Arsenal’s Arseholes Resigns The Arsehole Wanker

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has agreed a new two-year contract, extending his 21-year reign at the club. Wenger and club owner Stan Kroenke met on Monday to determine the Frenchman’s future, with the decision relayed to directors at a Tuesday board meeting. Arsenal are planning to make an official announcement on Wednesday. The Gunners were fifth in the Premier League this season, the first time they have finished outside the top four since the Frenchman joined in 1996. They finished 18 points behind champions Chelsea, but beat the Blues 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday. Wenger’s contract was set to finish at the end of the current campaign.

So now we know! The board at Arsenal and Kronke are spineless lot. They have no backbone to speak off and have no vision beyond this arrogant geezer who has lost the plot and has no clue as to what is good for the club or what the fans want. Wenger is beyond hopeless, he used to be a good manager because he has a good team around him and really good players. His medical staff and coaching team now are worthless. This FA Cup came with a bittertaste of nasty medicine. The board are happy with the FA Cup win and 5th place. In any big club Wenger would have been out, kicked out and down on his ass. At Arsenal because we have the greediest bunch of sleezy morons running things, he gets a new 2 year contract.

Get ready for 2 more dismal seasons of terrible performances and rubbish talk from Wenger where he puts the blame everywhere but where it should be – himself and his lackeys at the board!

I Was Here First

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

You are the first astronaut to arrive on a new, uncharted planet. Write the note that you leave to those who come after you.

Aha, the perfect dream. I have always wanted to be the first to land on an alien planet and claim it in the name of all mankind. A planet where there is no life…or wait, atleast no sentient life. We can have animals and birds and even insects there. Some delicious animals for the barbecue. Hmmmm, alien barbecue!

I digress! So yeah as I land on this lush and beautiful planet with hills, valleys, snow capped mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans with abundant plant and animal/fish life, and pristine, greenery and beautiful landscapes, as I take my first steps on this uncharted planet I will say and note down “One small step for Roshan, one giant leap for Roshankind!”

What? I can’t say that. Neil who? Ok, all I shall leave for others who come after me is this “I have hidden treasure here and you who have found it can keep it.”

(P.S. – there is no treasure)

Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com

TV Show Watching & Rewatching

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

That was a busy fall season of tv watching. I watch a bunch of shows each year and ofcourse there is rewatching of older and beloved shows as well. The fall season has just concluded with many of the shows that I usually watch having aired their season finale episodes in the last couple of weeks. The current shows that I watch on a regular basis (meaning each week’s episode watched something in the same week) are The Walking Dead, Supergirl, The Flash, Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds – Beyond Borders (which just got cancelled), Bones (which just ended after 12 years), Arrow, Legends Of Tomorrow, Designated Survivor (which is a new show), Agents of SHIELD, Supernatural, The Blacklist, Homeland, The Big Bang Theory, Saving Hope (which ends this year) & Timeless.

I also have reality tv cooking shows like Masterchef Canada & Top Chef Canada (which came back after a 2 year gap). There are shows that I tried to watch but stopped in between like Wayward Pines season 2, WestWorld (after 7 episodes), American Horror Story (I didn’t like seasons 5 or 6 and stopped after 2 episodes each). Then there are shows from the summer like 19-2, Fear The Walking Dead, Dark Matter & Killjoys which are about to start their latest seasons. Plus there are shows that I have watched a couple of seasons and which I like to marathon like Broadchurch and Orphan Black (done with 2 seasons). I’ve also rewatched Star Trek Enterprise, the original Battlestar Galactica & Stargate Atlantis recently this year. That’s a lot of tv shows in a year eh?

Now that the fall season of tv shows that I watch is over, I’m trying to rewatch as many older shows as can. I’ve already watched a few episodes / seasons of show. Right now I’m in season 5 of Deep Space Nine, finished the first two seasons of Stargate SG1 and started season 1 of Battlestar Galactica (mini-series done & 7 episodes in) and Babylon 5 (first movie and 7 episode of season 1). I am planning to watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel and Firefly soon. And for comic relief I finished 5 seasons of Frasier. That’s a lot of tv eh? But I love rewatching shows that I love with Scifi being at the top and a couple of comedy shows too.

RIP Gregg Allman

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Gregg Allman, the singer, musician and songwriter who played an essential role in the invention of Southern rock, has died at the age of 69. Allman’s rep confirmed to Rolling Stone that the artist died Saturday afternoon. Allman “passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia,” a statement on the singer’s website read Saturday. “Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years. During that time, Gregg considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.” He is best known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. He was born and spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before relocating to Daytona Beach, Florida. He and his brother, Duane Allman, developed an interest in music in their teens, and began performing in the Allman Joys in the mid-1960s. In 1967, they relocated to Los Angeles and were renamed the Hour Glass, releasing two albums for Liberty Records. In 1969, he and Duane regrouped to form the Allman Brothers Band, which settled in Macon, Georgia.

The Allman Brothers Band began to reach mainstream success by the early 1970s, with their live album At Fillmore East representing a commercial and artistic breakthrough. Shortly thereafter, Duane was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1971. The following year, the band’s bassist, Berry Oakley was also killed in a motorcycle accident very close to the location of Duane’s wreck. Their 1973 album Brothers and Sisters became their biggest hit, and Allman pursued a solo career afterward, releasing his debut album, Laid Back the same year. Internal turmoil took over the group, leading to a 1975 breakup. Allman was married to pop star Cher for the rest of the decade, while he continued his solo career with the Gregg Allman Band. After a brief Allman Brothers reunion and a decade of little activity, he reached an unexpected peak with the hit single “I’m No Angel” in 1987. After two more solo albums, the Allman Brothers reformed for a third and final time in 1989, and continued performing until 2014. He released his most recent solo album, Low Country Blues, in 2011, and his next, Southern Blood, is set to be released in 2017.

For his work in music, Allman was referred to as a Southern rock pioneer[1] and received numerous awards, including several Grammys; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. His distinctive voice placed him in 70th place in the Rolling Stone list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”.[2] Allman released an autobiography, My Cross to Bear, in 2012. In 2016, Allman was forced to cancel his summer tour due to unspecified “serious health problems.” After briefly returning to the stage – Allman’s last concert was at his 2016 Laid Back Festival in Atlanta – and scheduling a winter tour, Allman again canceled the dates, citing a vocal injury. Allman’s partners included Shelley Kay Winters, Janice Blair, Cher, Julie Bindas, Ganielle J. P. Galiana, and Stacey Fountain and had 5 children.

Arsenal Wins FA Cup 2017

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Arsene Wenger secured his record seventh FA Cup final win as Arsenal produced a magnificent display to win a Wembley thriller against 10-man Chelsea. Alexis Sanchez gave Arsenal the lead in contentious fashion after only four minutes, when referee Anthony Taylor overruled his assistant after he had flagged for offside against Aaron Ramsey. The Premier League champions also claimed Sanchez handled in the build-up. And their task became even harder when Victor Moses was correctly sent off by Taylor in the second half after receiving a second yellow card for diving. Diego Costa revived Chelsea’s hopes of a repeat of their league and FA Cup double in 2010 when Arsenal keeper David Ospina failed to keep out his deflected shot with 14 minutes left.

Arsenal, outstanding throughout, refused to be denied and were back in front inside three minutes when Ramsey, who scored the FA Cup final winner against Hull City in 2014, did it again with a header from substitute Olivier Giroud’s cross. Wenger pumped his fists in delight at the final whistle, as a season that has brought so much criticism for the 67-year-old ended in Wembley glory with a record 13th FA Cup win for the Gunners – and a record seventh for the Frenchman. Arsene Wenger was right when he said the season has been a tough one for the players and fans, but they turned up today.

They had one mindset, to walk off as winners, and that was clear to see. They played the better football and wanted it more. The Chelsea players were hanging their heads but they had an unbelievable season. On the day, not enough players turned up, they did not deserve to win. Arsenal defender Rob Holding had a fantastic semi-final too and he was under the spotlight, as was Per Mertesacker. Both players put on a huge display. What a performance Mesut Ozil put in too. Man for man, they were much better than Chelsea. I cannot believe how ordinary Arsenal made Chelsea look. The Premier League champions could not handle Arsenal’s footballing ability in the middle of the pitch. They could not get any rhythm or get on the ball. It was their best display of the season.

Wenger finally gave full vent to his feelings about the criticism he received this season in the Wembley build-up – describing it as “a disgrace” he will “never forget.” And here at Wembley he answered the critics eloquently as Arsenal delivered an outstanding performance in an enthralling final to secure a win they fully merited. It was all done in front of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, a staunch supporter of his manager in the face of mounting criticism, and with a decision still pending on Wenger’s future. Wenger’s stock has fallen in the eyes of Arsenal fans as the team have struggled at times this season, failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. Here however, Wenger coaxed and cajoled an inspired 90 minutes out of his Arsenal side in a performance that can rank alongside their finest in recent seasons.

Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey both hit the woodwork in a matter of seconds in the first half and Ozil struck it deep in the second half. Chelsea defender Gary Cahill also made two excellent clearances as Arsenal created enough chances to win comfortably. Wenger, watching throughout in shirtsleeves, looked remarkably calm given the prize on offer and how much was riding on this Wembley final for him and his reputation. Arsenal were sharper, more aggressive and more creative than Chelsea – their only anxiety coming when they led by just one goal after a first 45 minutes they dominated completely. And The Gunners even refused to be knocked off course when Chelsea, reduced to 10 men after Moses’ sending off, were gifted an equaliser when Ospina pushed feebly at Costa’s deflected shot in the 76th minute. If Wenger needed to produce evidence that he can still win the big prizes and still get his Arsenal side to produce the big performance, then this was it.

Wenger was effectively forced to plunge veteran German defender Per Mertesacker into action after only 37 minutes playing time this season as he wrestled with a defensive crisis – and how the 32-year-old rewarded him. The Gunners were without suspended Laurent Koscielny, injured Gabriel and Shkodran Mustafi, who was suffering from concussion. It meant a call-up for Mertesacker against the most demanding Premier League opponents of all. Arsenal have beaten Chelsea twice in a season [in all competitions] for the first time since 2003-04. Per Mertesacker started his first game for Arsenal since 30 April 2016 [against Norwich], 392 days ago. At three minutes 49 seconds, Alexis Sanchez’s opening goal was Arsenal’s fastest ever in an FA Cup final. Sanchez has scored in five successive games for Arsenal in all competitions for the first time.

The Chilean has been directly involved in 45 goals in 51 appearances for Arsenal this season [30 goals, 15 assists]. Victor Moses is the fifth player to be sent off in an FA Cup final after Chris Smalling [Manchester United in 2016], Pablo Zabaleta [Manchester City in 2013], Jose Antonio Reyes [Arsenal in 2005], Kevin Moran [Manchester United in 1985]. Diego Costa netted his 22nd goal of the season for Chelsea in all competitions – his best-ever return in a single campaign for the Blues. Olivier Giroud has had a hand in four goals in his past four games for Arsenal in all competitions [three goals, one assist].

Ouija: Origin of Evil

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Ouija: Origin of Evil is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan and written by Flanagan and Jeff Howard. The film is a prequel to the 2014 film Ouija and stars Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, Parker Mack, Doug Jones and Henry Thomas. Unlike its predecessor, the film’s plot focuses on a widow and her family adding a Ouija board to their phony seance business where, unbeknownst to them, they invite a spirit that possesses the youngest daughter.

Set in 1967 Los Angeles, a widow named Alice Zander works out of her suburban home as a spiritual medium, accompanied by her daughters, 15-year-old Paulina “Lina” and 9-year old Doris; although they stage their seances, Alice’s real intent is to help people move on. The family is still reeling over the recent death of Roger, Alice’s husband and the kids’ father. After Lina suggests that Alice incorporate a Ouija board into her readings, Alice does so, and unknowingly contacts a spirit named Marcus that begins to possess Doris. This is breaking one of the three rules: never play alone, never play in a graveyard, and always say goodbye. Alice receives a foreclosure note, meaning they may lose their house. Doris contacts the board for help, believing she is communicating with her dead father, and the spirit leads her to a secret compartment behind the basement wall containing a pouch of cash. Doris, breaking another of the three rules, forgets to say goodbye to the spirits.

When she gives the money to her mother, the family has a Ouija session, believing they can contact Roger. When the board answers a question only Roger would know the answer to, a thrilled Alice begins believing that they are in contact with her dead husband. A shadowy figure starts to possess Doris and Lina finds papers written by Doris in Polish, a language they do not know. Lina brings them to Father Tom to translate. Troubled, Father Tom visits them for a Ouija session under the pretense of contacting his dead wife Gloria. Although the session appears to be successful, Father Tom later explains to Alice and Lina that Doris did not contact Gloria. Instead, for every question he asked, she read his thoughts and repeated the answers he was thinking in his mind. He reveals that the pages are entries written by a Polish immigrant named Marcus, who was taken captive during World War II by a sadistic doctor who conducted experiments on him and other captives inside the house’s basement.

These spirits knew answers that only Roger would know because they have been watching the family since the day they moved in. Meanwhile, Doris kills Lina’s boyfriend Mikey and she hangs his body. Upon seeing this, Father Tom, Alice, and Lina burn the Ouija board downstairs. When Father Tom discovers skeletal remains in the basement wall, they realize that they have been using the Ouija board in a graveyard all this time thus breaking the third rule. Father Tom finds the secret room where the experiments were conducted, and is possessed by the spirits. He attacks Alice and Lina, but momentarily seizes clarity, only to be killed by Doris. Alice is captured, while Roger’s spirit carries an unconscious Lina to her bed. Lina wakes up and recalls an earlier moment where her doll’s mouth was stitched by her father’s spirit “to shut out the voices”, realizing that she must sew Doris’ mouth shut to quiet the spirits’ voices and stop the evil. During the struggle, she successfully sews Doris’ mouth shut and Doris dies, reuniting with her father.

After this, Lina is temporarily possessed and stabs Alice. While dying, Alice sees Roger and Doris together, and happily joins them, leaving behind a sobbing Lina. Two months later, Lina remains committed in a mental hospital for the suspected murder of her mother. She is interviewed by a doctor and is unable to say what happened to Doris’ body, but states that she, Lina, will never be alone again. She tries summoning her sister inside her cell and the doctor watches, unbeknownst that the possessed Doris skitters across the ceiling towards him. In a post-credits scene set in 2013, a now elderly Lina remains in the asylum and receives a visit from someone claiming to be her niece.

The film starts of in a sweet almost rom-com way of these three ladies – mom and her two kids – trying to convince people with their gimmicks and even help people and just trying to survive. It takes a dark turn slowly and builds up in intensity and ends on a sad note. It was well enough acted with no usual horror cliches. I give it a 7 outta 10!

Foot Sprain

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Yesterday I woke up with a foot pain. I tend to hurt myself on either foot while I sleep. I think it’s the way that I sleep when I lie on my stomach – I seem to have forgotten how to place my feet when I sleep in that position. It feels uncomfortable. I prefer sleeping on my side anyway. I limped during the morning at home but didn’t think it was too bad as I couldn’t see or feel much in the way of swelling and it wasn’t on my ankle.

I put shoes on and went to work but the pain got worse. While I was at my desk at the office, I would take the left shoe off so I can give my foot some relief. We ended up walking the 5 minutes to a cafe at 10 pm for dinner and it hurt all the way there and all the way back. By 1:30 am I left for home and removed my shoes as soon as I reached my front door. I took off my socks and washed both feet but I struggled to sleep at night as my foot hurt.

I woke up early this morning – well early for a Saturday – at 7:30 am and found some Volini spray for my foot. I spray a lot of it in the morning as it hurt to even sit at my desk and use the laptop. Hence I lay in bed and watched 2 movies, took a nap for 2 hours as well and now at 7pm I feel much better. I sprayed some more of the Volini in the afternoon and it looks like my foot might be just fine by tomorrow morning.

Online Policies

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

How do you manage your online privacy? Are there certain things you won’t post in certain places? Information you’ll never share online? Or do you assume information about you is accessible anyway?

I think I do post a lot of my feelings and other stuff online. More so on my blog than on say Facebook and Twitter. Now, a lot of my relatives, friends, former school/college mates, casual friends and colleagues are on my Facebook. It’s different than say on my blog. I control everything on my blog whereas in Facebook it’s different. I don’t post as freely as I do on Facebook as I do on my blog or Twitter for that matter. I’m not one of those people who only posts profile pics all day long or post sugary happy nonsense.

I know people who read my blog are much less compared to those 660 souls who are on my Facebook feed regularly (well most of the 660) and the problem is not every one is on the same wavelength as me. So I censor myself and sometimes keep a few things off the TL. But I still do post a lot of things that’s on my mind, my reaction to things happening in the world. This is one reason I do not add current colleagues on Facebook – I don’t want to go to work and have colleagues commenting their like or dislike about my views over coffee. I know some people are sensitive as fuck when it comes to things that are said against what they like but they have no problem in dissing things that they don’t like or agree with. I feel that if it is my Facebook page, I should be able to post anything I damn well want to and those who don’t like it -either ignore it or fuck off. There is an unfriend button for a reason.

But I still hold back because I don’t like people writing essays attacking me on my profile page posts. So I avoid but I will also unfriend or block a person if they get too bitchy for my taste. Discussions are fine but being a prissy little bitch, not so much. Blogs, though are different. Get off my website, I will ban you from commenting if you annoy me. Create your own website and post a 1000 articles as to why your view is different. Respect the right for me to do mine.

Seven Words

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Khalil Gibran once said that people will never understand one another unless language is reduced to seven words. What would your seven words be?

I don’t rate Khalil Gibran so high that I should buy these ideas of his but let’s give this a try. My 7 words would be:

  • pizza (cheese, bacon or other pork items with olives and mushrooms please)
  • beer
  • metal (as in music)
  • vodka
  • scifi (hey, treat it like it’s one word)
  • wifi
  • football (as in soccer to those ignorant as to the right name for the greatest sport ever)

I think that should be fine.

Prompt from The Dailypost at WordPress.com

RIP Roger Moore

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died aged 89, his family has announced. He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill. Sir Roger’s family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after “a short but brave battle with cancer”. The actor took the character of James Bond in a more humorous direction than his predecessor Sean Connery. He is also known for playing Simon Templar in the television series The Saint between 1962 and 1969. Moore took over the role of Bond from Sean Connery in 1972, and made his first appearance as 007 in Live and Let Die (1973). The longest serving Bond to date, Moore portrayed the spy in six more films. Appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, Moore was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for “services to charity”. In 2008, the French government appointed Moore a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Roger Moore was born on 14 October 1927 in Stockwell, London. He was the only child of George Alfred Moore, a policeman, and Lillian “Lily” Pope. His mother was born in Calcutta, India, of English origin. He attended Battersea Grammar School, but was evacuated to Holsworthy, Devon, during the Second World War, and attended Launceston College. He was further educated at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and then attended the College of the Venerable Bede at the University of Durham, but did not graduate. At 18, shortly after the end of the Second World War, Moore was conscripted for national service. On 21 September 1946, he was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps as a second lieutenant. In the early 1950s, Moore worked as a model, appearing in print advertisements for knitwear (earning him the nickname “The Big Knit”), and a wide range of other products such as toothpaste, an element that many critics have used as typifying his lightweight credentials as an actor. Moore signed a seven-year contract with MGM in 1954 appeared in Interrupted Melody & played a supporting role in The King’s Thief & the 1956 film Diane.

Eventually, Moore made his name in television. He was the eponymous hero, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, in the 1958–59 series Ivanhoe, a loose adaptation of the 1819 romantic novel by Sir Walter Scott set in the 12th century during the era of Richard the Lionheart, delving into Ivanhoe’s conflict with Prince John. Moore’s next television series involved playing the lead as “Silky” Harris for the ABC/Warner Brothers 1959–60 western The Alaskans, with co-stars Dorothy Provine as Rocky, Jeff York as Reno and Ray Danton as Nifty. In the wake of The Alaskans, Moore was cast as Beau Maverick, an English-accented cousin of frontier gamblers Bret Maverick (James Garner), Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) and Brent Maverick (Robert Colbert) in the much more successful ABC/WB western series Maverick. Worldwide fame arrived after Lew Grade cast Moore as Simon Templar in a new adaptation of The Saint, based on the novels by Leslie Charteris. The Saint ran from 1962 for six seasons and 118 episodes, making it (in a tie with The Avengers) the longest-running series of its kind on British television. He made two films immediately after the series had ended: Crossplot, a lightweight ‘spy caper’ movie, and the more challenging The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970).

Television lured Moore back to star alongside Tony Curtis in The Persuaders!. The show featured the adventures of two millionaire playboys across Europe. Moore was paid the then-unheard-of sum of £1 million for a single series, making him the highest paid television actor in the world. In his autobiography Moore writes that he had to cut his hair and lose weight for the role. Although he resented having to make those changes, he was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). After Live and Let Die, Moore continued to portray Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); Moonraker (1979); For Your Eyes Only (1981); Octopussy (1983); and A View to a Kill (1985). Moore was the oldest actor to have played Bond – he was 45 in Live and Let Die (1973), and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985. During Moore’s Bond period he starred in 13 other movies, beginning with a thriller featuring Susannah York, entitled Gold (1974). He portrayed an adventurer in Africa opposite Lee Marvin in Shout at the Devil (1976), a commando with Richard Burton and Richard Harris in the unorthodox action film The Wild Geese (1978), a counter-terrorism expert opposite Anthony Perkins in the thriller North Sea Hijack (1979), and a millionaire so obsessed with Roger Moore that he had had plastic surgery to look like his hero in The Cannonball Run (1981).

Moore did not act on screen for five years after he stopped playing Bond; in 1990 he appeared in several films and in the writer-director Michael Feeney Callan’s television series My Riviera and starred in the film Bed & Breakfast which was shot in 1989;[18] and also had a large role in the 1996 film The Quest; in 1997 he starred as the Chief in Spice World. At the age of 73, he played an amorous homosexual man in Boat Trip (2002) and, although the film was critically panned, Moore’s comedic performance was singled out by many critics and viewers as the one of the few enjoyable aspects of it. Moore’s friend Audrey Hepburn had impressed him with her work for UNICEF, and consequently he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991. He was the voice of Father Christmas or ‘Santa’ in the 2004 UNICEF cartoon The Fly Who Loved Me. He’s been married 4 times, Swedish born Danish socialite, Kristina “Kiki” Tholstrup his wife at the time of his death. He has had bouts with cancer a few times.

Cochin Is A Burger Town

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

I have posted about this before, in fact just over a year ago, and I still don’t get it. When did this sudden craze for burgers engulf my city? Ffor decades we had restaurants that served you a small cutlet type patty and called it a burger. Yes they would add some lettuce and onions and tomatoes but that was it. Now – it’s like you are spoiled for choices.

In the last few years many burger joints have popped up in the city and it’s crazy that we have so many choices for really good burgers. And more are coming up all the time. Ok, so let’s go with the fast food chains and the ones that don’t serve any beef products first. We have 3 McDonald’s, 2 Burger Kings (they have mutton instead of beef), 4 KFCs (yes they do serve burgers), 2 MarryBrown (a Malaysia based KFC style food chain that also serves burgers) & 7 Chickings (a Dubai based KFC styled fast food restaurant that also serves burgers). A few cafes like the now defunct Coffee Beanz, Coffee Cube & Fort Cafe serve decent beef & chicken burgers. But now – we have a plethora of burger joints and cafes that serve burgers.

2 x Burger Junction, Mash 24, The Grill Lab, Burger Lab, Burgeria, 3 x Burger Spot and 5 – yes make that 5 – Burger Huts. Really good cafes like Cafe Papaya, 2 x Cocoa Tree, Tonico Cafe etc. have excellent burgers in their menu. Even Cafe Coffee Day, the largest coffee shop chain / giant, who have fallen from grace since their heady days of being the biggest names in town, have resorted to tiny burgers (only chicken or paneer) in their menu but are far from good. So we do not have a lack of options when it comes to burgers beef, chicken or otherwise. But how and why did this phenomenon happen. And why couldn’t it have happened in the 90s?

On This Day..

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

On this day, May 22nd

Arsenal 3 Everton 1

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Arsenal missed out on a place in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years despite beating Everton on the final day of the season. Arsene Wenger’s side got the win they required despite having defender Laurent Koscielny sent off for a reckless first-half challenge on Everton’s Enner Valencia. He will now serve a suspension that will keep him out of the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley. Arsenal took the lead early on through Hector Bellerin’s far-post finish and Alexis Sanchez scrambled in a second after Koscielny’s dismissal to put the Gunners in control. It was to no avail as Liverpool completed their task by beating Middlesbrough to finish fourth.

The Gunners did end the league campaign with a flourish though thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s brilliant injury-time strike from 20 yards after Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back for Everton from the penalty spot. The hosts, who also had defender Gabriel taken off injured on a stretcher, now turn their attention to Wembley, after which an announcement on manager Wenger’s future will be made. Arsenal’s failure to reach the Champions League will come as a seismic shock to a club that has made it their permanent home for the past two decades – but supporters will hope it acts as a wake-up call. The Gunners have dropped away from the serious title challengers in recent years and the failure to make Europe’s elite competition brings the recent decline under Wenger into sharper focus. Arsenal cannot afford to be fooled by the recent improvement in performances or even if they win the FA Cup against Chelsea at Wembley.

There is still real talent within the team and the idea of losing talisman and inspiration Sanchez is unthinkable. But results have proved once more that they are nowhere near title-winning material and yet another exit at the last-16 stage of the Champions League is a brutal reflection of their wider status. It now looks certain Wenger will be staying as manager and there can be no excuses for a disappointing league campaign. Arsenal’s supporters set aside any discontent aimed at Wenger to give their side full support as they chased the unlikely possibility of a place in next season’s Champions League. And it was only when news broke of Gini Wijnaldum scoring for Liverpool against Middlesbrough at Anfield that the voices of rebellion were heard.

In the second half, loud chants of “Stan Kroenke get out of our club” echoed around Emirates Stadium in protest against the American owner who many Gunners fans feel has presided over Arsenal’s recent relative fall from grace. There was also a small number of protest banners unfurled after the final whistle as Arsenal’s players waited to go on a lap of appreciation. It was also done against the backdrop of Kroenke ignoring a £1.3bn takeover bid from Arsenal’s other main shareholder Alisher Usmanov, who holds a 30% stake in the club. An appearance in the FA Cup final and the possibility of ending the season with a trophy has perhaps put serious protests on the back-burner – but there is still unhappiness lurking not far beneath the surface from a fan base who are demanding better.

The Gunners have scored 95 Premier League goals against Everton – more than any club has against another in the competition’s history. Danny Welbeck provided two assists in a single Premier League game for only the second time – the other was in April 2012 for Manchester United, also against Everton. Laurent Koscielny has been sent off five times since his Premier League debut in August 2010 – no player has been red carded more in that time [Tom Huddlestone and Younes Kaboul also five]. The Gunners have conceded 10 penalty goals this season, one of just two sides in Premier League history to ship double figures of goals from the spot [Hull, 11 also this season].

My Dream Media Room

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

If I had a lot of money, like a Rs.80,00,000 or so then I would get my family to sell this small apartment we live in and buy us a house. Not that big but a new house with a little land at the side of front or back. With a lawn and a small garden. A two storey house with a living room / dining room, a nice kitchen, a bedroom with an attached bathroom in the ground floor and 2-3 bedrooms with attached in the first floor.

I would want to design a media room as well. A nice comfortable one with big recliners seats for 5-8 people. Display cases for dvds and blurays. Popcorn machine in one corner. A huge tv screen as well as a projector screen for watching movies, sports and tv shows. Surround sound speakers. A little bar at the back.

I can dream can’t I?

Underworld : Blood Wars

Posted on by Roshan Leave a comment

Underworld: Blood Wars is a 2016 American action horror film directed by Anna Foerster (in her feature film directorial debut). It is the fifth installment in the Underworld franchise and the sequel to Underworld: Awakening (2012), with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as Selene. The main cast also includes Theo James, Lara Pulver, James Faulkner and Charles Dance.

Ok, so this franchise is just being dragged along for the ride. It’s lost the charm and intrigue of the first two films. I thought Underworld & Underworld : Evolution were both really good and brought some change and new life to the vampire and werewolf legends. I thoroughly enjoyed them and they stand up against numerous rewatches. Even Underworld : Rise Of The Lycans, a prequel set several years in the past was quite good. The 4th and now 5th movie pale in comparison. For one, the various vampire characters are all alike. You can interchange them in each of the movies. We have an ambitious Semira, a council member of the Eastern Coven, who schemes for power and we have the older vampire Thomas, played by Charles Dance, who helps Selene and David, his son.

We then have this weird Nordic vampire coven, filled with even more paler and blonder vampires and there is this hocus pocus mumbo jumbo thing with Selene who dies and is resurrected and David who drinks a small drop of his mother’s blood and realizes that he is the the rightful heir to the Eastern Coven as his mother was the High Elder Amelia (seen briefly in two films). Marius the Lycan leader is almost like Kraven, except as a lycan instead of a vampire and stronger. A few fight scenes are good and ofcourse I love the werewolf transformations in this franchise. But overall the film offers nothing new. In the end Semira is taken away and Marius his killed, preventing the lycans from killing the vampires. David and Selene are chosen as new members of the council.

While watching the film I kinda forget my interest in the franchise, which is funny as I was obsessed with the first film and loved the story of the second. I give it a 6 outta 10!