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Sunday, April 20, 2008
ESPN's Mexican Marathon
The theory makes sense, but the reality once again left a little something to be desired. It was time for the Nationwide Series to visit Mexico City and the results were just as messy as last year.
ESPN waded into the fray and televised practice, qualifying and the race. During the Sunday telecast the TV compound lost power, the race was halted by several red flags and the final fifteen laps were absolute chaos.
It was Jerry Punch anchoring the telecast. Alongside for this event was Rusty Wallace and rookie ESPN analyst Ray Evernham. It was strange to have both analysts with specific interests in the race. It certainly affected the ability of them both to speak in plain language. In Mexico City, politically correct was suddenly all the rage.
Marcos Ambrose was knocking cars around like bowling balls and yet Punch addressed this situation with almost a monotone. Incident after incident with different drivers and cars resulted in nothing more than a brief description and then a dead silence on-the-air. Viewers knew one thing, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree were clearly missed.
It was up to the pit reporters to contribute the vast majority of the news about strategy and problems on the track. The trio of Vince Welch, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns turned-in strong performances. They regularly recapped the field and followed-up with enthusiasm on the stories happening in the race.
This information was critical to the broadcast because the race consisted of regulars on the Nationwide trail, road course "ringers," and several Hispanic drivers added for regional flair. Despite all these new faces, the pit reporters were on-top of the game from the green flag.
Wallace was awkward with Evernham, and while they all worked very hard to talk nicely about everyone and positively about their own Nationwide interests, it was the telecast that suffered. "Dead air" is the term for a live sporting event where there is no commentary, and this race had many moments of awkward silence.
Give credit to Jerry Punch, who possibly told every story he knew about the drivers and teams in the race to fill the extended red flag time of this event. Punch also resorted to the old trick of asking questions directly to his analysts to "make" them answer and provide some additional information. Although Jerry Punch is an Emergency Room Physician, in this broadcast he was very much "pulling teeth."
Post-race interviews closed out this broadcast in style, despite the continual assertions by Punch that the Mexican crowds "loved" NASCAR. For viewers who watched the Rolex Sports Car Series race from the same track, they also witnessed the same format of Rolex regulars mixed with Hispanic "guest" drivers. Could it be that the crowds just enjoyed having a fun weekend of racing?
If NASCAR continues to return to this venue, viewers can expect the same type of hard-to-follow TV with pit stops and spins as features of the telecast. Unfortunately, passing and competition do not seem to be in the future of either NASCAR or their TV partners as they struggle to build the Hispanic market.
The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Simply click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rules for posting are on the right side of the main page. Thanks again for stopping by.
48 comments:
- Kyle said...
What little respect I had for Ray and Rusty I lost today. That is partly ESPN's fault for having TWO car owners in the booth. That left a big load on DR P's plate. I thought the issues last season had alot to do with Dr.P, but clearly see now that it was all Rusty.
Why dont we get Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, and Chip Ginassi to call the next Sprint race..... That way nothing on the track would be anyone's fault.
I had to walk away after lap 40 or so, couldn't take it anymore.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:27 PM
- Anonymous said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:46 PM
- Anonymous said...
"Viewers knew one thing, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree were clearly missed."
Jarrett was playing pro-golf today so he couldnt make it. Give him a break.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:51 PM
- Anonymous said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 20, 2008 at 7:53 PM
- stricklinfan82 said...
Broadcast Comments
I was watching the broadcast with company for much of the day so I couldn't hear most of it, so I don't think I can fairly analyze the announcers' or pit reporters' overall days so I'll leave those comments to everyone else.
I thought ESPN did a reasonable job keeping up with showing most of the chaos. I am disappointed though that we never saw any footage of the race winning lead change, even on a replay. I wonder how exactly the Sportscenters and NASCAR Now's of the world will handle the race highlights if my assumption that all the cameras on hand missed the winning pass is correct. (If I'm wrong and there is footage of that pass then there is no excuse for never showing it on the broadcast, that's why I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.)
The finish line camera work still left a lot to be desired. Yes I know it's a road course and the cars were spread out a lot, but regardless of the time required to do so I still think it is imperative to show all the cars finish their races for positions to the finish line. I can read the results in the newspaper or online. By tuning in to the TV broadcast I'd like to see those positions decided live with my own two eyes.
I was very disappointed by the rush to cut right to Kyle Busch idling around the track with a hand out the window and an interview with his crew chief while cars were still racing their hearts out to the finish line.
Again, the race doesn't end until every car crosses the finish line on the final lap. The field is not "frozen" once the winner trips the line, so I don't know why the TV coverage of the on-track competition has to cease the second the first position or two has been determined.
Response to JD's Comments About This Event
JD, I know this is a TV blog but since you brought it up I feel a need to respond to your comments about the future of this event.
If the point of this event is to expand the international appeal of NASCAR, I don't think a messy road course race like this gets the job done.
I just use the thinking "If I wanted to get a friend hooked on NASCAR after watching just one race, what race would I show them?". I think the last thing I would do is make them sit through a road course race like we saw today.
But NASCAR apparently thinks Canadian and Mexican fans will get hooked on NASCAR with racing like we see at Montreal, Mexico City, Watkins Glen, or Infineon. I have to disagree with this approach since road racing is such a small percentage of what NASCAR is, and in my opinion is the least pleasing form of NASCAR racing to the eye.
To me the solution is an international Sprint Cup points race on an oval. If you want to expose international fans to NASCAR you should present a product that represents what NASCAR is about 95% of the time: ALL of the sport's superstars - Jeff Gordon, Dale Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, etc. - racing side-by-side, nose-to-tail on an oval.
In my opinion trying to sell NASCAR internationally by giving international fans a lower-tiered series road race with a couple race-winning Cup drivers in Busch, Edwards, and Bowyer and a bunch of non-NASCAR drivers like Pruett, Fernandez, Jourdain, Simo, Pardo, and Papis just doesn't make sense.
Again, if NASCAR trying to market an international "Look, this is what NASCAR is all about" compaign, I don't know why they're doing it in a matter that does not accurately represent what NASCAR really is all about 95% of the time.
I go back to the earlier comparison. If you, my fellow NASCAR fan, were trying to get a fan hooked on NASCAR would you have shown them today's race? I know I wouldn't.
In my opinion, in 2009 the most effective way to use the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to get Mexican fans hooked on NASCAR would be to wait one more week on the calendar, pack the fans into the stands, and make them watch the Talladega Cup race on the "jumbotron".
I love the idea of expanding NASCAR internationally. I think it would great to create die-hard fan bases in Mexico, Canada, Japan, Europe, and everywhere else across the world. If NASCAR's going to do it though they need to do it the right way, and in my mind that is by having a Cup points race on an oval, because THAT is what NASCAR is all about.
- April 20, 2008 at 8:07 PM
- Richard said...
I think that the people who decided not to watch this race because Ray Evernham was covering it just saved themselves four hours of their lives.
Having Ray and Rusty in the booth was a disservice to impartial commentary. Also, neither of the men has a true full understanding of road racing. After many years of watching F1, Champ Car, IRL, etc., I heard them make error after error.
Also, it was a bit creepy listening to Ray comment on Danica and "girls" in racing. He will never be separated in the public mind from the Crocker debacle.
Even though I love road racing, I do agree with other commenters that Nascar should try to run some international oval races with the Cup guys if they really want to expand the Nascar audience.
All in all, I think watching the highlites of this race on The Speed Report will be the way to go. You will see all of the action, and not waste four hours of your life listening to Ray and Rusty.
- April 20, 2008 at 8:38 PM
- Anonymous said...
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- April 20, 2008 at 8:49 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Thank you for the comments. The Hispanic drivers have been added to this race for several years. It gives an opportunity for the fans to relate and also to root for a local hero.
The issue of events in venues like Canada and Mexico are topics for NASCAR and other blogs to debate.
ESPN chose to use Wallace and Evernham on this weekend, and they must live with the results. Two owners are an interesting choice for this race.
The Rolex race took place on Saturday and the comparison was made to point out that the weekend was a combination of sports and stock cars.
- April 20, 2008 at 9:06 PM
- Anonymous said...
No problem with an owner being a commentator in the booth, IF (big if) they don't have a car or driver, or relative, or girlfriend in the race.
- April 20, 2008 at 9:12 PM
- Anonymous said...
espn should eat rusty's contract and let him go. He's not good as a TV guy. Loved him as a racer, hate him as an announcer.
- April 20, 2008 at 9:39 PM
- Newracefan said...
I felt like Ray and Rusty always had the don't let your bias show hanging over them and therefore did not speak freely about the race. Ray avoided talking about Patrick and Rusty about Steven and Max and it hampered their ability to comment and wasn't that the job. Rusty picked Patrick as the driver to watch and Ray picked Max, what? The Ambrose watch was another issue. JP must have mentioned him every 15 minutes sometimes for no good reason not to mention they avoided commenting on how rough he was driving but were quick to comment frequently on KB's history of aggressiveness.
I was thinking the race was boring, I am one who doesn't usually call a race boring, but by the end I was leaning more toward perhaps it was the guys in the booth. Then I read this blog "dead air", that was it, the only time that is appropriate is something like the McDowell crash- silence works then. IMO having both Ray and Rusty in the booth at the same time was a mistake either one or the other might have been ok. The only other question I have was how easy/hard was it for them to follow the race? I am assuming they needed to work off camera shots and not watching the track, perhaps this also threw stuff off.
- April 20, 2008 at 9:43 PM
- Anonymous said...
I too agree the booth was not good on this race at all. just a bad combination.
I think we are forgetting something else in this booth bash...tim brewer...what does that guy add? I think zero!
- April 20, 2008 at 10:19 PM
- Anonymous said...
I've been uneasy about ESPN using current car owners in the booth since last year with Rusty. They rectified it by moving him to another role he's better in. But then ESPN makes the blunder of bringing current car owner Ray on their team and putting him in the booth, and moving Rusty back in there too.
If seeing proof of the disastrous results in terms of both chemistry and commentary will be enough to encourage ESPN to keep current car owners out of the booth, then I'll live with their poor performances today.
We did appreciate ESPN showing the "pomp" of the prerace ceremony before the race. We enjoyed it last year too. It was unfortunate to see (like NASCAR races in this country) the attendance this year was very obviously down from 2007. Lots of empty seats.
- April 20, 2008 at 10:21 PM
- Anonymous said...
Richard said...
I think that the people who decided not to watch this race because Ray Evernham was covering it just saved themselves four hours of their lives.
Good to know. I was one of 'em.
I'm laughing at the New York Times which quickly had to change its claim that Danica Patrick was the first woman winner of a major auto race. The Times this afternoon, (when they replaced the AP story with their own) was the only news outlet to make this claim, everyone else said she was the first female IndyCar winner.
After howls of disbelief in the reader comments noting other women winners in international series, the story and front-page summary (by Dave Caldwell) were rewritten a little while ago.
And I know it's off topic, but I was embarrassed for DW on Wind Tunnel when he was trying to defend NASCAR's stance on drug testing. Dave was very respectful to let him slide on some of his claims with a quiet "Well, I've heard differently...". Especially when DW claimed that other sports only drug test to test for steroids (I suppose he hasn't heard about various players testing positive for marijuana, etc.) and since NASCAR drivers don't need steroids, they don't need to test them for drugs.
- April 20, 2008 at 10:42 PM
- Anonymous said...
An international field of drivers, it would have been a nice touch to see the flag of each driver in the field listing at the start and the position scroll.
There where drivers from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Italy, and the U.S. The most diverse NASCAR field ever? Certainly would have been if Dario and Juan Pablo were in the field
Agreed, Ray and Rusty were weak. Rusty could use some more diction lessons.
But there was some good road racing, which I enjoy, especially in the last 15 laps. The left turn racing can get boring at times. The drivers can "rest" on an oval but not in road racing.
The director of the telecast missed the pass for the lead and every bit of the races for finishing positions. A telecast for the casual viewer, not the race fan.
In reference to Danica's win, I tuned in late, and I believe Marty Reid only mentioned her fuel situation, with the stop earlier than the rest of the field, only once. There was a lot of discussion about how everyone had to stop, but no mention of how she should have more fuel than the leaders. Congrats to her, she wants to be seen as a racer, and doesn't ask for any special treatment.
- April 20, 2008 at 11:31 PM
- Anonymous said...
No problem with an owner being a commentator in the booth, IF (big if) they don't have a car or driver, or relative, or girlfriend in the race.
I don't believe a single owner in NASCAR would fit that description. They all have personal or business connections to someone in virtually every race and all three series. It's unfortunate with Toyota now in Nationwide and Cup that Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond can comment on those races, practice, or qualifying; it was bad enough when it was limited to trucks.
- April 20, 2008 at 11:38 PM
- Anonymous said...
After howls of disbelief in the reader comments noting other women winners in international series, the story and front-page summary (by Dave Caldwell) were rewritten a little while ago.
And winners in drag racing. I looked a minute ago and they also had to change all the headlines from earlier. Very careless error for NYT to make. Not surprised because they've completely ignored auto racing including NASCAR most of the season, leaving the Associated Press to do the articles. They wouldn't have written an article about Danica (I also say congratulations to her) except the Associated Press Danica article was #1 in their most emailed list this morning. Can't have that since it wasn't written by them.
- April 20, 2008 at 11:51 PM
- Anonymous said...
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- April 21, 2008 at 12:37 AM
- Anonymous said...
Did anyone watch "NASCAR Confidential" tonight on the Speed Channel? They totally changed the format from the first episode!!! No more behind the scenes people during one race (Daytona). It was basically an extended Beyond the Wheel, covering the highlights of seven races (Cali to Phoenix) instead of covering one race like Beyond the Wheel would do. I didn't like the format change. If Speed Channel is going to have Beyond the Wheel, do it as a weekly program and make this program closer to what it was the first time. Very strange to see such a radical redo of a program from one episode to the next.
- April 21, 2008 at 12:37 AM
- Anonymous said...
Things started off badly when Rusty "picked" Carpentier and Ray "picked" Papis before the race - an absolutely disgusting quid pro quo start to the day for ESPN.
It was unfortunate for ESPN to have Ray in the booth for the weekend when Danica won her first race but it's certainly not a grave they knew they hadn't already dug.
A horrible race with a horrible cast and crew. ESPN gets stuck with their own "talent" (Said) blatantly dropping a huge BS bomb over the air. What else needs to be said...
Punch did well with all said and done. I wish ESPN would quit shuffling talent. I know it's a long season but they knew what they were biting off. Even with the whole Shannon Spank thing. If you're a pit reporter for ESPN and you are getting married can't you schedule your wedding in December or Janurary?
It's too bad ESPN will get some of the blame for a real crap race but they did the best they could.
- April 21, 2008 at 1:29 AM
- Anonymous said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 21, 2008 at 6:26 AM
- Vicky D said...
Having two owners in the broadcast booth wasn't a good idea for ESPN, I believe. Like I posted this past weekend, I think JP is already tired and Ray & Rusty have their own agendas regarding their own teams. I still feel they should have given more time to the bottom drivers. I never heard Rusty mention Mike or Kenny I think it wouldn't have hurt to hear their names at least once during the telecast. I think Nascar should stay in the bottom 48.
- April 21, 2008 at 6:53 AM
- Anonymous said...
Granted I watched on tape (was attending a live sports event), and got to fast forward the commercials but I thought I was seeing an exciting race with lots of storylines to follow and perhaps a little too much action.
But its really inexcusable to miss the pass for the win that way. Haven't they ever watched Kyle Busch race before?
Yes, there were some other things in the field that required updating, but that's what split screen is for. Taking the cameras off the lead battle in those circumstances was so far beyond stupid that I don't have a word for it.
- April 21, 2008 at 6:58 AM
- Speedcouch said...
We only saw the last hour or so of the Busch race yesterday on ESPN. They were busy covering Clint Bowyer running alone and completely missed the final pass for the lead! After many laps of Busch racing Pruett hard for the lead, they just calming say "oh he finally got past him..." or something like that. Then there was absolutely no replay of what ended up being the pass for the win. With all the cameras these networks have, they didn't have one on the leaders at all times?
I had no problem with Rusty and Ray, but then I didn't watch but the last hour of the broadcast.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:01 AM
- Anonymous said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:15 AM
- Ritchie said...
A quick question. I noticed during the Mexico City race that they had a video clip of Kyle Busch talking about his hobby of driving "Sand Cars", those off-road vehicles that people race on sand dunes. While he was talking during that video clip, images of a sand car was shown, implying that it was Kyles car and he was driving.
Later Sunday evening on SPEED, NASCAR Confidential was showing a video clip of Jimmie Johnson driving Casey Mears' sand car in the California desert. The thing is that it looked like the same car. Same paint scheme, same wheelies, same jumps and everything!
Do you know if ESPN was borrowing footage from SPEED and playing it off like it was Kyle's car? Just curious.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:23 AM
- Anonymous said...
Started watching the race from the beginning and then I was able to walk away from it and come back and check in, it didn't hold my interest until the last 25 laps, curious to see who managed their gas and tires and wanted to see where my favorite driver David Reutiman finished, since really the only drivers featured were Karl, Kyle, Clint or some international driver. Road races are really really really really boring, like others said, this is not the type of race to catch new fans. It did have to be hard for Rusty not to be able to talk about his son who had a nice top ten finish, hard race to cover in the first place, so not going to be too hard on Ray and Rusty, was annoyed though at missing the winning lead change.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:34 AM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
It was from the same shoot that NASCAR Media Group did a while back. There were several drivers in attendance.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:52 AM
- torner said...
I believe its important to separate
the coverage of the race from the race itself. Only NASCAR can control the race. As for the coverage, I had three issues. Rusty and Ray in the announce booth are one and two. The third issue is with the coverage of the Pruett/Busch battle for the lead.
Let's work backwards from issue three: The ESPN director spent A LOT of time following Busch trying to get around Pruett. A LOT of time. I can appreciate the on-screen action being somewhere else at the exact moment Busch finally got around Pruett. What I don't understand is how the director could miss the actual pass. Or, in the absence of a replay, at least acknowledge that they missed the pass. Even Dr. Jerry had an "oh, yeah...by the way..." tone when the video finally caught up with Busch in the lead.
Two: Ray in the announce booth. There is no doubt Ray had his eyes squarely on the "I'm an owner with a dog in this fight so I must take extra extra care to be objective" ball. So much so that he was very very flat. One of my favorite days of the week is when Ray joins Dave Moody and crew on Sirius Speedway. He is animated, opinionated, and comfortable. I have seen Ray in that same comfort zone on other media outlets as well so its not just his friendship with Moody. I sincerely hope ESPN (and Ray) doesn't put him in that uncomfortable position again.
One: Rusty in the announce booth. Last year we were subjected to an entire season watching Rusty struggle, painfully, in the announce booth. The combination of his personality vs. the other guys' personalities AND the double challenge of being a Busch team owner AND driver's father was doomed from the start. I was SO relieved when ESPN moved Rusty OUT of the announce booth and INTO the infield studio this season. I feel Rusty has found his niche with Allan Bestwick. So...here's the $64,000 question: Why put Rusty back into the announce booth? Does ESPN think he's actually going to improve? ESPN's casting of this race reminds me of the definition of insanity: Doing the same exact thing over and over and over, expecting a different outcome.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:55 AM
- torner said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:55 AM
- Anonymous said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- April 21, 2008 at 8:28 AM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Anon 8;28AM,
Come back and re-post without the B-word, your comment was a good one.
- April 21, 2008 at 8:30 AM
- Anonymous said...
Fox and ESPN should review the
ARCA race coverage from Saturday.
High wide shots of the racing and
no in-car, aesthetics, or gophers.
Put that director in charge of
Cup programs.
- April 21, 2008 at 8:32 AM
- Anonymous said...
How ironic that after your recent olive branch pictorial feature on the "inner workings of the ESPN production trucks" we find that, in spite of all of those eyeballs looking at all of those tv screens, ESPN can't manage to show the final pass for the lead at the end of their marathon telecast-not even a replay??!!!
Thought they belw a terrific opportunity with Boris Said- who was blowing off steam about Marcus Ambrose spinning him. Why they didn't grab him and show him (or at least TELL him) that the video replay appeared to show Boris losing control long before he got hit, but instead they let him rant at Ambrose's crew chief and storm off.
Poor performance all around
Telecast C
Booth announce C-
- April 21, 2008 at 9:52 AM
- fairfax said...
Did anyone watch "NASCAR Confidential" tonight on the Speed Channel? They totally changed the format from the first episode!!!
I watched it and boy, what a disappointment. Just a boring recap with sound bites from the drivers, crew chiefs, and owners. Nothing we haven't heard before, I hope they go back to the old format or it's not worth watching.
And regarding the Nationwide race, I also cringed with any mention of Danica or female drivers while having Ray in the booth. Just a very unpleasant situation.
- April 21, 2008 at 9:59 AM
- SrRaceFan said...
Good article, JD! Right on the money, as usual.
I read through all the comments and didn't notice a single mention of the problems Punch had with names. It was unbelievable! He continually corrected himself - to the point where I wondered if he was speed-reading through a script. "Scott Parrot" was leading the race????
To me, it appeared that the whole announcer team was at the wrong function. The suits seemed ridiculously out of place. They talked as though they were thrown in as substitutes and had no idea of what an announcer was supposed to do. Totally unprofessional and certainly won't help the Nationwide cause at all.
- April 21, 2008 at 10:00 AM
- chase said...
I was amazed that ESPN would put Rusty back in the booth - where he clearly DOES NOT belong along with Ray Evernham - what was ESPN thinking? Was no one else available? The lack of coverage of the last few laps was an incredibly stupid decision - was everyone behind and in front of the cameras suffering from Montezuma's Revenge? I had high hopes for ESPN this season - guess I should not have bothered. Thanks John!
- April 21, 2008 at 10:25 AM
- Anonymous said...
I'm another viewer who didn't like the new "NASCAR Confidential". I was looking forward to seeing what driver(s) and "behind-the-curtain" NASCAR folks would be on the show this time. I was really disappointed that they scrapped the style of the first show. At most, I thought the biggest change from the previous episode would be reducing the number of people they followed in an episode from six to four.
I agree that I wouldn't go out of my way to watch this show again in its current state. The only thing I found remotely interesting in the hour was the two audio communications between Carl Edwards and Robbie Reiser, who either have a love-hate or hate-hate relationship - hard to tell.
I looked up the show description from when it was announced and it says: "Instead of focusing on at-track competition, teams or drivers, the program will tell a unique and untold story on a variety of subjects through the eyes of several participants. It will be a one-hour, highly-produced narrative covering a 24-hour period. "
A tip for SPEED/NASCAR Media Group: Don't promise viewers one TV show and give them another - that's not a good business practice.
- April 21, 2008 at 10:37 AM
- Anonymous said...
Applause for ESPN for replaying Danica Patrick's win on ESPN Classic this morning. They replayed it on ESPN2 yesterday, but the postrace podium ceremony was not shown (understandably) because a scheduled live event was about to begin.
Today they condensed part of the race and showed the entire post-race. Very nice job. The Champ Car finale replay is on now.
- April 21, 2008 at 11:06 AM
- Anonymous said...
Even though most people dont like Rusty in the booth,he was at one time,one of the best road racers on the cup circuit.
- April 21, 2008 at 12:57 PM
- Anonymous said...
Anonymous said...
"Very careless error for NYT to make. Not surprised because they've completely ignored auto racing including NASCAR most of the season, leaving the Associated Press to do the articles. "
April 20, 2008 11:51 PM
Re: The New York Times. They're about to reduce their newsroom staff by 100 people. They asked for volunteers for buyouts but didn't get enough. So those remaining slots not taken by buyouts will be reduced by layoffs -very soon. So NASCAR coverage will probably be coming mostly from sources like AP or Reuters, etc, from now on.
- April 21, 2008 at 2:19 PM
- Lisa Hogan said...
Just my opinion:
I did not watch every minute of the race coverage; however, I did see most of it. We all watch the same race and come away with different viewpoints on the coverage. That is what is so interesting about our little community here that JD has created.
Since I am not perfect, I don't expect perfection from the TV folks. Some things did stand out to me though. Jerry Punch mumbled and fumbled his way through three broadcasts. I fear for him when ESPN gets to their Cup coverage. Ray Evernham was never a favorite of mine even before he started living in tabloid land. I just don't pay much attention when he speaks. I like Rusty Wallace. I just don't understand the ESPN decision to put him in the booth. Rusty owns a NW team with two of his cars entered in this race. Rusty had a son and two brothers entered in this race. He did a lot better than I would have.
Since I was multi-tasking during the red flags, I missed some of Punch's comments. Whenever I heard him mention Ambrose, I was just glad that a NW regular was getting some attention instead of Carl, Carl, Carl. What I did notice was the over-kill of the Punch coverage of a driver who wasn't even in the race, Montoya!
And then we have the drama of "It is never my fault" Boris Said. Funny, I saw Boris causing more problems than Ambrose. I hope that Boris is prepared for his meeting in the NASCAR hauler when he next appears at a race. On-camera ranting about payback is not a smart thing to do.
- April 21, 2008 at 2:50 PM
- Anonymous said...
Never mind who was in the booth, this was the poorest showing of a race I was ever forced to turn off. NASCAR should forget about going to Mexico next year or ever, and they could give the rest of the sprint drivers two more weeks off by dropping the two road races from the schedule not many people would miss them, another thing - where did all the "ringers" finish? Ha Ha
- April 21, 2008 at 3:28 PM
- RICHnCA said...
Personaly. I like the road races. As for the announcing,I tuned out and just watched what was happening on the track/ I don't need to hear Rusty or Dr Punch telling me what is only obvious. The only thing that got me was the camera being on Bowyer and ESPN totaly missing Kyle passing Pruet. I thought they would at least go back and show it on tape, But no such luck.
- April 21, 2008 at 4:29 PM
- Ken said...
I thought it was a poor race that was made even worse by the commentators and camera work. If I was a casual fan and this was my introduction to NA$CAR, I would never watch another NA$CAR race.
Hopefully, we won't have to endure the Mexico fiasco again.
- April 21, 2008 at 4:44 PM
- Mike said...
I liked that this was some what of a quiet race from the announcers. I don't need someone talking non stop, its not radio if someone can call the cameras well and I can see the race thats better than digger, endless simpleton explanations about how the cars work or overused in car shots. This being in Mexico, I'm sure it was a nightmare and expensive for ESPN to bring everyone and everything so we got a less frills version of coverage. This race looked more like an old race on ESPN classic and I would like to see more like this.
- April 21, 2008 at 5:44 PM
- Anonymous said...
Simply put, Rusty Wallace is garbage as an announcer. He was horrendous last year, and they needed him to fill in for DJ. This is not a permanent thing, thankfully.
Rusty needs glasses or he's living in outer space while races are going on. He seems clueless when he's on the job announcing.
Ray Evernham is a novice in the booth, so I'm willing to give him a pass. He is smart enough as an owner, crew chief and car builder that he could have added more to the telecast. He did not know his place. Was he conflicted? Definitely. But DW is always conflicted with Toyota and/or Mikey and nobody complains about that.
One last thing. How in the world do you miss the race winning pass? That is inexcusable in racing, period.
- April 21, 2008 at 7:28 PM
- Anonymous said...
Ray, Jerry and stevens dad..another disaster ...why not Phil and Rick ?
- April 21, 2008 at 7:57 PM


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This Disney style is the culmination of their search for perfect mathematical design balance, inoffensive cuteness and lack of specificity. Once they found this balance, they stuck with it until it eventually deteriorated with the passage of time.
Pete sent me this email and his theory: (I added the headings)
Hi John,
For instance, you love the work of print cartoonists like Milt Gross, Basil Wolverton and Don Martin for their skewering of human types and ability to make truly funny drawings. You've also recently been lauding, as you so aptly described it, the "Rat Pack" brand of humour that you see in "BC" and "The Wizard of Id", where there's less politeness and a more rugged, freewheeling approach to being funny.
Yet one thing that all of these print cartoonists seem to have in common is a flair for creating humour out of designs that are actually rather ungainly. Even your favourite animated cartoon character,"Popeye", who of course originated in the newspaper funnies, has an unusual appeal in that he looks like he's been Frankensteined out of various spare parts!
Now don't misunderstand what I'm saying here, as I'm not suggesting that any of these designs are amateurish or unappealing, but I do find that there is a spontaneity and visual clunkiness to them that maybe allows better for that broader type of belly-laugh humour that you enjoy.
This struck me the other day when a friend had lent me the latest book of political caricatures by British cartoonist, Gerald Scarfe. As I was looking through it and admiring his audacity, it also occurred to me that one probably couldn't successfully translate that type of drawing to consistently drawn animated characters. I'm not even referring to just the sheer amount of pen strokes (which would be impossible), but rather, the overall approach that Scarfe takes in his design. Frankly, I'm not so sure that Don Martin or Johnny Hart would fare much better either.
Anyway, just some food for thought there for you. You can shoot down my theory now, ya' rascal.... :)
by the 80s, they lose even the ability to do the construction so have to give up imitating themselves in favor of imitating Filmation Saturday Morning cartoons
Hi Pete
very clever thoughts...
I have been wanting to do a post on this very thing for the longest time: the difference between perfectly balanced mathematical design (like Bambi) VS slightly awkward out of balance, more natural design - like Clampett. Friz on the other hand is afraid of contrasts in his work, so evens everything out like Disney - except without the gloss.
generic Daffy Duck proportions on model sheet VS
specific controlled expressions and proportions in a Clampett cartoon
Both approaches share the same fundamental knowledge and skills, but the result I like better is the one that takes nature into consideration. Nature has an ideal plan for everything, but no part in nature fits the plan perfectly and that's what makes things interesting. The variety and deviations from the perfect plan.
Disney has no variety or humanity. It aims for a Platonic ideal of attainable perfection and the result is stagnation. It's all just a simple formula that can never make a funny face or stand out from the purely ordinary. It all has to obey their limited design and motion rules. Disney artists are entirely too afraid (and unimaginative) to do anything nearly as interesting as what surrounds them in real life. Great cartoonists draw from real life and then bend what they observe with unafraid bold imagination.
As a caricaturist yourself, I would think that you especially would be repulsed by anything generic and evenly proportioned or middle of the road.
Your pal,
By the way, have you noticed how the rap fans are just as rabid as the anime fans in their belief that those who don't like it just haven't taken the time to truly understand it?
that's why I believe we live in a very conservative age, where no one can make personal art anymore; they can only blindly copy trends that degrade from generation to generation.
today's art reminds me of Byzantine religious mosaics or Egyptian Hieroglyphs (only less skilled) that remained almost stagnant for hundreds and thousands of years because personal invention was considered blasphemous.
Because Egyptian art followed such strict rules of representation, the style of it changed very little over the more than 3,000-year history of Egyptian art. Originality was not the motivating force in Egyptian artwork, rather following a strict rule of law and regulations was prized. The best artists were those who could copy the original most accurately....
Of course we'd have to find something more primitive than Byzantine Art for a visual equivalent to Rap - maybe something more along the lines of elephant paintings.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thag dipped the sharp edge of a stone into a spit and charcoal mixture, pressed it against the cave wall and drew a picture of himself running from a stampede—and one of the first infographics communicating safety and security was born.
As likely descendents of Thag, we no longer run from the woolly mammoth, but we do interface with our own real threats. In today's data and information-laden world, Internet security issues threaten to tip the balance of our sanity and safety. A sobering, but necessary, illustration from Unisys shares that concerns regarding Internet security are growing fast, threatening to eclipse financial, personal and national security.
The above tidbit is the infinitesimal tip of the data and statistics available on how freaked out we are as a nation about data mining, phishing, e-mail security and a host of other modern-day woolly mammoths. But who has time to read the white paper? Dipping into data streams is like fishing with your bare hands. No thanks! Luckily infographics make the complex and crazy content that is Web 2.0MG easily digestible for the eyes.
Can information be beautiful?
In a letter-riddled nutshell, "infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge." When complex information needs to be filtered through our maxed-out brains, data chieftains use talented designers or infographic resources to make lofty concepts accessible. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.
When it comes to Internet security, we need help. Words have lost their impact, and we need to be told the story of our collective safety ignorance in fairy-tale panels until we get it. The following infographics offer what data journalist David McCandless calls a "landscape we can explore with our eyes." Hopefully after seeing the pretty pictures of our peril, we'll be in a better position to let "the dataset change our mindset."
1. Space invaders of the virus kind
It's been 25 years since the first computer virus, Brain, stole our hearts via floppy disks. (Happy anniversary, you crazy little code!) We've come a long way since this first invasion, and this delightfully nostalgic rendering from F-Secure reminds us just how far we've come. Ironically, we still have a long way to go, but the joystick is in our hands.
2. Cap'n Crunch, the hacker
Hacking has become much more than a word that moved from the pseudo-urban dictionary to the "real" dictionary; it's part of a job description that could mess up your world in a flash. It also has some interesting history. Did you know, for example, that Cap'n Crunch himself was involved in one of the first technology hacks in 1972? This visual story from OnlineMBA.com also quantifies the damage and offers 15 reasons to get more serious about your firewall.
3. Sharp teeth and poison PCs!
Okay, so maybe pretty pictures don't work for you. How about a mélange of piranha-esque computer screens and skulls and crossbones to get across just how nasty some viruses can be? This vignette from TopTenReviews.com intersperses evil computer icons with rather interesting and handy pie and bar graphs. It's an infographic sandwich of doom with tasty data on malware, trojans, worms and spyware.
4. It's all about the benjamins
If complex concepts smooshed into bite-sized fireworks still doesn't woo you, maybe a reality check on the economic hardship of the threat might smack you silly. This woeful yet artsy piece from Lines and Mood Swings Creative has no problem showing you exactly why you should be concerned about identity theft. If the nicely displayed hard facts and figures don't knock you out, the pathetic images of the maligned and depressed people with no identities are sure to make you think twice about protecting your information.
5. Building a better password
Hopefully you still don't think that "Qwerty" or "1234567" are fabulous passwords. If you do, this infographic from ZoneAlarm was created just for you and the rest of the 79% of people who use "risky password construction practices." Straightforward but pleasingly orange and easy to follow, this journey into the blunders of password creation is both entertaining and educational.
Bonus Infographic
Finally, when the story of Internet security in trés chic imagery threatens to unravel you, look at security from a different angle, have a good laugh, and then get serious about your online safety again.
By Joy Keller


text:
ما هي خوادم خاصة؟ الجواب : Doom السيرفرات الخاصة التي يحتفظ بها الناس خوادم الخاص ، ودعوا أيضا ملقمات Doom ، Doom المجندون أو ببساطة ملقمات Doom . هناك الكثير من المعلومات حول كيفية تشغيل وكيفية تثبيت ملقمات Doom خاصة. على ملقمات تحتاج العملة الافتراضية الخاصة بك، مثل الذهب Doom . يمكنك شراء الذهب عادة في قطع خاصة التي ستسدد فاتورة الملقمات.
What are Doom Private Servers? Answer: Doom Private Servers are servers and Doom realms maintained by private people, they are also called Doom PServers, Doom Privates or simply Doom Servers. There is many information out about how to play and how to install your private game systems.
If you need more information. try out the most used search terms on our network.
Perhaps you already asked yourself how do free to play MMORPG games make money. Also on PServers you need your virtual currency, like Doom Gold. You normally can buy gold on private sever which will pay the servers bills.
As explained, Doom Private Servers are free game servers. Some official closed games are still alive as private game servers. The Game Servers is a special part of a private servers system. There are many places where you can Rent a Doom Game Servers.
Doom Power Leveling means "level up fast as possible". Some people have a service called Power Leveling.
Doom guides comes in 2 variants: First are guides showing you HOW to power leveling. The second variant will do the level up for you. This second way is dangerous in the way, that you have to allow that service people to access your account. Please note: Checkout game forums or rating sites about ANY services which needs to access you account. In bad cases you will LOSE your account. Be careful when it comes to Power Leveling services! Our game list will list perhaps these services - that DO NOT MEANS we have tested them. Again: Be careful!


text:
Boten te koop in Canada British Columbia
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text:
Unappealing aspects of the whole destash experience include receiving super enthusiastic emails from people that absolutely-have-to-have-this-yarn but can't pay until they get home from work, you hold the yarn for them, and they disappear into the ethers. You email them, but get no response. And you feel like an idiot. And then there is the shipping to Canada issue. YOU KNOW I love my north of the border peeps, but dumb ass over here just paid $17.50 to ship 10 skeins of ho-hum yarn to someone in Ottawa. Hi, read the postal regulations much? It was 100% my fault...and I made like $6.00 in the end. Poor me. I am not cut out to be on anything but the receiving end of internet retail transactions, it would seem.
Speaking of receiving, just look what one of my Frenchies sent me, a box of Kinder bottes de Noël and a ton o' Phildar mags! So exciting to receive a Christmas parcel in the mail. I have a strong love of the parcel, so much so that I just seem to keep getting a steady stream of them in the mail. Why look at the most recent additions, Sophie's Toes Christmas Lights and sKnitches Be-bop sock yarn in Baltic. I am sure the ridiculousness of a destasher receiving more yarn in the mail is not lost on you, but just keep it to yourself. Thanks!
Better yet, help me find a justification for it. Post a comment that allows me to justify this non-stop merry-go-round of yarn purchasing/destashing, and Peeeper-lou will reach her little hand into a hat and choose two winners to receive my last two balls of Opal, pictured below. I'll shut the fun down on Friday, so knock yourselves out!


text:
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Cane and able....
This appeared in the Sunday Times.... and tv channels are already on it aggressively.
La Martiniere( Kolkata), is my husband's old school. For decades, he has remained one of its proudest ex-students. So embarrassingly proud that a few years ago in Karachi, when he discovered five ex-La Marts's 'boys' at the posh Club where we were dining, he gathered them up and got them to lustily sing the school anthem. If other diners were disturbed, they chose to ignore this group figuring all it needed was one crazy Indian to break Pakistani rules. Such is the fierce loyalty factor La Martiniere used to generate in its vast network of alumni. Till the horrific suicide of Rouvanjit Rawla, the class –V11 student who hanged himself four months ago, unable to take the humiliation meted out to him by the Prinipal of the school, Sunirmal Chakraborty, and other teachers. The lad's 'crime' ? His classmates say he was 'naughty' and didn't do his homework on time. Those transgressions cost him his life.
Ajay Rawla, the boy's father took four months to pull out of the shock and decide to do something about the dismal state of affairs in one of India's most prestigious schools – he lodged a police case. Had the media not been alerted, chances are, the grief- stricken father's complaint would have remained a piece of paper on a forgotten file. As of now, the investigations are on, and the Principal has finally confessed to 'caning' the boy. How archaic is that word itself! Caning!! Come on… who canes defenceless kids in this day and age? And worse - calls it 'tradition'? Well, here's one Principal who did just that – and thought it defence enough to justify his deplorable actions. One would have thought this sadistic system of 'disciplining' naughty children disappeared with the British and their ghastly, kinky public school rules that adversely impacted some of India's brightest minds. To acknowledge that this still goes on in our better schools is a pathetic comment on how stuck we are in a bizarre time warp that doesn't recognize the basic rights of children. Of course, caning happens in patshalas across the country. Of course, that is equally despicable. The explanation is also absurd, but remember …the mindset of some village teachers has yet to switch gears. Young Rouvanjit's profile is vastly different. He belonged to the urban elite of the City of Joy ( such irony!).He represented the 'Babalog' of the 'Bhadralok' in our midst – privileged, affluent and aware. The school in question comes with impeccable credentials. And yet, one of their own was compelled to call it quits in the most awful way. Kapil Sibal made a strong pitch on behalf of children across the country on a tv channel when he said these bachchas were a symbol of tomorrow's India. Schools that believe in this form of barbaric discipline completely ignore the law (which is in place to protect our kids) and worse, destroy a child's confidence , sometimes for life. No matter what wrong was committed by Rouvanjit, the viciousness of the combined attacks on him ( one report mentioned the cane broke on the child's back) were obviously enough for him to go in search of that killer rope with which he hanged himself from the ceiling fan. Surprisingly enough, no teacher from the school had thought it necessary to alert the Rawlas about their son's 'indiscipline' earlier – it was easier to pick up a cane and thrash the boy. Usual story – 'teach him a lesson.'
Reading the account and watching the television clips revived long buried memories of being frequently caned myself as a school girl. This was the punishment reserved for students who were considered 'rebellious' and 'disobedient'. Of course , I was both… and worse.But to be so severely punished for those 'failings' by the ogre of a school principal – a towering woman representing a Scottish mission ? I often went home with swollen , angry red welts on my upper arms – welts that made me feel so ashamed, I hid them from my parents and said not a word about the frequent torture. I now realize, had I been less ashamed and more outraged, not only would my torture have stopped ( perhaps at a huge cost – I'd probably have been thrown out of school for daring to protest),but other girls would have been spared this nasty woman's brutality. I chose to remain silent. Like Rouvanjit. Big difference being, he's dead. And I am alive to retell and relive those hellish minutes when I'd be summoned to the Principal's office after standing on the yellow bench for hours, often without food or water.Why am I ready to share this dreadful part of my distant youth? Only to demonstrate the tragedy that our schools continue to perpetuate till today, and in an age where there ought to be a far better understanding about such sensitive issues. A child's mind and sensibility cannot be easily penetrated, even less 'controlled' by fiendish, cruel adults who imagine they are 'doing the right thing' by striking someone defenceless…. and often, voiceless.
No matter what Principal Sunirmal Chakraborty says in his defence, no matter how sloppily the Kolkata police respond, no matter what kind of pressures are brought on Rouvanjit's family to withdraw the charges, it is important for the sake our children, to keep up the pressure and punish those responsible for driving Rouvanjit to take his life. The old era of adopting the so-called traditional 'cane and able' modus operandi to make errant kids toe the line are over, Mr. Chakraborty.
Try reading 'Goodbye Mr. Chips…'. Try loving those children - especially the difficult ones – whose parents place their trust in you and your teachers. Better still, try therapy.
What an idea, Sirji!!
50 comments:
- MangoManBunty said...
Hey Ms. Shobhaa,
I have been a follower of your blog for long and I ache to say that your blog posts are getting a bit bland by the day. We expect a certain something from someone as terrific as you. There's no point in posting something so regularly but not having the Shobhaa-De-feel in it.
Sorry for the bluntness. Hope you understand.
- June 13, 2010 at 2:41 PM
- gaelikaa said...
Well, I dunno about the above commenter but I thought that today's post was pretty damn good. There's a LaMarts in my city, Lucknow, too. Parents are sometimes terrified to speak out against these schools for fear of 'upsetting' things. Some of my kids are in a convent school about similar to LaMarts in age and prestige and I've noticed a lot of fear in parents whenever it comes to speakiing out about problems. Mind you, I've not seen brutality like that which Rouvanjit suffered.
Well done, Shobhaaji!
- June 13, 2010 at 3:31 PM
- Black said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- June 13, 2010 at 3:31 PM
- Black said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- June 13, 2010 at 3:34 PM
- Black said...
Yeah.., that kindled some nostalgia here too. There was this monster-teacher at my school, who like a villain in mythologies, always came around with his weapon-a cane--ever ready to beat up an eligible(!) kid. Once, he beat up around 20 kids(of class V) in our class, just to quench his wrath about his inability to figure out which kid performed the simple prank. We had varieties of stripes on our body--yet, we could do nothing about it!!!
Years later, we were in class X, when the monster has played his cane on another 10 year old's back--who happened to be the son of a then MLA--That night, the monster was arrested by the cops, and the innocent kid kept showing his striped back to local TV cameras for the next few days...
Oh,what a good news that was to the earlier victims-us.
- June 13, 2010 at 3:36 PM
- Pooja Rathore said...
It's an important issue you have written about how many children have suffered and some lost thier life due to wrong way of punishment ( life is too precious to be lost due to punishment from teachers even our judiciary gives capital punishment(death) in rarest of rare cases but teachers dont think twice about the consequences of thier action and then they teach us about how to be a good citizen about peace about good behaviour when they themselves fail miserably in the same department (of course not all teachers there are the good ones but most of the time you come across frustrated ones.If a student is giving them trouble they must find some different way of handling the issue which will be beneficial for the child not one which will take his life if nothing is done in this regard the teachers are sending out wrong message. The worst part is this issue is not taken seriously, in most cases the teacher is suspended or atleast i have never heard of the teachers being severly punished for their acts. teachers must learn to be calm ( they should be given a crash course in managing temper and anger as teachers are also normal human beings with problems they carry their problems and in anger they release on students in the form of punishment. Teachers who handle students harshly must be dealt strictly and punished for the same... even parents must teach children to speak up and children too should express their hurt when they feel the punishment was harsh.
- June 13, 2010 at 4:33 PM
- Jean said...
As I have just joined the blogroll, I have been trying to go through all your articles. Till now, I have not found any one article to be boring/ bland as commented by Manmango.
This article has certainly enthused some recollections from my school times- mostly good but bad memories are stirred when I remember my hindi Sir in class 6-8. The cane was not his weapon. He would pinch the skin below arm & would make you see stars. We all suffered in silence because that was the practice then. Until we decided that enough was enough. We collectively went as a group of 60 students & complained to the principal. The Hindi teacher was asked not to bodily harm any student. But if the principal had chosen not to take any action, I do think I would have seen atleast one classmate go through the same as Rouvanjit.
- June 13, 2010 at 4:44 PM
- Sidhusaaheb said...
Children's confidence can not only be destroyed through physical punishment, but also through mental torture. Words can often leave an imprint that lasts far longer than one caused by being struck with a cane.
- June 13, 2010 at 6:25 PM
- kirti said...
Ms De,its always a pleasure to read your posts..i totally disagree that this post is bland! Infact,you too going through caning is shocking!!! But,its such a shame that teachers upon whom parents thrust the responsibility of bringing confidence within their kids,end up losing their lives due to them!! I feel such teachers should be punished!
- June 13, 2010 at 7:31 PM
- MangoManBunty said...
Apologies to anyone who got offended by my last comment.
All I meant that when the expectations are high, even something that is better than average seems bland. Number of words are increasing by the day. Editing is something that can be looked into.
Since I had no other forum (public/private) to make my views reach Ms. Shobhaa, I chose this one. Will not do it again.
P.S. I just loved Politically Incorrect when I used to read TOI. And I've wondered in awe for minutes on reading some of the pots out here. I just wanted to convey the concerns of a concerned reader.
- June 13, 2010 at 7:52 PM
- goodluck said...
This is one of your most valuable blogs. I also experienced humiliations from some sadistic teachers. It is routine for most of us. When they say guru devo bhava, I feel like saying guru rakhsaso bhava, atleast in some cases. There are good and kind teachers and they make all the difference fortunately.
One of my teachers used to punish indiscriminately and his own 8 year old son committed suicide by jumping in front of a train when he failed. Some teachers dont spare anyone, even their own.
Rouvanjit looked like a vivacious kid. Losing a kid is traumatic especially when it is to satisfy the ego of a cruel teacher. SHAME LA MARTINIERE!
- June 13, 2010 at 8:13 PM
- sepo said...
loved this article of yours...!
- June 13, 2010 at 9:10 PM
- ms said...
well, mz de. most of us have felt our parents' love on many levels. i always was confused about a parent who beat the daylights out of us for some misdeeds, but would harangue the teacher who slapped us for not doing our work. or our sibling, who hit us when he was bored. bullying and beatings are a child's lot in wonderful india. we may be the only nation which regards adult bullying as active politics (all those murdering thakurs and panchayat elders who kill to punish people). some of the blame of a teenage suicide rests on his environment too. why did the teenager not tell his family that he was falling behind in his work? are children encouraged to share their worries and anxiety with their parents, without fear of further censure? i think not. everyone blames the last straw that broke the camel's back, but what of the tons of straw that preceded it? we are all collectively responsible when some one dies an untimely death - remember : "everyman's death diminishes me".
- June 13, 2010 at 9:52 PM
- ethereal-lily said...
I was caned during my primary school days, fortunately by the time i reached high school, the country i was in, banned canning only after protests on deaths in school due to canning. It really is unfortunate to see this still happening in India..
- June 13, 2010 at 10:59 PM
- RAJ47 said...
Principal Sunirmal Chakraborty should be charged with abetting suicide amounting to murder. He is neither Su nor nirmal.
- June 14, 2010 at 5:27 AM
- Nikhil Bhaskar said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- June 14, 2010 at 7:15 AM
- Nikhil Bhaskar said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- June 14, 2010 at 7:20 AM
- Nikhil Bhaskar said...
My first read on your blog. I almost flashed backward, our hostel superintendent was a total nerd.....used to lift the kids by their belly twirling the skin enough to pain for days, even I had it one time for the unfinished homework.
as for the comments by MangoManBunty....I cannot say much as I am not a regular reader here but you can remain assured he will never feedback incoherent....hell no!!!
- June 14, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- t O m S o N said...
Dear Sobhaji,
Nice article! Wonderful title by the way! I was half expecting Christians to come after you this time(reg the title)whilst reading the comments!
We are living in politically correct world.Never know when people get rubbed the wrong way!
take care
- June 14, 2010 at 4:00 PM
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- June 14, 2010 at 6:22 PM
- Divya Virmani said...
I always look forward to Shobhaa De's articles. Absolutely love them... This article brings back so many scary memories from childhood days. Even in my school, we had freaking losers as our teachers. I remember getting bashed by sticks or rulers which teachers used to carry whereever they'd go. How pathetic? And if a parent would complaint then they would keep an eye on that kid and if something goes wrong then they contact the parent right away. I cannot believe we still encounter such 'hellish' things. Shame on the schooling system in India. People living abroad always praise the knowledge we get in India but the ugly truth behind this is very horrendous!
- June 14, 2010 at 9:05 PM
- pmathur said...
Me and my wife raised two boys who now are 17 and 14. Not even once in 17 years have we ever gone 'physical' when disciplining our children. And yet, by any standard of measure they have grown up as well behaved human beings with the right values.
Physically hurting a child is the most barbaric act any human being can indulge in. According to me, not only school authorities -- teachers etc. but even parents who indulge in such acts should be exposed, and sent for counseling because they aren't normal human beings.
- June 14, 2010 at 9:23 PM
- Delhi Goon said...
If someone hits my kids I dont know what I will do to them!? I think teachers who hit kids need to understand that.
- June 14, 2010 at 11:08 PM
- Latha said...
Rouvanjit Rawla's news appeared exactly 4 months back in the newspapers. His father, Ajay Rawla denied that it has got anything to do with the school. Both the boy's parents denied that it was a suicide & insisted that it was an accident & explained how it had taken place.
While corporal punishment is condemnable, this one looks different. The details contain in the fol: link.
- June 15, 2010 at 2:45 AM
- numerounity said...
I am amazed with irony of lives and to top that, kolkata is styill called- City of joy!
Pitiful. The principal should be divorced from education system. There is no discipline in the world tells us to injure the soul of a young child to bring method or discipline to him. Shame of the parents who despite knowing such facts still r sending their kids to a school where a "Ravan" like principal is functional. While I, from bottom of my heart disgust the approach taken by the principal and those teachers who believes in driving the punishment across very strictly; I believe that parents should also try to inculcate spirit in their children. Spirit to fight such humiliation rather than succumbing to suicide!
- June 15, 2010 at 1:17 PM
- numerounity said...
Just think of a mother who lost her upbring child just cause of some insensitive flag bearers of the educative society. Is that why we send our children to school?
- June 15, 2010 at 1:19 PM
- moushumi said...
Hi Shobha De,
I have been following your blog for a while now and look forward to it every day when I walk in to work- Yes! I read your blog while at work! This is to take my mind off all things monotonous in our busy work lives and to move away to something interesting.
Reading your blog on Rouvanjit brought back many many horrible memories of 'disciplinary action' which I was a part of way back in school. I too studied in a prestigious school back in Shillong, North East India. Back then, about 15 years ago, it had its repute; today-I presume very little of its repute is left. Being a boarder, made you stand out like a sore thumb and we were punished for every little mischief. We were kids for God's sake!! This, non of our teachers/principal/house keepers/matrons realised during our 10 yr stay there. Punishments included not being allowed to use the washroom, writing lines, being whacked in the head with a torch, standing by yourself in the dark corridors (which were supposedly haunted) while your friends are at play, standing on one leg in the dormitory etc. I am not a parent yet but plan to be one soon and it made me think if this was the state of our prestigious schools in our country, what happens to our children in the less prestigious ones?
Moushumi Baxi
- June 15, 2010 at 2:46 PM
- Indli said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- June 15, 2010 at 4:27 PM
- *Aham* said...
really upsetting. and kudos to you de, for sharing your personal experience with the kameeni who caned you.
i feel we take our "Guru" respect sometimes too far. No one, has the right to cane a child. Not even the mother.
This reminds me, the other day, i found a mother mercilessly beating up her 6-8 year old girl. There were some silent voyouers. I was also one. Until I saw her slap the child on the face, and intervened. I threatened to inform the police if she beat up her child like that.
And guess what, people counseled. They counseled me that i should leave the mother alone and not interfere. I refused to budge. And created a scene, (had people encircling us at "the crime scene"). Eventually she screamt and screamt... and when she was sane, i explained, she listened. And i escorted the mother-daughter duo to the train. :) I dont know if she will not beat the child again. But i do know, that of the people who watched the whole drama, atleast one or two would speak up for the child if they saw something like this happening.
on a lighter note... we should not ban caning.... i wish we could beat up the politicos in their bum when they do all these lochaas and jhagdaas for nothing...
hai naa???
- June 15, 2010 at 5:43 PM
- Another Kiran In NYC said...
The Principal of La Martiniere can actually say with a straight face that he was not aware that caning was illegal! Aiyoooo so apart from brutalising children, you are not even aware of the laws of the land and dont keep up with current affairs? Makes me wonder what education the kids are getting. Obviously not much of an education, if the head teacher is an example.
Children are treated very badly in desi culture at all levels of society. They are brutalised or indulged by abrupt turn emotionally, mentally and physically. By schools and especially by family. I am not surprised so many of us are uncomfortable in our own independent skins as adults.
And you know what... Ms Soni, Mr Singh and a host of other teachers whose names I care not to remember. I hate what you did to me as a child. You were supposed to be my teachers and role models, not my brutalizers. Shame on you! I will never allow the shadow of people like you to ever fall on my children. I got myself an education and growth into stable adulthood, DESPITE you! You taught me nothing of educational and life value except this... as a child whose voice would not be heard, I will be beaten until you feel better about your own life.
- June 15, 2010 at 7:06 PM
- krutika said...
everytime i read your blog...i feel relieved that i am out of India, and it makes me never wanna go back. I would do everything in my power to not go back to that land of the frustated, where you are screwed it you are born a middle class or born a woman.huh!
I dont want my children to have the life i have had in India.
will India change, i am afriad the answer is no.
- June 16, 2010 at 1:53 AM
- June 16, 2010 at 3:52 AM
- Anil Kumar said...
Stay away from India if you can for two basic reasons.
1) Screwing poors, middle class and crab mentality is going to stay here at least for another century.
2) Those who think that India is good for raising kids with family values then think again.
More and more dance programs involving kids as young as 7-8 year old doing filthy dance on TV, dirty reality programs have taken roots in this country. The combination of CHEAP JOURNALISTS ON TV, BOLLYWOOD SL__TS are doing everything in their capacity to destroy what used to be unique to India...which was some descency and family values in public places. The impotent judiciary can't handle the western sins Indians are subjected to.
With women showing of everything except their thongs is fast becoming the INDIAN CULTURE. And if you add the SCREWING and CRAB mentality of Indians then you can imagine what to expect here for kids and women and poors and middle class.
By the way those morons who come in defence of Shobha De should keep their mouth shut. She has thick skin and knows very well how to handle the criticism. She is not an IDIOT like Amitabh Bachhan who will write 30 page reply on blog just because some journalist called Aishwarya rai a manglik.
(if ou don't know her...she is a bollywood sl_t who is a symbol of Bhartiya naari on special occassion like Diwali, 15th August, commonwealth games ceremonies)
- June 16, 2010 at 5:32 AM
- Rajib said...
Kudos to you. How beautifully you've summed up the situation and put together your "reco" in the last two lines.
The principal's act is truly despicable, and his refusal to apologize to the parents is shocking...I guess its time to identify the "stinky fishes" in the pond, who not only put a blemish on the face of prestigious institutions, but also disappoint their proud ex-alumnus to no end by such acts. They should rather go home and tend their frustrations and barbarisms, that would at least help the kids live their entire life span.
My condolences to the Rawla family
Best Regards,
- June 16, 2010 at 5:46 AM
- Theyoginme said...
Kiran so sorry to hear about your painful experience.. which school was this? DPS? I must say I was very fortunate - I personally escaped all this including hazing in college..physical abuse of children is shameful at any place, home or school.. its an act of cowardice.
- June 16, 2010 at 10:48 AM
- PTL said...
Shobha De, quite clearly you haven't a clue about the depth of this tragic incident. You need to do your homework thoroughly before you make such a sweeping and superficial judgement from that ivory tower that you sit in. What makes you think that everything that the media says is gospel? How can you be so naive? While writing your sermon, did you once consider that there might be another angle to this tragic story? Why don't you ask some of your well-heeled brethren here In Kolkata about the kind of family environment that existed in Rouvan's home and about his friends. I am sure they will have more than a thing or two to tell you there. While I agree that the school authorities should have handled the matter more sensitively, and corporal punishment was not the answer, I don't believe that the school can be held responsible for Rouvan's death. There is more to this than meets the eye. So please get off that high horse of yours and find out more before making such short-sighted judgements!
- June 16, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Write, woman.
It's been like what..3 days.
- June 16, 2010 at 12:48 PM
- Nikhil Bhaskar said...
@krutika....all those like you who gather courage to blabber here and not act must never return, thank god we actually are relieved.
- June 16, 2010 at 1:27 PM
- MangoManBunty said...
Well said, Nikhil.
Everyone wants a Bhagat Singh, but at the neighbour's.
Be the change you want to see, in the littlest way possible rather than FLEE AWAY and still keep on cribbing.
We are much better off without you,cribbers!!
- June 16, 2010 at 2:25 PM
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- June 18, 2010 at 12:52 PM
- krutika said...
@nikhil Bhaskar...you might be one of those .00000005% of Indians who is making a significant contribution by voting for a third rate whore from Italy as your leader. Atleast in a foreign i still lead a life in which i am not servile to every white man/woman around me. Yeah and the las time i had come to India was the most embaressing with hundreds of billboards advertising how one can obtain a lighter complexion. I am sure you need a lot of courage to live in the dump ...thanks i am not interested.
I am sure you are relieved that people like me are leaving and there will be a million like laloo deciding what you should eat, watch drink and whre you should pee. Mark my words India is not going to chnage in a million years. the progress u see in the cities is absolute bs. Kids aping west talking like them, dressinglike them, with no originality what so ever and offcourse when these idiots leave India and realize that they dont gel with the local population, they become extremly patriotic and build a million temples in foreign countries and bullshit about how great Indian culture is and they will be returning to their homeland in 10 days, and never do.
Cut the crap with your hyprcracy. face it with soo many talented people leaving everyday u need to understand it is absolutely an unbearable atmosphere to thrive and succeed.
- June 19, 2010 at 6:17 AM
- MangoManBunty said...
@ Krutika: !!!
What Sonia Gandhi is to India, you are to the country you're living in.
I just wish no one calls you a third rate whore JUST because you were not born in the country you're presently living in!
Huge thanks for leaving my soil, you racist piece of thankless turd!
- June 19, 2010 at 8:56 AM
- pmathur said...
@krutika - I read your comments on this blog. First - comments here should be limited to what the blogger - Ms De has written. If you want to get personal, please move to another forum.
As an Indian, I am offended by your comments - to say the least. You might not consider yourself to be an Indian, but do not insult this Country because you want to vent your personal frustration. I am sure you would not like to hear derogratory remarks about the Country you have adopted. Similarly it will hold you in good stead if you respect the feelings of Indians
- June 19, 2010 at 12:12 PM
- krutika said...
To the comments above, clearly i was responding to bhaskar, because he has directed his comments to me, what applies to me, should apply to him as well.
Just because i dislike India, does not make me racist.
Lastly, i can write what ever i want, its okay if you get offended, that does not mean i cannot write what i feel is appropriate.
You can disregard what i have to say, if you don't like it. But the reason you keep responding is because most of what i say is the FACT.
- June 21, 2010 at 5:05 AM
- Anil Kumar said...
Very well said Krutika...There is no harm in criticizing your homeland if it's run by BASTARDS and those bastards are worshipped by equally FOOLISH people.
Be it Sonia Gandhi, Susri Mayawati or Amma Jayalalitha.
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Recent News
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