some sperm" he says to the receptionist.
"Certainly Sir" replies the receptionist, "have you donated before?".
"Yes" replies Beckham "you should have my details on your computer".
"Oh yes, I've found your details" says the receptionist
"but I see you're going to need help. Shall I call Posh Spice for you?"
"Why do I need help?" asks Beckham.
The receptionist replies "Well David, it says on your record that you're a useless w*nker...."

Two Aberdeen supporting farmers are flying with their herd of sheep to a new farm.
Suddenly, the plane engine fails and it rapidly descends towards the ground.

Dons Fan 1: Quick! Grab a parachute and jump!
Dons Fan 2: What about the sheep ???
Dons Fan 1: F*ck the sheep!!!Dons Fan 2: ...(pause)... Do you think we have time?

Q: How many Liverpool fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Yeah, as if they have electricity in Liverpool...

Q. What's the difference between the Toon keeper and a taxi driver?
A. A taxi driver will only let in four at a time.

Newcastle have moved quickly to halt rumours of a rift between Grame Souness and Alan Shearer.A club spokesman said, "It's ridiculous to suggest that there is a personality clash between the two - everybody at the club knows that Shearer hasn't got one.

"Why do Geordie Supporters have Moustaches?
A: So they can look like their Mothers.

Q: What do you get when you cross a Chelsea Fan with a pig?
A: I don't know, there are some things a pig just won't do.

Q: What do you call a Chelsea fan on the moon?
A: A Problem.
Q: What do you call 100 Chelsea fans on the moon?
A: An even bigger problem.
Q: What do you call all the Chelsea fans on the moon?
A: Problem solved

Q. Why do Chelsea fans whistle whilst sitting on the toilet?
A. So they know which end to wipe!

Q: What do Leeds keepers and Singer Michael Michael Jackson both have in common?
A: Both wear gloves for no apparent reason.

Q. What's the difference between a Leeds fan and a coconut?
A. One's thick and hairy, and the other's a tropical fruit.

Q: What has 70,000 arms and an IQ of 170
A: Elland road every other Saturday.

Q: Name three football clubs that contain swear words?
A: Arsenal, Scunthorpe and F*****g Man Utd.

Apparantly, Blackburn football club is under investigation by the Inland Revenue for tax evasion.- they've been claiming for Silver Polish for the past 30 years.

4 surgeons are taking a tea break:
1st surgeon says "Accountants are the best to operate on because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered."
2nd surgeon says "Nope, librarians are the best. Everything inside them is in alphabetical order."
3rd surgeon says "Well you should try electricians. Everything inside them is colour coded."
4th surgeon says "I prefer Tottenham fans. They're heartless, spineless, gutless and their heads and a**es are interchangeable."

Q: What would you get if Newcastle were relegated?
A: 45,000 more Chelsea fans

Q: What's the difference between a Northern Water lorry and Alan Shearer's school teacher?
A: One's a water tanker, the other's taught a w**ker.

An Aberdeen fan is trapped on a remote desert island with a sheep and a dog. Soon, the sheep starts looking really attractive to the Aberdeen fan.
However, whenever he approaches a sheep the dog growls in a threatening manner.The Aberdeen fan takes the dog to the opposite side of the island giving it some food as a distraction. He runs back to the sheep only to find the dog growling at him.
The Aberdeen fan ties the dog to a tree with a large leash. He goes back to the sheep only to find the dog growling with a gnawed off leash around its neck.By now, Aberdeen fan is getting depressed and frustrated.
As he sits under a palm tree staring out to sea, a beautiful woman in a tight-fitting wet suit emerges from the surf.She asks him who he is and, taking pity upon his lonely state, asks if there's ANYTHING she could do for him.

The Aberdeen fan thinks for a moment and then responds, "Could you take the dog for a walk?"

A Very Good Sunday

2005-11-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

Finally two teams I supports won after what can only be described as unbelievably bad performances in the last few weeks. All though some would say it is a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted. Firstly Sri Lanka managed to beat Indian team after loosing 4 matches continuously. Indians has rested some of their players, but they posted a very good target. Finally Sri Lankans manage to avoid the middle order collapse and they won quite comfortably in the end.

Then Manchester United beat Chelsea in English Premier League. They have been below par since the last season’s FA Cup. Some would say it was longer! Anyway they showed that they have the talent & guts to give a good fight to the table topping Chelsea & they won. With 3 key players absent in Gary Neville, Roy Keane & Gabriel Heinze it was a very good performance. Now if only both these teams can keep this up every week!

An Ogre & a Hobbit

2005-10-30T21:47:00.000-08:00

Finally did what I wanted do for sometime. Namely watch Shrek & buy "The Hobbit". I had watched Shrek 2 & wanted to find the first one, but has been unlucky until last Friday. Finally it came to my favorite DVD shop in a collection including Toy Story Series. It was as expected. Which is pretty damn good.

And then on Saturday I found The Hobbit which has been eluding me since I finished reading the LOTR trilogy. I was looking for Judas Unchanged by Peter F Hamilton ( Having read the first one of the commonwealth series Pandora’s Star ) but instead found Hobbit. Still I’m reading it so I can’t say much about it other than it is written in quite a different style to LOTR. Hobbit was initially intended for children & it follows a story telling theme. LOTR was written more in line with conventional methods while Hobbit tends to be funny quite often. It is proving to be an enjoyable read & I’m only halfway through. Can’t wait to go back home & finish it!

Trough, after a peak

2005-10-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not happy. Not depressed, but not in a good spirit either. Last few weeks were very good. Everything was moving smoothly & now....... That's the problem, it not bad, but it doesn't feel right. She is not in good terms with me (an argument gone sore). And it was for something as insignificant as a political meeting. Aaaahhhhhhhhhh! She don't like politics & I kind of more politically aware. And I stopped on my way from work to watch a political meeting held in faour of one of the presidential candidates & she thinks its bullocks. I should not have argued, since it was not a one either one of us going to win. Hindsight, what a useless thing.

And Sri Lankan team has gone & got thrashed by Indian's by a huge margin! To think that I stayed home to watch it! Infuriating! Anyway just glad that I didn't get a day off solely to watch the match. Went for a job interview in the morining & I think I did ok. Since my former boss is there it should workout.

Anyway wish this unhappiness would go away as soon as possible.

Super Farce

2005-10-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

The end of Super Farce (or Super Test if U like it that way). The 6 Day Test Cricket match between world champions Australians & ICC World team was over in 3 days. World team was beaten comprehensively by Aussies, who out played them in every department.

World team defenetely was not a team. They were a collection of individuals. Ofcourse they were very talented, but just like the movie this band of LXG( League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) flopped. Teat match depend more on team work. Infact all kind of Cricket matches do. So just putting a talented players together in a tema for a short period of time is bound to fail & it did. Hope ICC get more brighter ideas than this!

Stupid Questions Or Smart Answers ?

2005-10-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

BOY : May I hold your hand?
GIRL : No thanks, it isn't heavy.

GIRL : Say you love me! Say you love me!
BOY : You love me...

GIRL : If we become engaged will you give me a ring??
BOY : Sure, what's your phone number??

GIRL : I think the poorest people are the happiest.
BOY : Then marry me and we'll be the happiest couple

GIRL : Darling, I want to dance like this forever.
BOY : Don't you ever want to improve??

BOY : I love you and I could die for you!
GIRL : How soon??

BOY : I would go to the end of the world for you!
GIRL : Yes, but would you stay there??

SHARON : Have you ever had a hot passionate, burning kiss??
TRACY : I did once. He'd forgotten to take the cigarette out of his mouth.

MAN : You remind me of the sea.
WOMAN : Because I'm wild, romantic and exciting?
MAN : NO, because you make me sick.

WIFE : You tell a man something, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.
HUSBAND : You tell a woman something: It goes in both ears and comes out of the mouth.

MARY : John says I'm pretty. Andy says I'm ugly.What do u think,
Peter?
PETER : A bit of both. I think you're pretty ugly.

1) Girlfriend : "...And are you sure you love me and no one else ?"
Boyfriend : "Dead Sure! I checked the whole list again yesterday".

2) Teacher : "Which is more important to us, the sun or the moon?"
Pupil : "The moon".
Teacher : "Why?"
Pupil : "The moon gives us light at night when we need it but the sun gives us ligh t only in the day time when we don't need it".

3) Teacher : "What do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?"
Pupil : "A teacher".

4) Waiter : "Would you like your coffee black?"
Customer : "What other colors do you have?"

5) My father is so old that when he was in school, history was called current affairs.

6) Teacher : "Sam, you talk a lot !"
Sam : "It's a family tradition".
Teacher : "What do you mean?"
Sam : "Sir, my grandpa was a street hawker, my father is a teacher".
Teacher : "What about your mother?"
Sam : "She's a woman".

7) Tom : "How should I convey the news to my father that I've failed?"
David: "You just send a telegram: Result declared, past year's performance repeated".

8) Teacher : "Now, children, if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped him, what virtue would I be showing?"
Student : "Brotherly love".

9) Teacher : "Now, Sam, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?"
Sam : "No sir, I don't have to, my mom is a good cook".

10) Patient : "What are the chances of my recovering d octor?"
Doctor : "One hundred percent. Medical records show that nine out of ten people die of the disease you have. Yours is the tenth case I've treated. The others all died".

11) Teacher : " Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?"
One Student : "Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day and at the same time."

12) Teacher : " George Washington not only chopped down his father's Cherry tree, but also admitted doing it.
Now do you know why his father didn't punish him ?"
One Student: " Because George still had the axe in is hand."

Another Election - A Presidential Election

2005-10-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka is facing another election. The Presidential Election 2005. Normally Sri Lankans vote once a year. Its either general election, Provincial Elections or some other. But presidential election is normally held once in 6 years unlike other elections where they can be held @ the whim of the President. And now 13 candidates had file papers to run for Precidency. Yes. That is 13! Thirteen candidates from thirteen registered political parties. How many do we have? Take a guess. Over 50! I think the highest in the world. Ofcource many parties don't have more than 10 members. The standing joke is that many candidates don't even get their wife's vote for them.

The true battle is between Mahinda Rajapakse of UPFA ( United People'sl Freedom Alliance) & Ranil Wickramasinghe of UNP (United National Party). Mr. Rajapakse is the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka & Mr. Wickramasinghe is the Opposition Leader. The battle is going hard & fast in Sri Lanka, with the usual mud slinging in full pelt. PM is seen as a person morefriendly towards Sinhalese Buddhist majority & he has the full backing of Marxists JVP & JHU, which is formed by Buddhist monks. Mr. Wickramasinghe mean while has the support of CWC, which is the major party of Tamil Minority & SLMC, the Muslim Party. His stance is not very clear & the conduct of leaders of CWC & SLMC parties are very dubious.

Right now there is no clear winner to be seen in the contest. One is a people's man, while the other is a businessmen's man. What we need is some one with both attributes to take our country forward. But as usual we have to choose the lesser of two evils. I think the first one is the best.

Just Because..............

2005-10-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Feeling down & out. So sad & lost. Just want to say.....

Whatever happenes "I Love U Dear"

Gloomy Week, Some jokes to cheer it up!

2005-10-04T23:31:00.000-07:00

Mt dear is out of the country, so it's not a very happy week. Got some jokes through e mail which cheered me. So I'm sharing it with U,

Udurawana rushed back angrily to the grocery shop from where he had purchased
a packet of butter a few minutes ago.
"Where is my free gift?" he shouted atthe shopkeeper.
"But Sir, there is no free gift on the purchase of butter."
The shopkeeper answered politely.
"Don't fool me," replied udurawana, "it is clearly written on the packet of the butter 'Cholesterol free' but you gave me only butter".

One day Udurawana was home and he went to the kitchen, opened the Sugar
bottle, peeped inside and closed it. His wife was seeing this. After some
time Udurawana again went to the kitchen, opened the Sugar Bottle, peeped
inside and closed it.
His wife again saw this. Udurawana again and again did the same thing. His
wife was puzzled at why did he do something like this. So, she asked
Udurawana, 'Why did you open the Sugar bottle, see inside and close it often?'
Udurawana, 'I am a Sugar Patient you know.... Our doctor advised me to check
up the Sugar level often'.

==
Udurawana: Nurse, I am very eager to know my blood group.
Nurse: B positive
Udurawana: please tell me soon ....
Nurse: B positive
Udurawana: Madam, I am positive, but eager to know my blood group.

====
Udurawana bought a new car. Next day he is driving his car to office. On the
way he was waiting for the Signal. Suddenly he opened the door and got down.
Then he went to the Traffic Police and asked him,
'How much should I pay to turn right? '
The Policeman was astonished and asked, 'Why are you asking like this?'
Then Udurawana showed him the sign board which was
in the corner of the road:'Free Left Turn'

====
Udurawana: I was born in Kandy.
TV Interviewer: Oh really, which part?
Udurawana: All of me, silly

====
Udurawana got up in the middle of the night to answer the telephone.
"Is this one one one one?", says the voice.
"No, this is eleven eleven."
"Are you sure it isn't one one one one?"
"No, this is eleven eleven."
"Well,wrong number, sorry to have woken you up on the middle of the night."
"That's all right, mister. I had to get up to answer the telephone anyway."

====
Udurawana with two red ears went to his doctor.
The doctor asked him what had happened to his ears and he answered,
"I was ironing a shirt and the phone rang but instead of picking up the phone I
accidentally picked up the iron and stuck it to my ear."
"Oh Dear!" the doctor exclaimed in disbelief. "But...what happened to your other ear?"
"That fellow called back."

====
Q: Why did Udurawana take a pair of binoculars with him to a funeral?
A: It was a distant relative's funeral

Finally, EU wakes Up!!

2005-09-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

It took a very sad loss of a great diplomat & greater individual to convince the European Union that LTTE is basically a terrorist organization. The killing of Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadiragamar, who actively campaigned against the atrocities of LTTE has pushed EU to impose a travel ban on LTTE delegates.

To quote EU declaration " The European Union hereby declares its condemnation of the continuing use of violence and terrorism by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The pursuit of political goals by such totally unacceptable methods only serves to damage the LTTE's standing and credibility as a negotiating partner and gravely endangers the Peace Process so much desired by the people of Sri Lanka.The European Union repeats its condemnation of the shocking murder of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and of so many others in Sri Lanka in recent weeks. "

It is a great victory for the Sri Lankan government because this will force LTTE to rethink their strategies. They have been killing & violating the so called Cease fire agreement with impunity because no one raised any concerns other than Sri Lankan government. Specially Mr, Kadiragamar. Norwgiens has been covering up all the wrong doings of LTTE while trying to put blame on our Army. Now the Norwegian government has been changed & there is a strong possibility of EU formally listing LTTE as a terrorist organization, which is the actual fact.

While accepting that there are several major problems for Tamils in Nothern & Eastern part of Sri Lanka it does not justify the killing of innocents all over the country or repressing democracy in those areas. LTTE never wanted to have a democratic solution for these issues. They want a separate country for themselves, without any other political party. They want dictatorship over Tamils & Muslims in those areas.

Fortunately world is slowly accepting the truth. LTTE is a terrorists organization. They should be forced to lay down weapons and come to a political agreement with Sri Lankan government & other Tamil parties. They are not the sole representative of Tamil peolpe in Sri Lanka. Actually they are not any kind of representative of Tamils. They are terrorists who will kill anyone opposed to their views . If they keep refusing political solutions they should be destroyed by whatever the way necessary.

Bill Gates, Still @ Top

2005-09-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Co-founder and chairman of software behemoth Microsoft Bill Gates is the worlds wealthiest man according to Forbes 400. The List is for amricans, but it is safe to assume he is the wealthiest of the world by quite a distance. Infact the other Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is the 3rd behind Warren Buffet & Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer is 11th. Not bad for a single company, huh ?

Sri Lankan breaks record for watching TV

2005-09-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan Suresh Joachim who lives in Canada has set a new world record for watching TV. He had watched TV for 69 hours and 48 minutes surpassing the previous record of 50 hours and 7 minutes. This was done in the lobby of WABC-TV as part of the "Guinness World Record Breaker Week" on the syndicated "Live With Regis and Kelly."

He has watched ABS shows continuously for that entire period. This is not his first Guinness World Record either. He has an amazing 16 of them!. Most are quite bizarre.

Among them
Running for 1,000 consecutive hours,
Balancing on 1 foot for over 76 hours,
Traveling up and down an escalator for 7 days, covering 156km in Australia,
Performing 84 hours drumming of continual drumming in Switzerland,
broadcasted on the radio for an incredible 120 hours (Canada)
Dancing non-stop for 100hours,
84-hour drumming marathon, .

Joachim is saying he is doing this to raise awareness of suffering children. And he sure is getting attention from world over because of his miraculous stamina.

Google unvails Blog Search Engine

2005-09-16T02:38:00.000-07:00

Google has set their attention on blogosphere. The premier searching engine on the web has launched a blog search engine dedicated to blogs. It operates same as the Web Search engine. Users can search the blogosphere using the words which will be searched in blog titles. The number of blogs in existence is not certain, while estimates put it around 20 million. It is still not clear howbig is Google's blog database. Although is past is any indication, it should be fairlylarge.

While there was search engines dedicated for blogs like Technorati,Feedster, IceRocket and DayPop, Google's move in to the area strengthen the reputation of blogs as a mass media. Many people use it as a way to express their feelings & share their thoughts. And with after Google's foray in to blogosphere, the other major players in search engine business like Microsoft & Yahoo are sure to follow.

For related article go to CNN.

Check out the search engine @ http://blogsearch.google.com/

2005-09-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

Is the secret "Bush = Disaster" finally made public ? Sky News is suggesting he is the worst disaster!

Dropping the Ashes

2005-09-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

The legend is when Herchelle Gibbs droped the catch of Steve Waugh he was told by Waugh that he "dropped the worldcup". It seems that Shane Warne has just dropped the Ashes cup when he failed to cling in to a simple catch by Kevin Pietersen. Peitersen went to score a big hundred & blasted every bowler to all parts of the ground. Although Warne did his best to rectify his mistake by bowling magnificeintly, it was not to be.

Englishmen have finally got their hands on the Ashes cup after 16 years and 29 days. Australian team was below par for the whole series & most of the players are entering their twilight of cricketing career. Warne, Mcgrath, Heyden, Gillespie & even Ponting. They are facing what West Indies team faced when the likes of Viv Richards, Greenidge, Heynes, Marshal retired. They have to rebuild the team & they should do it soon. They have a very talented youngsters like Clarke, Lee, Tait to build upon. It's just a matter of when & how to do it.

And while in the subject of Cricket, Sri Lanka is facing Bangladesh in a 2 test series & Bangladesh is performing their usual act of collapsing spectacularly. They were doing well before the lunch, but after that Rangana Herath & Muralitharan ran through their middle & lower order. Match is on the way to be finished within 3-4 days & actually this is becoming very boring & tedious. It is not good for Cricket as a game aspiring for global recognition to have this kind of lopsided natches. But be assured that ICC will not be doing anything meanfull to rectify these issues.

Get Fired from the Job....& Win !!

2005-09-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

This is a strange strange world. A computer engineer-Jim Garrison, who lost his job because he ate two pieces of pepperoni pizza has won the first prize of an Internet contest that collected stories about outrageous firings.

He was fired because he ate two of the six pieces of pepperoni pizza left over from a company meeting. But unfortunately several other employees had planed to take the leftover pizza home with them. When they discoverd that Jim had eaten part of it, the employees reported Garrison to management, ultimately leading to his firing last November -- a month after he ate the food.

Now he has won the first prize - a free Caribbean cruise for his misfortune. Anyway what kind of bloody idiots would make complain about a co worker to the management because he ate their pizza ????

2005-08-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

Redemption of Althalus

Redemption Of Althalus

2005-08-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

This is the latest book I finished reading( finished is a relative word here. I finished all the available pages of the book. Unfortunately last 10 pages were missing. It's the peril readers have to face when borrowing books from a library, even when it is British Council).

It is very good fantasy, although the opening few chapters are little slow paced. It is witty & imagenatively written. It follows a thief called Althalus who was hired to rob a book from a house at the end of the world. Although the house turned out to be owned by a goddess Dweia, who is the sister of the Author of the book. And the Author Deiwos is Creator God. Althalus is persuaded to change the sides & he begins his education in to magic & other things.

Book is written by David & Laigh Eddings who are Husband & Wife. Must be a nice household with so much of imagination!.

The Problems We Face ..... Daily !!!!

2005-08-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

As IT personnels we are suppose to help our co workers in their day to day computer related problems. It becomes tedious sometimes. But most of the time it is actually fun!.

1.
Customer: Hi, this is Ceiling. I can't get my diskette out.
Helpdesk: Have you tried pushing the button?
Customer: Yes, sure, nothing happens, it must be really stuck.
Helpdesk: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note
Customer: No ... wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet...it's still on my desk... sorry.

2.
Helpdesk: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Is that your left or my left?

3.
Helpdesk: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Helpdesk: Would you click on start for me and.....
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates damn it!

4.
Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print.
Every time I try it says 'Can't find printer'.
I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the
monitor, but the computer still says it can't find it...

5.
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Helpdesk: Do you have a colour printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.

6.
Helpdesk: What's on your monitor now ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me in the supermarket.

7.
Helpdesk: And now hit F8.
Customer: It's not working.
Helpdesk: What did you do, exactly?
Customer: I hit the F-key 8-times as you told me, but nothing's happening.

8.
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Helpdesk: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Helpdesk: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: OK
Helpdesk: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Helpdesk: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah ... that one does work!

9.
Helpdesk: Your password is the small letter a as in apple, a Capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?

10.
A customer couldn't get on the Internet: -
Helpdesk: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes I'm sure. I watched my colleague do it.
Helpdesk: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.

11.
Helpdesk: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Helpdesk: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry ... Internet Explorer.

12.
Customer: I have a huge problem.
A friend has placed screensaver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears!

13.
Helpdesk: Microsoft Tech Support, may I help you?
Old woman: Good afternoon! I have waited over 4 hours for you.
Can You please tell me how long it will take before you can help me?
Helpdesk: Uhh..? Pardon, I don't understand your problem?
Old woman: I was working in Word and clicked the help button more than 4 hours ago.

2005-08-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

Inside of the Temple

2005-08-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

This is where the Sacred Tooth of Lord Buddha is kept.

2005-08-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

The Sacred Temple of Tooth, Kandy

2005-08-23T04:18:00.000-07:00

We were behind a fence. So the pics were not very good. :(

2005-08-23T03:33:00.000-07:00

The big Tusker in middle is carrying a replica of Sacred Tooth of Lord Buddha. The Real one is inside The Temple of Tooth.

A Holiday - Well.. sort of

2005-08-23T02:38:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for some time. Which means there was a longer delay than usual. Since the Full moon poyaday was on friday( 19th August) us Sri Lankans had a long holiday. So I went to Kandy to watch the famous Dalada ( Sacred Tooth) Perahera. I went with my Mother & Sister. We watched it on Wednesday. The final Perehera & the longest which is the largest was on Friday. But there are so many thousands of people to watch it on the final day we decided to watch it on Wednesday. Even then there were around 20 thousand people to watch it.

It was so long it took 3 hours to finish. There were 91 elephants & quite a few of them were tuskers. It was a beautiful sight & an unforgettable one too.

Another Victim of Peace

2005-08-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Lakshman Kadirgamar, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka was assasinated yestreday (12th August) by LTTE. He was the major voice against the acts of terrorism, which LTTE was openly conducting. He pressurised LTTE to come to negotitions by successfully campaigning western countries to ban the organization on their countries.

His murder is another dispicable act by the Terrorist who seems to have impunity to do anything they want, because of the so called MOU signed between previous goverment & LTTE. They keep killing army officers, rival party members & now a government minister. How long the Sri Lankan Governmetn going to turn a blind eye is the question now everyone is asking.

If this trend continues, there would be an ugly uprising which will effect all the people in Sri Lanka. Specially the innocent Tamils living in harmony in south. While it is acepted that we need a political resolution for the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka, it does not mean we have to accept terrorism as a part of the negotiations.

Like Israel we must fight against terrorists while the political process is going on. Otherwise people will reject any peaceful resolutions & the country will plunge back to the chaos it once had.

Kids in school !

2005-08-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

TEACHER : Maria, go to the map and find North America.

MARIA : Here it is!

TEACHER : Correct. Now class, who discovered America?

CLASS : MARIA

TEACHER : Why are you late, Frank?

FRANK : Because of the sign.

TEACHER : What sign?

FRANK : The one that says,"School Ahead, Go Slow."

TEACHER : John, why are you doing your math multiplication on thefloor?

JOHN : You told me to do it without using tables!

TEACHER : Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"

GLENN : K-R-O-K-O-D-A-I-L"

TEACHER : No, that's wrong

GLENN : Maybe it s wrong, but you asked me how I spell it!

TEACHER : Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?

DONALD : H I J K L M N O!!

TEACHER : What are you talking about?

DONALD : Yesterday you said it's H to O!

TEACHER : Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years

ago?

WINNIE : Me!

TEACHER : Goss, why do you always get so dirty?

GOSS : Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER : Millie, give me a sentence starting with "I."

MILLIE : I is...

TEACHER : No, Millie..... Always say,"I am."

MILLIE : All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet

TEACHER : Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?

TINO : Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day,same time."

TEACHER : George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also

admitted doing it. Now, Louie, do you know whyhis father didn't punish him?"

LOUIS : Because George still hadthe ax in his hand.

TEACHER : Now, Simon, tell me frankly,do you say prayers beforeeating?

SIMON : No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a goodcook.

TEACHER : Clyde, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly thesame as your brother\'s.

Did you copy his?

CLYDE : No,teacher, it's the same dog!

TEACHER : Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talkingwhen people are no

longer interested?

HAROLD : A teacher.

IndianOil Cup Final

2005-08-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka beat India in the IndianOil Cup final by 18 runs. In the end it was an easy win, although Sehwag gave a big scare for every Sri Lankan supporter for a brief time. When he thrashed Mahroof & Lokuhettige to all parts of the ground. But ever reliable Chaminda Vass got him out, when Sehwag played a wrong shot to an inswinging delivery. After the 15 overs Sri Lankan spinners spearheaded by the best ever Muralitharan strangulated the Indians. It was inevitable & every one including Indians knew that's going to happen. But knowing is one thing & doing something about it is quite another.
So it is back to drawing board for India. They are still unable to find the balalnce in their ODI team. They are still unsure about whether they need 5 genuine bowlers or 6 specialist batsman & a keeper. Anyway Greg Chappel must be wondering whether Tom Moody got the better Asian job.

The Euro English

2005-08-04T02:15:00.000-07:00

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl

Discovery....Our Thoughts r with U

2005-08-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

One problem was solved with minimum of fuss. But now they seems to find another one. Discovery crew are anxiously waiting for instruction from the earth to know whether they have to repeat the ride of the century to repair another part of Disovery.
These are people who ahieved their dreams of being astronauts. Who new that they were facing a mortal danger in the name of science. But no one turned back or gave up their mission. Now they are over 200 miles above us. Waiting & hoping to see the problems being solved, so they can re enter earth without any mishap.
They are the heroes of our time. These people risked their life for science, for research. Which ultimately will & are benefeting the whole human kind. Lets wish them all the best!

HOW TO IMPRESS

2005-08-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

HOW TO IMPRESS A WOMAN...
compliment her,
cuddle her,
kiss her,
caress her,
love her,
stroke her,
tease her,
comfort her,
protect her, hug her,
hold her,
spend money on her,
wine & dine her,
buy things for her,
listen to her,
care for her,
stand by her,
support her,
go to the ends of the earth for her....

HOW TO IMPRESS A MAN...

show up naked,
bring beer.

Sports Day

2005-07-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

Finally decided to upload some images of our sorts day to the blog. I wanted to do it, but couldn't get myself to do it. It was a good tournament for our team & me. We reached semi finals, but lost it to a team from one of our Shops. On the way to semis we established a new record for the highest total of the tournament history by soring 95 runs for 3 wickets in 5 overs. I won the Best batsman of the Tournament award.
Yesterday we celebrated our achievement from the prize money we received for the highest total. All the members from the 2 teams participated ( we had 2 teams from Head Ofiice for the tournament).

2005-07-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

The Bestbatsman of the Tournament. Not bad huh ? ;)

2005-07-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

This is me @ our Company Sports Day Playing Cricket.

Back to Normal

2005-07-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

Things are back to normal. Lance won his Last & 7th Tour De France with comfort, Australians beat England comprehensively in the First Test match of the Ashes series & West Indies are looks set towards a familiar defeat in the second test again Sri Lankans. So it is the normal service. Nothing fantastic to attract neutral observers except Lance's farewell. Which he did in the best way a sportsman can. Going out while on top!

Aussies won the match due to a superb bowling performance by their old warhorses, Mcgrath & Warne. Only Kevin Pietersen( South Africans must be kicking themselves for losing a player like this) offered any resistance.

And at home Sri Lankans are doing their best to make a competition out of the match with West Indies. They were all out for 150 & West Indies got only 148. Second innings is more according to the script. West Indies have to score 378 runs to win the match & they are never going to get anywhere near it.

Looking forward to the triangular One Day Internationl tournament between Sri Lanka, India & West Indies for some excitement. And the England Primiership Season is around the corner, where I hope Manchester United will do better than the last season.

My previous post about Lance was linked by a fellow blogger Joker in his artcle about Lance's Tour Win. It is the first time that has happened & it was nice to see that someone liked one my posts! :)

On course for magnificent 7

2005-07-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

Less than a week to go. And the ride for glory is very much on track. All the pretenders to the throne are comfotably left behind. Detractors are rendered spechless. Tour de Lance is almost on the verge of completion.

Lance Amstrongs quest for 7th consecutive Tour de France victory is almost assured barring a ill fated crash or sickness. Arch rivals Ulrich & Basso are over 2 minutes back & it is virtually impossible to catch Lance now, since the gruelling mountains are left behind. His team mates in the Discovery Channel team are doing an admirable job of protecting their leader & his Lead.

Although Jan Ulrich can look forward to next year whith no Lance. But he seems to fading. Basso has developed very much & Rasmussen seems to a genuine contender. Anyway Good Luck Lance. Make them Suffer!!!!

Back on Track

2005-07-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for some time. Mainly because I was busy with our Company Sport Day & we have been practicing for the 6 a side Cricket Matches. We won our 2 practice matches held with Store's team. And talking about Cricket, Sri Lanka beat West Indies quite comfotably in the end. Although Sri Lanka made a meal out of it. It was left to the always reliable Muralitharan & Vass to sort out the mess created by our Batsmen. Both of them batted sensibly in the first innings & balled magnificiently in the second innings. Way to go Guys ! Keep it up !!

2005-07-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

Cricket

Cricket, Lovely Cricket

2005-07-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

Cricket is back. Although for most people outside former British Empire Cricket is a baffling game. There are so many rules & a Test Cricket Match takes 5 days! But for the Asians it is a passion bordering on a Religion. Whenever a Cricket Match ( Spacially One Day Internationals )involving Sri Lanka is televised all the work in the country become secondary. War, Cost of Living, Politics everything just goes out of peoples mind. In their place comes in Muralitharan, Jayasuriya, Vass & Co.
So after a several months International Cricket is back in Sri Lanka. West Indies team is touring here. But all is not well. Because most of the senior players of Windies are missing due to a contrat dispute. It is becoming a usual occurence with the Windies team. Many of the Sri Lankans are unhappy because Brian Lara ( arguably the Best batsman in the world ) will not be here. To most of the Sri Lankans he is the favourite cricketer apart from local players.
Sri Lankans should have a easy tournament, but regarding the uncertain nature of our players its not a certainity.
Murali will be playing Test cricket after a 11 months of absense due to injury & hopefully make further inroads to the record of most nuber of wickets taken which is currently held by Shane Warne. Warne is in England playing for Australia, who are getting beaten by England too often to their liking! Hopefully this will be the end of Aussie dominence in Test Cricket.
Anyway we have a very busy cricket schedule in the coming months, with around 15 test & 45 ODI toplay.Hope the rain will keep away & let us enjoy our Cricket. Good luck Boys !

2005-07-04T02:45:00.000-07:00

The Well Of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Just Finished Reading

2005-07-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

Jasper Fforde, what a writer!. Just finished reading " The Well of Lost Plots". This is the second book of Fforde I have read. First one was " Something Rotten". Which was the 4th Book of the " Thursday Next " Series. TWLP is the 3rd Book. What is different about Fforde's books is they so unique ( as far as I'm aware). It is a whole new world, where literary characters mingle with each other. It is an incredible, appealing, and often highly entertaining fantasy-world.

Book as several plots all surounding the major incident of the Story Operating System Upgration from BOOK V1 to UltraWord™. The Heroine Thursday Next is inside the book world & is just beggining to work as a jurisfiction agent, where the maintain the peace & quite & the integrity of the books.

It is a quite entertaining book with a clever premise which will keep you smiling until the last page.

Notice

2005-07-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: Our company has discontinued all physical fitness programs since
everyone gets enough exercise by...

jumping to conclusions,
flying off the handle,
beating around the bush,
running down the boss,
going around in circles,
dragging their feet,
dodging responsibility,
passing the buck,
climbing the ladder
wading through paperwork
pulling strings,
shooting the breeze,
throwing their weight around,
stretching the truth,
bending the rules,
pushing their luck,
shuffling papers,
and playing hide and seek.

Learning HTML

2005-07-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

Thought about changing the way my blog looks. First step, change the banner. How ? No Idea. Then came across Cut\Copy, Paste Blog. It was a huge help & it suggested flickr site where anyone can register & upload their images which they can use in their blogs. It automatically creates the html code for the uploaded images.
So the experiments are in process. If the layout annoy U, my sincere apologies. And any suggestions are most welcome.

A Movie Weekend

2005-06-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back!! After a different weekend. Usually Sunday is allocated to my GF. But we had an argument on Friday & my weekend program was shot to hell. :(
So I thought of watching some films. I went to my usual place where the rent Movies & got Star Wars, Sin City & Sahara ( Yes, they not released in VCD or DVD. But this is SriLanka ! The onlyway we can see a new film is through piracy! Thanks to Chinese, Malaysian & Pakistani enterprenuers! :) Otherwise we have to wait till the actual release of DVD, which will take around 1 year & it cost way too much. How about paying 10% of your monthly salary for a original DVD. Forget it!!)

Sin City was different. It basically a Black & White film with touches of color, which enhance the story. It is very violent film ( ultra-ultra-violent may be the word ). It is actually 3 stories ( 1. Abuot Marv's Revenge for the killing of a whore. 2. Dwight & a group of prostitues fight against orrupt policemen & mob. 3. Hartigan Vs Yellow Bastard ). All the three stories are based on characters in the same city. The share the same bar & are in same locations, but the don't mix. All 3 parts have separate characters. If you have watched Kill Bill & liked it, then this is the film to watch. If you didn't like it, you may like it. The Jackie Boy scene ( which was guest directed by Kill Bill Director Tarantino, is the most violent) & Marv's feeding young cannibal to dog was almost revolting. But all these violence doesn't make the viewer sick mainly because they are hyperstylized & monochrome imagery adds a dreamy feeling to it.

Star Wars was cool. Yes! Just cool. No big deal. Ok, I have never watched the old triology & I only watched Attack of the Clones. I missed triology mainly because it is quite hard to find it in here ( there was no piracy those days! ;) ) Anyway it was much better than Clones, but dialogs are nothing to write about. And personally I think there were too much light saber fights. But it was good & CGI was awsome. Acting was acceptable apart from some cheessy scenes with queen amidala. Right now I'm searching for the original trilogy, because all though I know what happennes in them, I want to see them happen.

Sahara is an adveture film. But it is way better than many of them. Better in enjoyment atleast. As usual of the adventure genre it is preposterous & unbelievable coincidences, etc. But it is fun. Matthew McConaughey & Steve Zahn are very good. So is Penelope Cruz. It has boat chases, camel rides, cabalry attacks, helicopters, etc. But unlike many films, it doesn't become tedious. It flows smoothly from beginning to end.

So that was my weekend. Not bad I guess. But I still got one angry girls friend to make peace with. If I do not post again, U know what happened to me. Wish Me Luck !

2005-06-25T02:50:00.000-07:00

Aukana Buddha Statue

Misunderstandings

2005-06-20T02:40:00.000-07:00

1) Uduravana, Rupavahini & Hidden cameras

Mrs. Uduravana caught her husband Mr. Uduravana searching high and low all around his living room.
Mrs. Uduravan: "What are you searching for?"
Mr. Uduravan: "Hidden cameras!"
Mrs. Uduravan: "And what makes you think that there are hidden cameras here?"
Mr. Uduravan: "That guy on TV knows exactly what I am doing. Every few minutes he keeps saying, 'You are watching Rupavahini channel'. How does he know that?" ----

(2) Uduravana Relaxing!

Mr. Uduravana was enjoying the sun at the beach in America.
A lady came and asked him, "Are you relaxing?"
Uduravana answered, "No, I am Uduravana"
Another guy came and asked him the same question.
Uduravana answered, "No! No! Me Uduravana!"
A third one came and asked him the same question again.
Uduravana was totally annoyed and decided to shift his place. While walking he saw another Sri Lankan soaking in the sun.
He went up to him and asked, "Are you Relaxing?"
The other man was a lot more educated and answered, "Yes, I am relaxing."
Uduravana slapped him on his face and said,
"Stupid, idiot. Everyone is looking for you and you are sitting over here!" ------

(3) Uduravana in Heaven Mr. Uduravana died and went to heaven. When he got to the pearly gate Saint Peter told him that new rules are in effect due to the advances in education on earth. In order to gain admittance each soul must answer two simple questions:
1. Name two days of the week that begin with "T".
2. How many seconds are there in a year?
Mr. Uduravana thought for a few minutes and answered...
1. The two days of the week that begin with "T" are Today and Tomorrow.
2. There are 12 seconds in a year.
Saint Peter said, "OK, I'll buy the Today and Tomorrow answer, even though it's not the answer I expected. But how did you get 12 seconds in a year?"
Uduravana replied, "Well, January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd, etc..." Saint Peter opens the gate without another word. -----------

(4) Mr. Uduravana & Wash Basin

Mr. Uduravana goes to a hotel in Colombo and eats heartily. After eating he goes to wash his hands but starts washing the basin instead.
The manager comes running and asks him, "Mr. Uduravana, what are you doing?"
Mr. Uduravana replies, "Oye, see the board here, "Wash Basin". -------

(5) Uduravana's English Exam

Mr. Uduravana finished his English exam and came out. His friends asked him how he did his exam. He replied "Exam was okay, but for the past tense of THINK, I thought, thought, and thought, at last I wrote THUNK!!!" -------

(6) Uduravana : Questions in brief

Mr. Uduravana is appearing for his University final examination. He takes his seat in the examination hall, stares at the question paper for five minutes, and then in a fit of inspiration takes his shoes off and throws them out of the window. He then removes his shirt and throws it away as well, followed by his pant, socks and watch.
The invigilator, alarmed, approaches him and asks what is going on. "Oye, I am only following the instructions here," he says, " it says here, 'Answer the following questions in brief'.

Cruise Announces Engagement to Holmes

2005-06-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

As Berty Wooster says, " The Plot Thickens". Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes love story has been every media forthe last 1 or 2 months. From tabloid to cable tv it was the co leading story of Hollywood ( the other being Brad Pitt - Angelina Jolie (non)affair). And now Cruise & Holmes have announced their engagement. Media has scorned the idea of their romance saying that it was a media stunt. That it was to get attention for Batman Begins & War of the Worlds ( as if they need more exposure, those 2 movies are in the top 3 most anticipated movies of the season including Revenge of the Sith) And some even carried out polls to measure the Cruise popularity after this incedent. Now almost everyone is furiously backtracking to stop having egg on their face.

The point is why media goes for such length to create stories which they have no relevant data. They paraded so called experts to say that this is a stunt, this is too open to be true, etc. , etc. And now they have psychologists to analyse the engagement ! Really !! And one of them trying to imply that been in Paris has made them get engaged. That when you are in Paris you loose your head & heart and do unexpected things.

And that is today's media!!!!!!!!

Fishing in Muddy Waters

2005-06-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan government is now technically a minority goernment. Because one of the main parties of the ruling Alliance, JVP has pulled out of it. This leaves the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance without a majority in parliment. And since JVP member's of provincial councils will follow suit the same situation will arise in those councils too. This is sure to bring the already fragile Sri Lankan economy to the brink of another meltdown. Because goverment will be forced to rely on TNA ( the puppets of LTTE terrorists) & UNP ( Hah !! ).

As usual the main oppesition party UNP is evading the burning question. They say they wants a Presidential Election . Typpical of the party!. They can't say that they support the Joint Mechanism, because they are mortally afraid of further lose of urban sinhala buddhist votes. And they can't oppose it because 1. They signed the MOU with LTTE, which started all this trouble 2. The Joint Mechanism has International support, they can't alienate them. So what they do ? They ask for a Election!

It's their leader Ranil's dream to become the President of Sri Lanka. It doesn't matter to him that he has lost countless elections ( parliment, presidential, provincial, you name it- he has lost it) he won't go like many other political leadres from other countries. He will try again & again ( and hopefully loose again ). He doesn't care about the situation in country. He should take a stance in this present crisis, but all he want is power. Let the general public & country go to the dogs.

It's no wonder Sri Lanka has gone to the dogs when it is ruled by Dogs !