We Are The Arsenal!
The historic victory against Madrid loomed over Highbury as the Gunners took on the 'Champions of Europe' in their second premier league meeting. And well, Arsenal lived up to their billing and pulled off a 2-1 victory with two goals from Henry, but what should be highlighted is the Gerrard howler. Gerrard was caught unaware, and a careless back pass let lose the gallant Henry - and there was only one result.
Liverpool have been pushed aside. But what I want to highlight is the sheer determination and youthful exuberance with which Arsenal are playing at present. More than the Liverpool game, the 2nd-leg home fixture againt Madrid was a showpiece of the grit and passion of the Arsenal team. A young team, missing the likes of Cole and Lauren, battled it out as if their lives were on the line. Tackles flying in, unbelievable blocks, and non-stop running propelled the Arsenal to the quarterfinals of Europe's premier tournament.
Besides Henry, players worthy of a mention are Hleb, Fabregas, Reyes, Ljunberg, Eboue and Toure. The energy with which they played against Madrid was not only laudable, but was also a moment of pride for the Arsenal fans. The hearts of the Arsenal faithful were thumping with joy as they heard the final whistle at Highbury on that memorable Wednesday night.
Arsenal have progressed, but only to stumble upon the Italian Chmapions, Juventus. Viera is coming back to Highbury, but this time in a black and white shirt. The fixture is mouth-watering. Don't count Arsenal out yet. With able leadership and an Arsenal team brimming with confidence and dedication, the Turin team will definitely be asked questions, afterall it was only an unbelievable, last-minute goalkeeping blunder that put them into the next round.
My previous Arsenal posts have almost been bad-luck charms, as the highs mentioned by me have been followed by terrible lows. But I don't believe in such kind off luck, let's just wait and see if I should.
Widening The Blogosphere
Ok, I am going to be a very good blogger and do a bit of advertising. As our exams have ended, most of the people I know, will probably be sitting and doing nothing - so here is just something intriguing + funny.
Let me give you a few blogs to visit, and believe me each one is special. All are not good, but are still special.
1. Newley Purnell - This guy inspired my sister to blog, who in turn inspired me, and the chain has continued. His blog is quite interesting - worth a read! A voracious blogger, he expresses the strangest of happenings in the world, and himself is an ardent traveller.
2. New York Hack - This female is a New York Cab driver by day, and blogger by night. Her gifted writing has won her more than 140,000 hits a week, and she has been covered in 'The Times' and in 'Gulf News'. She writes about her experiences with her passengers and is quite frank and outspoken - is a fascinating read.
3. 'My Dirty Little Secrets' - Ok, this is a funny stupid one. I was using the 'visit random blog' option at 'www.blogger.com' and I came across this site. A 16 year old CRAZY female who writes aboslute shit on her blog. It's quite funny, and she is quite conceited - thinks she's damn good looking. Dream on, girl! :P - Its quite funny - go check it out. However crap it is, it's won my attention - so hell it can't be that bad.
4. Vinita Bharadwaj - Does the name sound familiar? Well it won't but just check out the Gulf News tabloid. She is one of the journalists, and a good friend of my sister. It's a decent blog, and it's interesting for us because we can relate to it - as in the fact that she's in Dubai.
5. Elite Football Talk - All those people who think they have decent football knowledge, do visit this site and express yourselves - they are very good at replying and host very healthy football discussions and analysis.
Enjoy - all are worth visiting.
A Blog Chain (:-P)
Believe me, there has developed some sort off a chain blog post, that I am forced to follow. My maha sister has passed the 'tag' to me.
But before I do so, let me first express my dogmatic approach to chain mails - absolutely pathetic. Death threats (if you don't forward this, then u will die), stupid jokes, name lists (:S), friend threats (I find this one particularly bemusing - 'oh, you will be come friendless, if you don't forward this'),love stories, personality tests (this I despise,especially when people try to judge you with your favourite choice of colour) and what not! I don't even read half of them, it's called 'untouched disposal' - straight into the trash can. Yes there are some exceptions, such as when the twins and Gomezzz hit it off about elephants and trumpets. Those are quite entertaining, even the miss velocity one was quite hilarious - and it also gave us an 'MI' period from you know who.
So my message to these 'forwarders' is that please avoid forwarding void stuff to people because of superstious beliefs or plain boredom, believe you me, there is a lot more to life. (:P)
Ok, now I am going to be a hypocrite. But wait blog chains don't count - they are not that annoying, and I am almost forced to do this because my sister is the one who has 'tagged' me. So...
Four jobs that I’ve had:-
Student
Student
Student
2-week-voluntary work at Ten Sports/Prime Sports as an 'Assistan Producer'. (:P - honest!)
Four movies that I could watch over and over:-
Identity
Gladiator
The Matrix
Rang De Besanti
Four places I’ve lived in:-
Amravati, India - well I was born there, just that, but it's important.
Aurangabad, India
Dubai, UAE
Dubai, UAE
Four TV shows that I like:-
Friends
American Idol
Everwood - call me 'gay' if you want - but that show rocks!
Does an Arsenal Premiership match count?
Four places where I’ve vacationed:-
Australia - Darwin was the best, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast
England - Manchester United Soccer Schools, Yarm, London
Turkey - Istanbul
Bhandaradhara - A semi-hill station town in Maharashtra, India
Four of my favorite dishes:-
Chinese all the way! - Chicken Lollipops - yeah I know it's a common favourite
Pav Bhaji (:P)
Thai green curry
Pooran Poli - a Maharashtrian sweet chapatish roti.
Four sites that I visit daily:-
www.soccernet.com
www.youtube.com
www.arsenal.com
www.elitefootballtalk.blogspot.com
Four Bloggers that I’m going to tag with this:
The 'Serious' Thinker
The Verbose tall-person
The 'Twins' Irritator
Mathew
Once again I apologize for the hypocrisy.
Blog On!
Best Of The Best Of Bush
Respected President of the United States Of America, World 'Leader', Mr George Bush,
We bow at your stupidity, and the fact that you are one proud jackass. Forgive me for the profanity but the truth is the truth.
Every single one of you has to watch both these videos:
This one's called "George W Bush's Best Hits'
And this one is called "George Bush's Top Ten Moments".
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCnjuJ1pbmc]
His own country ridicules him. The President of the most powerful country does have a, uhm 'funny' side.
I wonder how Bush handles the pressure, actually I know how he handles it, he just doesn't seem to care. He doesn't care about his image, says the stupidest things, and takes the worst decisions. How the hell is he still President? It's unbelievable. He is, as the twins would say, 'deplorable, and goes against everything that modern stands/holds for'.
Let's hope America doesn't get it wrong again, as in after the Bush era. Comment on.
Game, Mirza.
The 19-year-old supposed Indian prodigy is the latest-Indian-public-advantage taker. Oh sorry, let me rephrase that, she is the latest media-exploited personality to storm into the Indian sport/media scene. After her breakthrough into the international tennis circuit, a year back, things looked extremely bright. Not that they don't now, she is 19, but the first thing India did to her success was take advantage of her endorsing potential.
She had won the hearts of most Indians, especially the youth, with her attractive charm and one hell of a killing spirit. And then, enter media. We started seeing her in more advertisements, starting more 'clubs', and being in the papers more in her sarees than her sport-skirts. One minor WTA triumph in a below-standard line-up is basically all that she has to show.
Last year, her breathtaking performance against US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in Dubai left me mesmerized. Even though she wasn't the fittest, or the fastest, it seemed that this teenage sensation was soon going to make her mark, not only on Indian tennis, but also globally. But a year has passed, and I see no progress. Her same lack-lustre fitness, slowness on court and unnecessary unforced errors is still in prominence. Where is the improvement? Yes, she is still 19, but so is Sharapova. No sorry, Sharapova is 18! It took her only a year to reach the number one spot, and she is only becoming better.
Who is to blame for this? Is it Ms. Mirza for getting transfixed into this media swoon, or is it the media who have pulled her in?
Sania does have potential, her power and killing spirit and are two resourceful positives. All she needs now is practice, and some magical spell to avoid media distractions.
But besides the tennis, she has now, probably because of media hype, earned enough money to last a lifetime. So the money she hasn't won in prize-money, she has got through endorsements. But is that all? Is that all the spirit of sports is about - Money? I feel she is the latest breed of an Indian cricketer - she has the support of a billion people, and she uses a bat (yeah I know, a racquet), and a ball to earn her 'cash'.
There is a lot of time for her to improve - I agree. 'Yeah someday she'll make it' - but that's not how we should keep putting her aside.
Anyway she has the money. So is it game, Mirza?
I can't wait for your responses.
Nineyearaldo?
If you thought I was decent at football, or for that matter Daniyal or Aaron - watch this kid, and then let us all stop playing football.
Bored At School! ~ ?
Eamonn, Shrivats, Kaushik and I are sitting in the school's IT Centre doing 'precisely nothing' - as Shrivats put it. Youtube, and Miniclip are our sustainers - and I have exposed these naive twins to the beauty of the internet (or Youtube). They are quite fascinated by some of the videos we saw. ;)
So if you, are ever bored, sitting in your school's 'IT Center'. Here is some really funny stuff you can watch - if you have not already!
If you, like me, fell for the infamous Nike ad, when Ronaldinho hit the bar four times on a trot -you need to watch this!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoJD-BCm8tM]
Enjoy!
What Happened On Your Historic Birthday?
Well, for all of us self obsessed and jobless people - here is something you might enjoy, if you have not already done it! Check out all the events that took place on your birthday in the past!
Like on my birthday, Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga football team was founded! - hah Harry!
The American Civil War took place - it started or something. Quite fascinating!
Valentines’ Day & Grandparents’ Day? :S
Yes today is both Valentines' Day and Grandparents' Day and no, I am not wishing you either. Today, there is a 'special' day for anything, absolutely anything. It has almost become a mockery. Yes Christmas, Diwali, Eid, and even birthdays are exceptions. They have been there for quite some time, and have good reason to exist.
But nowadays, these 'special' days of 'celebration' are produced - literally! Our society is waiting to find an excuse to celebrate some occasion or the other, or to remember some person or the other, or to express your love for some relation of yours or the other. And wait, the main instigators of such a trend is the media. They obviously make maximum profits from those people who are caught in the web of love or from those who are just looking for an excuse to celebrate friendship (it should be celebrated, but not only on some particular day). Yes some of these days are seem important, such as the 'Van Mohatsav' day (save-the-environment day), so that there is sudden number of increase in the number of trees in the world? Some might say that it is required by the society to raise awareness, or express love. Yes it seems all reasonable, yes there should be days such as these! But...
But why should we choose one particular day (let’s say today) to declare our love for someone? Why can't we just express our feelings for whomever whenever required?
Why should we select one particular day to plant trees? Why can't we make it a regular slot in our timetables?
Why should we choose the 19th of June to show our fathers that we really care? Why do we have to wait, and give him a 'thank you' card only on that day? Hasn't he supported us for all our lives?
Why do we have to choose 'World AIDS Day’ to remember the victims of this fatal disease? Why can't we pray for its cure everyday? Why can’t we raise awareness in the world regarding matters such as poverty, population and so on, on a more regular basis, and not rely on some particular day?
People may argue that such 'special' days are required to keep the spirit going. I agree, but what I personally don't like is that there are so many of these unnecessary days of 'celebration' and 'remembrance' and the fact that it has almost become a farce. It has become almost an excuse to throw a party and enjoy the supposed 'meaningful' day. My point is why do we need an excuse? It has almost become like, what, we don't have 'Great Grandfather's Brothers' day? Do we actually need these concocted dates to express ourselves and actually care?
Again, it is debatable - so your opinions are welcome, but I hope no one jumps on me like they normally do!
Just for your information - here are a few 'days' that our world apparently celebrates:
Australia Day
ANZAC Day
April Fools Day
Arbor Day
Bank Holiday
Chinese New Year
D-Day
Day of the Dead
Earth Day
Easter
German Unity Day
Groundhog Day
Hallie Parker Day -
Hangul Day
Holi
Imbolc
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Lighthouse Day
Inventor's Day
Kwanzaa
Lantern Festival
Lunar New Year
Mardi Gras
Martin Luther King Day
May Day
Mole Day
New Year's Day - January 1st
Pi Day
Purim
Presidents' Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Shrove Tuesday
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Valentine's Day
Veterans Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory over Japan Day
Women's Day
World AIDS Day
World Ocean Day
World Water Day
(Fathers, Mothers, Childrens, Teachers, Grandparents) x Day - (imagine a maths equation)
Do we need so many?
Melodramatic Idol!
Yes, we all watch American Idol. We all love watching American Idol. Some of us watch it to spot new rock talent ( :D - for everyone who knows me or Ali Yar Khan), some to compare ourselves with the American talent, some just for laughs and some, because everyone else is watching it.
But let me get to my point. The American society is supposed to be one of the most developed and educated societies of the world. Everyone knows their rights, and their rights to sue. But it is almost farcical to see many, if not most, of the participants of American Idol announcing to the world that they are going to be America's next idol, when they can't even sing one bloody note in tune. It is unbelievable! And what's even more bizarre is that when the judges try to punch some sense into these 'American idiots' (no pun intended), they brush it away and say, 'Simon is a *******!' Hello, you self centered freaks, you can't sing! Hear yourself! I laugh when I see them behave so arrogantly, but then again every time, I also feel a sense of irritation. There are a few decent, logical participants and they are the ones who usually win, or come close to winning.
Also, the producers of American Idols are the smartest television broadcasters ever. They show footage that we want to see, and what we want to see is all the emotion and the drama, and the crying and the abusing. Hell, this reality show is more like a soap opera. And I bet that these producers pay loads of money to Mr. Simon Cowell, just to continue increasing their viewer ship. How we love watching him bring people back down to earth - most of the times unsuccessfully though. Oh, and in the show there are also a group of people who overdo it just to be on TV. Would you do that? Well honestly, if I felt really jobless, it does sound like fun.
This show has been so successful that it has inspired almost all the nations of the world to start a similar show. So as a result, SONY started Indian Idol (which is supposed to be good, but I hate the fact that they copied every element of the American version, even the layout of the opening credits), Pop Idol began in the Middle East, and for that matter even 'The Best of the Best' started in the UAE, on a much lower scale though.
So in affect, what I am trying to say is that we(as in the non-west people) tend to imitate the west even when we consider them to be over-doers. A lot of the times, I feel, we lack originality, especially in the Indian cinema, Indian television industry and lots of other ideals. Well lets not get too much into that, I know what happened last time.
Ok, I am straying now. Well a lot of people are going to find points I have mentioned quite debatable and I want your views on this - so please do drop a comment.