RedDevil's Turf

“YESSS!!!” I must have scremed, yelled, shouted and whispered this word uncountable times tonight, and what a memorable night it has truly been. Manchester United has won the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. United deservingly won the trophy and did a double, winning the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. And the only goal for United coming from that boy Ronaldo. What a season he’s had. United dominated the first half, and just before half-time conceded a goal which was unlucky. And it stayed level in the extra time period to go into a penalty shootout, which was very nervy, but it was Manchester United who came on top and they are now the champions of England and the champions of Europe!!!

Didier Drogba justified why I hate him so much. He’s such a jerk. You cant just get into such a mess and expect to walk out. I’m sure he has played his last game in a Chelsea shirt. The nail biter of a shootout it was, which I spent clinching my United badge on the shirt the entire shootout, kissing it every time we scored the penalty, and all hell let loose when Edwin van der Sar stopped the spot kick from Anelka to win the trophy for United, sending me into a wild celebration. Its been a great display from the team in the whole season. What makes it so special is the fact that its Forty years after first winning the European Cup at Wembley in 1968, and 50 years since the Munich tragedy. Ryan Giggs overtook Sir Bobby Charlton’s appearance record to make his 759th appearance for United. Paul Scholes who missed the final last time in 1999, started the game, and even after taking a blow and bleeding during an incident in the first half, continued and was a big factor in the first half. United dominated the first half, but Chelsea came back strongly in the second. United then again were the better side in the extra time and deservingly won the penalty shootout.

Its been a memorable season, a season which started very slowly, with goals hard to come by initially, but then the solid defensive displays all over the season combined with the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United got the double and underlined the statement that why they are the Champions. Sir Alex deserves it more than anyone, he’s been absolute solid personality, leading the team to this glorious night. Just a single European success didn’t reflect the true genius that he is. This team is truly among the best United has had and could well go on to become the best ever if they continue to show the character and grit during the last couple of seasons and build on the solid team we have. This team can go on to become the biggest and strongest team in Europe, which they already are, and for a long long time.

Sports manchester united

Yes you read that right. Thats the title of the email I got in Codemasters’s newsletter, and I’m so very happy about that.

The mailer said “We’ve secured the exclusive rights to make games based on the world’s biggest motorsport series – FORMULA 1 – and just had to let you know.

Building on the success of GRID and DiRT, Codemasters Studios is leading the design and development of the games, across multiple formats, using a new evolution of the fantastic EGO Engine technology. The first game’s expected to launch in 2009, and will feature all the Grand Prix circuits, teams, cars, and driver likenesses from that season.

Discuss this news, and more, in the official Codemasters F1 forum.”

So like they say we can expect the game as early as next year…which is great. I’ve been dying to play a latest Formula 1 racing game. The last PC version of F1 game came out from EA Sports in 2002, after which Sony got the license and the game was exclusive only to PlayStation users, which totally sucks, coz there are many PC gamers around the world who love F1. Grand Prix 4 is still very popular among F1 racers and thanks to the communities alive and very lively contribution from the members there, GP4, as its famously known, is still the favorite F1 racing sim out there, much due to the huge modding capabilities.

Codemasters is known for the superb Colin McRae rally series, and F1 game should be equally good. Can’t just wait for the game to come out.

Games codemasters, f1 game

Directed by Jon Favreau
Produced by Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
Music by Ramin Djawadi
Distributed by United States: Paramount Pictures

I am a big comic fan. I love superheros. But still I didn’t know much about Iron Man. Although I didn’t know anything about X-Men either before I saw X-Men 2. Anyways, I came to know about Iron Man movie sometime back when the trailers started arriving and they looked pretty good, and the reviews after the release were very good, so I decided to watch it. And after watching it today I’m pretty much more into comic book superheros more than ever, but Batman still is and will forever be my favorite superhero.

Iron Man is about Tony Stark, a rich industrialist and genius engineer, who runs the company Stark Industries specializing in weapons for US military. After one such weapon demonstration Tony Stark is captured by some terrorist group and forced to develop the same weapon for them, a missile. But instead he secretly makes this strong armor and escapes from there. And then the bad guy lays his hands on one such armor and develops a highly developed version to wreak havoc, and Tony Stark becomes Iron Man to stop him.

So thats about the story, now about the acting. Robert Downey Jr. did a fantastic job for a 43 year old, which he doesn’t look that old in the movie. He’s a very good actor and did a really good job with the role. The action scenes he performed where very good. Gwyneth Paltrow plays the role of Virginia “Pepper” Potts, assistant of Tony Stark. And even she did a good job in the movie. Special effects are very good, nothing is overdone. The gadgetry and technology shown amazes you and doesn’t look unnatural. Action scenes are well done with perfect amount of effects used. The whole Iron Man suit thing is pretty good, the suit looks very cool. Background music is also good.

So overall its a very nice movie and you should really watch it. The movie entertains you with the tech gadgetry, the good storyline and action packed scenes and also some humor. So its a very good summer entertainer.

Rating: 9/10

Movies movie review

If you are wondering how to calculate your income tax, don’t worry, Nithya has an answer to that, with his superb tax calculator. I made a blog post for the last financial year too about the 2007-2008 Income Tax Calculator, so here is the new version of that for the 2008-2009 financial year. Get Nithya’s Tax Calculator and fill up the excel sheet with the various inputs you need to provide and it will calculate the tax. Its covers all the aspects of it and works great. I was not that aware about income tax last financial year, so I didn’t plan well. This time though, and with the help of this tax calculator, I’ve been able to plan my investments to save tax. Thanks a lot Nithya!

Here are the Income Tax Rates in India:

* No income tax is applicable on all income up to Rs. 1,50,000 per year. (Rs. 1,80,000 for women and Rs. 2,25,000 for senior citizens)
* From 1,50,001 to 3,00,000 : 10% of amount greater than Rs. 1,50,000 (Lower limit changes appropriately for women and senior citizens)
* From 3,00,001 to 5,00,000 : 20% of amount greater than Rs. 3,00,000 + 15,000 (Rs. 12,000 for women and Rs. 7,500 for senior citizens)
* Above 5,00,000 : 30% of amount greater than Rs. 5,00,000 + 55,000 (Rs. 52,000 for women and Rs. 47,500 for senior citizens)

Surcharge

A 10% surcharge (tax on tax) is applicable if the taxable income (taking into consideration all the deductions) is above Rs. 10 lakh (Rs. 1 million). The limit of 10 lacs was increased to Rs. 1 crore (Rs. 10 million) with effect from 1st June 2007 for corporate assessees.

Education Cess

All taxes in India are subject to an education cess, which is 3% of the total tax payable.

Also Read: Tax Saving made easy. Simple guide to save income tax.

Disclaimer: The information on the site is to be used only as a resource. Nothing published on this site should be considered as investment advice.  I advise users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision. I do not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and am not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. You are solely responsible for making your own investment decisions.

General income tax, Tax, Tax Calculator

The popular video sharing website, YouTube.com launched its Indian avatar, www.youtube.co.in. The site is exactly as the main international version, but this would carry more “desi stuff”. News sites report that they have also got some partnerships with some media groups in India like NDTV, UTV, EROS, and a lot more. Apart from that I don’t think there are much changes to the site.

Internet youtube

Apple iPhone fans in India can be happy about this, Vodafone is bringing iPhones in India. Lot of news sites are reporting that Vodafone has made a deal with Apple about releasing iPhone in India and nine more countries, but the actual release might only be around August. One of the sites also mentioned the could be prices, 8GB version of the phone could be priced at around Rs 28,000 while the 16GB version will be rolled out at a higher price tag. Anyways its a great news for iPhone fans, who were waiting for the phone to be officially launched in India.

Mobile iPhone, vodafone

Finally good news for Indian bikers. The Ferrari of two wheelers, Ducati, is coming to India. The bikes will be sold by Precision Motor India Private Limited. News is that five models are expected to be launched by the Italian manufacturer. Now thats a lot. Their current lineup internationally has the 695 and 696 Monster, 1100 Multistrada, GT 1000 SportClassic, 848 and 1098 Superbikes and the Desmosedici RR, where RR standing for “Racing Replica” of their MotoGP racing bike. And I don’t expect this model to make it to the Indian roads as its too exclusive a bike and will be too costly to own and maintain here. The rest of them should be here and I guess the five models will be the two superbikes, 848 and 1098, and the monster versions, and either of the Multistrada or the SportClassic could join them. The bikes’ selling prices will start from somewhere around atleast 10 lakhs. The Ducati 848 and Monsters should really do well here as both are going to appeal the majority of Ducati hopefuls. With Suzuki planning to launch the Hayabusa and Honda too planning to launch the 1000RR, times are finally good for serious bikers here. After Ferrari and Lamborghini came to India last year it doesn’t come as a surprise that the big names of biking world comes to India. Infact they should have been here long back, anyways its better late than never. Welcome to India Ducati!

Automotive bikes, ducati

I love the summer season, not for the intense heat of course, but for the huge huge huge number of movies coming my way. I’m not expecting much from the Bollywood, not many big movies coming already, but Hollywood is packed with movies during that time. Action, comedy, romance, adventure, some sci-fi, you name it and you got it.

So lets just have a look at what Bollywood has to offer then we goto the mega Hollywood summer. Now like I said not many movies, good ones or rather the ones which I would wanna watch, are coming this summer. And the one which I “might” wanna see is “Bachna Ae Haseeno”. Now I put some stress on the word “might” because its true, I’m not sure if I “might” wanna watch it, reason is, the way highly anticipated movies come and crash at the box office is just too much to tolerate. I mean you cant really trust the promos anymore. Tashan for instance had me convinced that I’ll watch it, come the reviews and its a different story alltogether, anyways its not about Tashan its about whats coming, so “Bachna Ae Haseeno” is what I’m waiting which is releasing on 15th August, long time that. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba and Deepika Padukone. I’m only concerned about Minissha Lamba and Deepika Padukone coz the rest of them I really don’t like much. This would be Deepika’s first movie after the grand Om Shanti Om. But anyways its long time for that, and before that I really don’t know if there is a good movie coming up. Lets see what else is there, umm…Bhoothnath, no way, Jimmy? ummm…nope. Jannat might be good, but I’ll wait for the reviews. Emraan Hashmi is a fine actor, the music is very good, but lets see hows the movie. Its from the Bhatt camp and it has some expectations, but I’d rather stop expecting much. Then there is Sarkar Raj on June 6 starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which I’ll probably safely skip. Then there is Priyadarshan’s Mere Baap Pehle Aap on June 13, now this I could be watching as usually Priyadarshan’s movie carry some good entertainment value. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic on June 27, the title which in itself says, its confused, so I’ll skip it. Then sometime later comes Love Story 2050 on July 4. Now I have no clue whatsoever about this one, its ofcourse set in futuristic times, and its a love story, gosh! Bollywood will still have love stories in 2050!!! I hope not. And there are lot more movies but none of which makes it to my must watch, none of these infact. So a dull looking Bollywood summer.

Ok so lets get onto the Hollywood factory. Things start off with Iron Man releasing today, and its been getting very good reviews, so I’ll probably watch this one. Although I don’t know anything other than just that fact that he is some kind of a superhero with a metal suit. I might be wrong, but thats all I know.

May

Speed Racer is releasing on May 9th and its surely a promising movie. The trailers look good, ok let me make it clear, Hollywood movies don’t always disappoint so I’m ready to risk my money here and watch it. So like I was saying, Speed Racer, which is directed by the Wachowski brothers. They don’t need any introduction do they? Now c’mon don’t tell me you havn’t heard of them…you have not? Ahh never mind. They brought you “The Matrix Trilogy”, yeah yeah you always knew it. Ok so this time they make a movie based on the old anime series called Speed Racer and I know a lot about the series as I used to watch the original cartoons when I was a kid, so I would love to watch it as a movie. On May 16 comes “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”, sequel to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. I’m not too sure if I’ll watch it on the release or wait for the DVD. I do want to watch it, but lets see. Then we have on May 23, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Indy is back! You just don’t wanna miss it, directed by Steven Speilberg himself, you can’t miss this adventure. I’m surely going to watch this one.

June

June starts with this action comedy “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” starring Adam Sandler as Zohan and also the sexy Emmanuelle Chriqui releasing on June 6. The trailer suggests that it will be a funny movie, and this I might wanna give a shot. “The Incredible Hulk”, the big green mean fighting machine is back on June 13. I didn’t see Hulk released in 2003, and this is not a sequel to that, as many of you might be expecting, but its more like a reboot to the series, so I could be watching this one. Next on 20th May is “The Love Guru”. Now I’m a Mike Myers fan, and thats convincing enough thats its gonna be a pretty good one, add in the lovely, sexy, Jessica Alba, do I need any more convincing? Naa, I’ll be watching it for sure. Next is “Wall-E”, which I’m not so sure about. I do want to watch it, but whether I see it on the May 27 release or wait for the DVD, I’ll decide later. Then on the same day we have “Wanted”. Ok here is a thing to lure you, how about Angelina Jolie in an action flick. Mouthwatering isn’t it? Wanted should be a kick ass movie. Lots of cool action scenes and a hot looking Angelina Jolie should make the summers hotter. I sure am watching this one.

July

Then we have “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, releasing on July 11 the sequel to 2004′s Hellboy, which of course I haven’t yet seen. So I could be thinking of skipping this one as well. Also releasing same day is “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D” starring Brendon Fraser. The trailer was good but I will probably wait for the reviews.

Now comes the most awaited movie, which I have been waiting for ever since I saw Batman Begins in 2005. The same team brings you the sequel to Batman Begins on July 18, “The Dark Knight”. Trailers are very good and the movie should be even better. Its a must watch for me as I’m a big Batman fan and Batman Begins was such a wonderful movie. Heath Ledger plays the role of arch enemy, the Joker so its pretty much a must watch.

August

August starts with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” releasing on August 1, in which we have Brenden Fraser returning to fight the mummy, who is played by Jet Li this time. Its directed by Rob Cohen, so it might be good on the action front and with Jet Li in, I’m sure there will be action in plenty. I’m yet to watch the trailer and if its good enough I might wanna watch it.

August 8 we have “Pineapple Express”, funny name, the movie might be even funnier. Comedy and the Judd Apatow gang go hand in hand it seems. This one starts Seth Rogen and James Franco. With Seth Rogen in you can be rest assured that its going to be a very good movie with a lot of comedy and some action. Must watch, needless to say.

So thats it fellas, there are of course a lot more movies coming, but I’ll keep my eyes on the ones I mentioned only. Have a great summer!

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