Superfluous Rants

There is a good chance that I won’t have access to blog in the next few days, so this here is my final post for the year.

In no particular order, an ode to the key people, points and events that made 2010 the year that it was:

N-S-M: thick always, La Confidante aka Partner aka Boss, Mi Hermana Poco, Patio Crew, BUMperor, the Funnel King, Ren-Ren, PH INC, Drakkar Noir Lady, The Painter, Cursed A/F Bracelet, The Doe-eyed sly Accountant, Midnight Tequila Shots in a Church, Chamber of Death, FRI Morning Terrorisers, LOCA, LOST: THE END, Glory4Spain, G’dbye H/G: Hello NESV, FU ROY, GOLD CANADA @ Milestones, Gold Madness downtown, 3pm-9pm: One drink night, The Great White Shark/Cherry Beach Incident, INCEPTION, London Getaways, THE PAINTING, Nuit Blanche, jilyaimysm, anon, Dry Martinis, MADMEN, Old Fashioned, Sasha Jackson Mysteries, CIJ, Mitchell Consulting, Jakass, Times Square shady pool, Roll-out by the boy, DD-showdown, GSP, fight nights, 30 Tequila Shots, Alley way Sake, Humble The Poet, Gomez the Cat, MINOLTA, SKRMRS: 1stbest, The Fun Nun with a Gun, WED Night eye-openers w/ Reeves, TOM-A: Inspiration, FS, HW, TD, NK: TY, Tmptrss @ Religions: ISYL8r, Andy Kaufman, Post-modernism, Semiotics, Marshall McLuhan, PNAC, REVELATORY, Boxing Day: return, MIASMA, THE TRIP, FILMS&GRAINS, JUL1 WEDDING, BUKRA WBA’DO, RE-GEN.

“Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.” – Khalil Gibran

Happy New Year everyone!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holidays.

So yesterday I was looking for a pencil in my brother’s desk when I came upon an object of interest. When I confronted him about it this morning, he responded with ”It’s not mine” claims. I sneered with contempt and continued to go about my way when it suddenly occurred to me that a certain famous holiday is around the corner. And with it arrives a once-loved-now-despised occasion.

I had involuntarily managed to ruin something unexpected and ultimately nice for that day. At the same time, the cynic within me is arguing that it is only fate that I do not enjoy that day any more.

Either ways, this one’s for you FAILBLOG.

"When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him. He has a million reasons to be anywhere, just ask him. If you listen, he'll tell you how he got there. How he forgot where he was going, and then he woke up. If you listen, he'll tell you about the time he thought he was an angel, and dreamt of being perfect. And then he'll smile with wisdom content that he realized that the world isn't perfect. We're flawed because we want so much more. We're ruined, because we get these things and wish for what we had"

- Don Draper. Mad Men Season 4, Episode 8 “The Summer Man”

The first trailer of Green Lantern is now online and it looks fantastic. Check it out in HD at Apple by clicking on the image below.

Green Lantern is the first major DC Superhero aside from Batman and Superman to get its own live action feature film. Its directed by Martin Campbell and stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard.

Green Lantern hits theatres in 2D and 3D on June 17, 2011.

I read last night’s Manchester derby  was a rather dirty affair.

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Didn’t think it would turn out THIS dirty!

Two brilliant goals by Fernando Torres set up a massive victory for Liverpool today against league leaders Chelsea. Still very worried about Hodgson’s tactics though, especially in the second half when we saw very little of the ball.

Regardless, the win marked our third straight in the premier league and will provide much needed confidence boost for the lads. Torres, Lucas, Kelly, Meireles and the returning Kuyt were particularly on form today.

Here’s hoping this game goes on to be the defining point of the season for Liverpool.

YNWA!

[C-Section Comics]

My friend Maliha’s forthcoming magazine “Films and Grains” has a website which went online last week. Check it out at http://www.filmsandgrains.com

Films and Grains is dedicated to the appreciation and exposure of analog photography.

One of the last remaining reliable file sharing program has been permanently shut down thanks to a court injunction. LimeWire has stopped distributing its software on its website as visitors are greeted by the following message:

"THIS IS AN OFFICIAL NOTICE THAT LIMEWIRE IS UNDER A COURT-ORDERED INJUNCTION TO STOP DISTRIBUTING AND SUPPORTING ITS FILE-SHARING SOFTWARE. DOWNLOADING OR SHARING COPYRIGHTED CONTENT WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IS ILLEGAL."

LimeWire’s battle with the law started four years ago when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed an infringement lawsuit on behalf of the eight major music publishers in the United States. In May 2010, Judge Kimba Wood found LimeWire liable and the RIAA made two separate motions – permanent shutdown of LimeWire and freezing of the company’s assets. As of yesterday, they have succeeded in the former, the latter is yet to be determined as the case resumes on January, 2011. LimeWire may have to end up paying as much as $1 billion in damages, if not more.

Meanwhile an instant buzz for alternatives to LimeWire have become prominent online. A list can be found here. Although, with the rapid advancement of broadband networks, I don’t see p2p programs sticking around in the distant future. I, myself, like many others I am sure, rely on torrents and direct downloads for file sharing needs.

In any case, LimeWire joins my own personal list of ex-file-sharing-programs which includes the illustrious pioneer Napster, the tedious IMesh, the notorious KaZaa and it’s illegitimate step brother K-Lite.

[PCWorld]

Sony Ericsson's much rumoured PlayStation phone has finally made its way to the internet. While nothing is oficially confirmed as of yet, the leaked prototype is shown to be running Android 3.0 and the design seems to be a carry over from Sony's PSP Go. Users can download games from Sony's Marketplace once the device is released in 2011. Hardware specs of the device include:

• 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor
• 512MB of RAM
• 1GB of ROM
• 3.7 to 4.1 inch capacitive touchscreen
• Slide out gaming key pad with multi-touch pad
• MicroSD card slot

[Engadget]

Good to see our new owner learning more about the sport and its supporters. So far he has come off as a genuinely dedicated individual looking to develop and enhance his investment.
Class! Unlike the gobshites he replaced.

So Liverpool was finally sold to John Henry and the New England Sports Ventures (NESV) today. A new era awaits my beloved club. But before I rejoice, I want to get something off my chest and I am angry.
I watched an interview by our now former owner, Tom Hicks after the failure of an injunction he sought to prevent the club from being sold. In the interview he said he was shocked and did not understand the fans’ anger. He claimed he sought the injunction so as to get Liverpool better multi-billionaire owners. He further added:

[The takeover has me] Shocked. Devastated. Frustrated. I'm very disappointed.
It's hurt my family tremendously. This is a very valuable asset that was swindled away from me in an epic swindle.
I'm very angry about it.

SWINDLE? You lying conniving twat. You talk of swindle? Where is the ground you promised us when you took over with your crony back in 2007? Every off-season your crony talked about how the shovel will be in the ground within 60 days in Stanley Park. Where is the fucking stadium?

Lets not forget how you burdened the club with your purchase loans and interest payments. At the end of your regime, Liverpool owed the Royal Bank of Scotland 237 million pounds. A debt that was thankfully cleared today due to NESV’s acquisition.
Do you remember what our debt was before you took over? I sure as hell do. 50 fucking million pounds. You lied to the fans. You promised us big transfers and a new stadium and you took out loans under the name of our prestigious club. All the while the club turned profits in almost every transfer window; received increased Champions League, media, sponsorship and commercial revenue. Yet, our debt increased steadily over the years. Where did the money go dipshit?

YOU DARE QUESTION OUR ANGER.

You talk about how you wanted to secure us a better owner. Someone of the likes of Abramovich or the Sheiks of Man City. You douche, how stupid and ignorant do you think we are. You don’t think we have been following what you were trying to do up until yesterday. Trying to sell your shares to a hedge fund (with possible links to you and your cronies) behind the board of directors so that the only serious contenders willing to takeover our club wouldn’t succeed. A board comprising of shrewd businessmen and NO official director of football. You hand picked these men because you knew they would get you what you wanted. The most return out of minimal investment, even if it meant running Liverpool to the ground.  Who gave a fuck about a director of football or anyone remotely  involved with the sport as long as your pockets were being lined.   
So when the directors finally decide to do something good for the club instead of just selling off assets for your gain, YOU CLAIM TO HAVE BEEN CHEATED. And you try to sanction the decisions of the very men picked by you to be in charge of the club’s best interests.
Are you under the assumption that everyone is as stupid as you and wont notice that you are ONE BIG FAT HYPOCRITICAL CUNT?

To top it all off you have the audacity to pursue further litigation through claims of damages of 1.6 billion dollars. Damages for what exactly? 
If anything your ass needs to be dragged through class action lawsuits by the kopites for your thievery.

FUCK OFF YOU DELUSIONAL GREEDY PIECE OF SHIT.
GOOD RIDDANCE.

The TTC unveiled its new subway trains named “Toronto Rocket” at Downsview station today. Developed by Bombardier; the trains feature six open cars from end-to-end with wider aisles, non-slip floors, electronic maps and brighter interiors. The new subway cars cost $236.7-million, paid by all three levels of the government. They also aim to reduce energy consumption. The TTC is hoping to have a few of the new trains running on the Yonge-University-Spadina line by the end of this year or early January next year. The full fleet is expected to be up by the year 2013.
It has been a big week for TTC as earlier they rolled out new features to their Trip Planner on the TTC website. Powered by Google Transit, the new Trip Planner is completely accessible on mobile devices. Commuters can now plan their trip from point A to point B with complete information such as transfer lines, wait periods and accessible options. As for the new trains, I like the open-end concept as I believe this will help in decreasing congestion and uninvited bumping and grinding from other commuters. There are obvious downsides to the concept as well. No longer can I ignore a person on the subway by getting on a different car haha.

I don’t think I have ever seen a more charismatic and enigmatic performer such as the dancing sooper-ishtar in the following video.
*Best enjoyed with herbal supplements*

So I have come to a decision on what to dress up as for Halloween this year.
A gun toting, bank robbing nun.
(Thank you, one of the best movies of the year!)

Just need to decide on what type of firearm to carry. An M-16 or a sawed off shotgun. Hmmm. Haha.

While the Situation is busy dancing with the stars, the rest of the cast of Jersey Shore has landed on Sesame Street.

Happy 12th birthday Google. I still remember using you for the first time in English class back in 1999. You  have remained my search engine of choice and the homepage of my browser(s) since then. Of course, you  have grown a lot in the mean time. Along with your instantaneous refined search results, you provide me with the best free email service out there and the fastest browsing experience. Thanks to your extensively detailed maps, I am never lost and I can’t wait to own a device running on the fastest growing mobile operating system, developed by you. Thus at this time of celebration and appreciation, I lift my imaginary glass of bubbles for you…GOOGLE; all the while anticipating the distant future where you will reign this good planet of ours.

Apparently filmmaker Michael Moore is not so pleased with Canada for not openly accepting American war resisters. Moore, who is in Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival, said the following in an interview:

"It is absolutely shameful how Canada has behaved toward those who have resisted this [Iraq] war. It's not the Canada we used to know.
This country was so generous to those of my generation who did not want to kill the Vietnamese, and they opened the border."

Well Mr. Moore, at a time of national and global economic uncertainty, American war dodgers are the least of our concerns. Not to forget, we have to be constantly prepared for boat loads of uninvited guests from a little South Asian nation. There is also our OWN troops involved in YOUR fight to worry about. And lastly, what irks me is your foolish comments about Canada’s borders being open to people of your generation but not to the current war dodgers. Well, sir, I am sure you are aware of the fact that the draft system does not exist in the US Army anymore. The resisters that were welcome to our country in the past had no choice but to fight. Unlike the men and women of today who are very willing to sign up for your Armed Forces but back out when it comes to actual fighting. Hence, do you not see why our doors are not completely open for these deserters?
So what if we are not the same Canada that you used to know. In fact, I don’t even think you knew us that well in the first place. I mean, we DO lock our doors at night contrary to your popular belief.

[The Toronto Star]

The trailer is very cliched but the film itself looks well made. Christian Bale has once again completely transformed himself and there have been a lot of talk that this film might finally get him an Oscar nomination. Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams look to have put in good performances as well.

Directed by David O’ Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees), The Fighter is based on true events and arrives in theatres on December 10, 2010.

Voltron is one of the many anime I used to watch religiously while growing up in UAE. As per the recent Hollywood trend of adapting movies out of anything and everything, there has been a serious pitch by Atlas Entertainment for a Voltron feature length movie. The concept art leaked below looks promising and hopefully they wont bring in a director like Michael Bay to fuck it all up.

Source: [Joblo]

Wishing you all a memorable Eid and may Allah bless you and your family with peace, happiness and prosperity.

Google introduced its latest innovation to its search engine today. Users will now be able to see instant search results in real time as they type in their query. Something that Google is quite appropriately calling Google Instant. One doesn’t even need to hit on the Search button anymore!
I discovered this around 11 am today and at first was astounded to see Google automatically displaying results as I typed. A cheeky message however, that said “Welcome to Google Instant. Feelings of euphoria and weightlessness are normal. Do not be alarmed.” reassured me that I was not being delirious.

According to the official Google blog, following are some of the key features of Google Instant:

• Dynamic Results - Google dynamically displays relevant search results as you type so you can quickly interact and click through to the web content you need.
• Predictions - One of the key technologies in Google Instant is that we predict the rest of your query (in light gray text) before you finish typing. See what you need? Stop typing, look down and find what you’re looking for.
• Scroll to search - Scroll through predictions and see results instantly for each as you arrow down.

Google claims this new feature will save users a good 2-5 seconds per search and if everyone uses Google Instant globally, more than 3.5 billion seconds a day can be saved. 
Initially, I found it vexing and many of you will recall, I have been very vocal of Google’s tinkering with their search engine. But the more I am using Google Instant, I am realizing how novel the concept is and the constant transitions of the results are getting less irritating.
Go ahead, check it out for yourself if you haven’t already and join the instant euphoria.

Update: I have been made aware that not everyone is seeing Google Instant. According to Google, it will take at least couple of days for the service to hit all Google users.

Google Instant Ad.

Dishing out Kit Kats left right and centre. From here on, only destiny…

Been listening to this track a lot as of late. Nadia Ali has one of the sexiest voices ever. Absolute bliss.

The other day I was given the best compliment by a teacher in this long education career of mine. It was the last day of classes and I had to go in to pick up my portfolio. My prof took me aside and told me “Tamal, I will have to retain you in this class for one more semester.” I was confused, there was no way I failed! Getting over the initial pangs of shock, I ask him “How come?” and he replies “You could come back to teach the entire class.” He kept my assignments and portfolio to be used as examples in the future (yes, they were perfect). Shocks turned into relief and as appreciative as I was, I was also proud of the fact that I achieved a 100% in a course for the second time in 6 months.

A must have in every football fan’s music collection!

Fernando Torres was caught celebrating Spain’s World Cup victory draped in a Liverpool scarf. This should pretty much end all of the silly media-churned speculations of him leaving Anfield this summer.
YNWA!

Vamos Espana Vamos!!!

Winner of the 2010 World Cup: SPAIN
Sentimental pick: ARGENTINA
Darkhorses: NETHERLANDS

Two out of 3 isn’t bad at all. Btw its hilarious to see all this hate for a certain team that could and did eliminate this another team. I mean wake up and smell the coffee, if you really did follow the game you would know that the other team has been weak for the past few years. Only hype and past glory has lead punters and the bandwagon believing they are the best. It is good to be loyal but its stupid to be blind at the same time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Spain has arrived in South Africa. The final score definitely doesn’t do justice to the dominating performance by Spain today against Honduras. Spain had a handful of chances and they could have easily won 5-0. The team that did win big today was Portugal. They trashed North Korea with 7 unanswered goals. I wouldn’t get too carried away however, it is North Korea after all. The Koreans should have stuck to the same game plan as they did with Brazilians, and perhaps the course of the match would have been different. They tried to play on the counter and failed miserably as clearly they don’t have the quality for it. Either ways, this victory will be a great morale booster for the Portuguese and here is hoping that they defeat Brazil in their final group match on Friday.
That way the possibilities of a Spain - Brazil second round match will be higher and following that the Samba boys can go back home, dancing of course.

Trying to catch the games in between my studies…or the other way around. Hmm. Slovakia is officially the worst team in the tournament. The expected holders of that dubious title, New Zealand had an extraordinary outing against the defending champions Italy. Then again Italy have been horrid for quite sometime now. Sub-par defence, short passes in the midfield and long ball to the striker, hoping for penalties can only take you so far.
Brilliant play by Brazil that lead to the goal by Luis Fabiano. I am hating the referee in this game so far though. It is as if he calls every call against Ivory Coast simply because they are larger in size than the Brazilians.

(Update)
Too easy for Brazil. The second goal was controversial though. The ball was clearly handled by Luis Fabiano before shooting the ball in, even the referee acknowledged it. Really disappointed at Ivory Coast. Expected them to play much better.

So Serbia has brought the Germs back on Earth and the Yanks fought tenaciously to tie minnows Slovenia. Ferocious goal by Landon Donovan btw. He definitely needs to move out of Mediocre League Soccer (MLS). Dubious refereeing in both games, however. 14 bookings altogether and a ridiculous robbery of a goal by former Toronto FC man Maurice Edu. 
Right then, on to the English and Algerians. I hope they save all the drama till the second half as I will miss the first part of the game due to a test.

(Update)
Well I guess the English didn’t want their good friends the French to hog the shame-light. The players just randomly ran about with the ball and gifted away possession almost the entire match. The Algerians on the other hand were far more composed and should be very content with the draw. England’s case can be best described by the proverbial phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth”. Gerrard, Lampard, Barry et all looked confused every time they had the ball and could not even complete simple passes. Forwards Heskey and Rooney spent far too much time in their own half and I will spare the defence’s blushes and not even talk about the horrid man marking. And where the hell is Joe Cole?? Surely he is a better bet on the wings. Anyways, Group C is now completely open and any two team can progress to the knock out stage. Based on today’s games, my money would be on Slovenia and the United States.
Oh, and don’t let the cynical English fan fool you. England have NOT started slow, they are just living up to their reputation of being a team full of world class talent that cannot play cohesively. I really hope Capello can motivate them to play more effectively in their final group match against Slovenia.

Final Scores from Matchday 8:
Germany 0 – Serbia 1
Slovenia 2 – United States 2
Algeria 0 – England 0

Finally got the chance to kick back at home, relax and watch all 3 matches of the matchday live back-to-back-to-back. The day got off to a perfect start with the 4-1 slaughtering of South Korea by Argentina. Argentina displayed what they are capable of creatively and offensively while the Koreans looked lost and confused until a defensive blunder by Demichelis gifted them a goal. I still question Maradona’s choice of starting with 3 center-backs and I am afraid against more offensive teams, the defence will be left wide open. But for now, it’s all good. VAMOS ARGENTINA!!!
The second game was surprising to say the least. I have never favoured Greece’s boring game play but today they went all out. They came from behind to beat Nigeria 2-1. I am disappointed at Nigeria as they were one of the African teams expected to do well in the tournament but at the same time I am happy for Greece for finally winning a game at the World Cup finals.
The group A clash between Mexico and France was the last game of the day and the Mexicans beat an insipid French team 2-0 to go one step closer to the next round. France is all but out of the tournament and oddball Raymond Domenech’s reign is almost at the end. I mean who in their right mind would insist on starting Govou in the flanks and bringing on Gignac instead of Henry while down by 1 goal. They should have gotten rid of him after Euro 08. Oh well, justice is served and karma is a bitch. France cheated (Henry’s “hand-of-frog” for the uninitiated…see picture below) to get here and now they can barely score a single goal.

I will try my best to post my thoughts on the World Cup more frequently from here on but for now its adieu as I have to prepare for midterms season.

More football comic fun at [Studs Up]

And so it starts in less than 12 hours, the biggest sporting event in the world today. A month long frenzy of international football. It is unfortunate that most games will be played in the mornings as I am in school during the early hours of the day; but having said that, I will be tuning in any way possible. (My laptop is ready and loaded with SOPcast and TVUplayer hehe) (Update: CBC will stream all the matches live online!!)

I will be supporting Argentina and Spain of course. Personally, a victory from either team will make me  ecstatic. Argentina is the reason why I fell in love with football. Watching Maradona lift the World Cup trophy in 1986 is one of my earliest and best memories. As much as I want Argentina to win, I believe the road to the finals for them will be really hard. I am still not convinced Maradona is the best coach Argentina can have at the moment. He has been constantly experimenting with the squad through out the qualifications phase and still isn’t sure of his starting eleven. I do pray and hope that he builds his team around Lionel Messi to get the best out of the world’s finest player. 
I have been following Spain largely due to the fact that it featured a number of Liverpool and Real Madrid players prior to 2008.  On paper, Spain is the best team and almost everybody’s favourite to win this year’s tournament. Their team depth is unbelievable to the point that they could field two competitive teams. The only thing that will be against Spain is being caught up in the tremendous pressure as seen in last year’s Confederation Cup.

Anyways, enough of my fanboy analysis. Here are my quick picks instead:
Winner of the 2010 World Cup: SPAIN
Sentimental pick: ARGENTINA
Darkhorses: NETHERLANDS
Team with the last best chance to win until a long time: ENGLAND
Underdogs to look out for: SERBIA, IVORY COAST, URUGUAY, CAMEROON
Teams generally expected to do well but most likely won’t: ITALY, PORTUGAL, FRANCE
Teams with good chance to win but I don’t want them to: BRAZIL, GERMANY

Enjoy the World Cup everyone!

Check out the awesome new banners for Inception by clicking on the link below:

http://img201.imagevenue.com/galshow.php?gal=gallery_1276020514594_523lo

This one in particular is my favourite and is already my desktop wallpaper.

Wish it was July 16 already :-(

[Nolan Fans]

I had to re-watch last night’s finale at least once before I could say my final good bye, or namaste, if you will. Prior to watching LOST for the last time, I only had one fear. It would leave me wanting more from the show like the series finales of my two other favourite shows: The Sopranos and The Wire. I was afraid we wouldn’t have a proper closure and we would be left with a million unanswered questions and what-if scenarios. 10 hours later I can safely tell you that was not the case.

From the first scene of the Pilot to the last scene of last night’s episode, LOST has always been about its characters. This is what made this show so unique. Despite the large number,  we were emotionally invested in all of them and the writers made sure of this through out the past six years. And because of that, last night’s finale was completely satisfactory. Nothing else mattered but the final destination of our characters.

LOST ended the way it began. It is simple as that. Sure there were minor details left unexplained for the viewer’s imagination, but the ever-existing and much-teased bigger picture came to a conclusion in grand scale. It all made sense in the end and I could never explain it better than what Jacob said in the 5th season: “It only ends once, anything that happens before that is just progress.”

LOST is and always was meant to be a celebration of life and death.

And I will leave it at that for the sake of at least the two people I know who read this blog and are planning to watch the show in the future.

I do, however, want to thank ABC, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the complete cast and crew for giving us one of the best television experiences in our lifetime. I also want to thank Maliha and the community at DarkUFO and Lostpedia for the constant amount of time spent speculating and theorizing our beloved show.  I am sad that it is all over but happy that the ending was satisfyingly complete and we were given closure.

Aloha and namaste!

About 3 weeks left until the first kick-off.

In the meantime, there is the big Champion’s League final tomorrow between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. As a neutral it will be a good match to watch as both teams have potent offense and rock solid defence. My pick: Inter wins it by a goal or two. Then Mourinho can finally come to Real as he is destined to.

Oh and in spirit of love for spheres…

May is not supposed to be cold. We are a month away from June and I am still having to wear my winter jacket. What’s up with that, seriously. Come on ECO nerds do something about the weather. My pale skinned friends are dying to be like me and show off a nice golden tan.

The Source is said to be a physical manifestation of "life, death, rebirth". Humans are said to covet the Source because a little bit of the very same light is inside every man—"but they always want more". While humans are incapable of taking the light, their attempts to do so could "put it out. And if the light goes out here... it goes out everywhere."

Hmm I wonder if Marsellus Wallace was ever stranded in a mysterious island.

As Lost approaches its final lap, I can’t help myself but to listen to this track from season 1 over and over again.

Stumbled upon a list of random thoughts to ponder while engulfed in boredom.
Here are few that made me laugh:

Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there?

Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?

If you can't drink and drive, why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor, and why do bars have parking lots?

If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?

Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?

Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called cargo?

Why does your nose run and your feet smell?

If ATM stands for Automatic Teller Machine, why do we call it an ATM machine? And if PIN stands for Personal Identification Number, why do we call it a PIN number?

Why is there an 's' in lisp?

Why do people point to their wrist when they want to know the time? Do I point to my crotch when I want to know where the bathroom is?

More at [The Funny Pages]

Warner Bros. has set July 20, 2012 as the release date for Christopher Nolan`s third Batman movie. I am getting ready for the 2 year prep time for rumours, the precious hype, the craving for info and pictures,  the yearning and anticipation etc. I hope WB once again employs 42Entertainment to do a viral marketing campaign for the third movie as the viral marketing for the Dark Knight was not only engrossing and rewarding for the fans but also revolutionary when it came to marketing a film.
Interestingly, Sony Pictures is slated to release their Spider-Man reboot film a little over two weeks prior to this on July 3, 2012. So in the summer of 2012 while the franchise icons of DC Comics and Marvel Comics duke it out in the box office, my brother (Spider-Man lover) and I (Bat-head circa 1989) will be engaged in countless debates and arguments trying to 1-up one another!

Hilarious!

Amid loss and redemption is a lifetime’s journey.

I am still alive. Just been very busy keeping up with the usual trivialities of life. Blogging has to be benched for now. In the meantime, enjoy the awesomeness of Wilbur Sargunaraj.

Interesting post on SHH! regarding Christopher Nolan’s involvement with the Superman reboot project and the upcoming sequel to The Dark Knight.

Geoff Boucher of L.A. Times' Hero Complex had a chance to visit Christopher Nolan in the editing suite for his upcoming sci-fi thriller Inception, and of course, he couldn't pass up an opportunity like that without asking about Nolan's plans for his Superman reboot and Batman.

There was a lot of excitement a few months back when Nolan's name was mentioned as the "godfather" of a Superman reboot at Warner Bros., and speaking on the decision for the first time, Nolan told Boucher that his involvement with the Superman franchise came about from them having reached an impasse on what to do with their third Batman film and David Goyer having an idea of what could be done with the Man of Steel:
"He basically told me, 'I have this thought about how you would approach Superman. I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way.

As mentioned previously, Nolan would act as a producer for another director, which has yet to be determined as they develop the script. From there, Nolan's involvement may be similar to Peter Jackson's on District 9 as he moves onto the third Batman film. He didn't have a lot more to say about the Superman reboot except that he did have an appreciation for what Singer tried to do in connecting his film to those of Richard Donner:
"A lot of people have approached Superman in a lot of different ways. I only know the way that has worked for us that's what I know how to do."

It's suggested that like his two Batman movies, the Superman story will take place in a world where Superman is the only superhero, so one probably can't expect this Superman to meet Christian Bale's Batman or either character to be involved with a future Justice League movie.
"Each serves to the internal logic of the story. They have nothing to do with each other," Nolan told them.

Eventually, the Nolans and Goyer got over the earlier impasse with a second Batman sequel, and things are certainly moving forward on that third movie. Nolan wouldn't confirm any of the dozens of internet rumors about who might play the villain but he did say:
"Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story, and in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story. We have a great ensemble, that's one of the attractions of doing another film, since we've been having a great time for years.

[SuperheroHype]

Just watched the premiere of the new IM2 trailer on Jimmy Kimmel. The briefcase suit up is wicked (see below) and Iron Man sparring with War Machine looks interesting. Counting down days till May 7.

Watch it in HD here.

Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow and Hurt Locker. Quality has triumphed over quantity.

Both Argentina and Spain were victorious in their pre-World Cup international friendlies today. Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal for Diego Maradona’s Argentina against Germany while Spain easily beat France by a score of 2-0. Elsewhere, England had to come from behind to beat Egypt 3-1 at the Wembley. Peter Crouch scored twice and now has 20 goals in 37 appearances for England. Crouch is definitely someone to look out for in South Africa. While not a definite starting choice, he will be very impactful off the bench.
From what I have seen of the Argentina match, the final score of 1-0 didn’t do the side justice. They could have easily scored a couple of more goals. It was really good to see Maradona finally prefer in-form Higuain over Sergio Aguero. I still don’t understand the inclusion of Juan Veron however. I feel someone like Inter’s Esteban Cambiasso would be a better choice in the midfield. Either ways, this was one of the better showings by Maradona’s side and a win against Germany will definitely boast the team morale going into the World Cup. On a side note,  Angel Di Maria is pure awesome, it was magic every time he had the ball. I understand ManU and Chelsea are going to fight to sign him this offseason.
Finally, Spain continued their formidable run thanks to two first half goals from David Villa and Sergio Ramos. Despite a few initial threats from France, the game was all Spain. I was glad to see Vicente del Bosque using Fernando Torres only for one half as he just came off the injured reserves for Liverpool.
Overall it was a satisfying day of international football, a great prologue of things to come in the summer from South Africa.

Despite starting off on a tragic note and amidst fears of bad weather and protests, the city of Vancouver was able to overcome all hurdles and successfully host the 21st Winter Olympics. For 17 days the city was exceptionally hospitable and welcoming to athletes and visitors from all parts of the world. And they did it the Canadian way! Humble and modest yet loud and fun.
Canadian athletes were remarkably extraordinary at these games by hauling 26 medals in total including a record breaking total of 14 golds – the most by any nation at the Winter Olympics.
And of course, there was the domination of hockey. Both men’s and women’s hockey teams were able to win gold medals. The women’s team successfully defended their title for the third time in a row while the men’s team reclaimed the gold after a poor showing four years ago at Turin. The best part about both these victories were the fact that they both came against the United States of America. We definitely showed the world that the game of Hockey belongs to us.

As I followed these Olympic games and especially during and after the hockey gold medal game, I realized how much more this event has meant for Canada. Men, women, boys and girls of all ages and different backgrounds came together and cheered for the nation in unity. We cheered when Alex Bilodeau became the first athlete to win a gold medal on Canadian soil and we gasped when Parise tied the hockey game with mere seconds left.  And then we took to the streets after Sidney Crosby netted the game winning goal. We waved our maple leafs, we sang O Canada, we high 5-ed strangers, we even climbed a traffic sign or two. We did this together, in unison as part of one of the greatest country on this planet. Vancouver 2010 truly has been the coming out party for Canada as a multicultural nation that promotes equality and harmony.
And thus I thank the city of Vancouver and the province of British Columbia for bringing the world to our backyard but more importantly, for bringing the nation together from coast to coast, sea to sea.

Below are a few pictures from the massive celebration on Yonge Street after the gold medal hockey game.

I am so proud and blessed to call this great country mine. We showed the world how to throw one heck of a party, and we showed them how to play OUR game. Thank you for playing United States, hockey is and will always be ours.
Currently basking in the red and white maple leafed glory of the greatest nation on this planet.
Massive partying tonight left,right and centre...will recap the olympics tomorrow.
Canada, je t'aime.

No gold for Canada’s Cheryl Bernard :-(
She is so beautiful though hehe. She made me watch a complete game of curling for the first time. Congrats on the silver, hopefully the men will get the gold tomorrow. PS. If curling can be a winter olympic sport, then why can’t bowling be a summer olympic sport. hmm.

One gold, two silvers and a bronze for Canada today. There is a good chance we might end up with the most gold medals :D
Team Canada completely outplayed Russia in hockey, a great turn around after Sunday’s debacle. The women’s hockey team plays in the gold medal game tomorrow against America and both the curling teams are in the semis.
Golden moments ahead! Go Canada!

Sachin Tendulkar became the first ever cricketer to score a double century in an ODI. His unbeaten 200 against South Africa came from 147 balls with 25 fours and 3 sixes. [Cricinfo]

Not a good day at all. First Liverpool draws Man-shitty and now Canada just lost to America 5-3 in hockey. I sacrificed my study time for this! :-(
Brodeur better not start the next game, he was completely clueless. Up next: Germany in the play-offs qualification round. Russia awaits in the quarter finals once and IF we beat the Germans. The road to the gold medal game will be very tough for Canada now and I hope they wake up after tonight’s game.
Midterms tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. No time to breathe. Will blog later.

LOST is continuing to mind fuck me. This week’s episode has been more revealing than ever in regards to the endgame. Recruitment! Candidates! and a substitute!
LEGEN…wait for it...DARY!!

Nothing else is up, other than school. Got an Accounting and a Stat midterm on Friday from 8am to 6pm. Absolutely not looking forward to it.
The weekend was good…spent time with the family mostly, the government dedicated a day for the family after all. While they worked away; delivering our mail, auditing our taxes and such…we got a nice chilly February Monday off.  How benevolent of them!
Friday, Saturday and Sunday:  I went out with my friends, had a few drinks, watched a mediocre movie or two, worked and studied.
Monday: celebrated my Dad’s birthday with the family and watched My Name is Khan.
Will put up my thoughts on the movie later on, perhaps in the weekend after I am done my double-header midterms from hell.

I am cold…supply/demand overload, minimum wages, sanctions and restrictions – pause for breath. A nicotine infused breath is what I really need, but I am all out :-( I do have some deshi beedis my friend got me from back home but I am not that desperate. Nevertheless, the car keys sitting on my desk is calling me out…7/11 is not that far away…should I go or not.
I ponder as a brutal day awaits me: 8-3 classes…5 to 12 work
sigh
_______________________________________________________________

update: For the one person who seems to be confused what this post is about… I am bitching about my studies…i had an economics midterm this morning…thus impact of minimum wages, government sanctions, supply demand yada yada….
Funny thing is, while I was blogging I didn't realize I was demonstrating an example of a basic principle of economics: opportunity cost…so engrossed I was in my studies. I am sure it will show on my midterm mark in couple of weeks…hehehe

Most of the ads featured in this year’s Superbowl were mediocre at best. Two that stood out for me were Google’s “Parisian Love” and Dodge Charger’s “Man’s Last Stand”. Two different, yet effective, commercials.

The Google spot was product-based and very delightful, to the point where even some of the players from last night would call it “cute”. With an engaging narrative, it catches your attention while illustrating the might of Google’s search engine.
The Dodge Charger ad on the other hand was based on lifestyle and all about resonating chords within male drivers. It made me want to take my car out for a spin while listening to the James Bond theme.

Phase 3.0 will start tomorrow.
aut viam inveniam aut faciam!

Showing them Brazilians how it’s done!

Just finished watching it and all I can say is WOW. The producers weren’t kidding when they said this season’s narrative will closely resemble that of the first season. While many thought this would just mean a reboot of the storyline, what we got instead is yet another inspired and creative method of storytelling from the writers. Instead of flashbacks and flashforwards, we now have alternate realities dealing with fate and destiny. Or so I am assuming, one can never say when it comes to Lost.
The premiere has left me intrigued, puzzled and salivating; all the while making me want more and more, just like the first time around.  It will be very interesting to see how they tie everything up when all is said and done.
Only thing that is certain at this point is the fact that I will terribly miss this show :-(

Blogging from class. The wonderful world of e-business can take a backseat while I fangasm over tonight’s return of Lost. The anticipation for the premiere of the final season has been built to epic proportions. Along the way, fans successfully battled the White House to reschedule the President’s state of the union address and the leaked bootlegs of tonight’s episode have been overlooked.  As I count down the hours to tonight’s 3-hour extravaganza, my feelings are a potpourri of joy and sadness, knowing very well that this will be the last time we return to the mystic Island and there might never be another show as complex and interactive like Lost. While many of my fellow Losties have shown fear of not being answered all the questions brought up in the past 5 seasons, I have faith in Damon and Carlton and I truly believe we won’t be let down.
Alright, back to podcasts and wiki-spheres.

Just checked out the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards. For the first time ever, ten films have been nominated for best picture. They are:

'Avatar'
'The Blind Side'
'District 9'
'An Education'
'The Hurt Locker'
'Inglourious Basterds'
'Precious'
'A Serious Man'
'Up'
'Up in the Air'

I am hoping ‘Up in the Air’ wins the award as it was my most enjoyed film of 2009. However, I have a feeling James Cameron and his streak of mediocre films winning accolades will continue at the Oscars.
Such shame.

The full list of nominees can be found by clicking here.

Mon khushi! Pagli re dekle pagla khushi!
Challu challu, chokhe mukhe balu. Ami bhuuter khalu.

Dipjol is fucking gold.

Big ups to my boy Mamu for importing the ultimate Dhaliwood collection. Never before seen anywhere or  by anyone other than the rickshawallahs of Dhaka. Including acclaimed titles such as “Bostir Raani Suraiyya” (Suraiyya: The Queen of Slums), Fire (starring Bangladeshi male Lara Croft) and a movie featuring superstar Dipjol (pictured above) as a black magician who quotes the aforementioned catchphrases before beating up people with his mystic broom. Sheer brilliance!

Crazy night last night. Times Square pool hall on Yonge is shady to the core with “smoker’s lounge” in the basement to the after-hours Mah Jong club. Yet, the prices and tables are quite decent. They only have Moosehead on tap though. Didn’t matter as we got there pre drunk and at that point alcohol was alcohol and besides Moosehead is not so bad. Left there around 3 and a lot of random shit later got home at 6, crashed in the bed, woke up, put on my pirate hat, pirate-ized (fuck you publisher fat cats) and now at work. Fun times…as the Cashman himself would say….Oh YEAH!

I am sure most of you have seen or heard of this picture by now.

TTC rider Jason Wieler took that picture at McCowan station on January 9th at 10 pm. He later tweeted the image and Sleepy John Doe here has become famous. Some life eh! Get paid $100,000, sleep on the job, and if you ever don’t like how things are laid out for you….go on strike. I am tired of shelling out 100 + dollars a month so that Sleepy John Doe can sleep away. I understand we all slack off at work and TTC employees hardly get breaks but this is not just a solitary case. Last night on the news I watched TTC head Adam Giambrone reveal several more pictures of TTC collectors sleeping on the job. He said they were “under investigation”. Yeah, as if. I am sure all the culprits such as Sleepy John Doe will get a slap on the wrist and worst comes to worst they will be given street car/bus/train shifts.
Positively, what the TTC can do is introduce a 20-minute-break period where the collector gets to take a power nap and everyone who want to enter the subway….can enter for free within this period! It would be the perfect loyalty incentive for its disgruntled customers, including yours truly.

[TwitPic]

Looking forward to attending Advertising Week later this month. It will be a great opportunity to explore the dynamic world of marketing and advertising. I will try to attend as many seminars and presentations I can.

Advertising Week was founded to profile the accomplishments of the Canadian communications industry while providing inspiring thought leadership to facilitate ongoing success. The week also highlights the enormous economic contribution of over $20 Billion made annually by the industry to the Canadian economy.

Advertising Week will run from January 25 to January 29. You can find more info at: http://www.advertisingweek.ca/index.php

Overwhelmed with school. Books are such a pain in the ass. Couple of my books cost $250 so I have resorted to alternative methods. hehehe. 
Nothing else is up, Rodriguez finally signed for Liverpool and Torres is out for six weeks. Voronin and Dossena are gone, Babel is still in the squad. Ups and downs: story of Liverpool’s season.

Looks like we will be getting Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid and IMO the Argentine winger is exactly who we need: a creative wide player. We are also linked with Van der Vaart, Van Nistelrooy and Arda Turan. I think Rafa’s priority must be to unload some of the underperforming players in the squad. Babel will most likely be sold to Birmingham, Dossena is gone to Napoli and Voronin needs to be shown the door. The guy has done absolutely nothing since coming back from Hertha last season. Much has been said about Liverpool’s woes this season. I feel where we lack most is the midfield. With Gerrard playing deeper forward, we are left with Lucas and Mascherano to create plays. Lucas has been mediocre at best, he lacks confidence going forward and always looks for making short passes. Once Aquilani is 100% match fit, I don’t see Lucas starting anymore games. We also need a genuine striker as a back up for Torres and ex-Man-U Nistelrooy would be perfect. Overall, I don’t think Rafa should make a lot of purchases in January as most players are overpriced around this time. We should play out this season, aim for a top 4 finish and sign some big names in the off season.