Is this a sign?

I was wondering yesterday whether this is a sign.

There seems to be an increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters around us. And all these seem to be linked in some deep terrestrial web.

Lets take the earth's crust and its upheavals. Earthquakes have flattened cities starting with the ancient town of Bam in Iran in Dec 2003, followed by the tsunami-causing Mega-quake off Banda Aceh in Indonesia in Dec 2004 and now in Oct 2005, we have one in Kashmir. Can't be mere coincidence. Infact, it was a bit bizzarre that National Geographic ran a story just a few minutes back on how this could be a seismic chain reaction.

And what about the might of water. The tsunami last year was triggered by a quake but those who drowned under the fury of the ocean would have been left wondering why a calm blue ocean suddenly turned into a furious grey monster. Then there is the cloud burst over Mumbai which not only killed thousands but brought a city of 12 million people on its knees. And the mud slides in Guatemala have already consumed a thousand lives.

Not to be left behind, winds too have unleashed their killer blow. Hurricanes, typhoons and storms are nothing new in the N-W Atlantic belt, the West Pacific belt and the Indian Ocean but Hurricane Katrina, Stan and Rita have come too close together to allow humanity to take a breather during the onslaught.

Maybe it's just nothing more than a heightened sense of awareness in a flat world where events in Guatemala affect us as much as those in Aceh and where New Orleans seems as close as Kashmir. Or maybe there is some connection between these deadly events.

Is Mother Earth telling us something??

Cricket World Series - A circus of well paid performers

What are we all getting excited about?

On one hand is a team in desperate need of redemption and on the other hand is a motley group of uninterested players.

Australia, after their recent mauling at the hands of England have their confidence shaken. Some of the established stalwarts (read Hayden) have been shown the door. The others need to regain public confidence (and some self-belief too). What better way than to chalk up performances against a bunch of players for whom the matches are no more than a distraction from a well paid holiday.

The World XI is made up of uninterested stars with little in common. With no flag to play for, no national pride to fight for and no public egging them on, there is little reason to sweat and toil. It's more about showing up in a blue jersey to which no one owes any allegiance and making up the numbers for a fat packet and the opportunity to wine and dine with their like in one of the better holiday destinations in the world.

This is clearly Commerce winning over Cricket.