The Arsenal announced a couple of days ago that they'd reached an agreement to transfer Freddie Ljungberg to West Ham for 3 million pounds. Despite being a shadow of his former self the past 2 seasons, I for one am sad to see him go.
We bought Freddie from a Swedish club (Halmstad I think) in 1999, after our double-winning season of 97/98. He took over the number 8 jersey from Ian Wright (my all-time favourite Arsenal player) when Wrighty was given a free transfer (also to West Ham) after breaking the Arsenal goal-scoring record which had stood since the 1930's (and which has since been bettered by a certain Thierry Henry).
I remember Freddie scoring on his debut, in the charity shield against Moan Utd, lobbing old 'Red Nose' Schmeichel. By far, his best season was the 01/02 double-winning season, where we hardly missed an injured Robert Pires thanks to Ljungberg's performances. My favourite goal of his has to be the one he scored against Chelski in the 2002 FA Cup final (Ray Parlour scored the other goal). Watched that match live at a sports bar in Melbourne Crown Casino with 500 other screaming Gooners ... absolute magic. Clips of some of his goals can be viewed at the link above (click on the blog article title).
Freddie (currently Sweden's captain) became the longest-serving player in the squad once Dennis Bergkamp retired in 2006. Now that he's gone, we only have 3 players left from the 2004 Invicibles (Kolo Toure, Gilbert O'Silva and Mad Jens) ... which is a huge turnover in only 3 years. Am pretty sure Mad Jens will leave at the end of the new season (he'll be about 38 by then) and the 3rd generation of Wenger's Arsenal will then have taken shape.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Tuesday 24 July 2007
You Tube-CNN US Presidential debate
Did anyone catch the You Tube-CNN US Presidential debate for the Democratic candidates? I did and I thought it was bloody excellent! For those who don't know, basically it had the candidates from the Democratic party answering questions sent in by the public via You Tube. I thought it was great that they answered questions that seemed to reflect what is important to the average person living on the street. Now, I'm sure that all the candidates had practiced beforehand what they would say if a certain 'hot' topic was asked (healthcare, gun control, abortion, etc) but there was the occasional curler out there. (Sheesh ... sounds like what I need to do for my viva exam, when I do eventually qualify for them). Overall, they all seemed pretty articulate and knew what they were talking about. The Republican equivalent will be held at some point I think.
Now, why should I comment about the US presidential debate? 2 reasons:
1. The leader of the US is the most powerful person in the world, like it or not. The cynic in me might argue that he (or she?) is merely the puppet whose strings are being pulled by big corporations (or whoever else has donated millions to their campaign fund). Nevertheless, decisions made by the US President affects the entire world. If only non-Americans got to vote there as well :)
2. It pisses me off that many of the MPs in Malaysia behave like immature imbeciles. Viewed a few clips the other day on You Tube, showing parliamentry proceedings, and I was gobsmacked. Some of these cretins (apologies to anyone with congenital hypothyroidism) were just, well, horrible. Shouting, making racist and sexist comments, threatening other MPs, etc. If they can't win an argument, they resort to childish behaviour. Just about all of these idiots come from the ruling party and think they can do/say whatever they please with impunity. I firmly believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely - and the Barisan Nasional (National Front) have been in power since 1955. They've been reelected every time for various reasons, in an unlevel playing field. Having said that, the opposition hasn't shown any proof that they could organise a freakin' birthday party, let alone a functional government (heard of a shadow cabinet anyone? - not in Malaysia). Ok, I'm starting to rant now (a lot more could be written about this). My point is, if the politicians in Malaysia could only have half the tact and knowledge that I saw on tv earlier today, I'd have a lot more confidence in the government's actions.
Now, why should I comment about the US presidential debate? 2 reasons:
1. The leader of the US is the most powerful person in the world, like it or not. The cynic in me might argue that he (or she?) is merely the puppet whose strings are being pulled by big corporations (or whoever else has donated millions to their campaign fund). Nevertheless, decisions made by the US President affects the entire world. If only non-Americans got to vote there as well :)
2. It pisses me off that many of the MPs in Malaysia behave like immature imbeciles. Viewed a few clips the other day on You Tube, showing parliamentry proceedings, and I was gobsmacked. Some of these cretins (apologies to anyone with congenital hypothyroidism) were just, well, horrible. Shouting, making racist and sexist comments, threatening other MPs, etc. If they can't win an argument, they resort to childish behaviour. Just about all of these idiots come from the ruling party and think they can do/say whatever they please with impunity. I firmly believe that absolute power corrupts absolutely - and the Barisan Nasional (National Front) have been in power since 1955. They've been reelected every time for various reasons, in an unlevel playing field. Having said that, the opposition hasn't shown any proof that they could organise a freakin' birthday party, let alone a functional government (heard of a shadow cabinet anyone? - not in Malaysia). Ok, I'm starting to rant now (a lot more could be written about this). My point is, if the politicians in Malaysia could only have half the tact and knowledge that I saw on tv earlier today, I'd have a lot more confidence in the government's actions.
Just getting started!
First read about blogs waaaaay back when they were still called 'weblogs' (blog being the shortened version of the word) and thought that it'd be cool to have one .. like an online public diary of your life. Blogs seem to have permeated online culture so much to the extent that this software wants to correct the spelling for 'weblogs' but not 'blogs'. I'm sure I started an account and made at least one posting back then, but I can't even remember for the life of me when/where that was (and no, it wasn't my alcohol-induced amnesia). Hopefully, this will be different and updated regularly.
Why do want/need a blog? In short, I'm opinionated. And I like telling people my point of view. Just ask some of my close friends and family. Sometimes I tell people my view or how I feel about certain things even when it's obvious that it's not what they'd like to hear. Sometimes I do it by mass email (not very often now). A blog lets me say what I want. You may not agree with everything (or anything) I say, but that's your right to do so and I value an intellectual debate. Sometimes, after hearing what someone has to say, I might even change my mind :)
I don't think I can talk about just anything here. Some things should remain private. So what will I talk about? Apart from mundane aspects of my life (this will save me writing mass emails hopefully), you might hear me rant about politics, football, history, medicine, news events, tv, movies, music .... not necessarily in that order. If I cause offense to to anyone, with whatever I write, I'm sorry. If you don't like what you read, go read something else. Respect my right to an opinion just as I respect yours, within the limits of human decency.
Why do want/need a blog? In short, I'm opinionated. And I like telling people my point of view. Just ask some of my close friends and family. Sometimes I tell people my view or how I feel about certain things even when it's obvious that it's not what they'd like to hear. Sometimes I do it by mass email (not very often now). A blog lets me say what I want. You may not agree with everything (or anything) I say, but that's your right to do so and I value an intellectual debate. Sometimes, after hearing what someone has to say, I might even change my mind :)
I don't think I can talk about just anything here. Some things should remain private. So what will I talk about? Apart from mundane aspects of my life (this will save me writing mass emails hopefully), you might hear me rant about politics, football, history, medicine, news events, tv, movies, music .... not necessarily in that order. If I cause offense to to anyone, with whatever I write, I'm sorry. If you don't like what you read, go read something else. Respect my right to an opinion just as I respect yours, within the limits of human decency.
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