How To Relax And Watch Movies/TV

What is your preferred method of watching movies? I know some people cannot sit in a regular chair and need to sit in an easy chair or with their feet up and only then can they really enjoy a movie properly. I am the same way. So for the longest time at home (at our old house in Thrikkakara) I used to either lie on the sofa or on the carpet that was right in front of the tv. Usually I would get a pillow from one of the bedrooms and lie down in front of the tv and chillax on the carpet and watch football or tv shows or movies.

By the time I was 20 I got a mattress that I could easily move from the bedroom in the ground floor, which was the guest bedroom but where my parents would later start using as their room, in the night and in the morning I could move it back and prop it up against a wall. I would use this mattress as my bed, placing it on top of the carpet and yes, right in front of the tv. Usually I would watch tv from 9pm till I fell asleep. When I started working at Escotel/Idea I usually would do a 3 pm till 12 am and reach back home in 25 minutes or so. I would watch tv and spend some time with my dog Shawny who would also be waiting for me and lie near the door as I watched tv.

It continue throughout so I can now mostly only watch tv while lying on my bed (I can no longer sleep on the floor due to my obese frame). I usually watch my tv shows and movies from the comfort of my bed, wrapped up in my sheets usually. Some times I have sat on m chair and watched football games or even a few episodes of a show or the odd movie but I prefer to relax in bed.

Movies Set During Thanksgiving & The Fall In November

You’ve Got Mail (1998) : While the whole movie has great foliage scenes and a crisp, autumnal vibe, the scene where Joe rushes to the front of Zabar’s cash-only line to vainly save a work enemy (or so he thinks…) actually happens on Thanksgiving Day. One of my favourite movies of all time  Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan stars as two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals. Movie magic.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) : Travel stress is nobody’s favorite part of Thanksgiving, but watching Steve Martin and John Candy as an odd-couple duo of hapless travelers trying desperately to get home for Turkey Day will help you laugh off your own struggles.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) : You’ll probably feel pretty good about your decision to forgo staying up late for Black Friday deals after watching Kevin James play an overzealous New Jersey mall cop facing a Black Friday heist. The film tells a story of Blart, a single dad and bumbling mall security guard, who finds himself in the middle of a heist and the only one in position to rescue hostages.

Sweet November : The essential autumn vibes in this bittersweet romance about a mismatched couple (Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves) who agree to live together for the month of November. The film is based on the 1968 film Sweet November written by Herman Raucher, which starred Anthony Newley  and Sandy Dennis; however, it has a different ending.

Autumn in New York (2000) : The entire “fall in Manhattan” atmosphere will give you all of the Thanksgiving feels.  Starring Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, and Anthony LaPaglia and Written by Allison Burnett, the film follows a successful middle-aged restaurateur and womanizer who falls in love with a sweet young woman who is terminally ill.

Wolverhampton Wolves 0 Arsenal 2

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says everyone is shocked at the Gunners surging five points clear at the top of the Premier League but that he is determined his players should enjoy their present lofty status.Martin Odegaard’s second-half double in their win over Wolves was enough for Arsenal to take maximum advantage of Manchester City’s shock defeat by Brentford and ensure they will be top on Christmas Day for the first time since 2007. It is a major achievement for a club that has not finished higher than fifth since 2016.

Odegaard turned home Fabio Vieira’s low cross from close range 10 minutes after the restart and then drilled in the rebound after Jose Sa had kept out Gabriel Martinelli’s low effort 15 minutes from time. It meant there was no slip-up for the Gunners, who watched City’s defeat on the team coach as they travelled to the Midlands and celebrated when Ivan Toney scored in injury time. There was more good news from the Arsenal camp as Arteta revealed Granit Xhaka’s first-half exit was down to a sickness bug that affected the visitors before kick-off, rather than anything that would put the Switzerland player’s World Cup in jeopardy. In contrast, Wolves are now bottom as new manager Julen Lopetegui prepares to take charge. The former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss was introduced 15 minutes before kick-off at Molineux and watched the game from the stands.

Twelve victories and 37 points represents Arsenal’s best record 14 games into a season. They do still have to play defending champions City as their first planned league game against them was called off last month to allow the Gunners to get up to date with their Europa League programme. They also have to face an in-form Newcastle, but they have met all the rest of their ‘big six’ rivals and look very much the real deal. Odegaard in particular has proved an inspired choice as captain by Mikel Arteta. The 23-year-old Norwegian goes about his work in a quietly effective way, clean in his passing and astute in terms of his positioning, which given his central role is essential.

He is a goal threat too. His first was a poacher’s effort as he evaded the attentions of Wolves defenders despite his proximity to the home goal. His second involved superb first-touch control as the ball ran out to him, then a precise finish.

What Scares You The Most? Why?

What Scares You The Most? Why?

I think I have written about it previously but my biggest fear or one of my biggest fear is losing all my money and not having a job or any other source of income. Not being able to take care of my parents and myself is the biggest fear. Having to take a loan or depend on relatives to get by, even if it is only for a few weeks or months, is not something that I can ever think of.

Another biggest fear is being alone, especially as I grow older and my parents are also getting older, and one day falling so ill or breaking a bone that I can’t get up from my bed or the floor and no one knows what has happened to me until it is too late. I am not afraid of death but I am afraid of dying and the pain and feeling of despair of a prolonged period of pain and suffering.

And yeah, I am afraid of growing old and being all alone. I am single and it’s just me and my parents here. Once they are both gone then it’s just me on my own. I will grow old and be all alone. If that is so, I hope I don’t want to live for too long.

Prompt from 218 Creative Blog Post Ideas That Will Delight Your Audience at Coschedule.com

1986 World Cup Mexico Facts

The 1986 World Cup saw the rise of another football immortal. Until that year, Diego Armando Maradona was only an excellent Argentine midfielder with rare skill, a track record of indiscipline, and a controversial figure. Post 1986, Maradona became a legend! Canada, the United States, and Mexico showed interest and officially placed a bid to host the World Cup. On May 20, 1983, the Exco voted unanimously for Mexico, which was allowed to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup for the second time.

As with every new World Championships, more countries tried to qualify. For the 1986 World Cup, 121 countries participated in the qualifications, trying to be 1 of the 24 countries that eventually would participate in the tournament. As was introduced in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Mexico ’86 would consist of 24 countries. Mexico (host country) and Italy (defending champions) were automatically qualified. England Vs Argentina – a legendary and instant classic match this was. Many people can still remember this match clearly because of no other than Diego Maradona. Two legendary World Cup moments happened in this match.

Amazingly both moments happened in a period of 5 minutes! It was in this match against England where Maradona scored his famous ‘Hand of God’ goal. He touched the ball with his hands, but the referee didn’t see it. Maradona stated that the goal was scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (“a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”). Four minutes later, he scored a goal which in 2002 was selected as ‘Goal of the Century. ‘ Maradona dribbled half the field’s length past five English players before scoring his legendary goal. Striker Gary Lineker scored the only goal for England in the last ten minutes of the match. With this goal, Lineker became the 1986 World Cup top scorer with six goals.

Argentina and West Germany, met each other in the Final on the 29th of June, 1986, in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with an attendance of 114,600, the Final was ready to start. Argentina led with 2 goals by  Jose Luis Brown (23?) and eleven minutes into the second half, Argentinian Jorge Valdano. However Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and a second by Rudi Voller leveled things for the Germans. Three minutes after Germany’s second goal, Diego Maradona gave an excellent pass to Jorge Burruchaga, who scored the match’s final goal: 3-2 (83?). Argentina won their second World Cup, and West Germany lost a final for the third time.

1986 World Cup Facts

Dates: May 31 – June 29, 1986
1982 World Cup Final Score: Argentina – West Germany 3-2
3rd place: France – Belgium 4-2
Teams: 24
Stadiums: 12
Host cities: Eleven cities
Matches played: 52
Goals: 132
Attendance: 2,393,031
Top scorer: Gary Lineker (England) 6 goals

Arsenal 1 Brighton 3

Premier League leaders Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup as Brighton gained a shock away victory. Eddie Nketiah had given Arsenal the lead with a curling finish after Reiss Nelson’s run from the halfway line. Danny Welbeck, who played for the Gunners in the 2018 final, made it 1-1 with a penalty after he had been fouled by debutant home goalkeeper Karl Hein. Kaoru Mitoma put Brighton ahead after a neat passing move and Tariq Lamptey added a third with a low strike. The loss in this third-round tie was only the third time in 20 matches in all competitions that Arsenal had been beaten this season.

Mikel Arteta made 10 changes from the 1-0 win at Chelsea and the Gunners looked on course for the last 16 when they took the lead through Nketiah’s excellent 20th-minute strike. However, their lead only lasted seven minutes. Hein, a 20-year-old Estonia international goalkeeper who had a loan spell at Reading last season, was making his first senior appearance for the Gunners but brought down Welbeck, who then converted the spot kick. Arsenal almost retook the lead when Nketiah fired a shot against the post from outside the penalty area with Albert Sambi Lokonga also shooting just wide.

Those misses proved costly as Mitoma got his second goal for Brighton in five days after also scoring in the 3-2 win at Wolves on Saturday, before Lamptey added a third. On making 10 changes, Arsenal manager Arteta felt it had been the right thing to do. Arteta has hinted that Arsenal could strengthen in the January transfer window after the exit.

Graveyard Shift Woes

The last week and these 3 days have been a blur. That’s because I am in the dreaded vampire shift. The graveyard shift. I am conducting training from 9:30 pm till 6:30 am. I am tired and sleepy and I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment from the time I woke up. Like today I feel like I did get a lot of sleep but I am still tired. I shutdown my system after letting my batch go home at 6:30 am and quickly toasted some buns for breakfast. I ate that in a jiffy and lay in bed watching The Rookie.

I fell asleep as soon as that was over and slept till 11:45 am when I woke up and drank some water and then went back to sleep again till 1:15 pm. I went to the washroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face and then combed my hair. I ordered a small burger with fries & a drink plus chicken nuggets and watched more tv while waiting for it the food and then ate it while sitting and watching a Planet of The Apes episode. Then I got into bed and watched some Big Bang Theory (yes I am in the first rerun of the show).

I still slept a bit more after that, like maybe 90 minutes as I was very tired and sleepy. I needed that a lot. Coffee and a snack and later on a long, cold shower but I am still tired and sleepy. I hate this shift a lot. It is so tiring.

Benefits Of Eating Cranberries

Cranberries are small, round, deep-red berries related to the blueberry. They have a very sharp, sour taste, so are rarely eaten raw; they’re more commonly enjoyed dried or juiced. Cranberries grow on vine-like plants similar to strawberries, and typically come from North America or eastern Europe, although you can grow them in the UK under the right conditions.

Top 5 health benefits of cranberries

1. Rich in antioxidant compounds

Cranberries contain plant compounds that have a protective antioxidant effect. Most of these are found in the skin of the berry and may as a result be lost during the juicing process.

2. May help prevent urinary tract infections

Cranberry juice is probably most well-known for its management of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cranberries contain compounds known as proanthocyanidins, which have natural antibacterial benefits and may help prevent the bacteria Escherichia coli from attaching to the inner surface of the bladder and urinary tract, causing an infection.

There are many studies that demonstrate drinking cranberry juice may help prevent a UTI and its reoccurrence, but it appears to be less effective once the infection has taken hold. Some studies also suggest this may not work for everyone. If you are going to drink cranberry juice for its potential UTI benefits, an unsweetened 100% juice should be chosen.

3. May support heart health

A number of human studies support regular consumption of the juice or an extract of the berry to be beneficial for heart health, reducing a number of the key risk factors for heart disease. These include improving cholesterol balance, lowering blood pressure and reducing a compound called homocysteine, which is known to damage the lining of the blood vessels. However, it’s worth noting that some conflicting findings have been reported from other similar studies.

4. May protect against gastric ulcer and stomach cancer

Cranberries contain a plant compound that may reduce the risk of gastric ulcers and stomach cancer caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Consuming cranberry products, which are naturally rich in this compound (known as A-type pro-anthocyanidins), appears to suppress the growth of the bacteria and as a result reduce the risk of developing stomach cancer.

5. May protect against certain cancers

Cranberries are one of the best food sources of ursolic acid, a plant compound with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and potential anti-cancer effects. It has been seen to be particularly useful in prostate cancer.

1982 World Cup Facts

Back in July 1966, it was announced that Spain would host the 12th FIFA World Cup finals in 1982. Since the 1978 World Cup was held in South America, it was again Europe’s turn to host the next World Championships. In total, 109 countries tried to qualify for the 1982 World Cup and had more chances to eventually participate in Spain ’82 compared to the previous soccer tournaments. Instead of 16 teams, the 1982 event allowed 24 countries to qualify. This meant the amount of 16 qualifiers ended since this has been a consistent amount since the 1954 FIFA tournament. In the game between Kuwait and France, with France leading 3–1, France midfielder Alain Giresse scored a goal vehemently contested by the Kuwait team, who had stopped play after hearing a piercing whistle from the stands, which they thought had come from Soviet referee Miroslav Stupar. Play had not yet resumed when Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, brother of the then-Kuwaiti Emir and president of the Kuwait Football Association, rushed onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee. Stupar reversed his initial decision and disallowed the goal to the fury of the French. Maxime Bossis scored another valid goal a few minutes later and France won 4–1.

Date: June 13 – July 11, 1982
1982 World Cup Final Score: Italy – West Germany 3-1
3rd place: Poland – France 3-2
1982 World Cup Teams: 24
Stadiums: 17
Host cities: 14
Matches played: 52
Goals: 146
Attendance: 2,109,723
Top scorer: Paolo Rossi (Italy) 6 goals

This was the first World Cup I remember anything about. I was only 2 years old when the 1978 World Cup was on but 6 when the Espana 82 one was held. I don’t remember watching any matches except I was aware that Kuwait was it. My sister says that she remembers that the day, in 1985, that Kuwait qualified for the World Cup our family with my uncle & aunt had gone out for dinner. The streets were crowded with people celebrating and confetti and songs being sung. It must have been really something but I don’t remember it.

Places I Want To Visit – Asian Edition

Places you want to visit – Asian edition

I want to visit a lot of countries, too many to list here. So what I thought I do is to list the top countries in each area or continent. To start off let’s look at the top 5 for Asia.

  • Singapore
  • Malaysia
  • Indonesia (especially Bali)
  • Japan
  • South Korea

Philippines would a special mention at 6 on that list and perhaps next would be China especially with Shanghai, Beijing & Hong Kong.

Prompt from 113 IDEAS FOR A BLOG POST by Thirteen Thoughts

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 1

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table as Gabriel’s close-range finish gave them victory away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Gabriel pounced to steer the ball over the line in the 63rd minute, after the hosts failed to deal with Bukayo Sako’s corner from the right wing, to give the Gunners a deserved lead. They had created the best chances when it was goalless but Gabriel Martinelli curled a shot over the crossbar and Gabriel Jesus failed to hit the target with a diving header when unmarked.

Chelsea, with ex-Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failing to make an impact against his former side, struggled to create clear-cut chances and are now without a win in four Premier League matches. Arsenal lost top spot on Saturday when 10-man Manchester City beat Fulham 2-1 thanks to Erling Haaland’s winning penalty in the fifth minute of injury time, but this win takes them two points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side after 13 matches. For Arsenal, this was a chance to show their title credentials as they look to become English champions for the 14th time – but the first since 2003-04 when their ‘Invincibles’ went through an entire league campaign without losing.

The Gunners, without a top-four finish since 2016, have beaten Tottenham and Liverpool at home this season, although they tamely lost 3-1 at Manchester United in September. But they started brightly at Stamford Bridge as Gabriel headed wide inside the first two minutes. Ben White pulled a shot wide from 15 yards, Martinelli curled an effort over the top and Jesus had an effort superbly blocked by his Brazil team-mate Thiago Silva. However, Jesus should have done better with a diving header when free at the back post and found by Martinelli but could not hit the target from eight yards.

But Jesus was involved in the build up to Arsenal’s goal as he gained possession from Silva and shot at goal, with Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy sending it behind for a corner. England international Saka swung the ball in and no Chelsea defender could clear before Gabriel volleyed it in from only a couple of yards out for a massive three points for the Gunners.

Why I (Still) Love Blogging

Why you love blogging

From the time that I started journalling at the age of 14 (till 17) to now, I like keeping a record. There were any parts of my life that I wish I had captured and I wish I had continued to journal from the age of 17 till the age of 21 when I picked it up again. Then I stopped after a few months and wouldn’t start my online journey till I was 26.

Why I do love blogging? It is therapeutic and it is soothing. It is a hobby but it is also a passion and it feels like I need to do it on a regular basis otherwise I will feel like I am stiffled. I will like I have no outlet for my thoughts and to just let the words flow at times. I know I have many, many posts that are also collecting information and data as well as my own thoughts and ideas but that is par on course when you are maintaining a daily blog and want to keep the posts flowing.

Whatever money I have received from blogging has helped a lot. But even if I didn’t make any money from blogging I would still do it. Until how long? I do not know but I do not see myself stopping anytime soon. I might slow down at some stage and perhaps do only a few posts a week or just daily single posts but I will still post on a regular basis. I wish I could finally write a book, a book that I have always wanted to write but that’s for another time.

Prompt from 113 IDEAS FOR A BLOG POST by Thirteen Thoughts