Football fever

quiz whiz 

1. When did the first FIFA World Cup take place?
A. 1863
B. 1904
C. 1930
D. 1958

2. Which country won the inaugural edition of the FIFA World Cup?
A. Uruguay
B. Argentina
C. United States
D. Yugoslavia

3. Which country has won the football World Cup the most times?
A. England
B. Italy
C. Germany
D. Brazil

4. Who is the all-time top goal scorer at the World Cup?
A. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
B. Miroslav Klose (Germany)
C. Ronaldo (Brazil)
D. Pelé (Brazil)

5. Which country has scored the most World Cup goals?
A. Argentina
B. Germany
C. Brazil
D. Italy

6. How many times has the Pakistan national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup?
A. 0
B. Are we going to pretend it’s anything but 0?
C. Let’s face it, it’s 0
D. 0! It’s 0!

7. The official ball for the 2018 World Cup, the Telstar 18, has been made in which country?
A. China
B. Russia
C. South Korea
D. Pakistan

8. The mascot for the 2018 tournament is named Zabivaka, which means “the one who scores” in Russian. Which animal is Zabivaka?
A. Bear
B. Fox
C. Dog
D. Wolf

9. What is the tagline for the 2018 tournament?
A. Where the stars align
B. Where the best shine
C. Where the talent competes
D. Where the world unites

10. The official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is ‘Live It Up’ by Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam. Which famous artist appears on the song?
A. will.i.am
B. Will Smith
C. Will Young
D. William Hung

11. Which country has qualified for the first time for the World Cup this year?
A. Saudi Arabia
B. Egypt
C. Iceland
D. Panama

12. And which country has failed to qualify for the first time since 1958?
A. Italy
B. Netherlands
C. Cameroon
D. United States

*****

Answers
 
1. C
Football appears to have existed in some variation or the other since ancient times, with the Chinese game Cuju – the earliest known form of football – dating back to the 3rd or 2nd century B.C.
The first rules of the modern game were drawn up at Cambridge University in the 1840s, and standardized in 1863 with the formation of England’s Football Association, the oldest football association in the world.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was formed in 1904, and has its headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.
Soccer was first included in the Olympic Games in 1908.
The first World Cup was held in 1904 and has taken place every four years since then, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War.

2. A 
Host nation Uruguay beat Argentina 4 goals to 2 in the 1930 FIFA World Cup final, becoming the first country to win the tournament. The United States finished in third place while Yugoslavia came in fourth.
Thirteen teams participated in the 1930 tournament which took place from 13 to 30 July in Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. The majority of the matches took place at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.

3. D
Brazil has won the most titles, five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).
The current champion, Germany, has won four trophies (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014).
Italy has also won four (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006).
England has won the tournament once (1966).

4. B
Germany’s Miroslav Klose (who participated in the World Cup tournaments from 2002 to 2014) is the all-time top scorer, with 16 goals. He broke Brazil’s Ronaldo’s record of 15 goals (1998 to 2006).

5. B 
Germany has scored the most goals (224) and has also conceded the most goals (121).
The German team has also played the most World Cup matches (106), and appeared in the most finals (8), semi-finals (13), and quarter-finals (16).

6. [insert sad emoji here]

7. D 
The Telstar 18 balls have been produced by Forward Sports in Sialkot, Pakistan. The ball has six textured panels that are seamlessly glued together, and also has an embedded near-field communication chip.
Telstar 18 was designed by the company Adidas, with the ball’s name paying homage to Adidas’s first World Cup match ball, the Telstar (a combination of “television” and “star”), which was itself named after the Telstar communications satellite that it resembled.

8. D
Zabivaka is an anthropomorphic wolf with brown and white wool wearing a white t-shirt with blue short sleeves and red shorts, a nod to the national colours of the Russian team.

9. A 
“Where the stars align” is the official tagline of the 2018 World Cup, which is taking place in Russia this year from 14th June to 15th July.

10. B 
The official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, ‘Live It Up’, is by Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam and features American rapper Will Smith and Kosovar singer Era Istrefi.
It isn’t very good.

11. C and D
Iceland (the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup) and Panama have both qualified for the first time.

12. A 
Four-time champions Italy has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1958. Netherlands is missing the cup for the first time since 2002, and United States for the first time since 1986. And Cameroon, the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winner, didn’t make it to the tournament either.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 22nd June, 2018

The big guns stage a comeback

album review 

Artist: Kanye West
Album: Ye

There is something inherently frustrating about Kanye West. For someone as talented as he is, the rapper’s proclivity to being – as U.S. President Barack Obama so succinctly put it – a “jackass” has cast a shadow on his work. But it isn’t just exasperating that the ego and the divisive comments are detracting from the American artist’s undeniable musical genius. It’s just as frustrating that his talents simply aren’t being used to their full potential, as evident on his latest album, Ye, perhaps, his most intimate, but also his least satisfying creation to date.

“I hate being bi-polar, it’s awesome,” Kanye has scribbled on the album’s cover, a surprisingly apt reflection on its contents. A concise statement of only 7 songs that altogether run for around 23 minutes, Ye finds Kanye sharing his thoughts, ranging from dark murderous and suicidal feelings (the sonically minimalist ‘I Thought About Killing You’) to his mental health (the standout ‘Yikes’) as well as references to his family and his media controversies from the last few months.

As always, there are soulful samples woven into these songs, plus there are uncredited appearances by artists like Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla Sign, PartyNextDoor, Jeremih, Charlie Wilson, and 070 Shake. But while his production remains solid, it is not as interesting or adventurous as you’d expect from the rapper. The result, while never not compelling, is often a bit unexciting and disappointingly uninventive for someone of Kanye’s stature. It’s all fairly “good” but it never transcends to “great”. The brevity of the album makes the project seem inadequate and unable to fully delve into the complex issues at its heart, while the songs leave you with the sense that with some more work they could have made a stronger impact. With just a little more focus and creativity, Ye could have been a lot more impressive.

Highlights: ‘Yikes’, ‘Ghost Town’, ‘Violent Crimes’
Rating: 3 out of 5

*****

Artist: Lily Allen
Album: No Shame

A tumultuous period in her personal life has inspired the contents of Lily Allen’s fourth album, No Shame, her powerful return to the music scene and a marked improvement on her previous record, Sheezus.

The British singer offers mostly mellow reggae flavoured electro-pop with urban beats and island sounds on No Shame, using her gentle, warm voice to create tunes that may not be destined to reign the charts but still offer an affecting take on the singer’s struggles. Her substance abuse, motherhood, and failed marriage are the primary subjects of this introspective 14-song set. Allen sings about battling her addictions on first single ‘Trigger Bang’, a toned down drums and piano driven hip pop jam featuring rapper Giggs. She draws a connection between her failed marriage and her parents on the sparse ‘Apples’. And the lovely piano ballad ‘Three’, written from the perspective of one of her daughters – a child yearning to spend more time with her busy mother – is one of the most touching songs she has ever written and likely to strike a chord with all parents.

This isn’t the bright, catchy Lily Allen of the Alright, Still era. This is a jaded artist creating a cathartic record while processing the dissolution of her marriage, and while there could have been more variations in sound and tempo (and less reliance on repetitiveness in the choruses), creating an album that is not so much to be enjoyed as it is to be felt is in itself a brave move for a mainstream pop artist.

Highlights: ‘Trigger Bang’, ‘Three’, ‘Waste’
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

- Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 17th June, 2018 *

Owl City’s Cinematic falls fairly short

music mix: album review

Artist: Owl City
Album: Cinematic

Ever since making our ears bleed winning our hearts with his obnoxious whimsical tale of getting a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs, Adam Young has been trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to recapture the magic of his massive global hit. His latest album, Cinematic, continues in search of another irresistible banger but falls fairly short as he treads familiar grounds on this overlong (15 songs plus 3 redundant alternative versions) set.

Like a The Postal Service knockoff for teens, Young continues to make peppy songs that are too earnest for their own good and blissfully oblivious to their own cheesiness, but the personal nature of his subject matter can be disarming. The singer shares stories from his life on Cinematic, writing about topics like getting a record deal at the start of his career (‘Fiji Water’), his birth (‘The 5th Of July’), and his father’s failing health (‘Always’), but his lyrics are often clichéd (as evident by song titles like ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes’ and ‘Winners Never Quit’) and the overall vibe of the album is too samey.

There are moments in these songs that hold promise – a synth here, a melody there – and at its saccharine best (like the twee-tronic ‘House Wren’ with its twinkling beat and bird sounds, a song that will generate smiles on some faces and grimaces on others), the album gently reminds you that the musician clearly does have talent. But when things go wrong – and they oh-so-massively do on ‘All My Friends’ that confusingly features some ill-advised rapping – you’re left to wonder why that talent isn’t resulting in more impressive music. On the whole, Cinematic may have its oddly charming moments but it is lyrically cheesy and sonically monochromatic, which ultimately means it will please a very narrow audience of loyal Owl City fans.

Highlights: ‘Fiji Water’, ‘House Wren’, ‘Madeline Island’, ‘Cinematic’

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

- Sameen Amer

Instep Today, The News International - 16th June, 2018 *

Amazing anatomy

quiz whiz

1. Around how many cells are there in an average human body?
A. 88.9 thousand
B. 74.5 million
C. 18.4 billion
D. 37.2 trillion

2. How many bones are in the adult human body?
A. 148
B. 206
C. 317
D. 402

3. What is the longest human bone?
A. Humerus
B. Radius
C. Femur
D. Tibia

4. Approximately how much blood is there in an average human adult?
A. 5 litres
B. 10 litres
C. 15 litres
D. 20 litres

5. What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
A. Bicep (arm)
B. Gluteus maximus (hip)
C. Masseter (jaw)
D. Tongue

6. What is the largest human organ?
A. Liver
B. Skin
C. Stomach
D. Brain

7. How fast do fingernails typically grow?
A. 1mm per day
B. 1mm per week
C. 1mm per fortnight
D. 1mm per month

8. How much air do we breathe with each breath?
A. 50 ml
B. 100 ml
C. 500 ml
D. 1000 ml

9. How long is the small intestine?
A. 5 feet
B. 10 feet
C. 15 feet
D. 20 feet

10. Which internal organ can regenerate itself?
A. Kidney
B. Liver
C. Pancreas
D. Spleen

11. Which part of the brain controls emotions?
A. Cerebrum
B. Cerebellum
C. Brainstem
D. Hypothalamus

12. What is the most abundant element in the human body?
A. Nitrogen
B. Hydrogen
C. Oxygen
D. Carbon

*****

Answers

1. D
Estimating the number of cells in the human body clearly isn’t an easy or straightforward task, but researchers have estimated that the total number of cells that compose the average human adult is around 30 to 40 trillion, with one study putting the number at 37.2 trillion (3.72 × 10^13). The majority of these are red blood cells, which make up over 70 percent of the body in number.

2. B
206 bones make up the adult human skeleton, providing support and protecting delicate internal organs. Around 640 muscles facilitate the movement of this skeletal structure by contracting upon receiving a signal from the nervous system.

3. C
The femur – or thighbone – is the longest and strongest bone in the human body. It runs from around the hip to the knee, and is 48 centimetres long in an average adult male.
The shortest bone in the human body is the stapes, a stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear, that is only about 3 millimetres long.

4. A
The volume of blood, of course, varies by the individual’s size and health, but there are around 4.7 to 5.5 litres of blood in an average human, around 55 percent of which is plasma while the rest is the cellular portion.
Blood carries oxygen to all the tissues in the body and takes away carbon dioxide. It also carries food materials and waste chemicals, and helps fight diseases.
The blood is pumped around the body by the heart in less than a minute. In an average lifespan, the human heart beats more than three billion times!

5. C
The muscle that can exert the most pressure is the masseter muscle, which opens and closes the mouth when you chew and can regularly apply as much as 200 pounds of force on the molars when biting and chewing.
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body.
The tongue isn’t a single muscle but actually eight different muscles.

6. B
The largest organ of the human body is the skin. The largest internal organ is the liver.

7. B
Fingernails typically grow at an average rate of about 3.47 mm per month, which roughly comes down to 1 mm per week. Toenails grow much slower than fingernails, at an average rate of around 1.62 mm per month.

8. C
The average person breathes around 500 ml of air in 1 normal breath, inhaling and exhaling 7 or 8 litres of air per minute, or ~11,000 litres of air per day.

9. D
In humans, the small intestine is about 6 to 7 meters (20 to 23 feet) long, while the large intestine is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. The intestines facilitate digestion and the absorption of water and nutrients.

10. B
The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself, which is why a living person can donate a part of their liver to another recipient; the portion that remains will regenerate itself into a whole liver again.

11. A
The cerebrum primarily performs functions related to touch, vision, hearing, speech, reasoning, learning, and emotions.
The cerebellum coordinates muscle movements.
The brainstem connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord and performs several autonomic functions.
The hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system.

12. C
Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Out of these elements, oxygen is the most abundant, making up about 65% of the body, followed by carbon (18.5), hydrogen (9.5), and nitrogen (3.2).
The adult human body is about 53% water, and because of this water content, it contains more oxygen by mass than any other element (but more hydrogen by atom-fraction - 62% - than any element).

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 15th June, 2018

Ralph Breaks the Internet humorously targets the Internet and Disney itself

trailer review

It may not have made as much money as Frozen (2013) or received as many awards as Big Hero 6 (2014) or Moana (2016), but that doesn’t change the fact that 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph was one of the most inventive animated films Disney has made of late. The story of Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) – the antagonist of the Fix-It Felix Jr. arcade game who no longer wants to be the bad guy – and Vanellope (an effervescent Sarah Silverman) – the glitch in the game Sugar Rush who wishes she was a racer – the film was irresistibly sweet and undeniably charming.

Between the endearing characters and the entertaining setting, the movie left us with many reasons to look forward to the inevitable sequel which is finally set to arrive this winter.

Titled Ralph Breaks the Internet, the movie finds our heroes making their way online, but the trailer doesn’t tell us much about the story, instead focusing on two main targets for its humour: the Internet and Disney itself.

The film takes the Mickey out of the World Wide Web, ridiculing everything from the annoyance of the autocomplete feature to the endless amounts of information the Internet has to offer.

Plus Disney is digging into its own vaults for this adventure, and referencing properties like Marvel and Star Wars and – what everyone seems to be talking about – the Disney Princesses. A huge chunk of the trailer is devoted to the Princesses – including Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Merida, Moana, Elsa, and Anna (mostly voiced by the actresses who played the roles in the original films) – and makes fun of Disney’s “damsel in distress” trope as Vanellope tries to convince the other ladies that she, too, is a princess.

Disney gets further props for self-awareness towards the end of the trailer as the characters discuss the movie’s title, wondering why it isn’t “Ralph Wrecks the Internet” (which it ought to be!) instead of “Ralph Breaks the Internet”.

Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, Ralph and Vanellope’s return to the big screen is very likely to be a winner. The movie seems to be filled to the brim with pop culture references and cameos, and we hope this sequel also comes with a story as touching as the original.

Ralph is all set to wreck break the Internet on November 21.

- Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune Blogs - 13th June, 2018 *

Can Mowgli surpass The Jungle Book’s success?

trailer review

Why?

That is probably the first thing you’ll wonder when you think about the upcoming film Mowgli, yet another adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, which comes just two year’s after Disney gave its 1967 animated classic a live action remake.

Why are we getting another The Jungle Book movie so soon after the previous one?

It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen time and again: twin films - two similar but separate projects developed at the same time by two different studios. That is certainly what has happened in this case as well. And it’s the massive success of Jon Favreau’s take on the fantasy adventure that is threatening to cast a shadow on the upcoming Andy Serkis interpretation.

There will be comparisons!

To his credit though, Serkis has tried to do something tonally different with this project. Mowgli is darker than Disney’s versions of Kipling’s 1894 tale and tries to stay closer to its source material. No singing and dancing here. Just the grim story of  an orphaned child (portrayed by Rohan Chand) raised by a pack of wolves in the jungles of India and his journey of self-discovery.

Also, the calibre of talent attached to the movie makes Mowgli seem quite promising. The filmmakers have assembled an all-star cast to voice their talking animals, with the likes of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as Serkis himself, bringing the menacing creatures of the jungle to life. As for the character designs and CGI, they seem slightly underwhelming in the trailer, although it would be unfair to pass judgment on the effects without seeing the finished product first.

So will the film be any good? Maybe - it’s hard to not have faith in the amazing Serkis. But did we really need this right now? Not really. It all seems a bit unnecessary. Don’t you think it would have been much more interesting if the same cast and crew had been working on a different, original project instead?

- Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune Blogs -  4th June, 2018 *

Playlist for the week: new albums by Snow Patrol, Ash, and Anne-Marie

album reviews

Artist: Snow Patrol

Album: Wildness

After a lengthy hiatus during which frontman Gary Lightbody struggled with various personal issues, Snow Patrol make a triumphant return with Wildness, their first new album in seven years.

Johnny McDaid officially joins the group as a full member on the record that was produced by long-time collaborator Jacknife Lee and written by Lightbody himself.

Melancholy and hope tussle on the album as the band wade through darkness and make their way towards the light. Songs like ‘Don’t Give In’ – on which the vocalist seems to be channelling his inner Springsteen – and the standout ‘Heal Me’ are uplifting, while the aching ballads ‘What If This Is All the Love You Ever Get?’ and ‘Soon’ (the latter of which tackle’s Lightbody’s father’s struggle with dementia) are something that fans of the Northern Irish band’s earlier output are likely to appreciate.

Lightbody’s delivery remains smooth and the group clearly hasn’t lost its ability to compose beautiful soft rock tunes. The record seems to come from a place of healing, both for the person at its centre and the band that has come back together to create these songs. There is substance behind the words, depth to the sentiments. Wildness doesn’t offer a massive departure from the band’s established sound, nor is this a ground-breaking collection, but it’s a solid, intimate – albeit safe – comeback for the band, one that their fans must have been eagerly waiting for.

Highlights: ‘Heal Me’, ‘What If This Is All the Love You Ever Get?’, ‘Soon’, ‘Wild Horses’.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

*****

Artist: Ash

Album: Islands

Ash may never have made it nearly as big as their contemporaries like Weezer, but that certainly hasn’t been for a lack of talent. And on their seventh album, the Northern Ireland trio prove yet again that they can make music just as effervescent as Rivers Cuomo and co. have ever done.

Written and produced primarily by frontman Tim Wheeler, Islands offers a contagious dose of power pop that may not be very inventive but is well crafted and refreshingly unconcerned with chart trends.

Islands is sonically upbeat despite being thematically rooted in Wheeler’s breakup blues. With the catchiness of pop and the energy of punk, tracks like the contagious ‘Buzzkill’ and ‘Confessions in the Pool’ will instantly burrow their way into your mind and refuse to leave.

Ash may not be trying anything different here, but even their straightforward pop rock songs like ‘True Story’ and ‘All That I Have Left’ come with a charming melody and the underlying conviction of a band that is confident in its sound and continuing to do what they do best instead of chasing trends to stay relevant. Fans of the band will not be disappointed with this 12 song set, and anyone yearning for a slice of the ‘90s melodious, guitar-driven pop rock will relish this easily enjoyable record.

Highlights: ‘Buzzkill’, ‘Confessions in the Pool’, ‘Somersault’, ‘Silver Suit’

Rating: 4 out of 5

*****

Artist: Anne-Marie

Album: Speak Your Mind

There’s a whole lot of sass and not much originality on Anne-Marie’s debut album, Speak Your Mind. Created by the British singer with the help of an army of co-writers and producers, this is (yet another) set of R&B-influenced radio-ready pop tunes – complete with catchy hooks and insipid lyrics – the kind that are engineered to climb charts, not make creative statements with their artistic merit.

If seen for nothing but its transparently commercial aims, this 12-track album has certainly proven to be a success. Singles like the kiss-off anthem ‘Ciao Adios’ and the Marshmello-assisted friend-zone jam ‘Friends’ have received considerable airplay.

But between the clichéd self-acceptance ballad ‘Perfect’ and the patently Ed Sheeran-y ‘2002’ (co-written, unsurprisingly, by Ed Sheeran) with all its corny millennial nostalgia, there isn’t any original thought accompanying these tunes, and if it weren’t for all the swearing, you’d think you were listening to the laments of a teenager, not a 27-year-old. And for a young woman from Essex, Anne-Marie sure has a jarring cadence, like someone who spent a weekend vacationing in the Caribbean and decided to bring the tropical accent home with her as a souvenir, just in case it might come in handy someday for creating pop music with shades of cultural appropriation.

Highlights: ‘Ciao Adios’, ‘Bad Girlfriend’, ‘Heavy’

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

- Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 3rd June, 2018 *