Monday, 17 January 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Away Day Blues
First post of the New Year, I suppose I should start it off with a customary new year’s greeting. I hope that everyone who celebrated the changing of times had a good one. I myself had a relaxed one but I can’t be doing with going too far from home on NYE. The sheer cost of getting home is enough to put me off but the fact that you need to pay to get into places which are usually free is somewhat of an annoyance. Perhaps it is just me, but it seems somewhat exploitative. Anyway, the eve was spent with friends playing FIFA, a game which made me realise that I do miss having an Xbox. I must confess I am tempted to buy a cheaper older console and buy a football game for it – it is a pretty good way of killing time. I posted in my last blog about plans for this year. Two of the major plans were to quit smoking and to lose weight. The former has been met with some successes. I went 7 days without touching a cigarette. However a tough craving got the better of me after a nights drinking and then an early start on the alcohol the next day while in Brighton. I aim to get back on track with quitting as soon as possible (I still have 2 cigarettes left in the packet that I bought, so when they are gone would be as good as a time as any to restart quitting smoking). As for losing weight, I haven’t actually weighed myself since the last time I did so I can’t really comment. However I can say with some certainty that changes have already been made to my lifestyle which surely has to be beneficial. We shall see. One of the other desires I mentioned for 2011 would be to see System of a Down live. I’m not entirely sure if this will be possible but I am toying with the idea of going to Wacken. The lineup (for me anyway) is pretty awesome and I would feel like I’ve missed an awesome opportunity if I didn’t go. I have reservations about going to Germany for the first time but going to a foreign festival alone is something I’ve discussed frequently, perhaps this is my chance.
I spoke earlier about being in Brighton. This would be fulfilling a desire of mine to watch Portsmouth F.C away from home. This seemed to be a good choice of an away game for a number of reasons. First being that the game, while being away, is geographically close. 50 or so miles down the road isn’t a bad distance to travel for an away game. Second being the team we were playing being a league lower than us in the football league standings. While cup shocks do happen and Pompey haven’t been playing so well recently, I couldn’t help but feel that a result for us would happen. Third and finally, it was £19 for a ticket. I’m not opposed to paying £23 for a ticket but it is always nice when it is cheaper! Their ground, the Withdean Stadium is to put it nicely, a toilet. I accept that it is a converted athletics stadium but it is just in poor shape. I don’t wish to dwell on this for too long but I can’t start talking about this trip without reviewing the purpose of going. The game was painful. I assumed Pompey would dominate the game and win comprehensively. Indeed, it looked like this would happen in the first 5 or so minutes. Then Brighton had a goal disallowed for an offside. Whether the player was offside or not is irrelevant, what matters is that Brighton sliced Pompey open. Following this was the stupid dismissal of Dave Kitson which left Pompey a man down. What followed was put simply, a football lesson...from a team A LEAGUE LOWER THAN US! First away game not such a good one but I hope the next one, which I think will be Leicester, will be better.
One thing that comes with a new year is the possibility of doing a 365 project. I’ve seen rumblings of a 365 project, which honestly I’d never heard of until this year. I’m not entirely sure what that says about me but there we are. For those who like me, were in the dark on this entire matter – a 365 project is basically a photo from every day and as there are 365 days in the year...to not take advantage of that name would be foolish. This seemed like a cool project to do and I like photography so I thought “this could be for me!”...And then I forgot - Day 1 of 2011 I forgot to take a photo. I saw people posting photos the next day and thought that I’d missed the boat. I then thought that to be funny and different, I’d do a 364 project. Well on reflection – thinking that was a funny idea probably says more about me than having never heard of a 365 project. Long story short, I took a photo on day 2 and didn’t take one on day three. I took one which could be day 4 but I’m not sure whether it is suitable for use. It is now day 12 and I haven’t done anything towards it. Perhaps next year
That’s all I’ve got for this one. Next one, amongst other things, will contain a review of Whole Lotta Led from their Wedgewood Rooms gig on Friday. This post was going to contain a passage which would have been inspired by a former co-worker relating to metal band clothing. However, for fear of coming across as having over-thought the issue or coming from a place of something that’s personally hurt by the issue, I decided the best thing to do would just be to delete her from Facebook and not mention it again. Thinking about it, that doesn’t help my argument that I wasn’t offended by it. Ach well, not a great deal that can be done about it now.
Soundtrack of the Blog – The Wildhearts – Earth Vs.
I spoke earlier about being in Brighton. This would be fulfilling a desire of mine to watch Portsmouth F.C away from home. This seemed to be a good choice of an away game for a number of reasons. First being that the game, while being away, is geographically close. 50 or so miles down the road isn’t a bad distance to travel for an away game. Second being the team we were playing being a league lower than us in the football league standings. While cup shocks do happen and Pompey haven’t been playing so well recently, I couldn’t help but feel that a result for us would happen. Third and finally, it was £19 for a ticket. I’m not opposed to paying £23 for a ticket but it is always nice when it is cheaper! Their ground, the Withdean Stadium is to put it nicely, a toilet. I accept that it is a converted athletics stadium but it is just in poor shape. I don’t wish to dwell on this for too long but I can’t start talking about this trip without reviewing the purpose of going. The game was painful. I assumed Pompey would dominate the game and win comprehensively. Indeed, it looked like this would happen in the first 5 or so minutes. Then Brighton had a goal disallowed for an offside. Whether the player was offside or not is irrelevant, what matters is that Brighton sliced Pompey open. Following this was the stupid dismissal of Dave Kitson which left Pompey a man down. What followed was put simply, a football lesson...from a team A LEAGUE LOWER THAN US! First away game not such a good one but I hope the next one, which I think will be Leicester, will be better.
One thing that comes with a new year is the possibility of doing a 365 project. I’ve seen rumblings of a 365 project, which honestly I’d never heard of until this year. I’m not entirely sure what that says about me but there we are. For those who like me, were in the dark on this entire matter – a 365 project is basically a photo from every day and as there are 365 days in the year...to not take advantage of that name would be foolish. This seemed like a cool project to do and I like photography so I thought “this could be for me!”...And then I forgot - Day 1 of 2011 I forgot to take a photo. I saw people posting photos the next day and thought that I’d missed the boat. I then thought that to be funny and different, I’d do a 364 project. Well on reflection – thinking that was a funny idea probably says more about me than having never heard of a 365 project. Long story short, I took a photo on day 2 and didn’t take one on day three. I took one which could be day 4 but I’m not sure whether it is suitable for use. It is now day 12 and I haven’t done anything towards it. Perhaps next year
That’s all I’ve got for this one. Next one, amongst other things, will contain a review of Whole Lotta Led from their Wedgewood Rooms gig on Friday. This post was going to contain a passage which would have been inspired by a former co-worker relating to metal band clothing. However, for fear of coming across as having over-thought the issue or coming from a place of something that’s personally hurt by the issue, I decided the best thing to do would just be to delete her from Facebook and not mention it again. Thinking about it, that doesn’t help my argument that I wasn’t offended by it. Ach well, not a great deal that can be done about it now.
Soundtrack of the Blog – The Wildhearts – Earth Vs.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Reviews: John Bishop and Ginger
John Bishop – Portsmouth Guildhall 13/12/10
One longstanding obligation for a comedian is making fun of those people arrive late. The closer they are sitting to the front the better is usually is. This was extra entertaining when 6 people were late for Jason Manford’s show at Portsmouth Guildhall and they not only had seats in the front row, but front and centre – right in Manford’s eye line. However, this obligation can only be upheld on one condition - the comedian has to be on-time himself. Arriving at Portsmouth Guildhall at 19.31 worrying that I would be the late one to face ridicule because the show was starting at 19.30. About 15/20 minutes pass and it is announced that the show is running slightly late so you’ve got time to go and get another drink in. This for me was perfect as I was busting for a slash (that might be too much information, but that announcement was very good to me). I would also like say at this time I found out the Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax) are headlining Sonisphere so I was put in a fantastic mood by this. At 20.10 the lights went dim, which in the business means either one of two things: 1) the show is about to start; or 2) the lighting guy has probably just overheard the fact I have a hangover and wants to see how loud he can make the crowd scream (that goes out to you lighting tech at Hammersmith, you arsehole!)
Anyway, in this instance it meant the show was about to start, and after a short animation of Bishop, the man himself arrives on stage, apologising for being late. His reason seems somewhat fair – all the other shows on the tour start at 8pm, so it wasn’t until 7.30 that he realised himself that the show started then. What followed was a rundown of a year in the life of a struggling comedian who has made it big; a middle aged parent who’s been married for 17 years; the differences between those people with kids and those without and the embarrassments that can arise from a new-found show business lifestyle. I will discuss two bits for me which was my personal favourites. He discussed arguing with teenagers and how your wonderful little child will turn into a demon. “There is not a parent in the room who in this scenario hasn’t thought that their child is a twat”. That single line made me laugh for two reasons – 1) my parents were in the room but slightly further away from me; and 2) it is probably very true. The other joke which I loved is about offensive words on the BBC and the 2nd most complained phrase is “cunt” and how the first most complained phrase is “Jesus Christ”. “So if you have a joke which has the punch line ‘so Jesus Christ is a cunt’ it is probably not going to get on TV.” Saying much more about the material would be giving it away so I will leave it there and end with saying he was superb and if the chance arises to go and see him, make sure you do. I’m contemplating going again in April if I get my act (no pun intended) together!
Hatebreed – Wedgewood Rooms 15/12/10
Here’s the thing, I didn’t go in the end. Had a ticket, also had a headache. Can’t be helped sometimes. I’m sure they were wonderful and played everything the crowd wanted to hear. Or, they might have been shite, but I’ll never know. Moving on...
Ginger & Friends – Talking Heads, Southampton 23/12/10
This was probably the gig I was most looking forward to of the post-Sonisphere part of 2010 due to how early I bought the ticket. I saw The Wildhearts last year and they were fantastic – it was literally one of the most fun gigs I’ve ever been to. So when I heard that that Ginger from the Wildhearts would be playing in Southampton and the set would consist of Wildhearts songs, it had to be done. The journey wasn’t anything special other than some of the small stations on the way into Southampton really look like they should be in the deep south in America (or at least in the movie Deliverance). Anyway, the Talking Heads is a pretty awesome venue actually. I’ve only ever been there before for a drink. It is a different shape to the Wedgewood Rooms but I’d say it’s not much smaller. The main difference is that the beer there is good! Yes, £3.20 for a pint of fosters is criminal in a standard pub but for a gig venue to charge this price, that is fine, especially when it’s good beer!
Anyway, this gig was the 2nd I’ve seen in the format of the headline act supporting themselves with a band in the middle. Ginger and Hot Steve did an acoustic set before the gig. This was very good – awesome music and fun crowd interactions. Highlights of this set for me (aside from being down the front) were Loveshit, This Is Only a Problem and Geordie in Wonderland. Geordie in Wonderland being the best I’d say purely due to the fact the crowd took over vocals and did a massive sing-along which was just awesome. After a voyage to the bar and the smoking area, I ended up in the back of the room for Oaf. Oaf is a two piece band who plays pretty heavy music. They were fairly entertaining and did a good job of warming up the crowd. I couldn’t see a way back to the front during Oaf so reluctantly went to smoke again, deciding that if I smoked and they finished that people would likely head back to the bar/come to smoke and I could find a way through. Sure enough, that happened. Ginger and Friends came out and played what can only be described as an awesome set. If you love Wildhearts/Ginger music, then this set had it all. Usually I would say the highlights of a set at this stage but it isn’t possible because it was all awesome. This was literally one of the best gigs of 2010 and I am pleased it is the one which closed out the year.
2010 is at a close, the next post will be a year summary type of deal where I’ll talk about my favourite memories of 2010 and looking to 2011.
One longstanding obligation for a comedian is making fun of those people arrive late. The closer they are sitting to the front the better is usually is. This was extra entertaining when 6 people were late for Jason Manford’s show at Portsmouth Guildhall and they not only had seats in the front row, but front and centre – right in Manford’s eye line. However, this obligation can only be upheld on one condition - the comedian has to be on-time himself. Arriving at Portsmouth Guildhall at 19.31 worrying that I would be the late one to face ridicule because the show was starting at 19.30. About 15/20 minutes pass and it is announced that the show is running slightly late so you’ve got time to go and get another drink in. This for me was perfect as I was busting for a slash (that might be too much information, but that announcement was very good to me). I would also like say at this time I found out the Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax) are headlining Sonisphere so I was put in a fantastic mood by this. At 20.10 the lights went dim, which in the business means either one of two things: 1) the show is about to start; or 2) the lighting guy has probably just overheard the fact I have a hangover and wants to see how loud he can make the crowd scream (that goes out to you lighting tech at Hammersmith, you arsehole!)
Anyway, in this instance it meant the show was about to start, and after a short animation of Bishop, the man himself arrives on stage, apologising for being late. His reason seems somewhat fair – all the other shows on the tour start at 8pm, so it wasn’t until 7.30 that he realised himself that the show started then. What followed was a rundown of a year in the life of a struggling comedian who has made it big; a middle aged parent who’s been married for 17 years; the differences between those people with kids and those without and the embarrassments that can arise from a new-found show business lifestyle. I will discuss two bits for me which was my personal favourites. He discussed arguing with teenagers and how your wonderful little child will turn into a demon. “There is not a parent in the room who in this scenario hasn’t thought that their child is a twat”. That single line made me laugh for two reasons – 1) my parents were in the room but slightly further away from me; and 2) it is probably very true. The other joke which I loved is about offensive words on the BBC and the 2nd most complained phrase is “cunt” and how the first most complained phrase is “Jesus Christ”. “So if you have a joke which has the punch line ‘so Jesus Christ is a cunt’ it is probably not going to get on TV.” Saying much more about the material would be giving it away so I will leave it there and end with saying he was superb and if the chance arises to go and see him, make sure you do. I’m contemplating going again in April if I get my act (no pun intended) together!
Hatebreed – Wedgewood Rooms 15/12/10
Here’s the thing, I didn’t go in the end. Had a ticket, also had a headache. Can’t be helped sometimes. I’m sure they were wonderful and played everything the crowd wanted to hear. Or, they might have been shite, but I’ll never know. Moving on...
Ginger & Friends – Talking Heads, Southampton 23/12/10
This was probably the gig I was most looking forward to of the post-Sonisphere part of 2010 due to how early I bought the ticket. I saw The Wildhearts last year and they were fantastic – it was literally one of the most fun gigs I’ve ever been to. So when I heard that that Ginger from the Wildhearts would be playing in Southampton and the set would consist of Wildhearts songs, it had to be done. The journey wasn’t anything special other than some of the small stations on the way into Southampton really look like they should be in the deep south in America (or at least in the movie Deliverance). Anyway, the Talking Heads is a pretty awesome venue actually. I’ve only ever been there before for a drink. It is a different shape to the Wedgewood Rooms but I’d say it’s not much smaller. The main difference is that the beer there is good! Yes, £3.20 for a pint of fosters is criminal in a standard pub but for a gig venue to charge this price, that is fine, especially when it’s good beer!
Anyway, this gig was the 2nd I’ve seen in the format of the headline act supporting themselves with a band in the middle. Ginger and Hot Steve did an acoustic set before the gig. This was very good – awesome music and fun crowd interactions. Highlights of this set for me (aside from being down the front) were Loveshit, This Is Only a Problem and Geordie in Wonderland. Geordie in Wonderland being the best I’d say purely due to the fact the crowd took over vocals and did a massive sing-along which was just awesome. After a voyage to the bar and the smoking area, I ended up in the back of the room for Oaf. Oaf is a two piece band who plays pretty heavy music. They were fairly entertaining and did a good job of warming up the crowd. I couldn’t see a way back to the front during Oaf so reluctantly went to smoke again, deciding that if I smoked and they finished that people would likely head back to the bar/come to smoke and I could find a way through. Sure enough, that happened. Ginger and Friends came out and played what can only be described as an awesome set. If you love Wildhearts/Ginger music, then this set had it all. Usually I would say the highlights of a set at this stage but it isn’t possible because it was all awesome. This was literally one of the best gigs of 2010 and I am pleased it is the one which closed out the year.
2010 is at a close, the next post will be a year summary type of deal where I’ll talk about my favourite memories of 2010 and looking to 2011.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Students, Snow and Football Thoughts
Haven’t really blogged in a while about current affairs or every day goings on. Truth be told I’ve not found an issue which has really mobilised me to write a whole blog giving off my opinion. There are a number of events which have occurred which I’ll blog briefly about. Some of these are a bit dated now but I have thoughts on them - not many which is why it will be brief. I discovered today that I am unable to drink alcohol like I did in-between the ages of 17-22. It was a shocking revelation. I thought I’d be ok to just get particularly drunk and while anticipating a hangover, I didn’t count on it being this bad. It is probably a sign that I shouldn’t drink like that again which, while probably the more healthy option is definitely the least fun of the two. Ach well here’s the actual content.
World Cup 2018 – They think it’s all over....it is now.
This one I’d say is the most dated now. England had another unsuccessful bid to host the world cup in 2018. I seem to recall a failing bid for the 2006 world cup as well which suggests England don’t have many friends where it matters in FIFA. I did think that we had a really good chance at winning the tournament this time and I thought that, if successful, we’d have put on a damn fine world cup. But, at the end of the day we didn’t win and by the sounds of things, we never even stood a chance. I would like to congratulate Russia on getting the world cup and I also like to say that I think there is no worth in our bid team and the FA acting like petulant children over not getting the world cup. I feel that if there is a legitimate belief in FIFA that the world cup competition should visit new lands then it seems somewhat worthless countries that have hosted the competition submitting bids. It could be argued as unfair but if FIFA don’t want countries that have hosted it before hosting it again, then England are wasting their time submitting a bid. What England needed to do is just accept the bid decision and spend future bid money on actually improving grass roots football. But in one swoop they have not only made themselves look ridiculous by shouting “BUT ITS NOT FAIR” in Russia and FIFAs direction, they have managed to make themselves look like basket cases who aren’t capable of holding a world cup. Good work if you ask me (and yes, that was sarcasm). One day the world cup will come back to England, and I hope that the countries bids that are defeated by England’s will moan bitch and suggest they have bribed FIFA.
I read today on a follow up to this typing that FIFA are contemplating moving the Qatar World Cup 2022 to January/February. Now, I offered congratulations to Russia on getting the 2018 WC and I feel it would be slightly hypocritical of me not to offer congratulations to Qatar, so congrats to them. However this one does seem slightly fishy. It has long been an assumption that when a footballer moves to a team in Qatar, they are getting paid a fortune to do so. Hearing the news that the WC was going to Qatar surprised me quite a lot but I must confess I feel this announcement is fishy. I think it should have gone to Australia (it would have been too easy!) Oh well, too late for that now. But moving the tournament start dates is idiotic and will screw with every club team and every league that operates an August-May season (so almost every league in Europe). Nice going FIFA – way to make a bad situation worse. I didn’t even take this into account (I was thinking more about my own club team again) but what about the African Cup of Nations? Oh, FIFA fail.
Student Fees – The violence
This one is an awkward one for me as I work for a university so I don’t particularly want to be on the record as having a massive go at students and then go back to working with them. However I must admit I’ve found myself wondering what the students that have been protesting the fees are looking to achieve. I’m not entirely sure that bringing London to a standstill is going to make the government say “well actually, the fee’s hike we are proposing is too high, let’s scrap them all together!” That just is not going to happen. I would just like to state again, like I did in the last blog, that I do not support the policy of student fees reaching the possible heights of £9300 per annum but I also am aware we have a massive budget deficit in this country. 13 years of Labour rule has fucked this country to an extent that we have to take some very painful medicine to sort it. Anyway, this wasn’t written as a hidden way to attack Labour, and I don’t feel the need to hide the fact I hate them anyway. Moving on...The protests against the fees are a good thing. Protesting against a government policy which you do not agree with is fine in my eyes. When these protests turn violent though it just turns into little more than an attack on democracy. Why I say this is simple – in a democratic system with free and fair elections, there are winners and losers. If you vote for a party that then does not form government, then it’s not fair on everyone else to cause trouble because your team didn’t win. I can see why the students are unhappy if they voted for the Lib Dems but that was discussed in a previous blog so I don’t feel the need to bring it back up again. So yeah, I somehow feel by smashing up parts of London and attacking the police, the students who are protesting in this manner have probably weakened their argument and ruined any chance of coming to the negotiating table. I would just like to stress again that the very poorest of potential students will not be lumbered with this fee increase – seeing as that isn’t said enough. Strange that the argument that this policy will restrict the opportunity of those from poorest backgrounds to go to university is the one which is used the most – when it simply is not true.
The snow
Well, I was going to talk about the previous snow we had and how ridiculous it was that it bought the country to a standstill but it did. There always seems to be a shortage of road salt when this occurs – you’d think now snow is slightly more frequent they’d build a surplus of this stuff up and save it for a rainy day (well a snowy day actually....oh leave it!) What happened out of the last set of snow is that I had 1.5 days off work, and was stupidly bored. However, I did manage to watch The Shawshank Redemption which was very awesome. We have snow again and it has cancelled my plans for the evening which sucks (in all fairness, the hangover and subsequent other affects of a night drinking also helped cancel said plans). I’m hoping that the snow pisses off fairly quickly and the streets don’t ice up. I haven’t got much to do but I won’t be overly favourable towards the very little I have to do being cancelled because of snow and ice! Also, it is quite funny that in Canada, they had to close schools and businesses after it got “unmanageable” over there – it was -39 degrees and there was 12ft of snow. How is it that say, hypothetically, the temperature could be -25 and the snow could be 7ft and life carries on? That to me sounds nuts (but then I live in a country that shits itself following 7 inches, let alone 7ft!
That’s all folks. I probably won’t blog again until after Xmas now so have a good festive period. Have an awesome new year and I will be back with a reviews blog (which due to my laziness has already suffered) covering John Bishop and Ginger. Just wanted to tag a quick bit on the end to say that the Sonisphere 2011 ticket has been purchased and I couldn’t be happier about my decision. I have been reading thoughts about people annoyed with the booking of festival headliners and bands this year but here’s my rational. The Big 4 is a big announcement (no pun intended). Metallica are always a festive headline band that makes any lineup look stronger (imo – but then I am biased). Slayer and Anthrax might be the questionable choices due to their previous performances at this festival but I’m prepared to look passed that as long as they mix the set up a little (Damnit slayer, play Disciple and New Faith!) Megadeth is also a strong booking as they are a genius live band (I heard they were poor at DL2010 but I wasn’t there so can’t really comment). All four of these bands on the same stage is immense and when I heard it was going to happen, I was excited and hoped I could see it. The other headliners I have already discussed so I won’t go into it again. Also, my choice to go to Sonisphere means I can go and see Judas Priest at Victoria Park and pop by Hyde Park and listen to Bon Jovi. Might even be able to squeeze in a quick jaunt to Download to see SOAD (as I failed to get a ticket to their Paris date) which will be quite nice.
Right, I’m off – Happy Priority Gifting Period to you all, I hope Winterval treats you well.
World Cup 2018 – They think it’s all over....it is now.
This one I’d say is the most dated now. England had another unsuccessful bid to host the world cup in 2018. I seem to recall a failing bid for the 2006 world cup as well which suggests England don’t have many friends where it matters in FIFA. I did think that we had a really good chance at winning the tournament this time and I thought that, if successful, we’d have put on a damn fine world cup. But, at the end of the day we didn’t win and by the sounds of things, we never even stood a chance. I would like to congratulate Russia on getting the world cup and I also like to say that I think there is no worth in our bid team and the FA acting like petulant children over not getting the world cup. I feel that if there is a legitimate belief in FIFA that the world cup competition should visit new lands then it seems somewhat worthless countries that have hosted the competition submitting bids. It could be argued as unfair but if FIFA don’t want countries that have hosted it before hosting it again, then England are wasting their time submitting a bid. What England needed to do is just accept the bid decision and spend future bid money on actually improving grass roots football. But in one swoop they have not only made themselves look ridiculous by shouting “BUT ITS NOT FAIR” in Russia and FIFAs direction, they have managed to make themselves look like basket cases who aren’t capable of holding a world cup. Good work if you ask me (and yes, that was sarcasm). One day the world cup will come back to England, and I hope that the countries bids that are defeated by England’s will moan bitch and suggest they have bribed FIFA.
I read today on a follow up to this typing that FIFA are contemplating moving the Qatar World Cup 2022 to January/February. Now, I offered congratulations to Russia on getting the 2018 WC and I feel it would be slightly hypocritical of me not to offer congratulations to Qatar, so congrats to them. However this one does seem slightly fishy. It has long been an assumption that when a footballer moves to a team in Qatar, they are getting paid a fortune to do so. Hearing the news that the WC was going to Qatar surprised me quite a lot but I must confess I feel this announcement is fishy. I think it should have gone to Australia (it would have been too easy!) Oh well, too late for that now. But moving the tournament start dates is idiotic and will screw with every club team and every league that operates an August-May season (so almost every league in Europe). Nice going FIFA – way to make a bad situation worse. I didn’t even take this into account (I was thinking more about my own club team again) but what about the African Cup of Nations? Oh, FIFA fail.
Student Fees – The violence
This one is an awkward one for me as I work for a university so I don’t particularly want to be on the record as having a massive go at students and then go back to working with them. However I must admit I’ve found myself wondering what the students that have been protesting the fees are looking to achieve. I’m not entirely sure that bringing London to a standstill is going to make the government say “well actually, the fee’s hike we are proposing is too high, let’s scrap them all together!” That just is not going to happen. I would just like to state again, like I did in the last blog, that I do not support the policy of student fees reaching the possible heights of £9300 per annum but I also am aware we have a massive budget deficit in this country. 13 years of Labour rule has fucked this country to an extent that we have to take some very painful medicine to sort it. Anyway, this wasn’t written as a hidden way to attack Labour, and I don’t feel the need to hide the fact I hate them anyway. Moving on...The protests against the fees are a good thing. Protesting against a government policy which you do not agree with is fine in my eyes. When these protests turn violent though it just turns into little more than an attack on democracy. Why I say this is simple – in a democratic system with free and fair elections, there are winners and losers. If you vote for a party that then does not form government, then it’s not fair on everyone else to cause trouble because your team didn’t win. I can see why the students are unhappy if they voted for the Lib Dems but that was discussed in a previous blog so I don’t feel the need to bring it back up again. So yeah, I somehow feel by smashing up parts of London and attacking the police, the students who are protesting in this manner have probably weakened their argument and ruined any chance of coming to the negotiating table. I would just like to stress again that the very poorest of potential students will not be lumbered with this fee increase – seeing as that isn’t said enough. Strange that the argument that this policy will restrict the opportunity of those from poorest backgrounds to go to university is the one which is used the most – when it simply is not true.
The snow
Well, I was going to talk about the previous snow we had and how ridiculous it was that it bought the country to a standstill but it did. There always seems to be a shortage of road salt when this occurs – you’d think now snow is slightly more frequent they’d build a surplus of this stuff up and save it for a rainy day (well a snowy day actually....oh leave it!) What happened out of the last set of snow is that I had 1.5 days off work, and was stupidly bored. However, I did manage to watch The Shawshank Redemption which was very awesome. We have snow again and it has cancelled my plans for the evening which sucks (in all fairness, the hangover and subsequent other affects of a night drinking also helped cancel said plans). I’m hoping that the snow pisses off fairly quickly and the streets don’t ice up. I haven’t got much to do but I won’t be overly favourable towards the very little I have to do being cancelled because of snow and ice! Also, it is quite funny that in Canada, they had to close schools and businesses after it got “unmanageable” over there – it was -39 degrees and there was 12ft of snow. How is it that say, hypothetically, the temperature could be -25 and the snow could be 7ft and life carries on? That to me sounds nuts (but then I live in a country that shits itself following 7 inches, let alone 7ft!
That’s all folks. I probably won’t blog again until after Xmas now so have a good festive period. Have an awesome new year and I will be back with a reviews blog (which due to my laziness has already suffered) covering John Bishop and Ginger. Just wanted to tag a quick bit on the end to say that the Sonisphere 2011 ticket has been purchased and I couldn’t be happier about my decision. I have been reading thoughts about people annoyed with the booking of festival headliners and bands this year but here’s my rational. The Big 4 is a big announcement (no pun intended). Metallica are always a festive headline band that makes any lineup look stronger (imo – but then I am biased). Slayer and Anthrax might be the questionable choices due to their previous performances at this festival but I’m prepared to look passed that as long as they mix the set up a little (Damnit slayer, play Disciple and New Faith!) Megadeth is also a strong booking as they are a genius live band (I heard they were poor at DL2010 but I wasn’t there so can’t really comment). All four of these bands on the same stage is immense and when I heard it was going to happen, I was excited and hoped I could see it. The other headliners I have already discussed so I won’t go into it again. Also, my choice to go to Sonisphere means I can go and see Judas Priest at Victoria Park and pop by Hyde Park and listen to Bon Jovi. Might even be able to squeeze in a quick jaunt to Download to see SOAD (as I failed to get a ticket to their Paris date) which will be quite nice.
Right, I’m off – Happy Priority Gifting Period to you all, I hope Winterval treats you well.
Monday, 13 December 2010
Sonisphere Wins
Well, they announced the Big Four. I can only really afford one festival a year at the moment. It is Sonisphere, Knebworth.
Soundtrack - Metallica
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Some People... (Part Two)
A common thought I find myself having is “what is wrong with people?” I have this thought because I see people (or hear about people) doing things which really makes me sigh. Two things occurred today which really fit into this category. For sake of making it easier to read, I am splitting it into two parts. This part is about the attacks on a mosque in Portsmouth.
I read the story about the poppy burning on Remembrance Day with disgust. We dedicate two (one when the two combine) to bow our heads in remembrance for the brave men/women who lost their lives/injured themselves defending this countries interests in WW1, WW2 and subsequent conflicts. Whether or not you support the conflicts of the 21st Century in Afghanistan and Iraq, this time of year is also a good time to remember the people who have lost their lives in these conflicts as well. That is all this time of year is for, to remember these people. So, as I read this story about the people burning the poppies - I was angry. But the people that I was angry at were the people that burned the poppies – not all Muslims. I suggested in my post on September 11th that I suspect these people aren’t real Muslims and Muslim extremism is not the mainstream view as is portrayed in the media in this country. That is a side point but I believe there really needs to be more focus on the people who do not support extremist Muslims: just focusing on the worst of them fuels the hatred that allows groups like the English Defence League to grow. I honestly hope and believe that the majority of Muslims do not support groups that wish to harm the people of this and other countries.
With this view of mine being as it is, I heard via Twitter that there was a protest today outside the Jami Mosque in Portsmouth. This is following the poppy that was spray painted on it yesterday. The fact people are protesting against this Mosque and feel it is acceptable to protest it and attack it is as bad as the people who think it is acceptable to burn poppies. Maybe people will disagree with that view but I really don’t care – that is just how I feel. I heard the news about this protest and I was angry again. Why people think that these Mosque and the people that run it, even the people that worship there have anything to do with what happened in London is beyond me. Oh, could it be that Muslims burned poppies, and these people are Muslims therefore they are instantly connected. That is a really idiotic point of view. The Imam for this Mosque told the BBC he was mystified why his Mosque was targeted; he also gives his view on the issue better than I could. I will link the story rather than do selective copy/pasting. You can read the story by clicking here (Thanks to Dave Hartley for showing me this link). I think Muhammad Muhi Uddin is absolutely right in the statements he has given in this story. However I can answer his question. He says that he does not know why people have targeted his Mosque. I’m afraid to say that I do – it is because we live in a world that is really quite scary where some people believe everything they are told without questioning it. I said earlier I believe there should be more media focus on Muslim people who do not side with extremist Muslims – a perfect example is in the story above with Muhammad Muhi Uddin. I do not know the man but he seems to be a perfect example of what I am talking about. However, the media do not focus on people like this man; they focus on the “scary evil Muslims that just want to kill you and your family”. They believe the English Defence League when they say that this country will become a Muslim country if we don’t “act now” or whatever it is they say. So when they see a story like the one from Thursday, they instantly think “all Muslims are to blame for this!” Of course there are just people that are complete dickholes as well who don’t seem to realise this sort of behaviour is wrong and unacceptable! That is why the Jami Mosque was targeted – because people are stupid, ignorant and racist. I could post a disclaimer like I did on the last blog but I don’t feel the need to this time because this blog is long enough already. Can I also just say I'm really sad to see there is a Portsmouth chapter of the English Defence League? I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be one, but learning there is one makes me sad
I will post about other little things during the week
Soundtrack of this blog – Ray Davies – See My Friends
I read the story about the poppy burning on Remembrance Day with disgust. We dedicate two (one when the two combine) to bow our heads in remembrance for the brave men/women who lost their lives/injured themselves defending this countries interests in WW1, WW2 and subsequent conflicts. Whether or not you support the conflicts of the 21st Century in Afghanistan and Iraq, this time of year is also a good time to remember the people who have lost their lives in these conflicts as well. That is all this time of year is for, to remember these people. So, as I read this story about the people burning the poppies - I was angry. But the people that I was angry at were the people that burned the poppies – not all Muslims. I suggested in my post on September 11th that I suspect these people aren’t real Muslims and Muslim extremism is not the mainstream view as is portrayed in the media in this country. That is a side point but I believe there really needs to be more focus on the people who do not support extremist Muslims: just focusing on the worst of them fuels the hatred that allows groups like the English Defence League to grow. I honestly hope and believe that the majority of Muslims do not support groups that wish to harm the people of this and other countries.
With this view of mine being as it is, I heard via Twitter that there was a protest today outside the Jami Mosque in Portsmouth. This is following the poppy that was spray painted on it yesterday. The fact people are protesting against this Mosque and feel it is acceptable to protest it and attack it is as bad as the people who think it is acceptable to burn poppies. Maybe people will disagree with that view but I really don’t care – that is just how I feel. I heard the news about this protest and I was angry again. Why people think that these Mosque and the people that run it, even the people that worship there have anything to do with what happened in London is beyond me. Oh, could it be that Muslims burned poppies, and these people are Muslims therefore they are instantly connected. That is a really idiotic point of view. The Imam for this Mosque told the BBC he was mystified why his Mosque was targeted; he also gives his view on the issue better than I could. I will link the story rather than do selective copy/pasting. You can read the story by clicking here (Thanks to Dave Hartley for showing me this link). I think Muhammad Muhi Uddin is absolutely right in the statements he has given in this story. However I can answer his question. He says that he does not know why people have targeted his Mosque. I’m afraid to say that I do – it is because we live in a world that is really quite scary where some people believe everything they are told without questioning it. I said earlier I believe there should be more media focus on Muslim people who do not side with extremist Muslims – a perfect example is in the story above with Muhammad Muhi Uddin. I do not know the man but he seems to be a perfect example of what I am talking about. However, the media do not focus on people like this man; they focus on the “scary evil Muslims that just want to kill you and your family”. They believe the English Defence League when they say that this country will become a Muslim country if we don’t “act now” or whatever it is they say. So when they see a story like the one from Thursday, they instantly think “all Muslims are to blame for this!” Of course there are just people that are complete dickholes as well who don’t seem to realise this sort of behaviour is wrong and unacceptable! That is why the Jami Mosque was targeted – because people are stupid, ignorant and racist. I could post a disclaimer like I did on the last blog but I don’t feel the need to this time because this blog is long enough already. Can I also just say I'm really sad to see there is a Portsmouth chapter of the English Defence League? I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be one, but learning there is one makes me sad
I will post about other little things during the week
Soundtrack of this blog – Ray Davies – See My Friends
Some People... (Part One)
A common thought I find myself having is “what is wrong with people?” I have this thought because I see people (or hear about people) doing things which really makes me sigh. Two things occurred today which really fit into this category. For sake of making it easier to read, I am splitting it into two parts. The first part is about homophobia in football.
The first of these things occurred when I was sitting in a Wetherspoons about to have breakfast this morning. An investigative story on Sky News came on the TV which covered homophobia in football. It is something which sadly still exists and is likely going to continue existing for some time to come. The story basically focused on the abuse that football fans would likely give to openly gay footballers. I would like to think that, as a football fan, we are not all tarred with the same brush but I fear this is the case. I would like to state that I would never dream of seriously holding a footballer’s sexuality against them because at the end of the day – it honestly does not matter what sexuality a person is. Seeing this story made me feel sad that we live in a world where a person feels that they couldn’t have a successful career in their chosen field because of something they cannot control or choose. Max Clifford was focused in this story because he said that he has had 4 footballers coming to him asking for advice – all believing that what I just said was true: if they came out, their career would be finished. The overall theme of this part of this post is that I am really sad this is the case.
Two further things came from this story. Firstly, there is a campaign video out from the FA (I think it is direct from the FA but the channel was on mute) relating to this subject. The video shows a male swaggering through a work place office, insulting gay people as he passes them. He then gets in the lift and shouts something (the reporter spoke over this bit and therefore I am unsure what was said). Text comes up on the screen saying “This behaviour is unacceptable here”. The video then changes to the same swaggering man in a football stand yelling homophobic abuse at an unseen player on the football pitch. The text then reads “So why should it be acceptable here?” This is such a good campaign video because put bluntly, it is not acceptable. I think it is the best way the FA can get this message across that homophobia at football isn’t acceptable. The second aspect of the story I wanted to draw attention to was a quote from the President of the Croatian FA from earlier this week. He said: “While I'm a president of the Croatian Football Federation, there will be no homosexuals playing in the national team." This is such an appalling attitude to have towards something which honestly is not a problem. When it comes to football, my main concern is that players play well, and that the team I support plays well. I really could not care less whether the players are straight, gay, bi or anything else for that matter. It doesn’t matter to me – I don’t see why it should matter to anyone else. I don’t wish to come across here as preaching from a mount upon high. I am someone who has and still does use shock value in jokes I tell in social situations where occasionally I have used the word “faggot”. This word is a derogatory word for a homosexual – however in the context I am using it, it is not the meaning I attribute to it. I see “faggot” as an offensive word the same as “cunt”. These words are seen as offensive and I use them as such – I don’t use the word “faggot” to offend gay people – if it does I apologise but that is not the intent. If my use of that word offends homosexuals or anyone else for that matter then the context should be analysed. When this happens, I am confident that the original meaning of these words will not be relevant to the context in which they are used. Does this excuse the use of them? In a social circle I feel it shouldn’t. I am not saying you have no right to be offended by them – but please look at the context in which they are used before demonising me. There is I believe a very small amount of times I’ve ever used that word in the presence of homosexuals anyway – and most of those occasions have been where I have not known that a person involved in the conversation was gay – and were all I believe followed by an apology. I would also just like to state that no-one has had a go at me recently for using these words; I am just clearing up my view in case someone attacks my position on this matter by saying that I do use offensive and derogatory words towards gay people. I use the words, but they are not used in a context of which a homosexual should be offended I hope. Again, I hope that I have not come across as preaching from a mount upon high, I just wanted to share my view on this matter. Homophobia in football should not be a problem in the 21st century and it is very sad to learn that it is.
Soundtrack of the Blog - Ray Davies - See My Friends
The first of these things occurred when I was sitting in a Wetherspoons about to have breakfast this morning. An investigative story on Sky News came on the TV which covered homophobia in football. It is something which sadly still exists and is likely going to continue existing for some time to come. The story basically focused on the abuse that football fans would likely give to openly gay footballers. I would like to think that, as a football fan, we are not all tarred with the same brush but I fear this is the case. I would like to state that I would never dream of seriously holding a footballer’s sexuality against them because at the end of the day – it honestly does not matter what sexuality a person is. Seeing this story made me feel sad that we live in a world where a person feels that they couldn’t have a successful career in their chosen field because of something they cannot control or choose. Max Clifford was focused in this story because he said that he has had 4 footballers coming to him asking for advice – all believing that what I just said was true: if they came out, their career would be finished. The overall theme of this part of this post is that I am really sad this is the case.
Two further things came from this story. Firstly, there is a campaign video out from the FA (I think it is direct from the FA but the channel was on mute) relating to this subject. The video shows a male swaggering through a work place office, insulting gay people as he passes them. He then gets in the lift and shouts something (the reporter spoke over this bit and therefore I am unsure what was said). Text comes up on the screen saying “This behaviour is unacceptable here”. The video then changes to the same swaggering man in a football stand yelling homophobic abuse at an unseen player on the football pitch. The text then reads “So why should it be acceptable here?” This is such a good campaign video because put bluntly, it is not acceptable. I think it is the best way the FA can get this message across that homophobia at football isn’t acceptable. The second aspect of the story I wanted to draw attention to was a quote from the President of the Croatian FA from earlier this week. He said: “While I'm a president of the Croatian Football Federation, there will be no homosexuals playing in the national team." This is such an appalling attitude to have towards something which honestly is not a problem. When it comes to football, my main concern is that players play well, and that the team I support plays well. I really could not care less whether the players are straight, gay, bi or anything else for that matter. It doesn’t matter to me – I don’t see why it should matter to anyone else. I don’t wish to come across here as preaching from a mount upon high. I am someone who has and still does use shock value in jokes I tell in social situations where occasionally I have used the word “faggot”. This word is a derogatory word for a homosexual – however in the context I am using it, it is not the meaning I attribute to it. I see “faggot” as an offensive word the same as “cunt”. These words are seen as offensive and I use them as such – I don’t use the word “faggot” to offend gay people – if it does I apologise but that is not the intent. If my use of that word offends homosexuals or anyone else for that matter then the context should be analysed. When this happens, I am confident that the original meaning of these words will not be relevant to the context in which they are used. Does this excuse the use of them? In a social circle I feel it shouldn’t. I am not saying you have no right to be offended by them – but please look at the context in which they are used before demonising me. There is I believe a very small amount of times I’ve ever used that word in the presence of homosexuals anyway – and most of those occasions have been where I have not known that a person involved in the conversation was gay – and were all I believe followed by an apology. I would also just like to state that no-one has had a go at me recently for using these words; I am just clearing up my view in case someone attacks my position on this matter by saying that I do use offensive and derogatory words towards gay people. I use the words, but they are not used in a context of which a homosexual should be offended I hope. Again, I hope that I have not come across as preaching from a mount upon high, I just wanted to share my view on this matter. Homophobia in football should not be a problem in the 21st century and it is very sad to learn that it is.
Soundtrack of the Blog - Ray Davies - See My Friends
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)