ajatshatru’s blog

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The lilting 'Coo' of a Cuckoo, a sudden whiff of 'Mogra' from joss-sticks somewhere, the golden sunlight of the late afternoon …

So beautiful.

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What lovely new layouts the wintry themes are !

I've put on Aurora !

Thank you, Vox - people !

:)

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Year - end.
Interesting  year.  Yes.  Definitely.

First --- Thank  You – s  in  chronological  order : -

Here goes …

Thanks  so  very  much  and  Cuddles  and  GlompZ  to  each  one  of  those  wonderful  people  who  I  consider  my  friends,  just  for  Being.

sugarplumkitten  Can't  be  thanked  enough  *ClingZ*  for  the  innumerable  AR - fixes,  the  vox-invite,  the  pictures  she  sent  over  on  my  request … *Squeezieeeeeee*

A  huge  thanks  to  beren_writes  for  running  adventdrabbles.  I'm  going  to  ask  permission  to  friend  her.  *Smirk*  She  scores  as  slytherin. *Smirk  Smirk*  'm  partial  to  slytherin – scorers.

regressami,  Thank  You  for  those  piccies.  And  you  should  have  a  good  year  coming  up.  Go  you !

arrmaitee,  Thank  you  for  that  'Pint  of  Special  Brew' !  Really,  really  enjoyed  that.  *Grin*  All  I  can  offer  in  return  is  this,  which  might,  or  might  not,  be  to  your  liking …

ceboholic,  Thanks  so  much  for  the  confirmation  that  voting  age  in  UK  is  18.  Add  to  that  your  strange  resemblance  to  the  young  Dark  Lord,  and  well,  I  feel  you're  rather … Special ! … inspite  of  some  of  your  rather  Odd  ideas  about  education … HaHaHa !!!

And  in  the  Stocking !

lilian_cho,  What  a  lovely  gift !  Thank  you  so  much !  *CuddleZ  CuddleZ*

foudebassan,  AWWWWWWWW !  *Jumps  and  cuddles  blushing  gift*

syntaxia,  A  marvellous  pair  of  gifts  from  you.  Hee !  Thank  you  verrra  much !  *Huggles*

mensabuttercup,  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !  *SwoonZ*

dolorous_ett,  AWWWWWWWW !  *Jumps  and  cuddles  blushing  giftZ*

wellinghall,  Hee !  Got  it !  YAY !!!!!  *SqueezieeeeeeeE*

psychostace,  Great !  I  have  a  girl-named-Biffy  to  keep  her  company.  Should  be  good.  Tresco  was  pretty  peaceful  when  Biffy  was  at  Somerset.  *Snort* … Girl-named-Biffy … *Snorfle*

Eddie,  baby,  you're  quite  fascinating.

;D

lowlands_girl,  A  wonderfully  thoughtful  and  kind  gift !  *Cuddles*

si51,  Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh !  *Cuddles*
However,  I  fear  that  the  two  of  us  in  close  juxtaposition  on  the  same  mass  of  land  is  a  very,  very  bad  idea !  *Snorfle*

deepa_binga,  Thanks  for  the  tasty  gift !  Here's  hoping  you  have  a  wonderful  year.  *Huggles*

ninamalfoy,  OMG  WHEEEEEEE !  *Jumps  and  cuddles  blushing  giftZ*

bia22,  Thanks  *Cuddle*  Thanks !!!!!!  Oooooh,  Ashy !  Oooooh,  Bouchie !  Oooooh,  Herschie !  Oooooh,  Georgie !  Oooooh,  Polly !  Oooooh,  Kempie !  *Tosses  dice  for  first  choice*  *Doesn't  look  at  dice*  *Kidnaps  Ashy*

reedpipe,  Yum !  Stephen !  I  mean  Billy  darling !  Yummmmmmmm !  The  handsomest  man  ever  born,  that  one.  Yum !

dementordelta,  Thank  you  so  much !  *iZ  all  Loopy*  Hee !

pervert_bitch,  Aha !  Yum !  *Slurp*  *Gets  ready  to  be  as  voyeuristic  as  possible*

cill_ros,  Yum !  And  Thank  You !  *Huggles*  Wonderful  gifts !

vampyreangel,  Aah !  Thanks  so  much !  *Feels  all  warm  and  Dumbledorish*  *Gives  you  same  gift  in  whatever  colour  you  like*

Let's  get  on,  then …

A  net  count  of  1  personal  lj-acc,  1  rp  one,  3  comms – of  which  2  are  currently  mostly  asleep (I  fear  they  might  have  to  be  closed  if  things  go  on  as  they  are  going  on …),  a  vox  acc,  a  gj  acc.

Many  of  the  essential  emails  done.  If  these  don't  yield  proper  results  within  a  fortnight,  then  they  will  be  re-sent,  to  harsher  places …

An  icon  I  made  just  now  for  lj olivegreengarb :-

Insert Name Here icon 1

On  the  plus  side,  I  feel  I  shall  soon  be  able  to  remove  at  least  one  filter  from  this  account.  I  do  so  hate  filtering  posts.

I  had  to  create  this  particular  filter  because  I  was  attacked  by  multiple  people  in  certain  lj-comms (and  behind  my  back  in  their  own  lj-s)  because  I  asked  a  few  questions --- questions  that  were  not  to  the  liking  of  the  attackers,  but  which  were (and  still  are)  extremely  pertinent  to  the  running  of  said  lj-communities.  A  great  pity  that  they  attacked  me.  I  really  feel  that  before  one  attacks  someone  else,  one  really  should  have  a  fair  estimate  of  the  intended  victim's  response  to  the  intended  attacks.  It  would  be  utterly  moronic  if  one  expected  to  go  up  against  a  martyr  or  a  wimp  and  ended  up  against  someone  like  Havelock  Vetinari,  or  Noor-Jehan,  or  Aurangzeb,  or  Chanakya …
So,  a  great  pity.

Incidentally,  and  not  really  unrelatedly,  a  thought  comes  to  mind --- since  I  am  rarely  given  to  either  diatribes  or  gloating (with  the  deeply  ingrained  idea  that  these  are  an  utter  waste  of  time  and  energy),  then  it  is  perhaps  odd  that  I  score  100%  in  this  quiz ?  I  wonder …
On the  other  hand,  it's  definitely  in  keeping  that  I  score  well  as  Havelock  Vetinari …

Also,  I  am  still  totally  confused  about  how  being  a  PhD  can  possibly  impress  people …

===

*Note :-

Summoning Dark

Sign  of  the  Summoning  Dark

'[Summoning  Dark] … a quasi-demonic entity that is untold millions of years old … an invisible and very powerful quasi-demonic thing of pure vengeance …'
[- Havelock  Vetinari]

When  I  read  PTerry's  'Thud',  I  thought  this  was  a  figment  of  PTerry's  magnificent  imagination.  But  it  might  just  be  possible  that  this  is  not  so.  There  could  be  a  basis  for  this  in  reality.

===

And  then …

I  have  one  fic  and  another  set  of  fics  to  finish,  and  will  be  able  to  restart  on  them  next  month.

Of  late,  I  have  been  unable  to  frequent  quite  a  number  of  the  comms  I've  joined  for  personal  reasons  which  are  leaving  me  without  sufficient  time.  I'm  hoping  that  will  change  towards  a  little  more  time  for  me  to  go  into  these  comms.

And  ofcourse,  all  those  pending  comments  and  stuff --- yes,  I  have  time  to  answer  them  all  now.

From  tomorrow,  then.

LJ  not  coming  up.

No  matter  which  url  I  try.

What  the  hell's  going  on,  then ?!?

GAH !!!!!!

http://www.cricket.co.za/default.asp?aId=193549&sportCategory=csa/sateam

... Cricket South Africa spokesperson Tshepo Tsotsotso ...

**********

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/262170.html
Digicel sponsorship may need to be reviewed

West Indies board forced into contract climbdown

Cricinfo staff

October 10, 2006

Celebration time for Dwayne Bravo
 
 
The West Indies Cricket Board has backed down over its decision to remove Dwayne Bravo from its list of players offered retainer contracts after pressure from the ICC and FICA, the international players' association.

The website caribbeancricket.com quotes sources close to the board as saying that Bravo, Daren Ganga and Runako Morton had been added to the list published in July.

Bravo was not offered a retainer contract because of his deal with bMobile, a direct competitor of Digicel, the board's official sponsor. But representatives from the ICC and FICA informed the board that the existing contract could not be a factor as an agreement signed by the board stated that "a player may have and shall be entitled to fulfil obligations under pre-existing Player Endorsement Contracts". Ganga also has a private endorsement deal with bMobile that will remain in effect while he is contracted to the WICB.

WIPA, the West Indies players' association, had been deeply unhappy that an agreement it had with the board stating that at least 10 retainer contracts would be issued was ignored when only seven - plus Bravo - were unveiled. As a result of pressure, the board had little choice but to add the three named today.

The WICB has repeatedly tried to find a way round the agreement regarding pre-existing contracts and has been hauled back into line every time. It might well be that the board now has no choice but to go back and renegotiate its multi-million dollar deal with Digicel as it may have given undertakings it can now not adhere to. Given its financial predicament, the board is in no position to lose any more income, but there have been deep reservations about the terms of the contract from the off.

Contracted players Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Runako Morton, Dinesh Ramdin, Ramnaresh Sarwan.

1 - I  don't  know  to  run  from  a  fight.

2 - I  don't  like  cowards.

:D

…

...

It's  truly  truly  wonderful  to  ask  deadwood  to  remove  themselves.

*SNIGGER*

And  then  to  sit  back  and  watch  them  remove  themselves ... Oh  yes,  a  lovely  feeling  indeed.

:D

Angry South Africans deny rumours of split

Dileep Premachandran in Colombo, August 17, 2006
 
Mark Boucher was incensed by the local media coverage of South Africa's pull out

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South Africa's cricketers reacted angrily to suggestions that senior players had bullied the younger ones into going along with the decision to return home from the tour of Sri Lanka. They were also fuming about the local media coverage of the withdrawal, with one prominent local daily carrying the back-page headline 'South African cricketers chicken out'.

Another, the Daily Mirror published out of Colombo alleged that Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel and Mickey Arthur, the coach, were instrumental in the South Africans deciding to go home. The article also suggested that the decision had less to do with security, and more to do with their 2-0 loss in the Test series, and a fear of similar disappointments in the one-day games.

"It was a decision taken by everyone," said AB de Villiers, one of the younger players that had a lot to gain by playing here. "It was an opportunity for the young guys to play a few games in subcontinent conditions [with the Champions Trophy just two months away], and it's unfortunate that it won't happen. I'm prepared to give everything while playing for South Africa, but not my life."

de Villiers also said that those who criticised the team weren't aware of the facts of the matter. "It's nonsense to judge someone without being here in their situation. We're foreigners here, not knowing what's going on, and with bombs going off near us. The security guys are telling us to go home, and that's good enough for me."

Boucher, who was expected to captain the side during the one-day series, was incensed by the coverage, not least because it was his face that was prominently displayed beneath the chicken headline. "It's disappointing," he said, "and there's not much that you can do once such stuff is published."

Loots Bosman, the 29-year-old opening bat who was expected to get his chance here in Graeme Smith's absence, was probably the man with most to gain had South Africa stayed on. But he insisted that there was going to be only one decision after the team's security advisors told them the risk was untenable.

"Obviously, the whole situation is about safety," he told Cricinfo. "It's not a junior-senior issue. On the cricketing front, it's unfortunate, but I can't do much about it or have any control over such situations. Maybe I'll get an opportunity to represent South Africa again."

Having fielded calls all day regarding the alleged split within the ranks, Gordon Templeton, the team's media manager, also didn't mince words when asked his opinion about the stories called by the Daily News and the Daily Mirror. "Those with anything between their ears, and who understand cricket, would find such stories utterly laughable."

The team leaves Colombo on Friday morning, flying to Johannesburg via Hong Kong, but the ill-feeling that they leave behind may linger for some time.

......

Mendis criticises South Africa's pull-out

Cricinfo staff, August 17, 2006
 
Mendis : 'The government put in place presidential-level security for the team, yet they [South Africa] were not convinced'

Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka Cricket's chief executive, has criticised South Africa's decision to pull out of the Unitech Cup following a bomb blast in Colombo on Monday. South Africa's withdrawal came after an independent security assessment by a Dubai-based firm said that "the current risk to the team is at an unacceptable level".

"I am amazed at their decision to return home," Mendis told AFP. "The government put in place presidential-level security for the team, yet they were not convinced. They took advice from a Dubai firm which is even more surprising. I did not see anyone from this firm in Colombo, yet they prepared a security report within 24 hours sitting in Dubai."

The South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) issued a statement fully supporting the decision while saying that it was an extremely difficult one to make. "This has been a very tense last three days" said Tony Irish, the Chief Executive Officer of SACA. "Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and I have been in constant contact with the team in Colombo while the process necessary for making the decision has taken place. It has been a very difficult time for the players, especially having to deal with the uncertainty of the situation."

"At the end of the day, you have to rely on what the security experts say and base the decisions on that. The team's security consultants, Nicholls, Steyn and Associates, have been very thorough and the independent ICC security consultants concurred with their security assessment. One cannot underestimate the difficulty of this decision, but it does show that Cricket South Africa places the emphasis on where it should be, namely the safety of the players and the national team."