This video should stop anyone from feeling sympathy for Bush now that he is on his pity farewell party.

New Year Resolutions

So, this is one of my resolutions - to start blogging again - frankly, since the move from HK, I forgot the login details and everytime I had the urge I couldn't figure out how to log in. Now I've sorted it out and I found I've been missing the simple pleasure of putting finger to keyboard.

So, many many things have happened coming back from HK - I won't go into them all but the highlights are new flat, new president, more weight, new boss and of course Sunil getting married.

What obsessed me last year (and still does) was the us election and now the new president. It's silly I know but I find myself looking forward to his presidency and finally feeling that there is someone who is going to do right by the world. Too idealistic? Probably, but since I read his books early last year I couldn't help feel that this guy is different. He hasn't disappointed so far and I will be following him closely in the next 8 years.

Anyway hope things are well with all of you.

Ganguly recalled!

Oh Joyous day! Saurav, Dada, has been recalled to the India cricket team. No matter what his skill level is, Saurav has always been inspirational as a fighter, stubborn and recalcitrant he may be but that's what India needs. Dare I say it, Indian cricket matches have been boring without him and I (as readers of this blog and those who know me are aware) rate him both as a player and as an inspiration. Ganguly's finest moment as a captain came in 2001 in the series against Australia at home where he did not contribute much with the bat but did so by the bucket load in terms of inspiration. Dravid may be the best batsman India has, Tendulkar may have the batting genius gene but no-one, but no-one, has quite had the effect on Indian cricket more than Ganguly. Welcome back man- you will have succeeded even if you don't score a century but just by being there and standing up for Indian cricket. A small anecdote if you'll permit. When India were getting wallopped by South Africa a few weeks ago, the number 10 batsman came to bat after yet another dismal performace, and could clearly be seen laughing at the situation. Ganguly would never have allowed this. Even in Australia, when India played out of their skin to draw the series, you could see Ganguly visibly incredibly upset not to have won the entire thing. That is what we need - limitless ambition and the refusal to take pride in mediocrity. Long live Dada!

Moving day

It's an absolutly glorious day in Hong Kong at the moment - one of those rare clear sunny days where you can see for miles. Fitting day for our move from our apartment which has been home for us for the past four and a bit years. The flat is full of boxes as you can see from the picture.

We are both very sad to leave the place we now call home and no doubt will be even more sad once we leave HK altogether. But, it is exciting to move and change is always good - that's the mantra these day!

we are of course looking forward to catching up with family and old friends but not looking forward to the cold. Packing for the 6 week period between now and when our stuff arrives in London has not been fun - where normally a suitcase can hold all that we need, shorts t-shirts flip flops etc, we now have to make space for overcoats, sweaters and wooly socks!!

On a brighter note on our more slack friends has been spurred into action by our imminent move and is arriving this afternoon for a quick weekend trip in HK (Raj, for those interested). He is flying over from India and luckily for him he has a friend to stay with given that all our furniture is in boxes. Going to be a good w/e I think.

two more weeks to go!

take care all
love and kisses

Multiculturalism at its best

There has been a lot of debate in the UK news about multiculturalism, naturally focusing on muslims living in England. For God's sake (aka Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Tom Cruise (for the scientologists among you)), can we all just take a break. If I have to read one more op-ed piece about how muslims should integrate/learn english/wear short skirts/be accepted in society I think my head will explode.

Luckily a friend sent me this link which, in my view, highlights the benefits of multiculturalism - i.e. the blending of two distinct cultures while retaining the specific characteristics of each. I must admit I was not thinking of high ideals when I saw this, but rather pissing my pants. The only objection I had was to the reference to ball tampering when everyone knows that's the Pakistanis (allegedly) and not the Indians.

Enjoy some pre-Christmas cheer.

PS sorry about the lack of posts but have been preoccupied with the move back to London - I will post in due course with some potentially interesting insights into Hong Kong and our time here. Expect much merriment to ensue.
Love and Peace

One day to go

I hope that all the US guys and girls who (on occasion) visit this blog will be voting tomorrow. And voting democrat. The latest polls (and we all know how 'reliable' they are given the elections of 2000 and 2004) show the Republicans gaining ground on the Democrats so it seems as though my prediction that Democrats will not take over either the House or the Senate might well come true.

If the Democrats do not at least win the House that's about done it for the Democrats for the next ten years. Barack Obama will not decide to run in 2008, Hillary will win the Democratic nomination and be trounced by a ticket of John McCain and Jeb Bush/Rudy Guiliani and we'll have another 8 years of Republican rubbish.

How depressing...

Politicoholics Anonymous

My name is Bobby and I am a politicoholic. I admit it, I have been addicted since the Bush Snr v Dukakis election in 1988 - I remember interrailing with Sandy M and Dave M and reading reports of the election in The Herald Tribune. It's a different matter now with so many news sites and blogs giving you up-to-date information. The polls say that the Democrats will take back the House and might take back the Senate. Here's my prediction - Republicans will hold on to both the House and the Senate - unfortunately. I just can't quite believe the polls given what happened in the last two general elections. For anyone who thinks that these elections are not so important, I would recommend reading this article in Rolling Stone about this particular Congress. Some of the facts are incredible and yet unsurprising at the same time. What is surprising is that people don't do anything about it! Unfortunately, I think that's going to continue.

An update: John Kerry is doing his bit to help my prediction come true. On paper a not-so-funny joke at Bush and Cheney; orally a warning to students to study to avoid enlisting... not quite so helpful to the Democratic cause.

I wonder what my American cousins think about the elections?

I am the resurrection...

I know I've been pretty lax about posting recently but I do have an excuse - nothing interesting has happened!! Actually, that's not really true. Work has been mad the past few weeks which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's great when the day passes so quickly because you are so busy, but I find that after spending 10-12 hours concentrating furiously, when I get home my brain tends to be fried so that there is no hope of any meaningful conversations with Shadi or friends.

We have had a couple of active weekends though...On 14/15 October, Hong Kong held its annual Rockit festival which is, I guess, the HK equivalent of Glastonbury or Reading, without the tents, rowdy audience or the scabby hippies (well, there are some of those but not too many). It was actually great fun and culminated in the Sunday night headline slot by Ian Brown, ex lead singer of the Stone Roses. As people may know, I have a slight obsessive tendency towards the Stone Roses and Ian Brown. Can I just say that it was fantastic. Even the famed dodgy voice was not as bad as it has been in the past. I would have been happy enough for him to stick with his solo stuff, but I have to say it was a powerful and surreal moment when, at the start of his set, the familiar bass riff of "I Wanna Be Adored" sounded out across Victoria Park in Hong Kong. He went on to perform excellent versions of Stone Roses classics like I am the Resurrection (complete with 5 minute guitar solo), Waterfall and Made of Stone. Absolutely superb and afer two days of watching good but not great Hong Kong and PRC bands, IB's stage presence was astounding. Here are some photos:

the first one is me and my friend Mushtaq who came with us to the concert.

The concert was also a sort of closing of the circle - Shaz and I went to see the Stone Roses in Brighton in December 1995 - the first concert we saw together and just more than 10 years later we went to see IB in Hong Kong.