Sunday, September 30, 2007

south africa vs usa

time to head home, usa. only 80 mins more to suffer.

ireland vs argentina

this will be a very difficult game for ireland. argentina are looking very confident, strong, and looking for a win against a shaky irish side.

it won't be easy for ireland. they must defeat argentina, score at least four tries and prevent the pumas from securing a bonus point if they are to sneak into the quarter-finals in their decisive Pool D match at parc des princes.

not much to ask, then...

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Bush climate plans spark debate

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7019415.stm

A plan by US President George W Bush for countries to set their own targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions has drawn considerable criticism.

Some delegates at a meeting of the world's top 16 polluters saw Mr Bush's comments as a US reluctance to commit to binding action on global warming.

Officials at the Washington forum said legally-set international targets were the only way to tackle climate change.

Mr Bush stressed that combating climate change should not damage the economy.

And he again hinted that the US would not commit itself to mandatory CO2 cuts.

...this will be as effective in reducing CO2 emissions as would be imposing voluntary speed limits on american roads and expecting drivers to observe them.

since when did voluntary goals achieve ANYTHING?

we have laws precisely because we cannot voluntarily achieve goals set by society and government.

here's a couple of examples: "littering is illegal" signs you see at the side of roads. well how come there's so much crap lying around everywhere? perhaps they should change the signs to say "if you litter, you're a cunt!" that would make you think twice before chucking your twinkie wrapper out of the window of a moving car! i mean, who the hell wants to think they're a cunt? (don't answer george...)

or how about "please drink responsibly" bollocks you see at the bottom of on all the alcohol ads on tv. how come you see so many drunk assholes out at the weekend?

or am i fucking missing something?

scotland vs italy (kickoff 3:00pm)

scotland will be looking for a win against the azzuri with a win taking them to the quarter finals.

wales vs fiji



gareth jenkins' career could definitely use a boost with an expected win over the islanders for a place in the final eight.

should be an interesting game.

update: wow! easily the most thrilling game of the tournament so far. sorry to see wales bow out of the competition, but you have to applaud the fijians. one of the best games of rugby i've seen.

final score: wales 34 - 38 fiji

happy nuptials to kenny & milena!

they did the deed yesterday and we all met up at poste last night for drinks.

i'll post some pics when i get them.

australia vs canada (kickoff 9:00am)

australia are resting key players ahead of the england match-up, and exposing others to their first taste of the 07 rugby world cup in this test match against canada.

unlike american football, where a punt return can change the game, this will be still be command performance by australia, even without key starters.

Friday, September 28, 2007

england vs tonga! (kickoff 3:00pm)



England and Tonga go head-to-head for a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. who the hell would have thought that was the headline of the pool stage of the defending champions?

game on!

update: england 36 - 20 tonga

outstanding effort by the tongans. what a great performance they have shown in this year's tournament. nobody could have possibly begrudged their tries against us.

leader of the free world?

Tributes pour in for legend rally driver Colin McRae






















The world of motorsport has paid tribute to former World Rally champion Colin McRae, who died along with his young son in a helicopter crash on Sunday, September 16th.

McRae, 39, the son of five-times British rally champion Jimmy, wrote his name in the record books in 1995 when he became the first Briton to win the World Rally Championship. ...i've watched colin mcrae many times on tv in britain (they actually cover world rally driving over there).

anyone who thinks nascar drivers are good should see what these guys do...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

samoa vs usa

the end of any rugby world cup 2007 pride for usa if they lose this match.

update: samoa 25 - 21 usa

usa will now need to defeat south africa....(place your bets) in order not to finish bottom of group A.

the population of samoa is just over 200,000...

Sunday, September 23, 2007

scotland vs new zealand (kickoff 11:00am)



scotland surely face a mountain of a challenge in beating the all backs (that's their real name) at murrayfield, in edinburgh today. scotland coach, frank hadden has not only this game to consider, but also next week's match-up against italy. in short, i think he's conceding this game in an attempt to produce a side that is fresh and strong as possible for the azzurri. this tournament is all about reaching the quarter finals...

as much as i'm rooting for scotland (and me an englishman!), i can't see the best team playing rugby in the world right now failing to take apart scotland, even if the game is being played on home turf.

australia vs fiji



fiji will walk all over australia in this game.

nah, just kidding, but at least fiji are unbeaten in their two previous pool matches. they can expect a thorough beating by the wallabies.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

argentina vs namibia (kickoff 3:00pm)

expect argentina to roll over namibia after their excellent victorys over france and georgia.

england vs samoa (kickoff now! 10:00am)



er, no comment, but what a game tonga played against south africa!

easily the best game of the rugby world cup so far.

let's hope england actually show some life on the field...

brian ashton: you're done if you can't get your players to even do the basics today.

south africa vs tonga (kickoff 8:00am - i'm off to get a coffee!)



all of england is rooting for the hard-hitting tongans!




...expect the same sort of dismantling though by the springboks. especially when the game wears on into the second half.

Friday, September 21, 2007

topdjgear.com

Removed post.

france vs ireland



this is undoubtedly the most important match of the tournament for both teams.

france must win or else face a shock exit, and ireland cannot be happy after their dismal performance against georgia, finally scraping a 14-10 victory against a minnows of a side in world rugby terms.

i cannot see france losing this match-up at home. do so will mean the head of bernard laporte, the french coach. he, and everyone else knows it.

anyone who watched the thrilling six nations match between ireland and france when ireland came so close to lifting the triple crown, knows that ireland can take it to the french.

final score of that game: ireland 17-20 france

but today, the french are playing at stade de france, in paris, not at croke park stadium, in dublin...and unless ireland play completely different rugby from that which they played against namibia and georgia, france will simply be too strong for them.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

topdjgear.com

Removed post.

wales vs japan (kickoff 3:00pm)



after losing 32-20 to australia, wales will be relishing this game against japan, especially since it's being played in wales.

if the brave blossoms (japan) win this game, i know bugger-all about rugby, and all of wales will hang their heads in shame and go into mourning.

demolition time @ 501!

at long last nutty and rebecca are getting a decent kitchen and ripping down the connecting wall from the kitchen to the lounge area.

the contractors have walked in with a couple of sledge hammers, so i don't fancy the wall's chances...

nutty will cook a special curry for our friends when we have our new space.

before photos:

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

italy v portugal (kickoff 2:00pm)



scrum half,
alessandro troncon will earn his 100th test cap for italy.

only seven remain of the opener against romania, and is eager to put aside their surprisingly mediocre performance.

expect an easy victory for the azzurri.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

scotland v romania



a must-win game for scotland, who are favourites for what

should be an entertaining match-up from murrayfield.

underworld at central park



you were either there, or you weren't.

Friday, September 14, 2007

england vs south africa



the only good thing about this match-up is that i'm not going to be able to watch the dismantling of england by the springboks.

where to start? vickery (our captain) out, suspended for 2 games for that stupid trip, and our two leading fly-halves (critical position) are out through injuries.

if england win this, it will only be because the nazarene himself has returned, sent from above, pulled on a shirt with a rose on it and took to the field. either that, or we produce the biggest upset in the tournament so far.

...sadly, nutty doesn't believe in miracles.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

italy vs romania



expect an easy win for a good looking six nations italian side here, despite their recent total dismantling by the all blacks (76-14...ouch!)

...perhaps next time they won't turn their backs to the haka.

having said that, a team doesn't have to face it, they can do what they want in my opinion. just because it's a great new zealand tradition (which i fully support, and never want to see the haka banned or disappear from international rugby) it doesn't mean the rest of the world's rugby teams has to stand there like lemons while new zealand performs it.

usa vs tonga


i wonder, given all the flag-waving tributes of yesterday, just how many americans are watching their country compete in international sport's second biggest competition this morning?

how many even know their country is playing?

usa should win this match-up judging by their performance against england. tonga are very physical, though, and it will be a tough game in the second half.

i watched espn last night and saw plenty of coverage of the women's soccer world cup, and nothing at all on the rugby world cup!

that just about says it all.

if america isn't any good at a sport, americans won't get to hear about it. don't believe me? go buy a newspaper today and try and find any coverage of the rugby world cup.

if there is any, i guarantee it will be a footnote compared to women's soccer...how depressing!

update:

usa loses to tonga 25 - 15...

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Viking ship 'buried beneath pub'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6986986.stm

A 1,000-year-old Viking longship is thought to have been discovered under a pub car park on Merseyside.

The vessel is believed to lie beneath 6ft to 10ft (2m to 3m) of clay by the Railway Inn in Meols, Wirral, where Vikings are known to have settled.

Experts believe the ship could be one of Britain's most significant archaeological finds.

...1000 years ago at the pub: "o.k. do we get a taxi, or get the oars out and row back?..."

Sunday, September 09, 2007

south africa vs samoa



expect a fairly easy warm-up against england win for the springboks.

of course, samoa will take heart from argentina's performance and bring it to south africa.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

england vs usa


after my experience with microsoft, i hope we crush the cunts.

update:

america played with real heart and can hold their heads up high. best i've seen them play in a world cup game. pity the england team didn't show up. we will be absolutely killed by south africa next friday.

i'm glad i'll miss the game as i'll be in new york at the underworld concert.

i hate microsoft!!!! (australia 91 japan 3)



i missed the entire australia vs japan game because windows media player (who the company uses to stream the games) decided to drop my DRM rights. if you don't know what they are, you're lucky.

it took me an hour of half fucking around with windows registry, uninstalling and reinstalling windows media player, trying to log on, only to receive error messages that i had failed to generate a licence - error number 2147188716, that i managed to see the very last 10 seconds of the match...

thank you, wankers at microsoft!

New Zealand v Italy

er, if italy can keep new zealand to within 25 points they will be doing well.

Friday, September 07, 2007

france vs argentina (final score 12-17)



sloppy, sluggish, undisciplined...

unbelievably, this is france during the first half of the rugby world cup, no less.

i really hope argentina wins this match, because they thoroughly deserve to. and if they do, it will be a massive upset.

update:

wow!
france suffer their first ever loss at the pool stages of the rugby world cup.

what a start!

if only bush was like kennedy - you have a putin!



back in 1969, this image captured the world. it showed everyone around the world (with the ability to see it) for the first time that our planet doesn't have any politicians (or people) that you can see from space. it showed us that we live on a blue world with clouds, dominated by oceans and that we don't have an endless supply of land to do as we like.

while the vietnam war kept claiming thousands of lives, somehow america managed to lift itself up above what was happening on the ground. technology gave people hope for a better future (even if it was because of the soviets) and people actually believed that the united states was a world leader who could accomplish incredible things. when neil armstrong first set foot on another world, he made history not just for america, but for all of humanity, continuing in the footsteps of all the great explorers that had gone before, but perhaps none more so profound a leap as this moment - to leave the planet he came from!

in 2007, we might take another good long, hard look at this photograph and think about where america is today. the world's biggest polluter that consumes one quarter of the world's available energy resources won't even implement binding restrictions on limiting greenhouse gases. for more than a 100 years, this country has built its position of power based upon cheap energy, and now faced with the alarming consequences of climate change, still refuses to act in any meaningful way.

viewed as an arrogant superpower that has implement a disastrous foreign policy, the bush administration's "mission accomplished" destabilizing of a country has resulted in the displacing of 2 million of its citizens, the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent iraqi men, women and children, and has brought untold suffering to countless others who haven't been killed - amputees don't have to die to suffer from roadside bombs...

as america (a country that simply cannot move on from death) prepares to grieve on sept. 11 in memory of those who lost their lives in the world trade center, instead of reading out the names of the dead that died that day, they might perhaps choose to all stay silent and include the iraqis as well. their grief is still happening, every day. poor bastards. they didn't ask for this.

the united states has a strange habit of remembering what it wants to and conveniently 'forgetting' what it doesn't. how many americans even know that the apollo program nearly ended when a flash fire erupted on apollo 1 while it was still on the launch pad during a simulated countdown, killing all three astronauts?

america doesn't even know their names unless they look it up. where's their tribute?

you know, humans have a big problem; we just don't live long enough. if we all lived to be 500 years old, we'd still be alive (and having to deal with the mess) we created in the first place...

improvements in technology is great (if you're one of the fortunate), but last time i checked, there were still people dying of starvation, disease, and war.

back in 1969, the world faced exactly the same problems, and all the money and power available to the richest nations on the planet have not eradicated malaria since, still killing over a million of the planet's poorest people every year...(now, why would god give us mosquitos...?). or how about providing access to clean water perhaps? something that people living in the west don't even have to think about?

in 40 years from now, everyone on the planet will be critically aware of climate change and energy resources, but i doubt the world's poorest will be faring any better given the last 40 years...(time's a ticking, jesus).

history (even if he does want to write it) will NOT be kind to george w. bush

Thursday, September 06, 2007

the rugby world cup begins tomorrow!

first game is france vs argentina.

i'm giving this one to france by a fairly wide margin (2+ tries), despite argentina being a top rank team and having perhaps the world's best full back (hernandez). however, i can't see france losing this unless they make some horrific mistakes.

sadly, this NO adverts (at all..) event is being broadcast by any cable channel in the united states.

if america isn't any good at something, and they can't sell you something, then it doesn't exist in its media. how many americans even know their country is playing in the world's second largest world cup competition on saturday?

england's first match is against usa...

so to watch as many games as possible, i'm doing what i did for the six nations and buying a package to watch it live on the computer:

http://www.livesporton.tv/rugby.asp

nutty adds new word to existing lexicon


i've been thinking how much i really don't like the word 'techno' as it's currently used to to describe anything to do with modern technology, for obvious reasons.

so instead, anyone who readily embraces technology (like my mate tanc, for instance) will now be known as a 'tech-nog', and not have to deal with the horrible tag of 'techno' being applied anymore.

i mean, who the hell wants to be known as techno-friendly?... why not go the full hog and admit you're into trance and indeed a tiesto lover?

like this guy...

Simply Great, July 5, 2007
By J. M. Drury "MD" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
One of the best Tiesto CD's I've had the pleasure of owning. It has been playing on repeat for a week now and I haven't gotten tired of it.

...yeah, because you've had a lobotomy, dude.

just in case you're unaware of what we're taliking about here, here's a youtube that tiernan kindly sent me that best describes the awesome magic that is tiesto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el_LVfoDC-I

our new photo printer arrives! - i'm calling him Fedor



it's an epson r2400, and it's unbeaten in the printer fighting championship.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

senator larry craig to resign - finally











A US Republican senator who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after his arrest in a men's toilet will resign from the Senate, party officials say.

Mr Craig said he should not have pleaded guilty without legal advice.

...er, if he wasn't guilty, why did he plead guilty? he's a senator, not some guy flipping burgers at wendy's.

o.k. hands up all those that believe he's innocent...

i don't know what's more pathetic. his protestations in front of the tv camera of "i'm not gay", "i'm not gay" for the obvious benefit of his family and friends (pity his wife and children), or the republicans party's repugnant singled out intolerance when it comes to one of their own, now it's idaho, a republican stronghold state.

i don't expect politicians to be role models for children (who the hell wants to be a politician as a kid), but i do expect them to make good decisions...and finally, if they must transgress themselves in mens bathrooms, then i'd rather not hear about it at all.