Weekly Photo Challenge: (Lost in the Details)

i attended a formula 1 grand prix last year in Austen, Texas, which was basically a dream-i-never-would-have-realistically-had come true as i had been watching the sport since i was in primary school… and in the midst of this international event, sitting flanked by people of all nationalities from all around the world, i had the joy of seeing this South African flag draped casually over someone’s chair near me… great reminder of home in the midst of all the foreign…

this picture, which was taken on my honeymoon with tbV is a beautiful nature scene, but for me it is the wall that stands out – i absolutely LOVE stone walls [made with different types and sizes of stones joined together] – as someone who doesn’t get excited about all that much in the way of architecture and design this is one thing that jumps out for me everywhere i see it and so it was great spotting this gem in the midst of the surrounding beauty and life…

and then talking of lost in the details i found this picture of the stunningly beautiful Val on our wedding day – what i like about it is the range of leaves from blurry and up close to very much in focus and detailed and then trailing off to blurry again… and there in the background the hint of my beautiful bride – the suggestion of a greater story than what is seen in front of you… and a greater story to follow…

 

[For the previous Photo Challenge on the theme of ‘Forward’ click here]

the one formula

so wot an amazing weekend then…

i started watching Formula 1 Grand Prix racing about 26 years ago when one of my Portuguese friends from Hillcrest Primary school in Johannesburg, South Africa invited me to watch this race – i remember it clearly because Nelson Piquet and his teammate led from start to finish and at the end of the race Piquet’s teammate was the only person he had not lapped and so from then on Nelson Piquet was ‘my guy’ and went on to win three world championships so a good pick, then…

26 years of F1 watching and the irony is i have ever only had two drivers – Piquet pretty much stopped racing as this guy called Schumacher started with a once off race for Jordan [which he got as the actual driver was imprisoned] and he qualified an amazing 7th [the team’s best qualifying that year] but sadly retired on the first lap with clutch problems… but i saw something in him that i liked and so through all the ups and downs of his career [and there were many of both] i stuck with him, often vociferously defending against claims that he was arrogant or that he cheated] and it has been difficult to see him come out of retirement into what seems to be a real crummy car – he qualified an amazing 6th for Mercedes for this race and spent the race basically losing a position a lap so that was not so much fun to watch…

so when my brother in law invited me to watch this inaugural Austin Formula 1 Grand Prix live it was not quite a dream come true cos i never dreamed i would get to see a F1 Grand Prix live but it was a dream given to me. it sucked that he later was not able to come with me cos the tickets were sold out by the time he knew his work would allow him to come and so i got to experience the magic and the excitement of the weekend all by myself which ended up being a complete vibe.

stunning weekend. and if i had to name a highlight it would probably be seeing my friends [and in particular my wife, the beautiful Val] get excited for me – that really was the best part of this weekend – from my family who i am staying with, who went to a lot of expense to make it a smooth and amazing weekend, to friends on Twitter and Facebook and to Valerie repeatedly writing statuses [stati?] and sending messages and writing me heart shaped letters and just being generally excited… from Alice [my F1 fantasy league competitor ad often co-watcher for the last many years] to MJ and Rob and cuzzin Lance and Stef and John Zippy Benn [living vicariously through me] and Liam and others and especially again and again by my lovely wife it just encouraged me and added to my excitement and made the whole weekend extra special.

see, getting to attend a Formula 1 race live was an incredible experience and really worth a lot to me
but family. and community. and great friends scattered across the world… now that’s a real formula to an incredible life.
some would say priceless. i am one of those some.

thank you to everyone who cheered and messaged and looked out for me and posted and mailed and got super excited – you guys made this weekend super uber special.

be afraid – of new zealand – be very afraid…

is it just me or is this one of the most ridiculous sporting statements EVER since the days of Murray walker in Formula 1 talking about how a driver being overtaken was a great tactical move that would come into play later… the headline was “Conditions should suit us”

“New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum thinks his side’s greater experience of conditions in Mirpur could give them the edge over South Africa in their quarter-final clash on Friday. New Zealand will have bitter memories of the ground – it was here that Bangladesh beat them in four successive one-day internationals in October last year – but those games will at least have given them in-depth local knowledge of what to expect.”

so in a nutshell Brendon, you’re saying that because this ground was the setting for your team’s worst humiliation in recent years, you have the upper hand…? got it.

click here to read the rest of the article which i found here – http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/story/507688.html