Thursday 30 April 2009

Keep Calm And Oink


Quite.

Anyone would think the Daily Mail and the The Sun had shares in the companies that make Tamiflu, face masks and antibacterial gels. For goodness' sake, get some perspective, like CarolB in Gloucestershire on the MailOnline forums:
"I have never seen such a ridiculous fuss over a glorified cold in my life. What on earth is wrong with people?"
Yes! Carol B for Prime Minister! Vote now!

On One Leg

Well that was pretty awful: Manchester Utd 1 -0 Arsenal

United were strong, fast, resilient, determined and scored.
Arsenal were quiet, shy, meek, slow and didn't.

What can be said is that Almunia's early heroics meant that this is still a two-legged tie; it could well have been 3-0 or 4-0 before half time and that would have almost certainly been game over, adios amigos, goodnight Vienna*. But at only 1-0 going into the second leg, we have to play to win -something we do rather well at home.

Six days to sort ourselves out and get RvP back, Eduardo fully fit, Gallas/Djourou up to speed, pump Theo full of Red Bull, throw out 4-5-1, decide the best formation & where to use Cesc, kick Adebayor repeatedly up his lazy arse and pray like crazy.

Even Arseblogger agrees with me:
Cesc has to play in his natural position, we should play 4-4-2, we have to go and attack them, and that is when we're at our best. It was disappointing last night and we're on the back foot, no question, but it's not over yet.
But Arsene knows. He does, doesn't he?

* yes, yes, I know the final is in Rome :)

Tuesday 28 April 2009

Bring It On

I am now officially ridiculously excited about the Man Utd v Arsenal Champions League Semi Final (1st Leg) in only 21 hours and 17 minutes (and the 2nd Leg next Tuesday).

Two of the very best, most fluent, free flowing, attacking sides in Europe, over two legs, home and away. Too close to call? Prety much - the previous 37 meetings between Messrs Wenger and Ferguson have ended as follows:
Arsenal win: 15
Man Utd win: 14
Draw: 8
I can't even bring myself to put any money on it...

Come. On. You. Gunners

Friday 24 April 2009

Cliff

No, not the leathery perma-tanned Centre Court crooner but a beautiful track from my man-of-the-week Mike Skinner.

And the video is very clever; I leave it to you to spot why (OK, think 'Memento'):



(Also for Tim at 7amkickoff - enjoy!)

Tuesday 21 April 2009

Listening To The Tweets (Lock Down Your Aerial)

I've always admired The Streets and Mike Skinner's DIY ethic and he's now decided to release tracks via Twitter. Last Monday he posted this:

And he did, the best of which is in my humble opinion the funk-tinged 'Trust Me' (anyone know the sample? - Spotter Ed) which should be belting out of every car stereo in South London this summer, if there is any justice. Check it:









The Streets - Trust Me

Just loving the lyrics ("I see Alice in Wonderland / I see malice in Sunderland") and look! Beards are the new black; I am so on message this season:

(excellent pic from stereogum.com which also has the other two tracks)

Monday 20 April 2009

It's Funny Now, But Just You Wait

Whilst this is still utterly disgraceful:


This is quite amusing:

Five Things English Football Would Copyright If It Could

For now.

Oh No, It's Bono!

This article, for which I must thank Alex, contains one of my favourite quotes ever:
"A lot of people have a U2 album. Why they would want another one is a very good question."
I am staggered. After all these years - finally, at last the jangly aural buffoons themselves understand the agonies to which I have been subjected. It seems that, for now, my work is done; I must rest.

(Read the rest of his unadulterated drivel here, if you dare: BBC Newsbeat: U2 fear The Killers and Coldplay)

Sunday 19 April 2009

Howzart?

I really do like some of these:

Michael Vaughan's Artballing

If anyone is stuck what to get me for Christmas, a signed limited edition print of 'The Pull' or 'Calypso' would do just fine, thanks.

Although, given the quality of the calling when batting for GRACC, perhaps 'No, Yes, Wait, Sorry!' would be more appropriate...

Friday 17 April 2009

Red Is The Colour*

So tomorrow sees the beginning of the start of the finish of the end or something.

Arsenal could play the three teams above them a grand total of eight times in various competitions between now and the end of May, as follows:
18/4 Chelsea, FA Cup Semi-Final
21/4 Liverpool, Premier League
29/4 Man Utd, Champions League Semi-Final (away)
5/5 Man Utd, Champions League Semi-Final (home)
10/5 Chelsea, Premier League
16/5 Man Utd, Premier League
27/5 Chelsea, Champions League Final (if we beat Man Utd & they beat Barca)
30/5 Man Utd, FA Cup Final (if we beat Chelsea)
I imagine there won't be much call for swapping shirts at the end: "Sorry, mate, I've got that one already..."
"Come. On. You. Gunners."

* that's especially for Rowan - hopefully it will be a good game tomorrow (and may the better team win :)

Friday 10 April 2009

Overheard #75

Parenting 101:
"That chicken is to eat, not to run your bus over."

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Overheard #74

Straight out of a sit-com? No, this was literally just now here at Arbuthnot Towers, in a discussion about who was going to go out for breakfast:
Go on, I'll have a fried egg baguette with two eggs, but no ketchup - I've got the gym.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Feeling Goody

I wouldn't normally give the gutter red-tops the oxygen of publicity but the front page of yesterday's Sun was an absolute master-class in double standards:

More specifically, this bit:


I guess by the standards of The Sun, only 12 pages is restrained and respectful. Peace indeed.

Overheard #73

They should really stop putting LSD in our water cooler:

Ah, this the the same problem we had the other day, but in a completely different way. You see, there are no actual years.

Overheard #72

Walking past a desk at work, this snippet:
"...and I think you'll find that radio is less of a visual medium..."

Sunday 5 April 2009

The Prodigy Are Fags*

No, they really are, look:



Great video :)

* Oh come on, I thought that was quite good...

Only Fourteen?

14 Twitter Personalities @ Media Caffeine

Not bad - I reckon I could come up with a few more, but this is a family blog and it's before the 9pm watershed :)

Which one am I, you ask? I suppose that's for you to decide, here:

fourstar on Twitter

Saturday 4 April 2009

Disgraceful

Read this: The FootyTweets “Cease and Desist” Story

Now read this:
Wikipedia: Football DataCo

Especially this:
The company has been racked by controversy in the UK media, after a 2004 European Court of Justice ruling that the Premier League and Football League cannot use the European Database Directive to demand payment from media and pools companies for the publication of fixture lists.

Football DataCo refute the ruling, arguing that a legal precedent was set in the UK back in 1959, when the Football League won a landmark copyright victory against Littlewoods, claiming income from the pools company for their use of the fixtures list.

Staunch opponents of Football DataCo argue that the ruling is long out of date, and needs to be brought more inline with the advances in information collection and delivery that we are seeing with the world wide web.

Small, independently owned football fan sites have been the worst hit by Football DataCo, who charge even non-profit making enterprises the standard fee for use of single club fixture data. Many fanzines have been threatened with removal of the fixtures by Football DataCo. The company has also challenged many not-for-profit websites over their use of football club badges on their websites.
Legal precedent from 1959? For internet-based distribution? What a set of tiny-brained idiots.

There have always been genuine football fans who want to support their club through fanzines and websites - it has even been proven that traffic to the clubs' official sites has increased as a direct result of the service from FootyTweets. It would appear that the self-centered mindless fools at Football DataCo (and how that awful US-style company name sticks in the craw) care not a jot for the average fan; blinkered protectionism is their default - and apparently only - setting.

So, in the interests of my fellow Gooners, I am now going to list the remaining 2008/09 Arsenal fixtures, right here, right now:

Saturday, 11 April 2009: Wigan v Arsenal, 15:00
Tuesday, 21 April 2009: Liverpool v Arsenal, 20:00
Sunday, 26 April 2009: Arsenal v Middlesbrough, 13:30
Saturday, 02 May 2009: Portsmouth v Arsenal, 15:00
Saturday, 09 May 2009: Arsenal v Chelsea, 15:00
Saturday, 16 May 2009: Man Utd v Arsenal, 15:00
Sunday, 24 May 2009: Arsenal v Stoke, 16:00

Bring it on...

Thursday 2 April 2009

270,000 Seconds

We* have eight (8) matches in the next twenty-five (25) days. That's a game every 3⅛ Days or 75 Hours or 4500 Minutes or 50 Football Matches.

Of course, that's what comes with still pushing for the Champions League, the FA Cup and 4th (surely 3rd? - Optimism Ed) place in the Premier League and it's great for the watching fans, but this could be the time in the season that shows up our** lack of depth in the squad.

We've*** already potentially lost RvP, Bendtner and Nasri after the STUPID international week and despite our**** big players (Adebayor, Walcott, Fabregas) all returning, as well as the recent run of form, it's rapidly approaching 'squeaky bum time' starting with the visit of Man City at the weekend.

Come on lads! Let's see what you're made of...

* that is to say Arsenal Football Club, not that I play for them or anything, as parodied brilliantly by Mitchell & Webb, but I shall continue to say 'we' through force of habit and the mistaken belief that I am in a big playground gang of shouty boys, which is actually not far from the truth :)

** that counts too

*** and another one

**** etc and so on