Photobucket had recently changed their policy and now all the images from my 650+ blog posts are disabled. I am slowly editing them by moving my images to my own server at AWS, but it will take time. In case there is a particular old post you want to see the images of, kindly drop me a mail at mizohican@gmail.com and I'll keep that at a high priority. Thank you.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Chp 341. Carling Cup Final






Testing "Cover It Live".

Carling Cup Final
Arsenal vs Birmingham
Venue: Wembley


Ok today is the day - The much awaited Carling Cup Final. Ever since "The Invincibles" days of longest unbeaten run record and total domination of the EPL, Arsenal has been going without a trophy for 6 years now. So many times we have come sooo close to winning a trophy, but eventually lose out in the end. This Carling Cup will be our first silverware in 6 years if we win tonight.

The AMSC (Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club) are screening the match at Big Daddy's, Khar. 300 bucks entry, which includes two beer or two redbulls, and one starter.

Red + White jersey compulsory.

Apart from knowing a few members of the AMSC, I am going with Shruti, our new Art Director, and Nirav and his wife. All of us are hardcore Arsenal fans.

Fabregas and Theo will not be playing due to injury, but we have pretty good hope about winning. More than 150 gooners have already confirmed to show up at the AMSC screening, and that is excluding those who confirmed via emails and phones, so my friends and I are planning to reach the venue at least an hour early so that we'll have a good place to sit, lolz. But then again, I'm sure we'll be at our feet most of the time.

Meanwhile, I am just trying out this "Coveritlive" feature, embedded below. It may not even work, but in case it does, I'll try to update as much as I can from the venue. I don't even know how long I am allowed to cover the event. Anyway, let's see...

Cheers!






Monday, February 21, 2011

Chp 340. Testing Blogger Android App

Hello world...Update: Nice! Not bad at all. Editing post is also quite easy!Update 2: Ok linebreaks not happening. The Android editor is not WYSIWYG editor... :(

Update 3: Ok linebreaks and para happening only if I enter the HTML codes directly... Sad :(

Update 4: Testing image upload... ok no feature to upload pic in existing post. If I want to upload a pic, looks like it will become a new (separate) post...

Update 5: Testing comment... working well. simple and direct.

Conclusion- Overall, this app may be good for micro-bloggers or those blogging from a place abt breaking news etc... but definitely not recommended as a substitute for normal web version of blogger.

Even if I am going to blog from my phone, I'll still use the built-in Android browser or Opera browser to access and creat/edit a blog post rather using this Blogger-Android app. Sorry Blogger.


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Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.2

Friday, February 18, 2011

Chp 339. Practical Facebook relationship statuses

Today, Facebook launched two new relationship status options - “In a domestic partnership” and “In a civil union” so as to make the world’s largest social networking site more LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) friendly.

Mashable: Facebook Adds LGBT-Friendly Relationship Status Options

These two new options should be rolled out to residents of other countries soon. In countries where same-sex marriages are already legal, these options will not appear. A Facebook rep told us in an e-mail, “This has been a highly requested feature from users. We want to provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships on Facebook.”

Facebook already has the following relationship statuses:
  • Single
  • In a relationship
  • Engaged
  • Married
  • It’s complicated
  • In an open relationship
  • Widowed
  • Separated
  • Divorced

Nowadays, it is no longer considered strange or awkward to shout out to the whole wide world whether we are in a committed relationship or have just broken up with somebody. Just yesterday alone, a man was arrested because he changed his Facebook relationship status! [Link] That’s the crazy world we live in today.

So if Facebook is trying to make the site more practical and provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships, I was thinking, why not add a few more relationship statuses, you know, stuff that actually happen in real life.

Here is my list of 20 Facebook relationship statuses that are totally practical today. Feel free to add yours at the comment section. I’ll include them in this post later.

  1. Married, but ready to mingle.

  2. Sugar daddy to …

  3. Sugar momma of …

  4. in a one-night-stand relationship

  5. is currently cheating on …

  6. is sleeping around with everybody. MYOFB.

  7. in a Ménage-à-trois relationship with … and …

  8. in a complicated love triangle with … and …

  9. secretly fantasizes about …

  10. is currently leading on …

  11. is currently stalking …

  12. is currently being stalked by …

  13. answers …'s booty calls.

  14. Open to wife/husband swapping.

  15. concubine of … along with … and … and … and [limit: 300 people]

  16. is faking a relationship

  17. charges 1000 bucks for a good relationship, hourly.

  18. virgin.

  19. virgin, but not by choice.

  20. in a relationship with my right hand.


Your turn :)

-----------------------------


  • Live-in
  • Friends with benefits
[Puia Hmar via Facebook]

  • Born-again virgin
  • Single parent
  • Just playing around
[Aduhi via blogger]

  • Cheating on my right hand with my left hand
[Samuel via Facebook]

  • Cheated on by … currently rebounding on …
[Stephanie via Twitter]



Thursday, February 17, 2011

Chp 338. The night every Arsenal fan will remember!

Stayed up till 4am this morning. Back in office by 9am. Tired. Sleepy. Drained. Emotionally spent. Was it worth it? Of course it bloody was! Arsenal came back from a goal down to win 2-1, and played one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever seen!

Champions League "Round of 16" 1st leg. Arsenal versus Barcelona. Everybody laughed at us. Mocked us. Pitied us.

“Barcelona’s the defending champion,” they said.

“How are you going to beat Barca?” they asked.

“Will you have the guts to watch the match live?” they mocked.

“Remember last year when Messi scored 4 goals?” they taunted.

“Barca were recently on a 16 games winning spree, has lost only 1 match and drawn 2 at La Liga so far, and currently on top of the table of Spanish league”, they reminded.

“They thrashed Real Madrid 5-0!” they concluded.

Bookies placed the odds at 29-0 or something like that for Barcelona to win, I remember reading somewhere.

Barcelona-Lite, they called us. Rubbing salt into an injury that wasn’t even there yet.

Well, what can I say. A big fuck you to all who didn’t believe in us! We played amazing last night, and emerged the clear victor.

Of course it was just the first leg, I know, I know. But this result definitely sends a clear message to all our critics. DO NOT TAKE US LIGHTLY. We are the mighty Gunners. We will load our cannons and fire up your Arse. We, the mighty Arse.

Sure, last year too when we faced Barcelona at the Quarter Finals for the first leg at Emirates, the score was 2-2. And this year, it is 2-1. How different was it, you may ask?

Well for one thing, it was an entirely different game. Last year, Barca were up 2-0 during the first leg. They dominated the game and we were lucky they didn’t score more. With around 20 mins left, Walcott fired one home to make the score 2-1. And then Puyol got a red card so Barca was one man down. We scored a penalty and eventually the score was 2-2.

But last night, things were completely different. Arsenal totally dominated the second half! Oh the passes, the one-touch game, the combination, the execution, they were all perfect! And it’s not like Barca played badly. No, they played their usual beautiful game. Arsenal just happened to trump that and played better. I would have definitely enjoyed watching the match even if I was not an Arsenal fan.

Jack Wilshere was definitely my man of the match. The youngster is the next Fabregas, trust me. Szczesny too played a pivot role in this grand victory. Hats off to him as well. Kudos to Kos for making sure Messi doesn’t make a mess this time.

But what made this victory even sweeter for me was that, I can now show our “Mumbai Mirror” newspaper the big middle finger!

Yeah, for those of us Arsenal fans in Mumbai, nothing was more insulting than the newspaper mocking Arsenal on Wednesday.



And they even got the fucking Arsenal lineup wrong!



Former Barca striker Ibrahimovic is playing for Arsenal? The same dude who scored twice against Arsenal in the first leg last year? Hah, Mumbai Mirror, you really really should be more careful with your source.

This morning as I picked up a copy of Mumbai Mirror, I laughed at it. A deep condescending evil laughter. MUAH HA HA HA. In your face, Mumbai Mirror.


Looks like Barcelona will now be called “Arsenal Lite”. Bwahahaha!




Monday, February 14, 2011

Chp 337. Cheap Valentine

During my carefree and unemployed days, I used to love this time of the year – Jan, Feb, March. Not only is there a Valentine’s Day in between, but these three months are also filled with “End of Season SALE” at various showrooms and malls.

Now that I am finally working, I suddenly hate this time of the year.

Yeah, it’s only when you actually start earning and stop depending on your folk’s money that you realize this time of the year sucks. Uberly.

With the financial year coming to an end, you are either making desperate attempt to invest more in mutual funds, life insurance etc. or running around in the last minute to get your rent receipts or medical bills in order etc. or trying to build up a certain amount of savings that you can’t touch or getting a large chunk of your salary deducted due to tax because you didn’t invest enough etc. etc. Whatever be the case, you end up with hardly anything in your wallet.

And yes, every year since I started working, the same story repeats itself. Ah sometimes I miss the bliss and freedom of not getting paid…

Now you know why all these brands and outlets have humongous SALES and offers during this time of the year - Because they know most people will be extremely tight on their budget. Hah. End of Season Sale, my ass.

Seeing such ridiculous sales does not even humor me anymore. Like for example, this offer I saw at a Mall yesterday. Five years ago, I would be laughing at such a sign. Today, it is no longer funny.



Ok, I confess it does bring a small smile… but it’s not as funny as it used to be.

And it’s not just the malls and shops that are filled with such offers and discounts. Even our newspapers are blatantly covered with them. TV commercials and sms campaigns bombard you incessantly about Valentine’s Day specials. Seeing all these ads makes me dislike Valentine’s Day even more.

I don’t hate this day because of the Ads. After all, I do work in the advertising industry and it would be really ironic of me to do so. Lolz. No I hate this day because of the timing – why the hell does Valentine’s Day have to fall bang in the middle of tax season? Why not April to December when the cash flow is so much smoother then?

Did the evil old Emperor Claudius foresee all this when he killed Saint Valentine many years ago and said, “Years from now, young lovers will celebrate their love to commemorate his death, but this will also be the time when they’ll have to file for income tax return, submit investment proof etc hence making it difficult for them to buy expensive gifts. This will be the worst mental torture I can bestow upon them. Therefore as a super badass villain, I have just fulfilled my ultimate goal! Bwahahahaa!”

Maybe. Maybe not.

But when you see (or make) such ads shouting out to people that there’s only one way to prove your genuine love and that is by buying her a diamond ring, it kinda makes you cringe as you dig deep into your pocket.

And hell, it’s not just expensive gifts like diamond rings, pearl necklaces and Swiss watches. Today’s TOI frontpage talks about cosmetic surgery as the ideal Valentine’s Day gift!



Well I may be giving my girl a gift. Or I may not. That’s personal. But one thing’s for sure – I am definitely going to include one of those free coupons too, you know, the ones that say “This coupon entitles you to one free hug from me” or “This coupon guarantees that I will be at your beck and call any time of the day from 16 Feb to 25 Feb, 2011” types.

Sweet. Romantic. And cheap

Here’s one such coupon my girl showed me yesterday. As she showed me the ad, she did a slight “ahem” with her throat.



Quickly reading it, I turned the page doing a slight “ahem” with my throat too. She punched me.

But yeah I have to admit – I love this Ad.

At first I thought it was a public service message. And then I saw it was an ad for Nicorette - that TV Ad where the cigarette packet is stuck to the dad’s hand as he tried to throw it in a dustbin. Yeah, very clichéd idea *yawn*. But this new campaign (Quit India – Movement for a Tobacco Free India) is amazing and I just love it.

Upon further investigation, here is their website | Facebook | Twitter links. Follow them. I wonder which Agency made this. And why had there been no louder buzz regarding this campaign??? I really am contemplating about quitting… one day…

Maybe I’ll update my blog with those free coupons I was talking about earlier (free foot massage etc). But for a free coupon, this Nicorette campaign “I quit smoking for the one I love” Valentine’s Day coupon is freaking awesome. I love it! I think this coupon is way better and more precious than all the D’damas and De Beers gifts a guy can give to his girl.

Ladies, what do you think?

Monday, February 07, 2011

Chp 336. RIP - Zika

Just heard the shocking news this morning from my sister – Zika, a hornbill that had become a family to so many people, was brutally murdered on February 1st, 2010. The news of his death became public this morning, casting a dark shadow over my locality.

Zika was not just another hornbill. He was extremely smart, friendly and not at all intimidated by humans. He frequented my locality (Chaltlang) a lot and everybody called out his name whenever they saw him, right from the smallest children to the oldest grandpa. In fact, many people who visited my locality would hope to see if they were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Zika in action.

He was extremely popular because, after all, you don’t see any hornbills in the city, and even if you do, they’ll fly away immediately due to their natural instinct. Zika on the other hand, would directly approach you, look at you questioningly as if he’s trying to cheer you up in case you were feeling down, or just give you company because he thought you’re lonely. That is Zika.

He would fly from house to house, and everywhere he flew, people would feed him or chat with him. He would listen to you attentively, and at the same time he loved the attention he was getting from everyone.

He would watch people play football and sometimes even try to take part in the game whenever the ball was kicked in the air. He would greet school children going to school and sometimes even looked like he was trying to help them cross the busy dawrkawn road. And sometimes he would just sit at Chaltlang (dawrkawn) bus stand, greeting people who got down from the bus, as if say, “Welcome to Chaltlang”. Yes, and sometimes he would actually travel with the people inside buses or taxis!

He was truly the people’s bird.

Here is a video I took of him just barely a month ago. I did a little editing on the video and sound. I can’t believe he is no more…




According to report from The Aizawl Post newspaper, around a week ago, Zika flew to Zemabawk, a neighboring locality. He usually doesn’t venture that far from Chaltlang but this time, I guess he wanted to explore the area a bit more.

When people from Zemabawk locality saw him, the community leaders immediately announced on public loudspeakers that the bird was not to be harmed in anyway.

But then, when Zika didn’t come home to his owner’s house, Pu Zairema Sailo from Laipuitlang locality, for almost a week, they started having a bad feeling. Zika always return home and was not the type to run fly away from home or spend the night someplace else.

So when the owner started looking for him, they eventually discovered that two people from Zemabawk who apparently did not hear the announcement on the public loudspeaker saw him… and killed him.

As of today, the two culprits are booked and face possible imprisonment of 3-7 years as the hornbill is under Schedule animal 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act.

I really don’t wanna talk about how he died. It’s too painful. I feel sad to know we’re going to miss such an iconic bird. And I feel sorry for my two nieces and so many other children of my locality who have looked up to this bird as their role model and hero – A mascot of hope.

RIP Zika.