India Loses T20 To South Africa

Luckily the match was a complete farce or #India losing a #T20 to #SouthAfrica in 8 overs (thanks D/L!) woulda been humiliating. #SAvInd

Nadal Pulls Out Of Miami

Sad to see #Nadal pull out of @SEOpen. Glad to see him calculate the necessary match wins to stay ahead of #Federer in race for #2. ;-) #ATP

The Night Of The Hunter

The Night of the Hunter: We've all heard about this film, but you have no idea until you actually watch it. Harrowing, unhinged & brilliant!

RIP Adrienne Rich

RIP Adrienne Rich. Read some of her poetry thanks to TBH, pretty intense & compelling stuff.

RIP Earl Scruggs

RIP Earl Scruggs. Legendary figure who, literally, changed music. Wrote the theme used in "Bonnie and Clyde" http://t.co/7l34A9iY

Anchorman Sequel

The Best News In The History Of Humankind, Ever! #RonBurgundy is back! #Anchorman sequel announcement via @ConanOBrien: http://t.co/rC9qKAIQ

American Idiot

American Idiot: Dunno if it's the best musical you'll ever see, but it's certainly the catchiest. Great job by a spirited cast & set design.

Guardian "Three Little Pigs" Commercial

Excellent commercial from @guardian "Three Little Pigs" Very apropos for recent events. http://t.co/9EscEhBf

Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke: Another Paul Newman classic that exceeds its legendary hype! Great writing, acting, directing & esp DP-ing by Connie Hall!

Wallace & Gromit Re-Tweet

@PratikBasu but W&G are LEGENDS! Wallace for Prime Minister! -- (@CheapOairUK)

Magic Johnson Buys The Dodgers

Nice! #Magic #Johnson buys the #Dodgers. For $2 billion he'd better hope they start winning again! #MLB

Burma VJ

Burma VJ: A bold, stirring look at the true power of documentary images & how the flame of freedom can survive under brutal dictatorships.

Wes Anderson Sony Xperia Commercial

Love this Sony Xperia commercial from the great #WesAnderson. Nice fall-back if the director thing doesn't work out ;-) http://t.co/6MfVEwmq

Hanna

Hanna: Absolutely bonkers & absolutely amazing! Forget Twilight & Hunger Games, this is what female tweenage heroism should look like!

RIP Bert Sugar

RIP Bert Sugar. Boxing just won't be the same without him.

Federer Upset By Roddick In Miami

Crazy day @SEOpen! #Federer (not-so #GOAT-like) got blown off the court by #Roddick. #Vika came back from 1-6 1-5 down against #Cibulkova!

Fernando Gonzalez Retires

You Know You're Too Old When: Fernando Gonzalez Retires. The #Gonzo forehand was the stuff that dreams are made of! http://t.co/gyjMydhn

Luck

Luck: Sadly this almost-great #HBO show didn't have enough of it. Nice end to the season/series that gave us a glimpse of what coulda been.

Greg Oden ESPN Commercial

Sadly, the Greg #Oden era in the #NBA is over. Check out this awesome #ESPN commercial & think about what coulda been. http://t.co/WjjKsrYQ

Broad Street Bullies

Broad Street Bullies: Fun look at the rowdy Stanley Cup-winning Philadelphia Flyers. Too bad they weren't this good when we lived in Philly.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games: I liked it better the first time it was called Battle Royale. It looked like it's filmed on backlot. But it was lotsa fun.

Federer Beats Harrison At Miami

Tough win for #Federer (#GOAT) over young firebrand #Harrison at #SEOpen. Next up: a nostalgic re-match against old foe #Roddick. #ATP

A Cat In Paris

A Cat In Paris: Trust the French to come up with a delightful kid's film involving gangsters, cops, robbers...and a cat! C'est magnifique!

West Indies And Kieron Pollard Thrash Australia

Maybe #Australia thinks it's on a Caribbean vacation, maybe #WestIndies are back, but it sure is fun to see #Pollard bludgeon sixes! #WIvAus

No Goran Ivanisevic In Tennis Channel Top 100

Yo @TennisChannel, no #Goran #Ivanisevic in the Top 100?! Don't tell my sister that, you wouldn't like her when she's angry! ;-) #TC100

The Brady 6

The Brady 6: 3 Super Bowls, 2 MVPs, 1 Supermodel Wife. Yet Tom Brady cries like a baby at the thought of the 6 QBs drafted ahead of him.

The Sweatbox

The Sweatbox: The movie #Disney doesn't want you to see! Incredible inside look at the sausage-making of Disney films. http://t.co/RNSHcbRm

Incredible Coates Goal

Great goal by young #Coates. Yeah #Liverpool lost, but so what, the goal was worth it! #LFC http://t.co/CoV3cmsf

Edberg And Becker On Tennis Channel Top 100

Dude @TennisChannel, I love #Becker, but no way is he higher than #Edberg. Also, how are they ranked outside the Top 20?! Blashphemy! #TC100

Southland

Southland: Best non-HBO drama on TV. Decidedly the best ensemble cast on TV. Most definitively, the best filmed show on TV! @tntweknowdrama

Keep Wallace And Gromit In The UK

Who knew that our old chums Wallace and Gromit would influence the corridors of power in ol' Blighty? #WallaceAndGromit http://t.co/9hIXhUmc

RIP Ulu Grosbard

RIP Ulu Grosbard. Director of the unjustly forgotten Dustin Hoffman classic "Straight Time."

Game Change

Game Change: Solid stuff from HBO & Jay Roach. Naturally Julianne Moore is great, but methinks Woody Harrelson kinda steals the show.

Great Article On Andre Villas-Boas From @chattypriya

@chattypriya Great article, I can always appreciate good sportswriting. Thanks for sharing. PS. I had to do tons of research on ESPN UK! ;-)

Heat Beat The Suns

Ha! I bet I was the only person in LA watching the #Heat-#Suns game. My two favorites #LeBron and #Nash. How many #NBA rings between them?

West Indies Australia ODI Tie

It's way too early to say that the #WestIndies are back, but great job to fight back for a thrilling tie against #Australia! #WIvAus

Messi Breaks Barca Scoring Record

HMOG! #Messi breaks the #Barcelona scoring record at the grand old age of, wait for it, 24! Still not better than #Maradona though ;-)

Act Of Valor

Act of Valor: If the filmmakers wanted to make a kick-a** you-are-there action movie that makes me want to be a Seal, mission accomplished!

Hines Ward Retires

Oh man, sad yet fitting that the great #Hines #Ward will retire, firmly ensconced in #Steelers lore. All the best @mvp86hinesward!

Pump Up The Volume

Pump Up the Volume: Paradoxically, it feels both dated & pretty d*mn contemporary too! Hopefully, it'll get the cult status it deserves.

Peyton Manning Signs With Broncos

Uh-oh! #Peyton #Manning will sign with the #Broncos. Don't tell my fellow #Tebow fans or we could have a revolution on our hands! #NFL

Federer And Azarenka Win Indian Wells

Incredible! #Federer (#GOAT) beats the odds (and a very game #Isner) to win #IndianWells! Nice work by #Vika to cement her domination. #ATP

India Beats Pakistan At Asia Cup

One of #India's greatest ever wins! #Pakistan had no answer for the #Kohli onslaught. We should build a statue to this kid already! #AsiaCup

Casa de Mi Padre

Casa de Mi Padre: Best Mexican Telenovela/Grindhouse/B-Movie/Salsa Western Spoof, Ever! El gato blanco vive para siempre! Muy hilarante!

Federer Beats Nadal At Indian Wells

No bloody way! #Federer (#GOAT) takes out the indefatigable #Nadal on his favorite surface at #IndianWells! It's an early Easter Miracle!

Reagan

Reagan: Insightful, even-handed documentary by the great Eugene Jarecki that tries to reveal the man behind the legendary myth. Good stuff.

Federer Thrashes Del Potro At Indian Wells

Ama-bloody-zing! #Federer (#GOAT) thrashes the mighty #DelPo at #IndianWells! Sadly, his run will probably end against #Rafa #Nadal. #ATP

Sachin Tendulkar 100th Hundred

Our long national nightmare is over! #Sachin #Tendulkar finally scores his 100th century. Congrats to the #LittleMaster. PS #India lost.

Derek Fisher And Luke Walton Traded From Lakers

Gotta say, it's sad to see #Walton & #Fisher banished from the #Lakers. Just remember that #DFish was *instrumental* to those 5 #NBA rings.

Heat Lose To The Bulls

Another long night for this sole #LeBron fan in LA. Inexcusable loss for the #Heat. I think we're looking at a #Lakers-#Bulls #NBA Finals.

Federer Beats Bellucci

Uh-oh...so, #Federer (#GOAT) wins again at #IndianWells, again it takes 3 sets. Good sign or worrying trend? #ATP

Greatest @ICHCheezburger/@thelolcats Ever!

Greatest @ICHCheezburger ever! Or would that be greatest @thelolcats ever!? http://t.co/yuKEdW0J

Federer Beats Raonic

Tough bloody win for #Federer (#GOAT) against the awesome force that is #Raonic! Let's hope an #IndianWells title is in the cards! #ATP

Blade Runner - The Final Cut

Blade Runner - The Final Cut: Is he or isn't he? Well, I'll never tell, but man, does the film hold up incredibly well! Blew my mind again.

Safe House

Safe House: Ever-so slightly problematic but ever-so much fun! Danny Espinosa makes a better Tony Scott film than the great man himself!

The Hustler

The Hustler: A rare classic film that actually exceeds its legendary hype. Newman, Scott, Laurie, Gleason & that B&W cinematography...wow!

Federer Wins Indian Wells 2nd Round

Good win for #Federer (#GOAT) at #IndianWells. Let's hope he feels better before that tough match against flame-throwing #Raonic. #ATP

My Rahul Dravid Remembrance

My own personal, overly sentimental, overly long, remembrance of #Rahul #Dravid (aka #TheWall). Enjoy! #RahulDravid http://t.co/CypFaKup

Rahul Dravid and Our Now

I really like the word “ineffable.”

According to my handy dictionary (and by “my” I really mean the first slightly shady-looking result that pops up on my online searches) it means “beyond words.” In essence, it’s really a cop-out word, a word that tells you that whatever it is you are trying to express in words cannot, in fact, be expressed in words.

I thought about this when reading Brian Phillips’s excellent sorta-eulogy of Roger Federer after his shock Wimbledon defeat last year at the hands of the irrepressible Jo-Wilfried/Willie Tsonga (poor Brian, as good a writer as he is, in the category of Roger Federer articles, everyone is fighting for show after Calvin Tomkins placed, and the G*d that is David Foster Wallace definitely, and perhaps definitively even, won). Now, Brian didn’t actually use that word, but I realized that if and when I did write my own (definitively inconsequential) appraisal of Fed, it would be about the ineffable sadness I have always felt watching him, and the great Rahul Dravid, perform.

I don’t like the words “one” and “day” especially when used together: “one day …” (of course, I’m not entirely sure if the ellipsis, or is that ellipses?, count(s) as a word, or how I would express a unit of punctuation … sigh, where is DFW when you need him?).

You see, when one is young, one always has the “one day …” in one’s back pocket. As in, “one day I’ll play cricket for India.” Or, “one day I’ll win Wimbledon.” Or even “one day I’ll win the British Open” (sorry, it really is way too pretentious to refer to it as just the Open). Perhaps even “one day I’ll win the World Cup for Argentina” (and no, I won’t even attempt to explain how that might be possible). “One day I’ll play basketball with Dr. J.” “One day I’ll play free safety for the Steelers” (well no, but I’m on a roll, so just roll with me). And so on and so forth (hey, another use for those ellipses …).

These all seem to have one thing in common: they all involve sports of some kind or another (as opposed to, what, games?, again where’s DFW when you need him?). They also all involve the all-consuming belief in the endless possibilities of our futures that is the prerogative of youth. As long as your sports heroes are doing what they are doing out there, then the life you have always dreamt (dreamed? DFW …) of is also out there. That belief, faith perhaps, is the calming balm that helps counterbalance the roiling confusion that is, you know, youth. No matter what, your real life, the life that you have always dreamt/dreamed of leading is out there waiting for you, as soon as you get through whatever it is you have to get through first (homework, girls, the SAT, the school play, girls, essays, sports, girls, college, finals, tuitions, girls, graduation, girls).

Then, as it must, somewhere along the way the out there becomes the now. You haven’t quite reached that Lennon-quote-about-life-to-end-all-quotes-about-life stage yet, but you have reached the now. Maybe it’s when you go back home to visit the extended family and all your little cousins have become young cousins, and your aunts and uncles, once so excited about what you were doing, or more importantly, going to do, shift their focus away (always politely, of course) to them, and their Class XII exams, their plans for college, and what they want to do. The young cousins, once so glad to sit at your knee to listen to your possibilities, are now wrapped up in their own (exams, girls, the SAT, girls, ellipsis/ellipses). Now your own possibilities are about marriage (the aunts and uncles all need to find you a nice girl), career (the aunts and uncles all need to know where you work), housing (the aunts and uncles all need you to buy yourself a nice house), transportation (aunts, uncles, nice cars) and all the mundane things that will become the stultifying paraphernalia of adulthood (children!). These will make up your now, not all at once, but incrementally, and perhaps most terrifying of all, imperceptibly. 

Your sports heroes, meanwhile, are experiencing their own now. The time for “young” or “developing” or “potential” or whatever other euphemism for you-still-have-time you want to use is over. Now is the time to win. Now is the time to fulfill that potential that we had all seen in you. Now is what we, your fans, have been waiting for. 

The future is past. It is time for now!

It’s always rather challenging to know when the now is for our sports heroes. You know before it happens (“he/she has the potential to win”), you don’t have time to reflect while it is happening (“but can he/she win another one”), and you know it when it’s starting to be over, when the wave has just been crested (“his/her best days are behind him/her”). 

With Rahul Dravid, his now was always difficult to appreciate. He couldn’t have burst on to the scene with that 95 on debut at Lord’s (Lord’s, come on, how perfect, in retrospect, was that?). Dravid never burst on to, out of, off of, anything. And, what would become the recurring theme to us Dravid acolytes the world over, he was overshadowed. Overshadowed by another debutante who just happened to score that century he couldn’t, Sourav Ganguly, overshadowed even by an umpire’s retirement, Dickie Bird, overshadowed, ultimately, by the mere existence of Sachin Tendulkar (who, it seems, has always, right from the very start, and will, right to the very end, existed in his own, unimpeachable, now).

And thus (thusly? DFW …), in our collective consciousness Dravid simply floated through his now. And perhaps it was this that made appreciating him such a melancholy endeavor (there’s another one that I like, “languid melancholy,” Christian Ryan used it in an almost throwaway fashion while sorta-eulogizing VVS Laxman, whose own impenetrable legacy is a tome unto itself). To appreciate Dravid was to acknowledge the caveat inherent in the appreciation, that we were essentially giving him kudos for not getting the kudos we thought he deserved. His actual contribution, his actual brilliance, his actual everything, was, as it was from the beginning, overshadowed. Sachin, Sourav, Sehwag (hey, the “Three S’s”!), Srinath (“Four”!), Azhar’s unfortunate match-fixing allegations, Bhaji, Dhoni, Zaheer, India’s growing place in the world, the IPL, VVS (imagine that, he was overshadowed by VVS, who will have the “os” mentioned every 15 seconds when his time rolls around!), Kumble even (overshadowed by Kumble!, who was given his due appreciation at the very end for having been, you know, “os”-ed his whole life), his failure as captain, Twenty20, India’s rousing and eventual World Cup win, everything.

And, just like that, his now was over. We were not sure when it happened exactly, we only knew that it had happened. We know this because he was now in past tense, even as he carried on playing in the present. He was still capable, still worthy, but his greatness, now that it was finally being recognized, was being referred to quite firmly as something that had occurred, not something that was occurring. Luckily for us (i.e. Dravid acolytes), he had that moment in England, when everything around him fell, and he stood his ground, just like he always had. Only this time, we applauded.

Finally, he had his own moment in the Sun, the moment that we (Dravid acolytes) had all been waiting for. 

And, wouldn’t you know it, there was that ineffable sadness.

Because, you see, we knew that this was the end. That, even as we were hailing him for being who he had been this whole time, we were doing it with the full knowledge that the curtain had all but been drawn. Even in his moment, there was no absolute victory given that the tour was characterized by India’s failure, and his own impending end.

He should have left then, but that would have been too triumphant for Dravid. No, he carried on as he knew he must, as we knew he would, and it all whimpered out in Australia. 

And now, he’s gone.

Now, we will miss him. Now, we will tell him how great he was. Now, we will hoist him on our shoulders, and pat him on the back, and everyone else will step back for a moment. Now that he is no longer there, will we realize how much we needed him, still need him.

Now that he’s gone, you realize that he will never play for India again. That whole glorious moment encapsulated by his time with the team is over. And with this absolute passage of time, our now is irretrievably over. There is no more “one day ...” Whatever we wanted to be has been replaced by what we are. The time of future possibilities is past, the prerogative of youth has been replaced by the minutiae of adulthood. Our now, too, is gone. 

There will be other retirements. There will be deaths. There will be other events that we will use to mark mortality. But, and here is the crucial difference, these are all others. The world-shattering importance of each event, another prerogative of youth, will be diminished by our growing realization of the nature of time, of the passage of life, of the ultimate scope of the world we inhabit. We will come across it in the newspaper (ha, right!), pause a second to reminisce, shake our head at how fast time seems to tick, and then turn the page. What would have shaken us to our core, has now become another marker in the onwardness of everything. There are other things to focus on. Marriage. Career. Housing. Transportation Children. We are now grown up.

And that was the ineffable sadness always hanging in the air. Like our future possibilities, Rahul Dravid will be defined by his absence, rather than his presence.

Beach House - "Myth"

HMOG! The greatest song that 2012 will produce: "Myth" by Beach House! @BeaccchHoussse http://t.co/3Bf8IXrK

You Know You're Too Old When Rahul Dravid Decides To Retire

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Vic Richards Turns 60

Sir Viv Richards is 60! The greatest of them all! Great articles by @ESPNcricinfo & @selvecricket http://t.co/aXVOrfzu http://t.co/OsLSdQpL

Peyton Let Go By Colts

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The Outlaw Josey Wales

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Ansel Adams Los Angeles

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Federer Wins Dubai Title

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Man With A Movie Camera

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Paul Qui Wins Top Chef

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