Sunday, September 29, 2013

~ Mr Wenger, 17 years at Arsenal ~

This image has been created by an Arsenal fan, Shahid Shaikh.

Mr Arséne Wenger, the Frenchman, completes 17 years at the club. I have followed the club from 1998  through its highs or lows, and I have always admired him for what he done for the club. Am one of those Gooners who thinks "WengerKnowsBest". 

Gooners have had to live without a trophy for 8 seasons now & the pressure has been on the board, players & especially the manager for his style of play and operations. After having let go of key players season after season and crawling for 4th place finish in the last 2 seasons, most fans had lost their faith in Wenger. The way this season has started off & with our explosive last day signing of Özil from Real Madrid, those fans with "WengerOut" chants have gone silent.

Mr Wenger did surprise everyone with Özil signing, at £42.5M, a new club record for a player. Historically, he has always groomed young players into fine footballers. This time he broke away from his principles and tradition. 

Today, we beat Swansea to go on top of EPL table once again { above Sp*ds :D }. I know its too early to be celebrate. Still an amazing feeling for Arséne's 17 years at the club. The best part being, Spurs drew Chelsea; both the Manchester clubs, City & United lost. Above all, MUFC is at 12th place :P


This would be one of the best weekend for Gooners across the world :)

Some quotes on Wenger:

Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender:
Wenger was responsible for some of the most harrowing and unnerving days of my career.
Arsenal conquered all before them from 2002-2004, culminating in them being called the Invincibles after going unbeaten for a whole season. Outstanding  footballers and also supreme  athletes — they had everything. When you stood next to them in the tunnel before a game, the panic would roll in.
They were the best I ever faced, the only team that left me feeling technically and physically inadequate. From goalkeeper to striker, they were built like tanks. If you tried to tackle them, you would bounce off them.” More here.

Stan Kroenke, Arsena's majority shareholder:
“Arsène knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do.”
“I really enjoy Arsène – very smart, very intelligent. He has an absolute view on how he runs that team and the club. He has earned that right. Don’t look for me to interfere with that. I have learnt over the years that sometimes owners try do that and it is not so good.” More here.

Mr Wenger talking about his 17 years at Arsenal:
“It's a long time and a short time,” said Wenger. "I don't know where the 17 years have gone.”
“Our job has a good advantage - you just look forward to the next game. You never look back. I believe that is the most important. Of course when you look backwards, there's a lot of effort and consistency in effort behind that. For me the most interesting is tomorrow's game.”
“[I've never thought] that I don't really need this anymore. I want it even more. I think the good thing about football is that it's unpredictable and the next game is always a discovery and a new adventure and so you focus on that. All the rest is decoration.” More here.
via BBC


Saturday, September 28, 2013

~ Dial out criminals ~



Times of India has started a campaign against the Ordinance which the government is proposing to pass which allows criminals to hold on to their posts as MPs and MLAs. 

All you need to do is call +918067730022. The number of missed calls received will be published to show the President of the number of people against the Ordinance. After one ring, the call automatically disconnects. You will get an SMS thanking you for the miss call. Those who live overseas can participate.

I just did my bit. Time to ring out the criminals from the political system. 


Saturday, September 21, 2013

It's your fault

In the latest episode of All India Bakchod they talk about Rape & how the victim is blamed every single time. Kalki & Juhi appear in the video satire, which covers the typical clichés that are spoken about Rape.


It's Your Fault

Saturday, September 14, 2013

~ Offline vs Online ~

Paul Miller speaks about his offline experience. There is a lot of paradox of being offline vs online. 


It doesn't matter what it is, finding the balance in everything we do in life is the key. When we overdo something, thats when we get into trouble.

This situation might not hold good to most Indians. Definitely applies to all those who use a lot of social apps & are not connected with real world.

Additional reading: Always Connected | Offline Paul

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

~ Car engine infographic ~

A year ago when my FIAT Palio gave starting trouble I did google to figure out what are the key components & how they operate. You don't need to google anymore, 'coz Jacob O'Neal has done a fantastic job of creating an animated infographic explaining how a car engine works. 

~ Click to view ~

Learning could be so much fun if information is depicted in the right manner. 

Via: Jacob O'Neal

Monday, September 02, 2013

~ Always connected ~

Off-late, have been getting into the mode of keeping my occupied w/ my smartphone when I am in a social gathering. Could be Twitter, Whatsapp, Path or Instagram. Observations regarding my behaviour from my fiancé often makes me slide the phone aside & have a conversation. 



I wasn't like that before, but over the recent months the app addiction has increased. Rather than blaming the technology or the device, its time to accept the short coming of myself. I could use the technology / device as a catalyst in making our lives simpler & better than turn me into Zombie. 

We all need to find balance that keep us sane and connected to the real world. We seem to be more interested in snapping moments on camera, sharing status messages, tweeting sporting events or music shows than ever before. Having conversations with people around is more fun than via social media apps. Definitely, the medium can't be blamed for the addiction we create for ourselves. As with every new invention, technology/device/gadget could be boon or bane based on how one adopts it!

Nick Bilton has a good piece in BITS
“Every experience is being mediated and conceived around how it can be captured and augmented by our devices,” said Mathias Crawford, a researcher in human-computer interactions and communications at Stanford University. “No place is this more apparent than our meals, where every portion leading up to, during and after a dining experience is being carved out by particular apps.”
People make dinner reservations on OpenTable; check in on Foursquare when they arrive at the restaurant; take a picture of their food to share on Instagram; post on Twitter a joke they hear during the meal; review the restaurant on Yelp; then, finally, coordinate a ride home using Uber. 


You be the judge & make the necessary changes in your lifestyle.

~ Chaplin the dictator ~

The words might be from a movie script, but they hold good even today. We haven't really evolved much over the years in our political bickering & petty nationalism.

Looks like we will only be united when nature turns its fury or when we are under attack from an external force.