Demba Bye!?

As the league table stands Newcastle United are sitting pretty, 7th in the league, 15 goals from Demba Ba and the summer transfer activity seems to be playing really well. January is now here and as like last year Newcastle have a centre forward in the ranks that is stirring up some interest from the other “big” clubs. Although a release clause is in place for an unconfirmed sum, the geordie faithful have been assured he will not leave in January like Andy Carroll did last year. Rumours are starting to emerge of Carroll to come back to Newcastle for a cut price £10 million as his Liverpool career has struggled to kick start like it did at the Toon.

The early preseason controversy surrounding Newcastle has been quashed and early doubters have been left eating their own words. Screams from fans that no striker had been “bought” all summer signalled doom, but if anything Ba has proved that the best things in life are free. Fans were unhappy with the influx of french talent arriving at the club and no Marque big name signings happening or in the pipeline.

Trouble is… Fans are to used to seeing big names arrive at the club and at one time this would see the club move forward, recently it meant bloated pay checks and under performing players. Now a structured wage bill and players that truly look like they want to win games and strive for their own and most importantly, the clubs success. Silenced fans you would think? Not the Toon Army, only got louder and even more behind the club than ever. Mike Ashley and Derek Lambias are even in the good books… for now.

One thing I am extremely pleased with alongside the superb performances is… the 3-0 win over Man United? well yes, but… Joey Barton and his gradual demise. As an outspoken character he can be controversial for the right reasons, but mostly in his case the wrong reasons. His outbursts towards the Newcastle board gave reason for the fans to doubt the club and the direction it was going in. He left for QPR, more money and more problems it would appear as they hover above the drop zone. He has even publicly accused a player of playacting to get him sent off, a stunt he pulled earlier in the season whilst wearing the black and white against Arsenal. Barton said before leaving that the Newcastle board wanted to replace him with a younger and cheaper player, that player turns out to be Yohan Cabaye.

A difficult 5 weeks are ahead with the African Nations Cup taking Demba Ba and Cheik Tiote away… but I think the club can hold on and come the end of the season can be looking pleased with it’s self.

I will say this though… Andy Carroll is like a flight with EasyJet, it’s great until you’ve tried B.A… eh?! get it?

Monday Bullshit?

Posted from all over the interweb comes this from 2 maths teachers with a combined total of 70 yrs. Experience… Apparently.
It has an indisputable mathematical logic. This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint…it goes like this:

What Makes 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.

How about achieving 103%?

What makes up 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you!

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while:
Hardwork and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there;
Its the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.

Now I know why some people are where they are!

A Remix within a… Remix?

Earlier this week my attention was brought to the below video… as a fan of The Matrix I was intrigued to see the origins of the movie examined. One thing this video has done is lead me to a 4 part series in the creativity of well, anything.

 

Everything is a Remix is an excellent watch… so far 3 parts released with part 4 due late October. So far music and the realms of creativity have been looked at. It makes you question what you would once perceive to be a creative genius or truly inspirational is really just that… or maybe they are a DJ of their selected arts, mixing and scratching… I dunno, just an idea.

Head on over to Everything is a Remix for more…

Steve Jobs…

Steven Paul “Steve” Jobs… Inventor and Businessman, created the first truly viable “micro” computer with a graphical user interface and would later introduce the world to the iMac/Pod/Phone/Pad. I can say that Steve’s work has in many ways affected and influenced the way we use computers, listen to music and even watch a film about toys.

27 years ago saw Apple announce at a Keynote the release of the two most inspirational pieces the company would produce… The Mackintosh and the Ridley Scott produced advert 1984.

 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Steve…

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”

‎”A computer is the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with. It’s a bicycle for our minds”

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”

Thank You Steve.

R.I.P

An Adder, Eels and the Manx Missile!

The Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish won the 2011 UCI Road World Championships. A massive High Five to him and Team GB… excellent team ride and a superb sprint finish!

For some reason this evening I found myself humming this song from the Mighty Boosh… legendary program, Second Series is my favorite.

And then one of my favorite quotes from Blackadder, from the Third series episode Dual and Duality. Genius…

Nike to the Future!

The 80′s, a splendid era… one of which I was born in and to this day enjoy the best that time offered. In ’85 the film Back to the Future was released… a film that produced in my opinion, an epic trilogy of flux capacitor proportions. Now it wasn’t until the second instalment that the movie francise produced one of its many iconic pieces, the Nike Tennis shoe… a revolutionary shoe that in 2015 could tie its own laces and had lights and looked fricken’ awesome! A shoe which was later dubbed the Air McFly was released under the name of Hyperdunk and shared an uncanny resemblance to shoe worn by McFly in the movie.

So as we all know by now… Nike has released the shoe from the movie, named the MAG. It sports the flashing lights that can run for 4 hrs off a single charge… no self tying laces, yet! that comes in 2015 remember. The shoe has been released in a limited run of 1500 pairs and all proceeds will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s disease research. On average they expect a pair to sell for $4000… thats the price you pay for the future. Hit up Ebay for bidding fun!

Also the shoe has come with an Awesome set of promo films… and here it all is for your viewing pleasure.

McFly’s Closet…

Back for the Future…

Head on over to Nike B4TF for more video goodness!

Go on… it’s your Density. Now make like a tree and get outta here!

My Newcastle United!

So as the season has started and with a draw against Arsenal and an away win against the scum/unwashed/Sunderland you would think things are tip-top. Negative… With the sale of numerous high profile players to be replaced by foreign imports and the club still lacking in the transfer market to cover gaps has fans and pundits questioning what this coming season will bring. Relegation? Mid-table? who knows… the transfer window is still open and there are 36 games still left to play to determine the fate of Newcastle United’s premier league season.

Today has seen the most likely departure of Joey Barton, a player that has always been surrounded by drama is leaving the club following an outburst on Twitter regarding the clubs transfer policy and is being allowed to leave on a free transfer. Fair enough… the player is unhappy to such an extent that he has to air his views publicly, creating further unrest for the club and fans. A player so unhappy should be allowed to leave, maybe not for free but still he should go. At this stage you can’t hold a player against his will just because of his quality, Barton has handled the whole affair poorly and in turn has only created more unrest among the fans of Newcastle United… The fans he loves and respects so much.

Fans are split in where the problem in all this is… some say the board, some say he brought it on him self. I think he brought it on himself, if you’re prepared to act defamatory towards your employer then there will be consequences and that goes for anybody, not just a £50 grand a week footballer. He is fortunate enough that his employers reputation is poor/vilified/hated etc etc that he can deflect the issue back to them via and at the expense of the Newcastle United fans.

If you want to leave, you want to leave… And as an employer why would you want to have someone in your workforce that wants to leave so much and pay them for the privilege of potentially ruining morale, not giving 100% and so on and so on. I will give Barton credit though as he is a grafter and has given nothing but a 100% last season and in the two games so far.

These transfers will all be forgotten about soon enough, players come and go. Andy Cole was sold to Manchester United and Keegan had to answer to the fans, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, Laurent Robert, Nolberto Salano, James Milner and even as far back Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and even Malcolm “SuperMac” Macdonald have left the club and left the fans wondering why? hindsight is a wonderful thing and one day the sale or departure of any player makes sense. Whether it’s a case of seeing the positives or coming to terms with it is another thing. As before and countless again, the club will move “forward” with the backing of some of the best fans in the world.

TiVo… Football, Riots and Stuff.

So as my time has been consumed with such pressing matters of late… I hand made a cycling cap, taught my 10 month old son to stack blocks and I watched my garden grow ridiculously high. This has meant I neglected my time here and not posted anything at all…

A new football season has started, good times… a perfect excuse to meet friends, shout at a TV, have a few beers and not be called an alcoholic for being in boozer so much. Football though, can be quite depressing, especially if your the live, breath and cry wank over it type. Social network sites are an excellent place to find examples of this lunacy… Summer signings inadequate, Star players being sold and not replaced and blah blah blah. All too familiar I reckon to the hardened football fan.

Personally after years of hurt, I never stopped dreaming but I did stop caring. I support Newcastle United, I’ve seen plenty of drama in the past 20 years to null the pain and even the ecstasy that comes with it. See I have a problem with football fans, unfortunately some or if not most of them support my beloved Magpies. I am forever seeing hatred towards the owner and his board, the transfer policy and anything that they could possibly moan about. Maybe I’ve just grown old to it all and given up caring so much… I do care, a lot. I think some supporters are over ambitious for their club, I personally blame Football Manger for this (great game though). Newcastle fans have always been criticised for believing in something the club is potentially not/is/never has been/or could be one day… to be honest every fan is guilty of this at some point and its healthy until you start scrawling hatred on social network walls and calling for the blood of the Fat Cockney owner. But then without these fans… Football wouldn’t be the great spectacle that we know and love so dearly, so keep it up.

The country also turned to rioting recently… in areas that haven’t affected me fortunately. Damn shame this whole rioting business, at first i thought desperate people turn to desperate measures… take a chance, get a 50 inch plasma TV. Strange that people who could be classed as upstanding members of public would get in on the act… really what it turned out to be was people of any social background capitalising on moment to bag a telly, microwave or a bag of rice! Now not that I would condone rioting or anything of a similar nature but these people really did at one stage have a chance of sending a message to whoever about whatever, but it was never received… i think it was tied to a brick that went through a shop window that was looted. It’s all stopped for now… some say this will all happen again and it will, but lets hope it’s bloody ages away.

Now due to all this Rioting and Football malarky I may have missed some of my regularly scheduled TV… but fear not! I now have TiVo… not a new invention by any means, America has had it for donkeys and even Murdoch T… I mean Sky TV has had the service previously. Virgin has just got the rights and released it a short while ago, stoked to say the least. I’ve not missed one bit of TV and never will because of this box of tricks, it’s just made my life easier and lazier at the same time. Excellent.

Politics and Football?

OK then… other than sleeping with team mates partners/brothers wives/page3 girls/prostitutes/grannies (delete were applicable) and naming your children stupid names (David and Victoria) the sport of football is riddled with politics. Now I know the world is all a political debate and anything that involves money and large sums of it, brings power and with that brings politics.

Football has long been a political driver and has even been used as a cause for war amongst countries, most notably El Salvador and Honduras during the 1960′s, although football was never the reason they waged war upon each other in the first place. Athletico Madrid (amongst other Spanish clubs) employ a cantera policy, which basically means they only sign players of Basque origin. Also the World Cup has seen countries refuel their hatred for one another, England and Argentina (hand of god, falklands war) and also with Germany (world war II and penalty shootouts). In ’98 the USA were beaten by Iran in France at the World Cup, the countries being quite heated due to the political stance they had taken on the Iranian Revolution. Both sides prior to the game gave gifts to one another as if to be diffusing the situation or removing the idea politics plays a part in football. And then there is FIFA and the recent World Cup bid and it being won by Qatar.

There are numerous accounts of politics playing a part in football and across the sporting world… the politics I have encountered recently was something different all together to what i have mentioned above. Before I digress, some background info about myself… I come from a family that had no real alliance to a particular club, my father is Dutch and supports Ajax and my step-father was a devout Leeds United fan. Due to my mothers failed marriages i ended up supporting Newcastle United. Why did I not follow the club of the father figures in my life? My friends followed a host of clubs due to family, glory hunting or even who had the smartest kit.

My Step-Dad took me to my first game, he was a green grocer by trade and he got tickets off a supplier who sponsored Newcastle United. I was hooked to say the least, Peter Beardsley was the main culprit i would say. My Step-Dad wanted to take me to see Leeds at Elland Road, I often wonder if i’d have seen that game before visiting St. James’ Park if I might have endured a different kind torment to what I have done so far.

So… back to my point, on the social networking platform known as Twitter today I encountered the dispute of what classes you as a genuine supporter of the club you love and follow so dearly. Now according to some, place of birth, family descendant, the year you started supporting and even your current post-code are ways of deciphering your true right to support “your” club. According to the above I don’t qualify… does it stop me? should it stop me?

Unlike political parties, were today it is more common to shift sides based on views, promises and their agenda… a football club is for life, rough with the smooth, ups and downs and blah blah you get the point. I chose this club and sometimes I question with disbelief or I jump with joy, either way I will always remain forever faithful to the Toon. And surely thats what really matters? Football is a global phenomenon and enjoyed by millions, I’m proud to support Newcastle United and I take pride in the knowledge that people down the road, in the next town and around the world enjoy my football club too. Would you deny someone the same highs and lows you experience week in week out all because of a post-code or a birth place? If so… maybe you need to realign your political agenda?

Born to be Different

A program that has been running on and off since 2003 on Channel 4 is Born to be Different, a documentary following the pressures and joys of family life for the parents of disabled children over nearly ten years. Described by Channel 4 as a candid and unsentimental documentary… each family having their own issues varying due to their child’s disability. First aired back in 2003, the series concentrates on the first year of life when differences with their peers first come to light.

The documentary really came to my attention the other week as the children are reaching the age of 10, one boy called William… his parents had to make a choice of either 60 epileptic fits a day or drastic brain surgery, all of this due Tuberous Sclerosis. The parents choose brain surgery and as a result their son is left severely Autistic.

My partner has a 10 year old son who was diagnosed early with Autism, he hasn’t had to endure major surgery like William and is classed as high functioning.  Watching the program with my partner and discussing the differences between the two boys made me realise how fortunate we are, even though someone would think the same comparing their child with my partners 10 year old Autistic son.

The documentary really sheds some light on how as parents we cope with the trials and tribulations of parenting, everyone at some stage will encounter a difficult moment during parenting and maybe some more than most but at the end of every sleepless night or after countless visits to doctors and hospitals you know you always think how blessed you are to be even in that situation.

The documentary has been questioned as to whether channel 4 had the best of intentions showing families under such pressure , the TimesOnline commented with irony that “by the end, we had sobered up entirely. A queasy feeling followed, of being pulled morally up and down and in and out until you didn’t know whom you pitied or why. The sign, in other words, of excellent television.”

Highly recommended viewing and the whole series to date is available over on 4OD at the channel 4 website.

Born to be Different – 4OD