Ashes Aussie's Advantage

England have foiled it afresh, ceding their leverage which they had fought so hard for, after romping in the second test match at lords and managing to draw the first one at Cardiff, though Ricky Ponting had alleged that England had cozened it at Cardiff. Whatever the case maybe, Aussies have struck, and they have struck hard this time. With Rain and and bad light playing the spoil sport at Headingly in the third test which was also a draw,Australia have subjugated Englang by winning the fourth one convincingly by an innings and 80 runs.

The stage is equipoise with England & Australia marching in for the fifth and final test at Oval on 20th August with 1-1 score line, getting ready for the humdinger,the most exhilarating test match ever played.

England got the better of Australia in 2005 crushing them 2-1, But they were routed in 2007 5-0,Apart from that win in 2005 England haven't managed to hold the Ashes since 1987. This is the best shot that England have, to hold the coveted urn, because Australia are no longer the team that they used to be 3 years back with the likes of Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Glenn Mcgrath, Damien Martyn retiring in 2007-08.

Also, next time England too would probably lose their stars like Flintoff, Strauss, Collingwood.But,the irony is that Australia just need a draw in the last test to retain the Ashes whereas England need a win. It may seem like a daunting and mammoth task for English but they are undeniably adept and at the back of their mind they too know that this win would not be just another win, It would be the final nail in the coffin of the "great" Australian Cricket team,who have had a bad run of late.A defeat in the last test would push them further down the abyss and would also subside them to third spot in the rankings,thus terminating the kangaroo monopoly over the cricketing world.

My Favourite Story: Trees that wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

-Anonymous

Movie Review: Love Aaj Kal

A movie for all those who love ............

Love has a sweet charm, an eerie captivating feeling that sweeps you of your feet. Generations may change but the feeling never changes.

This is a central theme of the movie Love Aaj Kal *ing Saif Ali Khan in double role (Veer Singh of 1965, Jai of present generation), Deepika Padukone as Meera Pandit, Rishi Kapoor as present day Veer Singh and Brazilian Model Giselle Monterio as Harleen Kaur who plays the role of Veer Singh's love interest.

Love Aaj Kal might not be that great film that you have seen like DDLJ, Dil Chahta Hai for that matter.But there are resons you should definately watch it,

1. It is a film which hits upon reality for most of its part and hits it hard.There are hardly any romantic flicks which do that but Love Aaj Kal does it so in a great good way.

This Movie would inspire the present day Happy Go Lucky Mod couples for whom Break ups and Link ups come as easy as the morning newspaper. Also, It would potray them the hardships that Lovers in that era of non communication faced just to catch a glimpse of each other. You may just realise the love that you have for your gf/bf where you were previously labelling it as just another sixer on the pitch of love.

2. Critics are complaining about Deepika's acting, Ya I agree she might not be Madhuri or Kajol for that matter, But she has delivered her career best performance in potraying a girl who belongs to the present generation and is unable to recede to the demands of her too confused present day Boyfriend Saif Ali Khan. In the scenes at the end of the break up party where she hugs Saif, when she sees the mirror and tries to smile, in chor bazari song, in the climax scene where she turns around and cries, She potrays the role with such an elan that you yourself want to root for her.

3. Even the other characters in the film potray the role as the character demands it, they do not go OTT and behave like actors but potray it according to the character be it Saif Ali Khan, Rishi Kapoor or the Brazilian Model Giselle as Harleen who for not a single frame appears a foreiner.Actually she approached Imtiaz for the role of Saif's GF Jo but eventually got to play the role of Harleen Kaur. She hasn't much to speak but does it all through her eyes.

4.Critics are complaining about the chemistry of Saif and Deepika, but if they are doing so I must sadly say that they have missed on the real beauty of the film which is its USP, some pairs do not need to shout their on-screen chemistries out, through the movie, but it should be seen by engaging your heart passionately with its characters.

5.The clever dialogue and the humour has been Imtiaz's forte for long but this time he hits an all time on high emotional quotient too. Agreed that characters apart from the main protagonist aren't fully developed but after seeing the movie you'll realise that they don't needed to.

6.Moving on to the script and the story which is proclaimed to be cliched, contrived and worn out.Agreed that the plot is very simple and waferline but the manner in which Imtiaz develops it is a pleasure to see as there is not a single dull frame in movie.

7.The music and the picturisation of songs is awesome spanning Delhi, San Fransisco,London and Kolkata.Except for one or two songs all carry the story forward.

Sure, it might not be Jab We Met and Socha Na Tha which were ahead of Love Aaj Kal on humorous qoutient but Love Aaj Kal beats both of them on the Emotional Note. As Saif refers to Mango ppl (aam aadmi), this sure is a film for mango ppl of today but they should be mature enough to enjoy the sheer beauty of the movie and "feel the love" between the Saif in both his roles and the leading lady Deepika and Harleen Kaur.

Engage your heart with it and you sure would find a Jai or Veer Singh hidden in you clinging on for the perfect soulmate.

Ratings: 7.5/10