dibzZZzopedia

Virat Kohli's maiden Test century

2012-01-26T15:13:00.001+03:00

Virat Kohli scored his first Test century (116) vs Australia today... When the MEN couldn't get it done... the Kid did...

And a celebration that says it all.. after all the sledging and fines and on field tantrums by the Aussies

RESPECT !

Thierry Henry : Sensational return

2012-01-10T08:50:00.001+03:00

Priceless moments it was; staying up late to watch Henry back in Arsenal colors; and yes he did get to play... n boy, did he play ! Vintage goal.. Vintage Henry... Vintage Arsenal... Respect... for the love of the game...

One could just see, from the celebrations, how much this meant to him....

Last one standing ??!!

2012-01-02T23:15:00.000+03:00

A new year....

2012-01-01T20:55:00.001+03:00

Woah... 2011 was fast.... Interesting weather on this first day of the year... Clicked this while I was at a traffic signal... Presenting... The 'Popcorn Sky' ... Happy New Year ...

Google Buys Motorola for $12.5 Billion

2011-08-15T15:58:00.000+03:00

Google announced today morning that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

Motorola is one of 39 manufacturers of handsets that use Google’s Android operating system.

Buying a hardware company is an unusual move for Google. The acquisition, Google said in a statement, “will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem.”

Supercopa : Real Madrid vs Barcelona (1st Leg) Watch it Live

2011-08-14T23:03:00.001+03:00

Watch the first leg of the Supercopa at Hostream ..

(Scroll Down to find Channels 8,9 and 10)

Kit Kat Dark Chocolate

2011-08-14T22:47:00.000+03:00

I didn't even know such a thing existed... Its different from the routine Kit Kat taste which is in my head from all these years. For those who would prefer dark choco to white / milk choco ... can enjoy it ... ( I'm not a Dark chocolate lover !)

Over the years, many varieties of Kit Kat have come..but this basically caught my eye..cuz of the dark chocolate content.

Price 0.175 Fils for a four finger bar @ Lulu Hypermarket

P.S. Did you know.. that eating a bar of dark chocolate everyday is actually good for heart related problems !?

Barclay's Premier League 2011 - 2012

2011-08-13T12:28:00.000+03:00

The waiting is almost over as the new Barclays Premier League season prepares to get under way in a few hours.
The excitement has been mounting for weeks as the 20 clubs get ready for one of the most eagerly-anticipated campaigns for many years.

After a thrilling battle for the crown in 2010/11, the title race looks to be even more wide open this time round. Champions Manchester United will face the usual strong competition from perennial challengers Chelsea and Arsenal but this season they will also have to fend off big-spending neighbours Manchester City.
Liverpool have also splashed the cash in a bid to maintain the momentum under new manager Kenny Dalglish and Tottenham Hotspur are determined to break back into the top four.

In a hectic summer of transfer activity, newcomers Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City have all strengthened in a bid to secure survival.
And there are changes off the field too with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Fulham all under new management.

Of the numerous user-compiled promos; this one really captures the excitement ready to grip the world for the next 9 months...

Facebook Messenger App for iPhone and Android

2011-08-12T18:01:00.000+03:00

Facebook launched a new standalone app for iPhone and Android based devices. The app lets you send messages directly to individual friends or groups, which they'll of course receive instantly (a la BBM, Huddle for Google+, and Apple's forthcoming iMessage). You're also able to share your location if you choose, and attach photos to your messages, but the app is otherwise streamlined and much more stable than the existing Facebook App for Android....

Is it yet another Chat App? We'll see about ...

A few screenshots of the app...

10 Food Photography Tips to Make It Look Tasty

2011-08-09T20:59:00.000+03:00

We’ve all done it before. Taken a photo of a delicious meal only to have it turn out looking ugly and not edible.
Nowadays every other person has a smartphone or a DSLR (or both) ... So here's a small list of tips exclusively for foodies!!

1. Keep the background clean

Make sure there is a color contrast between the background and the food, don’t have the two be the same color or a similar shade. For example, strawberries served on a red plate isn’t going to stand out. Keep the background simple and uncluttered. If unsure, stick to a plain white background.

2. Adjust the white balance

Adjust the white balance on your camera according to what you’re shooting. Meat should always be shot in warm tones as a blue-ish tinge under some fluorescent lights would make it look ghastly.

3. Use natural lighting

Whenever you can, try to shoot using natural lighting. Shoot during the day near a window where you would get plenty of natural sunlight. When you must shoot at night, try avoid using flash directly on the food as it’s too harsh. Instead, use a flash diffuser or have the flash bounce off a ceiling or wall.

4. Use a tripod

Most food photography will be done indoors, where there might not be enough lighting. Use a tripod whenever you can as it beats trying to hold very still for long a amount of time.

5. Small details make a big difference

Don’t disregard the small stuff. Keep in mind that using nice cutlery and a clean serving plate/bowl could make all the difference transforming a nice photo to a fantastic one.

6. Get up close

Instead of only taking photos of a full plate of food, take some macro shots too. Getting up close to your subject will bring out the textures and finer details, making it more interesting and intriguing.

7. Cut it, slice it, dice it!

As with anything, you shouldn’t just take something for its face value. With food, sometimes it’s what’s inside that can create a great shot. I love cutting up crumbed foods for the contrasting textures. I also love cutting up cakes just so I can get the different layers.

8. Take photos from all angles

Don’t just take a photo from a bird’s eye view, try different angles. Left, right, top, bottom. Feel free to even move the food around and come up with different compositions.

9. Use props

Don’t be afraid to jazz up the set. Maybe a glass of orange juice to go with those pancakes? A bottle of wine in the background with your steak and mash meal? Or maybe some hundreds and thousands sprinkled around your cupcakes? Do remember to keep it simple as too many props can be distracting.

10. Cheat if you have to

As long as you’re not planning to eat the food afterwards, there are ways to enhance your food by using some industry tricks. For example, make your food glisten by brushing on some vegetable oil. Create that ‘fresh out of the oven’ steam by placing some microwaved cotton balls that have been soaked in water. Or make perfect-looking ice cream that won’t ever melt with some mashed potatoes.

Coming Soon - In Time

2011-08-08T23:39:00.001+03:00

In the future people stop aging at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time, but when a young man finds himself with more time than he can imagine he must run from the corrupt police force to save his life.

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy

More info on IMDB

Watch the trailer below

Man United stun Man City in the Community Shield

2011-08-07T23:57:00.000+03:00

Manchester United completed a stunning comeback from 2 goals down at the half to win 3-2 and lift the Community Shield and more importantly gain the upper hand in the battle of 'who's the better Manchester team' ... Well, the whole world knows the answer to that, but who knows, football's a funny game! This game was far from 'friendly' as 7 yellow cards were dished out in the tensely contested match.

Watch the all the goals below...

( Arabic commentary rocks anyday ! )

The Android Story

2011-08-01T01:12:00.000+03:00

Android has indeed come a long way in such a short time... here's an infographic looking at its version history.

The Purple Patch

2011-08-01T01:06:00.002+03:00

Back ... yet again ... with a liberal splash of purple... somehow 'PURPLE' is stuck in my head ...

There were tons of stuff I shud've posted while on hibernation, but hoping for a renewed enthusiasm... (being Ramadan n all...)

So here goes...

Dibzzzzopedia .... Take 13....

Box Office Top 10 ( 14th Jan 2011 )

2011-01-18T19:36:00.000+03:00

The US box office Top 10 for the Jan 12 - 14 weekend

This Wk	Last Wk	Title	Weekend Gross	Cumulative Gross
1	-	The Green Hornet	$34,000,000	$34,000,000
3	1	True Grit	$11,200,000	$127,400,000
4	9	The King's Speech	$9,070,000	$44,594,893
5	5	Black Swan	$8,125,000	$72,993,358
6	2	Little Fockers	$7,137,582	$134,223,607
7	4	TRON: Legacy	$5,674,000	$156,913,000
8	8	Yogi Bear	$5,345,000	$82,095,000
9	7	The Fighter	$5,125,000	$65,800,000
10	3	Season of the Witch	$4,500,000	$18,000,000

“The Social Network” Wins Big at the Golden Globes 2011

2011-01-17T21:21:00.084+03:00

The Social Network was one of the big winners at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, taking home four trophies, including those for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes is often viewed as a predictor for the Academy Awards.

The Social Network
RELEASED DOMESTICALLY ON OCTOBER 1, 2010 BY COLUMBIA PICTURES
RATED PG-13 FOR SEXUAL CONTENT, DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE AND LANGUAGE.
DIRECTOR: David Fincher
STARRING: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Joe Mazzello, Caleb Landry Jones, Rooney Mara

The Kids are All Right
RELEASED DOMESTICALLY ON JULY 9, 2010 BY FOCUS FEATURES
RATED R FOR STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT, NUDITY, LANGUAGE AND SOME TEEN DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE.
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Hutcherson

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama)
Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama)
Colin Firth - The King's Speech

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Annette Bening - The Kids are All Right

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Paul Giamatti - Barney's Version

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale - The Fighter

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Best Director
David Fincher - The Social Network

Best Foreign Language Film
In a Better World

Best Screenplay
The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Score
The Social Network
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Television Series (Drama)
"Boardwalk Empire"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama)
Steve Buscemi - "Boardwalk Empire"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama)
Katey Sagal - "Sons of Anarchy"

Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy)
"Glee"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy)
Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy)
Laura Linney - "The Big C"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Carlos"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Al Pacino - "You Don't Know Jack"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Claire Danes - "Temple Grandin"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chris Colfer - "Glee"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Lynch - "Glee"

Robert De Niro

*The Cecil B. deMille Award is a special award given out each year by the Hollywood Foreign Press.

India's IndiGo places 'largest' aircraft order in aviation history

2011-01-13T19:06:00.000+03:00

India's largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be A320neo’s and 30 will be A320s. It is the largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history, and also makes IndiGo a launch customer for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

The A320neo, available from 2016, incorporates new more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets delivering significant fuel savings of up to 15 percent, which represents up to 3,600 tonnes of CO2 annually per aircraft. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

“This order for industry leading fuel efficient aircraft will allow IndiGo to continue to offer low fares,” said Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, co-founders of IndiGo. “Ordering more A320s was the natural choice to meet India’s growing flying needs. The opportunity to reduce costs and to further improve our environmental performance through the A320neo were key to our decision.”

Read the whole story here

Surprising Statues

2011-01-12T22:55:00.001+03:00

Sculptors in South Dakota are slowly building the world's largest statue, a giant monument to Native American chief Crazy Horse. If completed, it'll break the record set by a giant statue in China.

Source: Yahoo

Box Office Top 10 ( 9th Jan 2011 )

2011-01-11T22:53:00.000+03:00

The US box office Top 10 for the Jan 7 - 9 weekend

This Wk	Last Wk	Title	Weekend Gross	Cumulative Gross
1	2	True Grit	$14,605,135	$110,035,157
2	1	Little Fockers	$13,487,245	$123,687,760
3	-	Season of the Witch	$10,612,375	$10,612,375
4	3	TRON: Legacy	$10,090,002	$148,212,420
5	9	Black Swan	$8,113,011	$61,218,504
6	42	Country Strong	$7,326,165	$7,463,454
7	6	The Fighter	$7,001,504	$57,845,946
8	4	Yogi Bear	$6,641,250	$75,436,771
9	10	The King's Speech	$6,414,407	$32,896,665
10	7	Tangled	$5,111,098	$175,779,496

Messi wins FIFA Ballon d’Or

2011-01-10T22:34:00.001+03:00

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been named the FIFA Men's World Player of the Year for 2010 receiving the inaugural FIFA Ballon d’Or, a fusion of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and France Football magazine’s Ballon d’Or.

Messi was on a three-man shortlist with Barca team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta but, despite Spain's World Cup triumph, the Argentina forward came out on top in the voting.

Messi scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2010, with 42 goals in 36 La Liga games, as well as finishing top scorer in the Champions League in 2010 with 12 goals in 12 games.

He totalled 60 goals for the year for club and country.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to win today, but it was already great to be here next to my two mates," Messi said as he accepted the award. "To win it makes it even more special.

"I want to share with all of my friends, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians."

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was named named FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football. Mourinho won Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia with Inter Milan in the 2009-10 season and has made an impressive start to life at the Bernabeu.

In his acceptance speech, Mourinho paid tribute to Spain's Vicente Del Bosque and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, who had been shortlisted for the award.

Hamit Altintop won the FIFA Puskas Award for best goal in recognition of his strike for Turkey against Kazakhstan.

The Full list of Winners

FIFA Men's World Player of the Year: Lionel Messi
FIFA Women's World Player of the Year: Marta
FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football: Jose Mourinho
FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football: Silvia Neid
FIFA FIFPro World XI of 2010: Casillas; Maicon, Pique, Lucio, Puyol; Xavi, Sneijder, Iniesta; Cristiano Ronaldo, Villa, Messi
FIFA Puskas Award: Hamit Altintop
FIFA Fair Play Award: Haiti Under-17 women's team
FIFA Presidential Award: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The IPL Hungama

2011-01-09T21:21:00.000+03:00

The 2-day auction for the 4th edition of the Indian Premier League concluded today at Bangalore, with the world trying to make sense of all the buying and statistics involved. (Oh, is it just me or doesn't Kochi have a name yet!)

Well, on paper, Chennai is a sure bet, as is KKR and Pune. But so was the case with Deccan Chargers in the 1st edition. So as someone said ( i think Ravi Shastri penned it)... "Anything is possible in T20 cricket"

The entire list...

Player Name	Country	IPL Team	Cost in USD
MS Dhoni (retained)	India	Chennai Super Kings	1800000
Suresh Raina (retained)	India	Chennai Super Kings	1300000
M Vijay (retained)	India	Chennai Super Kings	900000
Albie Morkel (retained)	South Africa	Chennai Super Kings	500000
Michael Hussey	Australia	Chennai Super Kings	425000
Wriddhiman Saha	India	Chennai Super Kings	100000
Dwayne Bravo	West Indies	Chennai Super Kings	200000
Doug Bollinger	Australia	Chennai Super Kings	700000
R Ashwin	India	Chennai Super Kings	850000
S Badrinath	India	Chennai Super Kings	850000
Scott Styris	New Zealand	Chennai Super Kings	200000
Ben Hilfenhaus	Australia	Chennai Super Kings	100000
Joginder Sharma	India	Chennai Super Kings	150000
Nuwan Kulasekara	Sri Lanka	Chennai Super Kings	100000
Sudeep Tyagi	India	Chennai Super Kings	240000
Suraj Randiv	Sri Lanka	Chennai Super Kings	80000
George Bailey	Australia	Chennai Super Kings	50000
Faf du Plessis	South Africa	Chennai Super Kings	120000
Kevin Pietersen	England	Deccan Chargers	650000
Cameron White	Australia	Deccan Chargers	1100000
Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	Deccan Chargers	700000
JP Duminy	South Africa	Deccan Chargers	300000
Shikhar Dhawan	India	Deccan Chargers	300000
Ishant Sharma	India	Deccan Chargers	450000
Dale Steyn	South Africa	Deccan Chargers	1200000
Pragyan Ojha	India	Deccan Chargers	500000
Amit Mishra	India	Deccan Chargers	300000
Dan Christian	Australia	Deccan Chargers	900000
Manpreet Gony	India	Deccan Chargers	290000
Chris Lynn	Australia	Deccan Chargers	20000
Rusty Theron	South Africa	Deccan Chargers	85000
Michael Lumb	England	Deccan Chargers	80000
Virender Sehwag (retained)	India	Delhi Daredevils	1800000
Irfan Pathan	India	Delhi Daredevils	1900000
David Warner	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	750000
Naman Ojha	India	Delhi Daredevils	270000
James Hopes	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	350000
Morne Morkel	South Africa	Delhi Daredevils	475000
Aaron Finch	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	300000
Matthew Wade	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	100000
Ajit Agarkar	India	Delhi Daredevils	210000
Ashok Dinda	India	Delhi Daredevils	375000
Umesh Yadav	India	Delhi Daredevils	750000
Roelof van der Merwe	South Africa	Delhi Daredevils	50000
Venugopal Rao	India	Delhi Daredevils	700000
Andrew McDonald	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	80000
Travis Birt	Australia	Delhi Daredevils	20000
Colin Ingram	South Africa	Delhi Daredevils	100000
Robert Frylinck	South Africa	Delhi Daredevils	20000
Adam Gilchrist	Australia	Kings XI Punjab	900000
Shaun Marsh	Australia	Kings XI Punjab	400000
David Hussey	Australia	Kings XI Punjab	1400000
Dinesh Karthik	India	Kings XI Punjab	900000
Stuart Broad	England	Kings XI Punjab	400000
Abhishek Nayar	India	Kings XI Punjab	800000
Praveen Kumar	India	Kings XI Punjab	800000
Ryan Harris	Australia	Kings XI Punjab	325000
Piyush Chawla	India	Kings XI Punjab	900000
Dmitri Mascarenhas	England	Kings XI Punjab	100000
Nathan Rimmington	Australia	Kings XI Punjab	20000
Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	Kochi	1500000
VVS Laxman	India	Kochi	400000
Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	Kochi	475000
Sreesanth	India	Kochi	900000
RP Singh	India	Kochi	500000
Parthiv Patel	India	Kochi	290000
Ravindra Jadeja	India	Kochi	950000
Steven Smith	Australia	Kochi	200000
Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	Kochi	1100000
Ramesh Powar	India	Kochi	180000
Brad Hodge	Australia	Kochi	425000
Thisara Perera	Sri Lanka	Kochi	80000
Vinay Kumar	India	Kochi	475000
Steve O'Keefe	Australia	Kochi	20000
Owais Shah	England	Kochi	200000
Michael Klinger	Australia	Kochi	75000
John Hastings	Australia	Kochi	20000
Gautam Gambhir	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	2400000
Yusuf Pathan	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	2100000
Jacques Kallis	South Africa	Kolkata Knight Riders	1100000
Brad Haddin	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	325000
Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	Kolkata Knight Riders	425000
Brett Lee	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	400000
Eoin Morgan	England	Kolkata Knight Riders	350000
Manoj Tiwary	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	475000
L Balaji	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	500000
Jaidev Unadkat	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	250000
Ryan ten Doeschate	Netherlands	Kolkata Knight Riders	150000
James Pattinson	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	100000
Sachin Tendulkar (retained)	India	Mumbai Indians	1800000
Harbhajan Singh (retained)	India	Mumbai Indians	1300000
Kieron Pollard (retained)	West Indies	Mumbai Indians	900000
Lasith Malinga (retained)	Sri Lanka	Mumbai Indians	500000
Rohit Sharma	India	Mumbai Indians	2000000
Andrew Symonds	Australia	Mumbai Indians	850000
Davy Jacobs	South Africa	Mumbai Indians	190000
James Franklin	New Zealand	Mumbai Indians	100000
Munaf Patel	India	Mumbai Indians	700000
Clint McKay	Australia	Mumbai Indians	110000
Moises Henriques	Australia	Mumbai Indians	50000
Aiden Blizzard	Australia	Mumbai Indians	20000
Yuvraj Singh	India	Pune Warriors	1800000
Graeme Smith	South Africa	Pune Warriors	500000
Robin Uthappa	India	Pune Warriors	2100000
Tim Paine	Australia	Pune Warriors	270000
Angelo Mathews	Sri Lanka	Pune Warriors	950000
Ashish Nehra	India	Pune Warriors	850000
Nathan McCullum	New Zealand	Pune Warriors	100000
Callum Ferguson	Australia	Pune Warriors	300000
Wayne Parnell	South Africa	Pune Warriors	160000
Mitchell Marsh	Australia	Pune Warriors	290000
Jerome Taylor	West Indies	Pune Warriors	100000
Alfonso Thomas	South Africa	Pune Warriors	100000
Jesse Ryder	New Zealand	Pune Warriors	150000
Murali Kartik	India	Pune Warriors	400000
Shane Warne (retained)	Australia	Rajasthan Royals	1800000
Shane Watson (retained)	Australia	Rajasthan Royals	1300000
Ross Taylor	New Zealand	Rajasthan Royals	1000000
Rahul Dravid	India	Rajasthan Royals	500000
Johan Botha	South Africa	Rajasthan Royals	950000
Paul Collingwood	England	Rajasthan Royals	250000
Shaun Tait	Australia	Rajasthan Royals	300000
Pankaj Singh	India	Rajasthan Royals	95000
Virat Kohli (retained)	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	1800000
Tillakaratne Dilshan	Sri Lanka	Royal Challengers Bangalore	650000
Zaheer Khan	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	900000
AB de Villiers	South Africa	Royal Challengers Bangalore	1100000
Daniel Vettori	New Zealand	Royal Challengers Bangalore	550000
Saurabh Tiwary	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	1600000
Dirk Nannes	Australia	Royal Challengers Bangalore	650000
Cheteshwar Pujara	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	700000
Charl Langeveldt	South Africa	Royal Challengers Bangalore	140000
Luke Pomersbasch	Australia	Royal Challengers Bangalore	50000
Abhimanyu Mithun	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	260000
Johan van der Wath	South Africa	Royal Challengers Bangalore	95000
Rilee Rossouw	South Africa	Royal Challengers Bangalore	20000
Nuwan Pradeep	Sri Lanka	Royal Challengers Bangalore	20000
Jonathan Vandiar	South Africa	Royal Challengers Bangalore	20000
Mohammad Kaif	India	Royal Challenges Bangalore	130000

Hodgson LEAVES Liverpool

2011-01-08T18:27:00.000+03:00

Roy Hodgson has left Liverpool by mututal consent after a MISERABLE 7 month stint. Hodgson had been under pressure for some time and speculation over his future intensified after Wednesday night's 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. That left Liverpool in 12th, four points above the relegation zone.

Can't blame this chap, after all it was Rafael Benitez who screwed up the mighty Liverpool over the past seasons. Constant re-shuffling, selling important players, defensive strategies all took away the heart and spirit oh what Liverpool FC is all about. Finally after leaving after last season, he joined Inter Milan and voilà... same guy, same story, different place. Well, the Italians aint very sentimental. Its business ! Benitez, YOU'RE FIRED... wonder what he's upto now !

Gerard Houllier's 6 years of hard work of moudling together a TEAM paid off when Liverpool astonishingly beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final, after being behind 3-0 at half-time, which was Benitez's first year in charge.

Then on it has been a downhill, except for the superb run in the EPL 3 seasons ago... but the credit to that deservedly goes to the talismanic captain... Gerrard.

Well, so now its a local hero from yesteryear Kenny Daglish, who's given the responsibility of avoiding the embarrassment of failing to finish in the top 6 yet again.

Guess we'll just have to wait n watch where Gerrard, Torres and Co. can turn this season around.

GO LIVERPOOL...

Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know

2011-01-07T21:54:00.002+03:00

Ever wondered what our kids would never see in their days? Well here's a rough list of stuff that have/are becoming outdated with time.

Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.

Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?

Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.

Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.

Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.

Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.

Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.

Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.

Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.

Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?

The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.

CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.

Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.

Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?

Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."

Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.

Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.

Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!

Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.

Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.

Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.

Courtesy Stacy Johnson

FIFA Puskas Award : Best Goal of the Year

2011-01-06T20:51:00.000+03:00

This award is in honor of Ferenc Puskás, the captain of Hungary's Magical Magyar team of the 1950s and central member of the highly successful Real Madrid side of the 1960s. Puskás is widely considered by many to be the most powerful and prolific forward European football produced in first division football, and scored a once world record of 84 goals in 85 internationals. He is the top scorer of the 20th century with 512 goals in 528 matches.

The Puskas Award was established in 2009, with Christiano Ronaldo winning it for his superb long (really long) distance goal against Porto, while playing for Manchester United during the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League.

The nominations for this year's award are :

The winner will be announced at the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala on 10 January 2011.

And of course... the video of all the 10 goals...

Ronaldo's wonder goal

Box Office Top 10 ( 2nd Jan 2011 )

2011-01-05T23:52:00.000+03:00

The US box office Top 10 for the Dec 31 - Jan 2 weekend

This Wk	Last Wk	Title	Weekend Gross	Cumulative Gross
1	1	Little Fockers	$26,299,600	$103,190,505
2	2	True Grit	$24,500,000	$86,765,000
3	3	TRON: Legacy	$18,306,000	$130,854,000
4	5	Yogi Bear	$13,000,000	$66,130,000
5	4	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader	$10,500,000	$87,141,297
6	7	Tangled	$10,008,000	$168,027,000
7	6	The Fighter	$10,000,000	$46,389,000
8	8	Gulliver's Travels	$9,100,000	$27,228,794
9	9	Black Swan	$8,450,000	$47,370,093
10	11	The King's Speech	$7,649,164	$22,806,942