"Faith" is a fine Invention - Emily Dickinson

"Faith" is a fine invention


For Gentlemen who see!


But Microscopes are prudent


In an Emergency !

This is by far my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson. Faith is indeed a fine invention by humans to keep us civilized. I remember watching the video game "Resonance of Fate" and suddenly got all philosophical when i heard the following line

Faith brings Order

Order brings Stability and

Stability brings Prosperity



Dont why that stood out in my mind from the game but Im just liking this amazing reclusive American poet. Here is an analysis of the poem by Susan Kornfeld of "The Prowling Bee" blog.

In a clever little dig at unexamined religiousness, the poet suggests that Faith is not only an “invention” but a redundant one as it is fit for “Gentlemen” who can already see what they want with their normal vision. But even this invention falls short of what is needed in an “Emergency.” When you can’t see with unaided eyes what needs to be seen, it’s time to wheel out the microscope.

The core faith for most major religions is that the Holy books reveal truth and that their (and their clergies’) prescribed form of worship, rituals, and value systems are what most please God. There are some people who see God’s hand in everything or who think God talks directly to them. What will happen when beliefs and holy texts fall short or are even contradicted? While faith is “fine” when evil is punished, virtue rewarded, and prayers seemingly answered, if things are amiss, then faith might be questioned. Perhaps it will reign supreme no matter what (always explained away as “God’s mysterious ways,” or the need to believe in a “grander scheme” in which our little sufferings [like the Civil War or slavery – topics bleeding over dinner tables or worse throughout the U.S. at the time Dickinson was writing this]) serve some ultimate Good, but Dickinson recommends taking a close look. The preacher or doctor needs to think and reflect deeply not only on what he reads but on what he sees.

Dickinson was a naturalist and educated woman, and this reality-based approach suited her. Her poems don’t spout “commonplace truths” as so many did in her time (with some exceptions), but are often shockingly bold and original.

The poem is concise and clever enough to be epigrammatic. It’s the sort of thing that can be easily memorized and trotted out on appropriate occasions.

The Americans Season 2 Finale

I believe I have just witnessed one of the best season finale for a long time. This is the way every thriller series should end. Man!!! never saw that coming.

Here is the review by TV.Com Ryan Sandoval. It was wonderful to see his reviews as he just explains everything I mean everything about each episode and dissects the intricacies and the complexities of certain scenes which one can easily ignore as the showmakers hardly try to explain everything. Good job Ryan

Wow. Now that is how you end a season. Mystery: answered. Big bad: neutralized. Love triangle: concluded. Stakes: raised. Written by Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields and directed by Daniel Sackhelm, "Echo" was everything that's great about The Americans crammed into one hour, yet it never felt overburdened. In a season that questioned whether a spy family could ever become real family, we’ve organically returned to that central conflict, as introduced so many dead-drops ago. Fighting all along to protect their children from the family business, Philip and Elizabeth inadvertently brought Paige and Henry closer than ever to a danger they thought they'd escaped. Though they've jumped through hoop after hoop fulfilling spy duties and fending off threats to the little ones, the Jennings efforts' to keep Mother Russia outside the home proved more futile than they realized.

While the mission to retrieve RAM samples via sticky-shoe was an early success, it came at the expense of Fred’s life. Just as Philip deduced, the asset appeared exhilarated by his dedication to the Cause, even as he spent his final moments in a D.C. phone booth. The Americans has made a name for itself with its excellent music montages, and the use of Golden Earring’s "Twilight Zone" in "Echo" kickstarted an energetic sequence featuring the untimely demise of Fred and the arrest of Pastor Tim. Chalking up a death before the credits sequence was a first for the show, and it set an unpredictable tone for the rest of the hour.

Coincidentally enough, the music video for this song was conceived after the band’s guitarist read Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity—true Wikipedia fact!):

Paige, in her know-it-all teenage way, once again mounted her high horse to teach her family about civil disobedience. "If she said one more thing about non-violent resistance," Philip later remarked, "I was going to punch her in the face." Like parents do, they allowed their daughter freedom, while behind closed doors they exercised their own liberty to dismiss Paige’s American passions. "She thinks a church pastor being arrested for loitering is some kind of hero," muttered Philip before zipping off to see Martha. Last week the two newlyweds discussed the prospect of (not) having children, and this week their conversation was much the same. "I am who I am, Martha," Clark stated, in the ironic way that only a disguised spy husband can. "I’ve tried not to hide myself from you," he continued, leaving audience members to roll their eyes en masse. Martha thankfully has survived another season, even after many suggested she’d be next to go. No family for you Martha, but congratulations on your new "Ladysmith" (technically a Smith & Wesson Model 642LS)!

How "on theme" it is that Larrick’s been AWOL via "family leave." This show doesn't miss a beat. After an abrupt Jennings family vacation to the woods near Jared’s exfiltration spot ("There’s A LOT wrong with us!" was my favorite quote of the episode), the seasoned skulker SEAL finally got the upper hand on Elizabeth and Philip. He nabbed the latter following a meeting with some fellow Illegals outside a bakery, and he snagged Elizabeth during her explanatory hike with Jared. The orphaned teen sure had a lot of questions about Kate’s whereabouts. Just how long HAD he been meeting with her? And why?

One shootout later, the answers flowed faster than blood spilling from a neck wound. I’ve enjoyed Owen Campbell’s work all season long, and Jared's dying confession alongside his insistence that Moscow be informed of his heroics was one of the young actor's best scenes. Jared’s been a helpless teen for so long that his last-minute reveal of bravery still felt like a young person begging to be seen as an adult. Amid these pleas came snippets of what happend that fateful day in Alexandria: Jared and Kate had been seeing each other for a while. The two had plans to run off and do "great work" together. Emmett did not approve of this plan and got angry with his son. Committed to Kate and the Cause, Jared then used his father’s gun on his parents. His younger sister Amelia "would’ve gone straight to the police." Jared cleaned up and hit the pool. Mystery solved (kind of—but more on this later). His final words: "You have to tell her. When you see her..." I cried as life left his eyes.

Elsewhere, Stan the Loverboy struggled with his future: Would he deliver Echo to the Russians and save Nina? All signs pointed to yes for most of the episode, as he wore a wire into the top-secret Pentagonal site and learned of the code’s two other locations (Cheyenne Mountain and another place where you’d have to kidnap the president to access it). That he also met with Arkady on where to deliver the program and meet Nina further implied he was game. But dude was also having hella mixed feelings. Stan’s stress dream featured Martha lifting files from the mail room robot (I wonder if his subconscious was aware of this), Vlad coming back from the dead, and screwing Sandra. Let’s see: I figure that Vlad is the embodiment of Stan's guilt over taking a man’s life, and a representation of the sort of emotional wedge that drove Stan and Sandra apart. Like, in imagining his ex-wife's lover, Stan's mostly projecting his own emotional hang-ups. But I do not have a degree in Feelings, so don't quote me.

Quick question, though: When is a love triangle not a love triangle? When both suitors abandon the object of affection. Stan left SOMETHING at the drop point, but we didn’t find out what it was until a perfect, nearly wordless scene at the Rezidentura: Arkady handed Nina a sheet of paper—already bad news, for not being a disk. "This is what he left," Arkady stated, emotionless. We saw Nina's face fall, as she saw what was on the page (the 1982 equivalent of breaking up via text):

With Nina’s fate sealed, she spent the remainder of the season in elegant silence. No hysterics, no bargaining. As soon as the sun came up, the doors opened and she was marched out, still healing from the bruises sustained for Mother Russia. Oleg, overcome by a need to share one last look with Nina, stormed out, too—though only far enough to maintain his innocence. Then, more quiet drama: Arkady watched Oleg, Oleg broke the gaze; Arkady left with the Lenin painting. Stan, still torn (or hopefully concocting a plan for next season), waited outside for one last glance. One last look back, and once more Nina was alone. I doubt—and hope—this is the last we've seen of the skilled and beautiful triple agent.

Now, I don’t know what it was about watching a teenager die right before her very eyes that made Elizabeth think it was a good idea to induct Paige into the Cause. The ever-dubious Claudia returned to deliver some unsettling news: One year prior, the Centre had developed a program called "Second Generation Illegals," the goal being to groom a spy child into eventual candidacy for the FBI or CIA. The Centre asked Emmett and Leanne to induct Jared, but they reacted like any protective parent would, and declined. So, the Centre went over the couple's heads and sent Kate to woo Jared into espionage. Like a teenager being disallowed to do grown-up things, the Connors boy flipped out. I can only imagine that Moscow inexplicably assigned Kate to Philip and Elizabeth this season for the same reason.

And so, in a stroke of remarkable storytelling, "Echo" and The Americans' second season ended with the fulfillment of the show's original theme, then transitioned into another. "Paige is not just yours," threatened Claudia "She belongs to the Cause. Forgotten that?" Uh, wait, she may technically be part of cover, but she's also a human being that Elizabeth and Philip made with their own biology. Take it easy, Moscow. Don't be weird. With one last disguise for the road, Philip confronted Arkady (who chose Popular Mechanics, while Philip picked up Rolling Stone—the Warren Beatty issue). The message: Stay the hell away from his daughter. Word of warning, Arkady, the last dude who hassled Paige got a skewer in the nards way back in the pilot. But since this show can’t resist twists (thankfully it EARNS them), who should start to warm to the idea but Elizabeth. Make up your mind, lady! Last week you thought Paige would be dead in an alley in a week. Now you want to "turn" your own daughter? Either way, I appreciate this as a conflict for next season. It’s organic, it raises the stakes. "It would destroy her," reasoned Philip "To be like us?" countered Elizabeth. I’m sure the dinner conversation was wonderful.

EXTRA INTELLIGENCE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- – Even handcuffed, the Jennings can still kick ass.

– "Hard to believe the future of the free world rests on all those numbers and symbols, huh?"

– "Don’t tell her 'I you love' so much. A Russian woman doesn’t like that. She won’t respect you."

– Still no Kelli.

– Remember when Claudia said she got involved with someone and had to duck out of the picture? Who was that?

FROM THE WRITER:

Hi guys, it’s me, Ryan. I have to say it’s been a real pleasure reading your reactions to basically my favorite show on TV. You commenters are so intuitive and passionate, these past 13 weeks went by too fast. Until next time, fellow fanatics. Until next time.

Apple just purchased what??? for 3.2 Billion dollars

I remember when I bought a duplicate version of "Beats by Dr Dre" from the nearby electronics store for 100 Rupees. It had a cool design but as with any duplicate versions,it didnt last more than a couple of months. But I liked the design with the long cloth like orange wire and instantly knew why Beats headphones/earphones were all the craze at that time and Im a fan of Dr. Dre (no one can scratch music like him) so felt good to buy a product associated with him

Dr Dre with Lebron with the Beats headphones

Dr Dre founded Beats (Beat Electronics LLC) and started producing premium high end headphones with the Brand. Due to their sleek design they very soon became a high-end fashion accessory and soon held the majority market share in headphones costing more than 100 USD. It became so popular that HTC bought 50.1 % in the Company in Aug 2011 for 309 million dollars which seems to put the valuation of the Company at 616 Million USD.

HTC bought the majority stake as a valuable accessory to their high end smart phones and boost their market share in the mobile market. When that didnt happen as they thought they immediately opted out of it by selling half their stake (25 %) back to the Company in 2012 and the remaining 25% in 2013 which in turn was bought by the Private Equity firm (Beats is still a privately owned firm, mind you !!)Carlyle Group at 500 million dollars investment in the Company for a minority stake. Eventhough the financials of Beats Electronics aren't open to the public it is easy to say that when a reputed PE Firm like the Carlyle group buys a MINORITY stake in a firm for 500 million dollars they are valuing the firm to the north of a BILLION DOLLARS.

Now suddenly out of nowhere Apple now wants to purchase this private firm "Beats LLC" for 3.2 Billion Dollars. From the SEC reported financials of Apple over the years these are the cash reserves available with them

One can understand it is not advisable to hold excess cash(problems the rich and successful have !!!) but how in the world can they justify this acquisition to their shareholders. Now again Beats Electronics financials are not public but according to New York Times article last year they had an estimated annual revenue of 1.3 Billion dollars in 2013. Now that number looks overstated to me but still with a premium headphone selling at 200 $ that makes it around 7.5 Million units sold in a year which is entirely possible if you take into account they have a majority market share in the headphones arena and about 150 Million IPhones (Source : Apple Annual report 2013)were sold in 2013. It is also amazing to note the valuation by successive reputed firms on Beats varies year on year.



How could such reputed firms have such variations in their valuations of the company , has Beats really more than quadrupled their valuation over the course of three years and if so based on what financial analysis.There are questions to be asked by the shareholders of Apple.

Found the article below at Forbes which tries to make sense of this acquisition

Rumors are flying about the imminent purchase of headphone maker and streaming music service Beats Electronics by tech giant Apple for a reported $3.2 billion dollars, which has caused a lot of head scratching in both the tech and music communities. Should this deal come to pass, a number of questions come to mind.

Why Is Beats A Fit for Apple?

Apple sees music downloads from its iTunes store diminishing, and if it reads any of the reams of research on the subject, knows very well that downloads may be more endangered than the CD. Apple dipped its toe into the streaming waters last year with iTunes Radio, which seemed like a half-hearted effort at the time and even more so now, as the subscription numbers have never really taken off and have been stagnant for the last two quarters

That said, a non-interactive service like iTunes Radio doesn’t appear to be where music’s future lies, at least financially. Pandora already has a huge lead in this part of the market, but relatively few paying subscribers. It’s thought that eventually most users will want to move to an interactive service like Spotify where they get more choice over what they’re listening to, which is where Beats Music is and iTunes would eventually like to be.

Beats Music provides a ready infrastructure for Apple and already is integrated with mobile partner AT&T T +0.11%. Plus, if it’s true that the company has accumulated between 10,000 and 20,000 subscribers (which can’t be verified since Beats doesn’t report these numbers), that’s actually a huge jump over every other service already in terms of paying subscribers. Even if the subscription numbers aren’t quite to that level, it’s still pretty good for a service that only just launched and is yet to be available outside the US.

Why Is Beats Not A Fit?

A good deal of the purchase price of Beats is based on the consumer electronics market share that the company now enjoys. Consumer electronics are the heartbeat of Apple too, but the one thing that is an integral part of its brand is a superior quality product. Unfortunately Beats headphones are more of a fashion statement and are nowhere near the overall quality one would normally associate with Apple, so you have to wonder how the electronics portion of Beats even fits into the equation of the deal. Beats does have plenty of urban appeal thanks to hip hop producer and co-founder Dr. Dre, but its not like Apple has been lagging in this area, so you’d have to figure that’s not a factor either.

Apple has some brilliant audio minds (Tomlinson Holman, who’s in charge of the company’s audio direction, is one of the world’s foremost audio scientists and inventor of the THX theater audio we all enjoy as well as one of the creators of 5.1 surround sound) and you can’t say the same for Beats, so it wouldn’t be buying the company for its engineering skill.

There’s some speculation that Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine and Dre would come along with the Beats acquisition to help Apple’s music initiatives of the future, but does this make sense? Neither exactly fits the Apple culture, and while Iovine is certainly a forward thinking music industry mover and shaker, why would he even be interested after the big payday that would come from the acquisition? There’s a big difference from owning the company and being responsible for its direction to being just a piece in a larger one, and most creative types aren’t that fond of the structure involved with real corporate (meaning not an entertainment company) life.

Why Now?

Apple could have swooped in and purchased Beats much sooner for a lot less money, but you get the feeling that they weren’t totally sold on either the technology or the business model of the music service and needed some proof before it would make a serious offer. If the rumors are correct, it didn’t take long for that to happen; a mere three and a half months after the Beats Music service launched.

That said, Apple is quite aware that its leading position in digital music is slipping, with Spotify making major market inroads and new streaming service competition from Amazon and Google on the horizon. Apple certainly has the resources to launch its own service, but you get the feeling that might take too long to come to fruition if left to the company’s internal devices. It would seem that Beats, or one of the other streaming services reported available, is a way to get into the market more quickly than with a home-grown product.

Keep in mind that Apple doesn’t need Beats or iTunes for the revenue that music generates. Although that’s significant, the real money for the company has always been from selling hardware. The strategic place that music holds is that it has been an essential key to selling that hardware in the past. That’s not so much the case anymore though, as consumers don’t buy a new device just to stream music on it, unless of course Beats has a new unknown consumer device in the works that might drive that.

Was This Really The Beats Exit Strategy All Along? The timing of this transaction feels odd in that Beats Music only recently launched in late January, making one think that perhaps the grand plan of Iovine/Dre was to prove the music service as viable, then sell to Apple at some point down the line. Iovine reportedly held talks with Apple execs before the service even launched, which makes one wonder if a tentative deal was in the works even then. Perhaps Apple was given a chance at the purchase before The Carlyle Group extended its most recent round of capital to the company, which now might have cost the company twice as much by waiting.

If Apple’s acquisition of Beats goes down as reported, it will remain a deal that is both obvious and curious at the same time. As with many tech acquisitions, it may take time before the results become clear, which gives us plenty to speculate on in the meantime.

The above article shed some light on the logic behind it but still 3.2 Billion dollars is a lot of money even for Apple.Lets look at who benefits from all this.



Carlyle Group

Being a finance professional Im interested in starting a PE firm and look for attractive investment opportunities. But I wish I could do what Carlyle Group just did. OK, here it is when HTC sold their stake it meant that they are trying to run away from Beats but Carlyle group saw this as an opportunity and infused 500 Million dollars into the company believing in their value and also in their attractiveness to be purchased by bigger firms. Now whether Carlyle Group knew that Apple would be interested in Beats beforehand I dont know nor whether they expected it to be 3.2 Billion dollars but when this deal goes through they are going to make a cool 1 Billion dollars in profit. Not bad for a 6 month investment. Dont you think. Suddenly I feel so small in this crazy financial world.

Dr Dre

No one knows what is the current stake of Dr Dre but it is expected to be around 15% in Beats Electronics. If this deal goes through he is gonna become rich. Wow Hip hop/Rap has not only given us some great music but has also produced entrepreneurs. Damn Dre Billionaire thats Bad real BAD!!!

The Biggest loser is without a doubt

HTC

HTC comes out a Big loser what??? how??? Remember their 50 % stake sale in 2013. Imagine what would have happened if they didnt do it they would have been a cool 1 Billion dollars in profit through the Apple acquisition and imagine what a big boost would that be to the 9 Billion Dollar loss making Company. Wow wat a hit that is to HTC to watch the investment they sold for 300 Million dollars to rise to 1.5 Billion dollars in a few months. Surely Apple seems to acquire Beats just to piss off HTC. A very cruel joke thats what this is for HTC.

"Nature" is what we see - Emily Dickinson

Nature’ is what we see—

The Hill—the Afternoon—

Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—

Nay—Nature is Heaven—

Nature is what we hear—

The Bobolink—the Sea—

Thunder—the Cricket—

Nay—Nature is Harmony—

Nature is what we know—

Yet have no art to say—

So impotent Our Wisdom is

To her Simplicity.

Poetry analysis by Nancy Browne of Humanities360.com

In Emily Dickinson's poem, "Nature is What We See," the reader can sense her love and appreciation of nature. The theme of the poem is nature's simplicity, yet her poem suggests that nature is anything but simple; it is mysterious, magnificent, and inexpressible. The surface meaning primarily suggests that nature is natural and simple in theory, but exploring the underlying meaning, we see how Dickinson uses various patterns to describe the diversity in nature.

She shows this by the objects she chooses to represent, in the way of large, medium, and small, the sea, and the squirrel, and the bumblebee. She identifies nature as infinitely variable.

She starts the poem in reference to sight, with distinctive objects (hill, squirrel, bobolink, and bumblebee), all obvious things people can clearly see and visualize. She adds the abstract ( heaven, afternoon, thunder).

Then she takes it further suggesting that nature is more than sight, it is what people hear, Bobolink (a bird), the Sea, Thunder, Cricket, are all indications of her attempt to define nature through the senses (what we see, what we hear).

Next, she mentions that nature is harmony, (now we compare the objects of the sights and sounds. For instance, "afternoon" represents warm and light, the eclipse appears cool and dark. Weak and strong interpretations are also evident; the hill and sea are strong in appearance; the bobolink and bumblebee are weak in sound. Again, the diversity in nature is present by the noise of "thunder," as oppose to the noise of a "cricket." By using size, she attempts to show a pattern in relation to nature. It is as though nature is speaking to her in various degrees, through sight and sound.

She then compares nature to heaven, which suggests that both are mysterious and impossible to describe. So impotent, Our Wisdom indicates that humanity lacks the ability to understand the powers of nature, even suggesting that humans are too busy to care about the insignificant things that nature presents.

The mystery of what she sees and hears in nature leads her to God (Nature is Heaven) where the task of explanation is still impossible. Her suggestion is that nature itself is Heaven, and would bring people closer to God. She appears to be frustrated, unable to understand the morality of humanity and unable to explain the mystery of nature or of God.

(So impotent Our Wisdom) certainly suggests that humanity is not wise enough to define nature, and yet nature is so simple (To her Simplicity). Trying to express with words (Yet have no art to say) she is aware that it is useless; there are no words to describe the mysteries of nature.

In conclusion, she seems to say that humans do not notice the simple things in life, or they tend to ignore them (sight - hill, squirrel) and (sound - crickets, bumblebee). In the end, her line, "Nature is what we know," reflects on the notion that nature is a powerful mystery, and it will always remain indescribable.

The more Dickinson peers into nature, the more confused and frustrated she appears in trying to understand something that is not understandable.

Dickinson lived a life of alienation and this poem perhaps best describes her inability to understand not only herself, but nature, humanity and God as well.

These long dashes in her poem indicate a link to the many hidden thoughts of the author. "Nay" is a negative response and indicates how perplexed she is in defining nature

All the Game 7's

This year, the NBA playoffs has been just crazy. In the super strong Western conference where even .500 performance will not guarantee a playoff spot all the first rounds were amazing.Portland became the first entrant to the 2nd round in the West today after a very hard fought series with Houston but it is going to be really tough for them from here as they cant just rely on their 3 point shooting. No team in the history of NBA has ever won the title solely dependent on their 3 ball.Still the dynamic backcourt of Lillard,Batum,Wesley Matthews and Mo Williams (who are all 3 point scorers) will be a handful for any playoff team. But I believe they are going to face tougher defensive systems than the Rockets in the ensuing rounds.

The Game 7's on Saturday

It is actually on Sunday morning India Time but anyways there are three exciting Game 7's. While everyone expected the West to be tough no one expected any Game 7's in the East. The top seed Indiana Pacers suddenly seems to have hit the pause button and with their star player Roy Hibbert looking like a Zombie out their against the lowly Hawks,things have started to get interesting in the East.

Hawks at Pacers

No one took the Hawks seriously even said that they were trying to tank at the end of the season which could open the door somehow for the Knicks but Atlanta ensured that they have no intention to give up yet. Man, they are suddenly looking like a tough team with an impressive backcourt and Paul Millsap being their anchor in the front court.But again like Portland they seem to be heavily dependent on 3 ball and somehow that never wins Championships.They might win this game against the fading Pacers. But if Indiana somehow regains their mojo in Roy Hibbert and win this game it could serve as a morale booster then they might be a serious contender for the Eastern Conference,

Grizzlies at Thunder

Wat can i say about the Grizzlies... If you want to see a Blue collar team with the pound and grind style of play,look no further than the Grizzlies. It is amazing to see how they just sloooowwww the game down and force the opponents to play at their pace. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are the best frontcourt in the world. I dont think there is ever a better passer than Gasol at the high post. I will be rooting for the Grizzlies for this game cause no one who plays the game like Russell Westbrook (dickhead !!!)deserves to win. I hope OKC loses this round and they blow up the team and separate Durant and Westbrook for good .This will help Durant as he can actually thrive with other supporting cast in OKC or in any other team and finally get the title he deserves. Cause winning with Westbrook doesnt seem right to me. But Zach Randolph is suspended for this crucial Game 7. Wat a dick move by the NBA in sidelining him for such an important game. Most probably the Grizzlies will make some changes in the off-season and Zach and Marc will be separated if they dont win now. That would be a shame so I would be supporting the Grizzlies to show their blue collar toughness against the Thunder to win the first round.

Warriors at Clippers

This has been a weird series. At the end of the season Clippers looked like they are one of the contenders for the Championships but they hardly played like one in this series. Golden State warriors are playing for their coach as Mark Jackson is almost certain to be fired if they didnt win in the first round. I thought Doc rivers would bring in the much needed system based play which the Clippers need to become an elite team but somehow the supporting cast barring Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes have been disappointing. They need something from Jared Dudley,Danny Granger and the inconsistent Blake Griffin.The very fact that they are struggling against a Bogut less Warriors is a testament to their weak performance. I believe it doesnt matter which team wins Game 7, they are gonna lose in the next round unless somehow they miraculously uplift their performance.