What Can Music Teach Us About Getting Old?

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“I hope I die before I get old” belted Roger Daltrey on the seminal track “My Generation,” and yes, while he may be a little bit on the grouchy side these days due to Brexit, that one sentiment perfectly encapsulates youth. But now, we see Roger Daltrey singing arguably The Who’s most famous song and wonder if he really meant it. It seems that now, getting older is it a passe thing, and that there are more musicians out there now in their late 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, still pushing those youthful sentiments. But now, they’ve got the benefit of hindsight. While there are so many songs about the exuberance of youth, are there any songs we can use as a lesson on getting older?

Perfectly encapsulating the idea of maturity, the irony is not lost on Joni herself that recording it as a young lady; she was wise beyond her years. But most telling is that she revisited this song much later in her career, and while the sentiment of the song is that there are few truths learnt by living, as a more mature woman herself, having lived life, the song still suggests that there is as much a mystery to life when you are at the tail end of it.

Help The Aged by Pulp

What sounds like a plea to understand older people, the lyric belies a grimmer message. The line “can’t away from yourself” is a message to all of us getting older; that, no matter how much we try to dye our hair, and fight the inevitable, we will still end up as the person we were meant to be.

Veronica by Elvis Costello

An examination of his own grandmother Molly’s fading memory; the song chronicles Veronica’s life from the vivid pictures of her early years all the way to her non-existent existence in a care home, mute and ready for the end. Currently, it was co-written by one Paul McCartney, who had his very own thoughts on getting old chronicled in a very famous song…

When I’m 64 by The Beatles

Paul McCartney was actually 16 when he wrote this. While the imagery is incredibly twee, and masquerades as a music hall ditty, the comic imagery of living in idyllic lifestyle after retirement could provide a very warming sentiment for all of us concerned about getting on in years, when the idea of which granny flat designs we really want or if the car’s got enough petrol in it doesn’t necessarily matter in the long run. Because, when we hit retirement age, we will celebrate our birthdays with a bottle of wine, and have a jolly old time (well, hopefully).

Old Man by Neil Young

This was all about wanting acceptance from the elders in society. His plea that he is “a lot like” they were shows how we get so judgmental as we get older, that we forget that we had so much fun when we were young. Tellingly, Neil young was 24 when he wrote this, and now while he has every right to be a grouchy curmudgeon who is well beyond retirement age, he’s still looking to push the boundaries. He may very well be an old man, but his sentiments aren’t.

Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

A lot of these songs writing about the perspective of being old from the POV of a younger person. This is, for all intents and purposes, from the perspective of an “older” person. While LCD front man James murphy wasn’t a grouchy old man when he wrote this (he was on the wrong side of 30), from the perspective of every 20-year-old around him, he must have seemed ancient! This is all about the worry that he’s not being relevant in music. That he’s losing his edge to everyone in existence.

Old friends by Simon and Garfunkel

Arguably the most melancholic of the songs on the list. It’s the story of two old men sitting on a bench wondering how strange it is to be 70 years old. While Paul Simon, who wrote this, turned 70 in 2011, this song has naturally gathered more meaning, and no doubt, he’s realized how far from strange it really is!

30 Something by Jay-Z

From the perspective of any teen growing up idolizing Jay-Z, when you turn 20, you may very well just get put out to pasture. But, this ode to hitting your 30s can do more than make you realize that you’re anything but old, but in fact, getting a stock portfolio is one of the great benefits of supposed “old” age. If it’s good enough for Jay-Z, it’s good enough for us!

Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen

While on the surface, it’s a pretty amusing ode to that guy who still talks about his high school football career as the crowning achievement of his life. But the most telling aspect about it is the song jumps between this and Springsteen’s semi-autobiographical tropes about his father being laid off. The moral of the story? Your glory days aren’t over. In fact, your glory days may very well be ahead of you!

So what can music teach us about getting old? It seems that now, we’ve got so many people writing about getting old from a youthful perspective, when these musicians are all hitting the time where they are supposed to be put out to pasture, but have more than their fair share of energy. The exuberance of youth, especially through music highlights just how much we all think that, when we are 20, 30 may as well be 75. But as the music we grew up listening to gets older and matures, so do we. They say that the music you listen to during your teen years shapes your entire life. As music appears to be predominantly a youthful practice, the songs about getting old and looking back on our youth are few and far between. “It Was A Very Good Year” by Frank Sinatra may very well be the pinnacle story of revisiting memories of youth…

The Joys Of Driving A Luxury Car

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The car you drive is, for many people, one of the most important things of all. Regardless of how important it might be for you, the truth is that it is so for many people, and this is something which is worth remembering if you are keen to make sure that you are driving something decent for you. If you happen to have access to a luxury car, then that is the kind of experience which is going to be particularly enjoyable and which you probably want to make the most of. In order to ensure that you do make the most of it, it can help to have a good sense of what you can expect to get from driving such a vehicle. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the joys and benefits of driving a luxury car, some of which you might never have considered. These are all great reasons to enjoy driving a luxury car if you have one.

Whether or not you want this to be the case, the fact is that the car you drive impacts your image and what people generally think about you. That is one reason why you probably take great care when it comes to choosing a car. After all, you know that you are going to look a certain way when you drive it, and you want to make sure that you are going to be able to look at how you want. The truth of a driving a luxury car is that you will almost certainly have an image that you can be proud of, so that is going to be one thing that you won’t really have to worry about. This image can vary from car to car however, so you will still need to be aware of it for that reason.

Just the fact that a vehicle is luxury will not always be enough for the image to be as you would ideally want it. You might find that you need to try a few different options, and the truth is that all that means is test driving more cars – which is no bad thing indeed. As long as you are testing and buying with your image in mind, then you will find that you do end up driving something that really suits you. That will make you feel better behind the wheel, it will increase your driving confidence, and you will find that you are much more likely to be able to drive it happily for as long as you like. As you can see, image might be more important than you had realized, and it is certainly something to think about.

Of course, the joy of driving a luxury car goes far beyond merely the image that it gives you. Most luxury cars will also be incredibly fun to drive, as seen mostly in the fact that they tend to have such a decent level of performance. Whether or not you are a particularly ardent motorhead, this should still be somewhat important to you, and it is something that you will want to think about if you are to make the right choice when buying your next luxury car too. For while all luxury cars have good performance, they don’t all have equally good performance, and you might find that there is one that you prefer the feel of over other ones. Again, this is a good reason to make a point of test driving, but when you do what should you look out for to be sure of its performance?

One of the main factors of performance is acceleration, which you can be sure of in the test drive, but also in the actual figures too. Acceleration is the main thing that affects how it feels to drive and how much performance it seems to have, so it is something that you will probably want to think about early on. As well as that, there is also the issue of handling. That is simply the way in which you are able to handle the car on the road – steering and so on. That is affected by so many factors all at once, including what kind of michelin tyres the car has, what the suspension is like, and much more besides, so it is a hard thing to be sure of. But the way that it feels is what really matters here, and what will tell you how the handling is likely to be in future. These high performance vehicles can often come with a higher price tag, but it could be worth the extra cash if you are looking for something really special.

Everyone enjoys being comfortable as they drive, and luxury cars tend to offer much more in the way of comfort than other kinds of vehicle. If comfort is especially important to you, then you will find that luxury cars are probably the way to go. With upholstered seats often made from luxury materials and many other features on the interior which affect comfort, you will find that driving such a vehicle is like relaxing in your living room. If nothing else, that makes the experience of driving a much calmer and more enjoyable one, and you will find that you are much more likely going to enjoy longer journeys compared to having a car which doesn’t have this kind of level of comfort. It’s definitely something to look out for, and if nothing else it is going to mean that you will enjoy driving more.

These factors are all a big part of the joy of driving a luxury car, and they are all things which you should keep an eye out for if you are on the market for such a vehicle. You will find that such vehicles are much more enjoyable to drive, and that – as long as you can afford them – they are generally worth the money.

Unexpected 3 Day Weekend

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So I am going back to work this evening after a long 3 day weekend. This was an unexpected three day weekend as I was unwell and took a sick leave on Friday. I’ve been nursing a bad cold, cough and phlegm infection since last Monday night. This started after I drank a lot of water on ice on Sunday night and then started getting the sniffles on Monday. At work they had cranked up the ac and it was very cold and by 10pm I had a bad cold.

Tuesday was the same and Wednesday it was a holiday on account of being Eid. Thursday was ok for the most part but I reached home only by 6 am and couldn’t get to sleep until 7 am and the power kept going off and coming back on and lots of construction work in the area next to me kept me awake for the most part. By 1pm I realized that not only was I really tired and ill I needed sleep. So I took a day off and went to sleep. Late in the evening I watched a movie then relaxed at my laptop desk and then watched another movie before I slept again.

Saturday I spent mostly in bed watching some movies and a few tv episodes. Yesterday I felt much better and I am taking a cough syrup that helps with my phlegm which is slowly dying down. I didn’t go out although I was planning to on Sunday but I just didn’t feel up to it and my Achilles tendon was flaring up again. So back to work I go.

Monsoon Is Here

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The rains finally hit Kochi and the rest of Kerala this Sunday as the monsoon season is officially declared by the clouds over the state. Technically June 7th was the beginning but over here it really started pouring on Sunday.

Being at home all through the weekend I was watching a movie while in bed in the late afternoon when the rains started and other than a brief respite it has been raining throughout until Monday morning and the sun is mostly blocked by rain clouds. It isn’t raining now at 12 noon but the forecast is for showers and some thunder. Vigorous rainfall is expected across Kerala over the next 4 to 5 days. I just hope that it doesn’t get to be like last year with the heavy rains leading to floods that devastated parts of the state.

However, I must say that I love the rains. Especially when I am in the comfort of my home and in bed and can cozy up in my sheets and it’s raining outside. I didn’t feel like getting outta bed this morning and since I am only due to be at work at 7:30 pm I went back to sleep and that laziness won. A bonus, it’s not sweaty and hot and I enjoy this kinda weather. I do not enjoy getting wet in the rain but yeah I like this weather.

Flip flops Or Bare feet?

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Flip flops or bare feet? What does summer comfort look like in your world?

Why would you want to walk around bare foot? I mean there’s lots of things out there that could hurt the soles of your feet. You could get them cut and maybe get an infection if you step on something that is sharp and has dirty or germs or something else. You could step in shit or other disgusting things. Or plain just get your feet dirty. I would prefer to wear a comfortable pair of flip flops.

I rarely do wear flip flops unless my toe nails are neatly clipped and clean. I am not used to walking on the roads in flip flops and therefore I would prefer to use my shoes instead. But if it’s around the home or just to the corner shop nearby or riding in a car and just going to a relative’s house and then coming back home without having to walk outside a bunch, then I wouldn’t mind wearing flip flops. It’s very comfortable and easy to wear and your feet aren’t restricted by socks and the full cover of a shoe.

So yeah, flip flops is it and I wouldn’t mind getting a new pair for myself.

You’re Next

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You’re Next is a 2011 American black comedy slasher film directed by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett and starring Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen and Joe Swanberg. The plot concerns a family under attack by a group of masked assailants during their wedding anniversary getaway.

The movie starts with a man and a younger woman, who after having sex, are killed in the house by a man in a Lamb Mask and who has the words “You’re Next” written in blood on the window. The next day, Aubrey and Paul Davidson, a middle-aged couple reach their vacation house in rural Missouri in order to get things ready for their wedding anniversary dinner. Their son Crispian brings his Australian girlfriend Erin to meet them for the first time and are joined by Crispian’s older brother Drake and his wife Kelly, Crispian’s younger siblings Felix and Aimee, and their partners, Zee and Tariq, respectively.

As an argument breaks out between Crispian and Drake, someone shoots crossbow bolts through the window, killing Tariq and wounding Drake. The survivors discover that cell phone reception in the area has been jammed. Aimee runs outside for help, but runs into a garrote wire which slices her throat, killing her. Crispian leaves the house to find help. One by one the people in masks start killing the others. Erin who grew up in a survivalist compound where she learned combat and survival skills. fights back and kills a man in Tiger Mask. t is revealed that Felix and Zee hired the assassins Tom (Fox Mask), Craig (Lamb Mask), and Dave (Tiger Mask) to murder the family so they could collect their inheritance. While Zee is helping Erin, Felix lures Drake to the basement and kills him.

Later Erin jumps out of the window to escape Fox Mask, injuring her leg and eventually doubling back to the house. While hiding, Erin overhears an argument between Felix, Zee, Fox Mask and Lamb Mask. Her cell phone beeps to indicate that her text to 911 has gone through, alerting the killers. She goes out of the window and kills Lamb Mask and sets up a trap at the front door but Fox Mask comes into the house through a window and Erin kills him after a fight.  Zee and Felix attempt to kill Erin themselves. Felix stabs Erin, but she kills him, then uses his knife to kill Zee. Felix’s cell phone rings and Erin answers without speaking. Believing he is speaking to Felix, Crispian apologizes for fleeing instead of not helping, revealing he was in on the murders. He returns to the home and finds Erin. After he attempts to bribe her into staying quiet, she kills him in disgust. A policeman arrives and shoots Erin in the shoulder, having seen her kill Crispian. After calling for backup, he attempts to enter the house despite Erin’s pleas, and is accidentally struck and killed by Erin’s front door trap that was intended for Fox Mask.

It becomes entertaining once the killing starts and the twists is really good. Made on a budget of $1 million, the movie made almost $27 million at the box office and became a cult favourite. 7 outta 10!

10 Easy Ways You Can Give Back To Others

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Time is one of the most valuable things in our lives. And one of the greatest things we can do is give it to others. While it can be difficult to find the time to help others, doing so will not only give back to others but to yourself too. No matter how much time you have to give, there are always things you can do to help others. Use some of your free time to help someone else with these 10 easy ways you can give back to others.

1. Help out friends and family

If you’re looking for ways you can help others, why not start closer to home by helping out friends and family? Most people won’t admit when they’re struggling, but you never know when an offer of help could be welcome. From helping an older relative with their yard to doing the grocery run for a busy parent, you can do a lot of good by helping someone else out. Pick up the phone or pop over and see how you can help out someone you love.

2. Get involved with the local school

School’s are crying out for volunteers. From helping with coaching the school’s sports teams to chaperoning different events, you could provide several benefits to your community by helping out at a school. You don’t necessarily need to be the parent of a child at that particular school to help, and there are many different roles you can take on. Contact schools in your local area to find out how you can volunteer at a public school.

3. Spend time volunteering

Got some time to spare? Volunteering for a good cause could be a valuable use of your time. From helping out with local food banks and soup kitchens to helping youth organizations, there are charities and community initiatives that are crying out for some enthusiastic volunteers. There are many unexpected benefits of volunteering, and it can be a fantastic way to get to know some new people and learn new skills.

4. Share your skills

Do you have skills and talents that could help others? Perhaps you know a second language or can play a musical instrument? Whatever your talents are, you could do some great things for others by tutoring and guiding others. Are you skilled with technology? Why not help teach people to resolve common computer problems? Never underestimate how your skills could benefit someone else, you could help someone to improve their life.

5. Be a better neighbor

How well do you know your neighbors? Giving them a helping hand could be a better way to get to know them. Some of the ways you can help your neighbors include taking out the trash, carpooling, and even taking them a meal now and then (especially if they’re on their own). You could also invite the neighbors over so that you can learn more about them – you could even become great new friends.

6. Take part in a community project

If you’ve got time to spare and want to do something worthwhile for your community, then you could have some excellent opportunities by helping out with a community project. Community projects don’t just have to involve gardens or building things – there are a lot of things going on that could benefit from your skills. Local history projects are a great example, like those that help you stretch your research skills. Want to know how many WW2 veterans are still alive? These are the sort of amazing projects that can help you learn more about your community.

7. Raise money

Raising money for a good cause is a simple way to give back to your community or to a much wider cause. You could run a marathon, arrange a fundraiser at your local school or your workplace – there are plenty of great ways to raise money for others. Doing some kind of challenge can be rewarding in many ways, helping you help out those in need while also pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. What will you do to raise a bit of money?

8. Help out the animals

It’s not just people who need help, it’s our furry little friends too. Animal shelters and charities often need volunteers to help take care of sick or abandoned animals, which can be perfect if you’re an animal lover. Another way you can help is to take part in cleanups in your local area. From beach cleans to litter picking in your local park, keeping these areas clean and free from trash can help preserve the local environment and ensure the animals can enjoy the area as much as us.

9. Be greener

How much do you do to help the environment? It doesn’t take much to be a little greener each day. Using reusable coffee cups and water bottles can help save a lot of waste, while recycling all of your household trash could also make a big difference. There are also a lot of unexpected ways you can help the environment, including buying more local produce and reusing bags when you go shopping. These little changes can make a big difference, especially if you can encourage others to do the same.

10. Do something kind each day

It doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day. Buying a sweet treat for a colleague or letting someone take your cab are just small gestures, but they can mean the world to someone else. Even just smiling at someone and asking how their day’s going can really boost someone’s mood, and it will boost your own too. With plenty of ways you can make someone’s day a little better, isn’t worth it for a few seconds of your time?

Even the smallest amount of time can make a big difference to others. However you decide to help it will be sure to brighten someone else’s day, and your own too.

7 Crazy Irish Laws

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1. Invite a Leprechaun to Dinner

One of the most bizarre, but polite, laws in Ireland states that if a Leprechaun calls at your door you must, by law, give him a share of your dinner. Fortunately, it is unlikely that a Leprechaun would have a big appetite, so feast on!

2. Porridge and Potatoes

Porridge and Potatoes were once reserved for “lower orders of people”. It is safe to say that most Irish did not follow this outdated law in recent years, but the Proclamation of 1817 was meant to lessen the deadly effects of the Irish famine. Today, however, anyone can legally consume these delightful meals.

3. Insulting Religion

The Defamation Act of 2009 made it illegal to insult someone’s religion. Although there are many details to this law that make it difficult to discern just what is and is not kosher when it comes to insulting religion, the law mostly impacts journalists who must be careful in what it is that they write. Those that are found guilty of defamation can be fined up to €25,000.

4. The Punishment for Suicide = Hanging

The punishment for committing the crime of suicide was death by hanging. In 1964, this law was repealed for obvious reasons.

5. Free Booze

The Tippling Act of 1735 has, unfortunately, been repealed. This law made it illegal for landlords to demand money owed for ale. It was originally enacted to stop servants from robbing masters to pay their debts, but it was shortly realised it simply gave permission to peasants to drink for free. Sadly, the Irish can no longer legally drink for free.

6. Tiger Wrestling and Bear Hugging

Up until 1897, a family-day in Ireland might consist of gathering to watch daring performers round up dangerous beasts to challenge them in front of crowds. These performers would do stunts like hug bears and wrestle tigers. Although this was a massive money-maker for the performers and would draw large crowds, lawmakers signed the Dangerous Performance Act of 1897 to prohibit such events after many spectators lost their lives when the animals became enraged. This law prohibiting acts reminiscent of ancient Roman punishments should not have had to exist.

7. The Bubonic Plague

While most Irish probably did not follow this law for the past several decades, it wasn’t until 2015 that it was officially scrapped from law books. The Bubonic Plague took the lives of an estimated 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population between 1347 and 1351 and then appeared again in London in the mid-1600s, killing an additional 100,000 people. In 1665, Irish lawmakers took preventative measures to keep the Bubonic Plague at bay by enacting a law stating that the first Wednesday of every month was for fasting and penance for the relief of the Bubonic Plague. If some of your friends or family were fasting on a Wednesday just a few years ago, now you know they were simply being law-abiding citizens.

How Much Control Do Doctors Really Have?

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The medical field has always been a broad and complicated one. While everyone wants to be healthy, the work which has to be done to achieve this goal can differ from person to person, and this makes it hard to create options which work universally. Of course, this is solved by the hard work of doctors around the world. How much control do these professionals really have, though? To answer this question, this post will be exploring some of the tools a doctor has at their disposal, giving you an idea of how much they can influence your body.

Medicines

Over the last century or so, the treatments which people are given to solve their health issues have improved dramatically. With proper research going into their development, it’s almost certain that the medicine your doctor gives you will do what they expect. Of course, though, there will always be a limit in their effectiveness. In the case of antibiotics, one of the most important treatments in a doctor’s arsenal, the microbes are fighting back, and this is sending humanity on a fast path towards losing this key resource. Doctors have control over the treatments they give out, but they can’t always dictate how well they will work.

Surgery & Physical Intervention

The idea of having to go into an operating theatre is a nightmare for most people. Having someone play around with the most vital parts of your body seems like a mistake, but surgeons are some of the more powerful doctors. With decades of research to draw from, a lot of operations are nice and safe, and most doctors will want to talk about the risks you face before getting started, anyway. If they think you’ll be hurt or your life will get worse after the surgery, they will recommend against doing it, ensuring that you maintain the best standard of living you can.

Gene-Level Modifications

Genetic modification has been the subject of a lot of debates over the last couple of decades. Some people believe that this sort of treatment goes beyond the reach which humans should have, though the promise it shows is incredible. With the help of DNA extraction, doctors have been able to learn an awful lot about this part of your body. Using this knowledge, along with clever machines and chemicals, they are able to make modifications to DNA before a baby is born. While the long-term impact of this is yet to be seen, initial examples show that this method can effectively wipe out DNA-based conditions and disorders.

Doctors have a lot more control than a lot of people realise, with the tools they have at their disposal having the power to change the chemical balance of your body, the layout of your internal organs, and even the way your DNA works. Of course, as time goes on, these tools will only get better, and doctors will gain control over other areas, too. You can read more about medical science on loads of sites around the web, and it’s certainly an interesting topic.

The Curse of La Llorona

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The Curse of La Llorona is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves in his directorial debut, and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. It is the sixth installment in the Conjuring Universe franchise. Based on the Mexican folklore of La Llorona, the film stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz and Patricia VelĂĄsquez, and follows a mother in Los Angeles 1973 who must save her children from a malevolent spirit who is trying to steal them away. The film was produced by James Wan through his Atomic Monster Productions banner.

The movie starts with the legend of La Llorona who in 1963 Mexico, while enjoying some family time with her sons is given a necklace by her younger son. The boy closes his eyes briefly, and when he opens them, his family is missing. The boy finds his mother drowning his brother in a stream. Horrified, he runs away but his mother catches him and seemingly drowns him too. 300 years later in Los Angeles, Mexican caseworker Anna Tate-Garcia investigates the disappearance of client Patricia Alvarez’s two children. Anna arrives at Patricia’s house for a welfare check. Inside, she finds the children locked behind a door, and Patricia attacks her and is taken away by the police. Patricia’s children, brothers Carlos and Tomas, tell Anna to keep them in the room so they are protected. Ignoring their warnings, she brings the boys to the police.

While in a shelter Tomas starts walking his his sleep and his brother Carlos follows him and he sees La Llorona in a mirror and she grabs the boys. They end up dead by drowning in the river and Anna is the suspect. Bringing her children Chris and Sam, she tells them to stay in the car while she investigates the murder scene. She hears Patricia, accused of her sons’ murders, screaming that it was Anna’s fault for taking her sons, and that Patricia had tried to stop the malevolent force of the woman in white, “La Llorona”. Curious, Chris comes out leaves the car to investigate himself and is seized by La Llorona, leaving burn marks on his arm. He rushes back to the car, but La Llorona appears again and frightens him into shock. The next day, Sam is also grabbed by the spirit, leaving identical burn marks on her arm. Anna interviews Patricia, who has an alibi for the time of her sons’ deaths and tells her about La Llorona.

Patricia reveals that in her anger against Anna, she prayed to La Llorrona to take Anna’s children and bring her own boys back. Anna encounters La Llorona when the spirit attempts to drown Sam in the bathtub. She saves Sam, and the ghost leaves burn marks on Anna’s arm too. Anna seeks help from father Perez who leads her to former priest Rafael Olvera, who can help get rid of the entity. Rafael arrives at Anna’s house, setting up candles and other items to protect the family. In the night, La Llorona repeatedly attacks them and attempts to drown Anna and Sam in the pool. Patricia arrives, attempting to give Anna’s children to La Llorona in exchange for her own. Sam and Chris flee while Anna pleads with Patricia in the basement; Patricia comes to her senses and releases Anna, allowing her to help her children.

Chris delays La Llorona by showing her a necklace Anna took off of her in the pool, which makes La Llorona briefly assume her human appearance. Sam then accidentally unveils a mirror which takes La Llorona out of her human appearance and proceeds to attack the children. Anna stabs her through the chest with a cross made from a Fire Tree – trees that grew by the river where La Llorona drowned her children, the only ‘witness’ to her crime – and the spirit is destroyed. Anna and her children thank Rafael for his help; as the children run back into the house, Anna sees what looks like a puddle of tears.

Scary but mostly because of the jump scares and hardly anything to shout over the rooftops. The story is something very familiar and isn’t very exciting. 7 outta 10!

4 Common Computer Problems & Their Solutions

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No matter what kind of computer you own, and what level of experience you have with it, there are a number of problems which you can always expect to run into. Knowing what these problems are can help you to prepare for them, anticipate them, and ultimately keep them at bay – and it will also equip you with the knowledge to ensure that you can fix those issues should they happen to arise anyway. Some of these problems are a little more common on older machines, while some are more specific to one or two particular operating systems. But they are all things that any computer user should be aware of, and in this article we are going to take a look at some of the most common of them, along with their simple solutions, so that you can be truly prepared for them as best as you can be.

Restarting Constantly

If your computer is routinely restarting without any apparent good reason, it can be a particularly frustrating problem which might even cost you some work. In the worst case scenarios, you could lose a huge amount of effort and even some income this way, and if nothing else it is a problem which can make using a computer incredibly frustrating indeed. When a computer is constantly restarting for no apparent reason – also known as kernel panic – it can strike terror into your heart. But there are a few things you can do in order to try and solve this particular problem, and you should never feel as though all is lost even if this is happening quite frequently.

One of the most common causes of this problem is that your computer doesn’t have sufficient RAM or hard drive space, or maybe a combination of the two, so look into that first. Alternatively, it might be that you have a number of outdated drivers, which is a simple case of doing a search in order to find the latest ones. Sometimes, you can do that from your desktop through your operating system directly. It’s also worth keeping all of your software updated to help avoid this problem.

Too Slow

If there is one thing that most computer users complain about eventually, it is the computer being too slow. This is something that happens to most machines over time, but if you feel that it should not be happening yet, or you are just keen to try and improve it anyway so that you can get more out of your computer, then it’s good to know there are plenty of ways to improve a slow computer. First of all, clear up as much of your disk drives as you possibly can. A fuller drive means that your computer has to work harder to access files, including software files, so the less there is to search through, the quicker everything will be. You might also want to think about looking into your operating system’s configuration tools to see whether there is anything obviously slowing things down in the background. Removing unnecessary background processes will speed up your computer hugely. Finally, consider installing more RAM into your computer, so that you can hope for it to access files more easily and readily, and thereby run faster.

Pop-Ups

This is truly one of the most annoying things that you can possibly experience as a computer user. Fortunately, the solution is simple. The best way to make sure that you are not bothered by pop-ups on your computer is to follow the preventative approach. In order to prevent pop-ups occurring, consider installing Ghostery and Adblock in your chosen browser. These will block all adverts without fail, so you will never have to see an ad again. They will also ensure that you are not tracked by advertising cookies, so you won’t have targeted ads and your computer will be freer of pop-ups generally. If you already have some pop-ups turning up reliably, give your computer a full scan with an antivirus suite to get rid of them for good.

Printing Failures

It’s amazing how often people struggle with their printers, but if you have ever tried to get a new printer to work you will know just how hard it can be to do just that. There are a lot of things that might get in the way of a printer working fully as it should, but one of the first things to look into is whether or not your drivers are updated for printing. Then you will want to look into whether your printers are listed as offline – if so, change that, and you should be good to go.

ROSHAN’S ELEVEN: Guns n’ Roses Songs

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When I was a teenager, Guns n’Roses could do no wrong. They were the biggest and baddest rock band in the world and no one could do what they could do. From the time back in 1988 when 12 year old me saw the video for Paradise City on a chart program sent to my cousins from their friends in the UK, I was hooked.

Since then a lot has changed. By the time I was in my early 20s my favs had changed, GnR had stopped putting out new music and the band members left to do other things. Still, nothing like some good ole GnR music to get the adrenaline flowing and they have some of the most awesome tunes. Here is what I think are their top 11 songs based on my tastes.

  • Sweet Child O’ Mine
  • November Rain
  • Don’t Cry
  • Paradise City
  • Welcome To The Jungle
  • Estranged
  • Patience
  • Civil War
  • Better
  • Yesterdays
  • This I Love

Arsenal Transfer Rumours – 4th June 2019

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Arsenal face a battle to keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the striker received a £300,000-a-week offer from the Chinese Super League, according to reports. Aubameyang joined Arsenal in a £56 million deal from Borussia Dortmund in January last year. And the 29-year-old has quickly established himself as a key part of Arsenal’s attack with 41 goals in 65 appearances. Before joining Arsenal, Aubameyang was close to joining Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande in a £62m move.

Arsenal have submitted a €42 million (£37m) offer to sign Sampdoria duo Dennis Praet and Joachim Andersen, according to reports in Italy. Unai Emery has been given a restricted budget of around £40m to work with in the summer transfer window after missing out on a place in next season’s Champions League. The Gunners boss is keen to strengthen several areas of his squad, while Arsenal are also looking to offload some of their top earners including Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Tuttosport report that Arsenal have already made a move for Praet and Andersen but their bid has been rejected by Sampdoria. The report claims that Sampdoria would be open to selling both players but the Serie A club are demanding at least €50m (£44m). Arsenal have extensively scouted both Praet and Andersen this season as the duo helped Sampdoria finish ninth in Serie A.

Emery is ready to sell Mesut Ozil after a furious outburst from the German during the Europa League final, it’s been claimed. Ozil reportedly said to Emery “I swear, you’re not a coach”, according to Turkish translators. The outburst came the Arsenal boss substituted him during the Europa League final against Chelsea. He was replaced by youngster Joe Willock during the 78th minute of the match in Baku. Emery has had enough of the German playmaker after the outburst, according to Fanatik. He’s subsequently been placed on the transfer list for the Gunners as they look to offload him.

Beers, Cocktails, Pork & Fries In Couchyn

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Yesterday afternoon was a welcome visit to Couchyn after a couple of months. I don’t go out to drink much anymore and prefer to buy my booze from BevCo and drink at home. But it’s been over a month since cousin Sujith and I met so we decided to get a couple of beers at Couchyn and have lunch there.

We started off with Amstel beers, two each, and choose French fries as the first accompaniment. They also provide you with free masala peanuts which are always great with beer. We talked and laugh a bit. And then we got the grilled pork with veggies.

This is an amazing dish which should be in the hall of fame as far as food in Kochi goes. Succulent and juicy and big pieces all. Wow and the grilled veggies and fries goes well with them. After the two beers we moved onto a cocktail each. We choose the passion fruit and vodka cocktail with a squeeze of lemon in it. I must say that I could knock off quite a few of those in an afternoon. Dangerous!

We also had grilled chicken sandwiches which were small but good and finished off with banana splits. And then we both had to split as it was 5 pm by then.

5 More Weird German Laws & Rules

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6) Piano tuning: In the same vein, Germans like their peace and quiet and it is streng verboten (strictly forbidden) to tune your piano at night.

7) Chimney sweeps: Did you know it is easier for a chimney sweep to access your home than it is for the police? It’s against the law to deny a chimney sweep access to your home if he or she demands it. The law was first introduced in the Middle Ages, but the current legislation goes back to the Third Reich. By giving chimney sweeps a fixed wage and assigning them districts, Hitler would ensure the loyalty of his country’s chimney sweeps, which meant he could use them to spy on citizens.

8 ) Be polite to police officers: If you’re struggling learning German make sure you don’t get your “du” and “Sie” mixed up when talking to policeman or another government employee. In Germany it is against the law to address a policeman with the informal “du” rather than the informal “Sie” and could cost you a hefty fine of up to €600. A good reason to continue those German lessons.

9) Deutschland, Deutschland über alles: It is illegal to sing the first verse of the German national anthem. The verse which begins with, “Germany, Germany above everything.” was made the national anthem by the Nazis during the Third Reich and was banned at the end of World World II. Deutschland Lied (Song of Germany) has been the national anthem since 1922. Joseph Hayden wrote the music to the song in 1797 but the words were written later by the poet August Heinrich Hoffmann in 1841.

10) Beer at the Oktoberfest: Fans of the annual Oktoberfest in Munich will be pleased to know that only beer brewed according to the German Purity Law (permitted ingredients: water, hops, yeast and malt) within the city walls of Munich is permitted at the festival and no other beer. Prost.