Author: Joney Singhal

Lionel Messi: The ex-Argentine skipper [LEO’S FACTFILE]
LIONEL Messi has said that he is to retire from international soccer after Argentina were beaten 4-2 by Chile in a penalty shootout in the Copa America final on Sunday, the fourth final the Barcelonastriker has lost with the national side.

Messi, a five times World Player of the year, missed Argentina's opening penalty in the shootout after the game ended 0-0 and he was shown in tears while sitting in the team dugout.
Messi hangs up his Argentina jersey after failing to land Copa America crown in USA.

Fans in Argentina did not want to believe that their superstar was quiting. Fans on social media called on the superstar to change his mind with hashtags such as Note- vayasLeo — Don't go Leo — and Messiquedate — Messi stay.

About Lionel Messi-
- Name: Lionel Andres Messi
- Nationality: Argentinian (holds Spanish citizenship)
- Date of birth: June 24, 1987 – age 29
- Place of birth: Rosario, Argentina
- Club: Barcelona (Spain/since 2000)
- International appearances: 112 International goals: 55
- International debut: August 17, 2005, Hungary 1 Argentina 2
Honours

Club
- UEFA Champions League (4): 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15
- Club World Cup (3): 2009, 2011, 2015
- Spanish Championships – La Liga (8): 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16
- Spanish Cup (3): 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16
- Spanish Super Cups (6) 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
- International World Cup: Finalist (2010), Quarter-finalist (2006, 2010), 15 matches, 5 goals
- Copa America: Finalist (2015, 2007, 2016), Quarter-finalist (2011), 16 matches, 3 goals
- Olympic gold medal (1): 2008
- Under-20 World Cup (1): 2005
International:
- World Cup: Finalist (2010), Quarter-finalist (2006, 2010), 15 matches, 5 goals
- Copa America: Finalist (2015, 2007, 2016), Quarter-finalist (2011), 16 matches, 3 goals
- Olympic gold medal (1): 2008
- Under-20 World Cup (1): 2005
Individual Honours:
- Ballon D’Or (5): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015
- Top scorer in the Spanish league (3): 2009-2010 (34 goals), 2011-2012 (50 goals), 2012-13 (46 goals)
- Top scorer in the Champions League (5): 2008-2009 (9 goals), 2009-2010 (8 goals), 2010-2011 (12 goals), 2011-2012 (14 goals), 2014-15 (10 goals)
- World Cup Golden Ball (1): Brazil 2014
- Olympic player of the tournament (1): 2008
- Under-20 World Cup player of the tournament (1): 2005
- Top scorer at Under-20 World Cup (1): 2005 (6 goals)
…

On top of everything, I missed the penalty kick," said Messi, after the match

Quote Box

It's a huge sadness once again… I tried so hard to be champion with Argentina. But it didn't happen. I couldn't do it.
– LIONEL MESSI (Argentina captain)

Messi is the best player in the history. We're not able to compare him to Maradona. The numbers are irrefutable.
– JUAN ANTONIO PIZZI (Chile coach)

It's our toughest defeat to take. We were all very devastated in the dressing room, particularly Leo. I have never seen him in such a state.
– SERGIO AGUERO

This is a bad day for world football. Players like Messi should retire with good memories, not with a bad memory like this.
– SUBRATA PAUL (Indian goalkeeper)

I think Leo spoke in the heat of the moment because we missed that great chance.
– SERGIO ROMERO (Argentina goalkeeper)

It's big loass to world football. Youngsters follow Messi, they play football idolising Messi. He is too young to retire and a lot of football is left in him.
– BHAICHUNG BHUTIA
June 28, 2016
40+ Words Into Logos With Hidden Meanings by Ji Lee

Ji Lee is not only a creative designer who grew up in Brazil, he posses the power to entertain you with his art. He believed that the ideas are nothing, but the actions are everything. This inspired him to create personal works in creative and unique style.

Word into logos is a collection of calligrams, inspired by diverse range of things like movies, personalities, cities among others by innovative way to arrange the word so that it illustrates its concept.

“When we were children, letters were like fun toys. We played with them through our building blocks. We colored them in books. We danced and sang along with TV puppets while learning C was for “cookie.” Soon, letters turned into words. Words turned into sentences. Sentences turned into thoughts. And along the way, we stopped playing with them and stopped marveling at A through Z,” says Ji Lee, the author of Word as Image.

Here are some incredible examples from this awesome book:

March 18, 2016
Importance of Celebrating International Women’s Day 2016

International Women's Day, originally called International Working Women's Day. Celebrate the social, cultural, economic and political achievement of women. The aim of International Women's Day celebration to inspire women across the world. The 1st National Women's Day took place in 1909 and its roots are in campaigning for better pay and voting rights. The idea of IWD celebration accross the world is proposed by Clara Zetkin, leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany. In 15 Countries including China, Ukraine and Vietnam celebrates, IWD is an official holiday. Over the past few years Google celebrate occasion with a special “Google Doodle”.

Inspirational quotes by women to celebrate #IWD

A women is like a tea bag – you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water, – Eleanor Roosevelt

March 8, 2016
Welder’s Son From IIT-Kharagpur Gets ₹ 1.02 Crore Job

Constraints of resource sometimes became greatest treasure for us. This is completely true for 21-year-old Vatsalya Singh Chauhan who grabbed job in Microsoft with annual salary more than Rs. 1 crore.

Why his story so special?

Hailing from a humble family in Bihar, he studied in Hindi medium government school but because of his hard work he got admission in prestigious IIT-Kharagpur. His father is simple man, a welder with limited source of earning, so economic constraints were remain part of his life from very beginning.

Image Source: NDTV

Kota also played its role
After scoring 75% marks in Class 12 exam, Vatsalya had arrived at Kota in 2011 for his quest to enter the prestigious IITs. The Allen Career Coaching Institute took Vatasalya under its wings.
Vatsalya grabbed an All India Rank of 382 in the IIT-JEE entrance exam and enrolled for Computer Science at IIT-Kharagpur.
During the campus placement in December, Microsoft offered Vatsalya a job offer package worth Rs 1.02 crore per annum.

“I will join the company after completing B Tech in June this year,” he said.

Source: Nextweb.com

His father Chandra got emotional at this moment.

We were in tears when Vatsalya told me that he has got a job in Microsoft,” he said.

February 5, 2016
European businessman buys portrait of a potato for $1.56m

You may laugh but It is serious.

An European businessman just paid €1 million (S$1.56 million) for a portrait of a potato.

You may be thinking, what was so special in that portrait. Well, nothing so much important. It just features an organic Irish spud on a black background shot under a single light using a digital camera.

European businessman must have been drinking or may be her girlfriend insisted for it! Whatever be the case, Portrait titled Potato #345, the simple photo was taken in 2010 by Mr Abosch, 46, was sold for €1 million.

Do you wanna buy another? But, you can’t. Surprisingly, there are two other prints of the potato – one in Mr Abosch’s private collection and the other was donated to a museum in Serbia.

Let’s know about the photographer. He also shot Nobel Peace Prize laureates Malala Yousafzai and Aung Sang Suu Kyi; and worked with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg. His photos are always set on a black background.

You may be wondering, what came in his mind to shoot a potato. Listen to his words: “I see commonalities between humans and potatoes that speak to our relationship as individuals within a collective species.

Generally, the life of a harvested potato is violent and taken for granted. I use the potato as a proxy for the ontological study of the human experience.

February 2, 2016