F1 roars again!!!

Hola,

The F1 circus is back!!! Does not seem long since it went off for the winter break. Times do pass by quickly. It’s exciting time again with the cars laying rubber on the track for the first race in Albert Park, Melbourne.

For the past few years, it’s the changes that have hogged the limelight rather than F1 itself. Alright, so what are the changes … well to be fair, there hasn’t been a great deal of changes to the format this year. Yes, the qualifying session has undergone some change, ever so slightly. The Q3 session has been reduced to 10 mins, since the Top 8 in Q3 used only the last 10 mins to set a time, apart from setting rubber on the tarmac for the rest.

But hey, it’s still exciting to note a couple of changes in the cars that’s had everyone talking. There will be no Traction Control or Launch Control … makes for an interesting start.

And what about the new circuits - Well there’s a traditional one being added in the form of Valencia. But the exciting part remains the Singapore GP which would be the first one under lights!!! Wow, that’s gonna be some change.

Alonso is no more with McLaren, so there won’t be any sparks flying around. How I love to see Alonso beaten, but not in a car like Renault 2008. It’s still gonna be a Kimi Vs Lewis fight to the end.

Last but surely not the least; an Indian constructor will be making its debut - Force India F1.

Raise a toast to VJM and F1 2008 season!!!

Shakir.

Dust settles on the “Tamasha”

The show was for all to see … Tamasha if I may add - Jaspal Bhatti did not let go the oppurtunity as well. With all the talk about Cricket increasingly moving away from “Gentlemen’s game”, this seems like the final nail. It might not be far when we would have ICC banning Punjab hooligans from entering Australian cricket territories. Did someone say we want to follow the English Premier League?

Anyway, it was an interesting turn of events in Mumbai and there were a few surprises as well…

Chennai & Hyderabad, surprisingly, has been the biggest spenders with $5.925 and 5.885 Million. SRK’s Kolkata comes in third with $4.980 Million followed by Delhi at $4.825 Million and Mohali at $4.620 Million.

The bigger corporate backed teams - Mumbai by Reliance and Bangalore by Kingfisher have disappointed with $3.85 & $3.80 Million. Or could they be playing smart, saving for buying players outside the pool??? Interesting times ahead, as we tread the path of the hugely popular Soccer leagues of Europe with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Milans…

Lets see what transpires…

-Shakir.

Alright, its here and kickin’ !!!

It’s been a long time since the idea of following other’s idea sprang up in my mind - that is to write. I have always been avid reader, non fiction, if I may add. So, it wasn’t a surprise to me that I liked the idea of blogging.

Blogs are often a reflection of what’s going on in this world and as they say, Truth is stranger than Fiction - and perhaps more interesting as well.  So, it should again not be a surprise that I will be sharing the world and the life within, with all the minds alike here.

Starting a blog was a New Year resolution for me, and actually something that I wanted to start on the New Year day. Nevertheless, I am happy I have actually penned down a few words and started it, unlike a few of my other resolutions, which haven’t materialized yet. But hey, I still have 315 days (including the leap day) left in the year to fulfill them.

Alright, that’s been a good starting point for the blog, but what is it going to be about? Hmmm…quite frankly, I am not sure either! I am a die hard Schumi fan, so rest assured it’s gonna carry some F1 stuff, even though he does not race anymore. I actually play soccer in a league here, so there could be a splash of David Beckham thrown in there, just down the road in LA. Something about cricket….yeah I know we are sick of it, but we still love it!!! There could be a business flavor to it as well…I enjoy investing in markets although I haven’t hopped onto the DOW and NASDAQ yet - Still living in the swings of SENSEX and NIFTY. How about some movies, I would surely love a few of them down the road. But more importantly, it will be a lot about current affairs and the realities of life - harsh sometime, pleasant otherwise. It will be about some less important stories which might not hog the newspaper headlines…

So, here I am with my blog - Think ‘Et Cetera’ … A Latin expression that means “and other things” or “and so on” … Talk about everything else!

Cheers!

Shakir.