Turn Over!

Hey, you should all tune in to Jamjarsuperstar - i.e. my other blog - for musical coverage and reviews of Glastonbury, among other things. Don't miss my quote of the festival which at the time I found pretty funny indeed but now perhaps it has lost its charm. You decide. Oh, and there's lots of coverage of, among others, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, The Wombats, Editors, The Raconteurs.... and lots more!

Mini-Coverage: The Final

Who else thought that the final of Euro 2008 was particularly dull? Yes, it had some highlights (er, which I can't think of right now...) but on the whole it was pretty, well, boring wasn't it? Perhaps the most exciting parts were the goal, scored by Fernando Torres after 33 minutes, and Michael Ballack's eye injury.

Spain dominated just about the whole match and while Germany were not without their chances, after a while you just couldn't see them doing much damage. Despite the fact that Germany have had goals in their artillery throughout the tournament, they only came close to scoring once or twice and very rarely showed any really flair. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that they so clearly celebrated and performed their lap of honour in the semi-finals....

Still, congratulations to Spain are champions for the first time in over forty years!

Hungry For More

A lot of you will read this and think "Oh God, she's gone downhill" but recently I've felt more than willing to watch "Come Dine With Me" on Thursday nights. Yes, yes! I know! My standards have slipped entirely!

For those of you who don't know, this is what it's all about:

Take 4 perfect strangers living in the same town/city and ask each of them to prepare a dinner party for the other 3 people. Over 4 nights, the 3 guests rank the night according to food and entertainment. Of course it rarely comes down to food and entertainment because when there's a big sum of money to be won, the contest often has very low scores on account of everyone is trying to make sure that they win, whether their night is the best or not.

As a result, at least one guest will be incredibly picky and make an excuse of anything. Take last week when a middle-aged woman went to everyone's house, thinking that her party on the first night was the best. She gave the other three guests low scores because "the pork was a little dry" or "there was too much cinnamon in the pudding". She came last, so it could be said that she got her comeuppance.

Still, it's pretty addictive, much like a nice chocolate pudding. There's always one person who has a massive house and at least one guest or host acts like a total fool in front of the other (like Bath's town crier, for example). It can be funny. Maybe I'm just sad.

Am I Really That Threatening?

You've probably already gathered that I tend to use the bus to get around and try not to use the car too much (it's my eco-conscience). Since I don't get on the bus with anyone else - generally - I tend to put my i-Pod on and take in some of the sights on the way to wherever I'm going.

Buses are becoming a bit of a meeting-zone for the elderly and young mothers with their screaming kids, most of whom are little whining boys, who seem to always know someone else on the bus. And then there are just other people who are like me and don't know anyone else so they hide away until their stop comes.

It seems like wherever I go, no-one wants to sit next to me. People would rather stand than sit next to me on the bus. Even the bus drivers give me funny looks sometimes. I'm at a loss as to why people find me so scary. Is it the way I dress (which isn't really that threatening at all - are coloured tights and brogues a put-off?) or the fact that I do just sit there and listen to my music (as Babooshka nicely put it, tunes such as Arcade Fire tend to fend off the scary people so it can't be a bad thing)? Please, someone else has to have this semi-dilemma. I'm not really that bothered that no-one sits next to me, my problem is in the fact that they seem to have an aversion to me, like I'm a bad rash. Or perhaps the bus just isn't my type of place. No-one cool or vaguely like me gets on.

Still, it's better than having a swearing chav sit beside me blasting rubbish rave.

Mini-Coverage: Semi-Final Time

Ooh, Spain are through to the semi-finals after beating Italy last night on penalties - woo! There are a lot of people out there who think that the Spanish are all style and no substance and yeah, the team they had out last night probably proved that point. What the heck was Aragones thinking when he put Fabregas and Guiza on instead of putting Xabi Alonso on and leaving Fernando Torres on the field of play? This was a baffling decision, although they still won which is all the really matters... The Italians had a good go of it in extra time although they never really looked like threatening.

Thank you 5 Live for making the match hilarious as well - your descriptions of "sweaty Vienna", "long straggly hair" and "long legs" alongside describing Italian coach Donadoni as "hip" and "cool", with absolutely no sarcasm, made my night (er, aside from the result). And they say there's no homo-eroticism in football... Special mention to Italian midfielder De Rossi as well, whose massive oversized shorts were described lovingly by a friend as being like "bed-linen". Surely these baggy clown shorts are what caused him to miss his pen.

Also through are Russia, who beat the Netherlands in extra time. There isn't really much to say about this match except for the fact that when Dmitri Torbinski scored, he was well and truly crushed under his Russian team-mates. When he got up, he was invisible from the side. Seriously, he looked in real pain underneath the pile of bodies. This game wasn't as exciting as it had been anticipated although you wouldn't know it from Clive Tyldesley's screaming, especially when Wesley Sneijder had a go on goal. Germany will appear in the first semi-final against Turkey, although I can't really say much about the Germans because, quite simply, I haven't seen them play. However, Turkey are making a claim to be this tournament's Greece after their exhilirating game against Croatia (and this definitely isn't a hyperbolic statement!). Who would've thought that they would come from behind to win the game 3-1 on penalties? It really was gripping and even though they're going to come up against stiff opposition in Germany on Wednesday, I think they could go all the way.

Scary.... Very Scary

Okay so yesterday I read something very creepy indeed: apparently it has been scientifically proven that bad boys really do appeal to women and are more successful when trying to attract people. This is for three reasons - this is the creepy, terrible part.

1.) Deceit
2.) Narcissism
3.) The impulsive nature of the psychopath

What!? The impulsive nature of the psychopath!? I don't know about anyone else but I certainly wouldn't be attracted to anyone who has any qualities of the psychopath. And who on earth would want to date a guy who was good at deceiving people? Surely this is just a recipe for disaster. Personally I wonder why some of these scientific studies are being carried out - I didn't want to know this!

Inappropriate

So you probably know that I've been away on business for the past few days and while I was away I saw the most shocking thing!

The parents of this particular boy should be ashamed: said boy was wearing a t-shirt. Okay, you might think "what's your problem" but wait! There's an arrow pointing upwards saying "the man". Then there's an arrow pointing downwards saying "the legend"! What were they thinking?! This is highly inappropriate given that this boy was only around nine and probably didn't have a clue what it meant. Surely this is giving off the wrong kind of signal? Shame on you!

Quick Post

I'm going away for a couple of days, so this is just a quick little post to say that I have started to watch Reaper and it's brilliant - so witty and not at all gruesome! The Devil is portrayed in a way to be a good, ethical person which is quite funny, since we don't usually think of him in that way. Besides, sucking demons up in a little hoover is just so hilarious!

Mini-Coverage: Spain v Russia

Despite what Faizal might say, this was a less than exhilarating game. Spain won the game 4-1 with a hat-trick from David Villa and a diving header from Cesc Fabregas sealed the victory against a very ordinary Russian side who looked as if they just couldn't be bothered to play. The Russian goal was scored by Roman Pavluchenko. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased that Spain have won but...

The goals really mask that this was a game where a good side played against a very average side who were having a very bad day. Seriously, the BBC commentators made out as if the Spanish were world beaters and although I too would like to think that, I found little happiness watching my team maul the Russians. As good as Holland v Italy? About the same - again, Italy refused to turn up and it became an easy victory for Holland as a result. This competition will be more interesting when the teams play each other in the quarter-finals.

Right now, even Luis Arangones (Spain manager) is admitting that they were lucky to win 4-1 against such a physical side - we'll see how lucky they get against some tougher opposition. For the Russians though it seems as if the Hiddink Touch is wearing off; he is no longer getting the luck that he gained with South Korea in 2002 (where they beat the Spanish to go through to the semi-finals) or with Australia a couple of years ago. Chelsea calls...

Euro 2008 Coverage

Here starts the mini-coverage of Euro 2008, held this year by Austria and Switzerland. There's no England (good, at least we won't have the constant references to home players and what threat the other team poses) so the BBC and ITV are literally forcing people to pick a team to support.

My money, as ever, is on Spain. Okay, they've flopped in the past but this year I think they've really got their act together. Italy could do something as well, since they've won the World Cup and are probably hungry for another trophy. I doubt there's going to be a big surprise this year like there was in 2004. I just can't see someone like Greece winning it again (although you could get 40-1 on Romania to win, despite the fact that they're in the proverbial "Group of Death").

So far we've seen the Czech Repulic win 1-0 over Switzerland, Portugal win 2-0 over Turkey, Austria lose 1-0 against Croatia and Germany beat Poland by 2 goals. Speaking of Portugal, what the heck was going on with Clive Tyldesley's (I don't think I've spelt his name right, sorry) commentary on the match. He might as well have been bowing down to a golden statue of Ronaldo since his coverage was so unbelievably sycophantic! I hope this kind of commentary doesn't continue - I want a nice, rounded tounament. I think I'm asking for a bit too much though, aren't I?

Kudos, though, to the extremely funny 5 Live commentary on Switzerland v Czech Republic. It was hilarious! I feel incredibly sorry for poor old Sebastien Frei though - it must be terrible to go all the way to the tounament, captain your team and then end up injured for the rest of the competition. The poor man was in tears....

Well it's Holland v Italy tonight which should be very interesting. I think whoever wins Group C has a good chance of winning the overall competition!

Spelin

Yep, I've spelt "spelling" wrong deliberately because I read yesterday that it takes the average British kid 3 years - yes, 3 years - to spell at a basic level

Now, I have no problems with the fact that it can be difficult to spell some words; I couldn't spell the word "eight" over and over until I reached my second year of comp. There were probably lots of other words I couldn't spell as well, but I remember that this one used to get me particularly frustated.

Anyway, the experts in this report seemed to think that the English language was just too complicated to learn and that there were far too many words that had unnecessary letters, such as "friend" and "orange" (I refuse to put their example of "shoulder" because taking out the "u" would make this phonetically different and then people won't be able to talk let alone spell!) Okay, this is getting complicated.

They suggested that completely rewriting the English language to make it easier to spell would help. They then went on to say that people who had already learned under the old system (i.e. proper spelling) could keep writing words the same way while this new generation went on to write words differently.

What!? What the heck!? That would be like having two different langauges! Can you imagine working with someone ten or twenty years younger than you who practically writes in a different language? This is nonsense! There has to be some way to make spelling easier rather than these rash measures. I don't think tey've thought this one through.

Baffled

Ah, wine. A favourite drink of so many people. Many drink it often, some seldom touch it. Nevertheless, we're getting a very mixed message about what is good and what is bad for us right now regarding this drink.

A few weeks ago I remember seeing a report that said that drinking 5 glasses of wine or more a week meant that you were increasing your risk of heart disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis etc. by about 50% (or something quite dramatic like that). So, imagine my surprise when just yesterday I saw on the same news program that 5 glasses of wine a week can dramatically reduce your chances of getting rheumatoid arthritis?

This is just typical! Instead of giving us a straight message about what's good for us and what's bad for us, we're being bombarded with mixed messages. Maybe these scientists just like to mess with our heads, seeing our reactions and laughing when we have dumbstruck faces.

Maybe we shouldn't be put off drinking in moderation. Perhaps two and a half glasses of wine a week will mean that we're both reducing our risk of R.A. while only increasing our chances of other diseases by 25%. How about we just stop drinking altogether. It might make all of these health warnings easier to digest!

Maybe Not Such A Good Idea

I watched Shane Meadows' "This is England" last night and shuddered at the brutality of some members of the National Front (BNP). The film started off somewhat lightheartedly, despite being punctuated by newsreel from the Falklands War, and showing how 12-year-old Shaun fell in with a group of adult skinheads led by Woody (I had to laugh at Woody's impression of Harvey, who'd been in a fight with Shaun on the last day of term).

So Shaun seems to be enjoying himself. But then everything takes a particularly dark turn when xenophobic nationalist Combo comes on to the scene and literally brainwashes Shaun into thinking that everyone with coloured skin is, well, pretty much evil - a view I detest entirely. Shaun becomes more aggressive and adopts Combo's view of the world, which is terrifying considering how young he is meant to be in the film. Luckily a terrible event helps him to open his eyes and Shaun eventually casts off his belief, to my relief.

The film was given a rating of 18, but I really don't think that it's that bad. There is a lot of language that is deemed as offensive by some but there isn't too much violence in it at all, only at the end really. It could be suggested that it should be shown to 15 and 16 year old schoolchildren to show them that showing just how wrong it is to be a nationalist - support your football team by all means, but these radical views are really not on!

Of course, there would be a lot of kids out there who would probably watch "This is England" and admire Combo and his stance on life. Certainly in my town there is a lot of xenophobia and this film would only help to glamorise these kinds of views. That can't be good for anyone, and I wouldn't stand for it. Perhaps showing it to kids wouldn't be such a good idea after all.

Big Bother

Babooshka said that she was now in the grip of Big Brother, a show which has never interested me in the slightest. I had to watch one of the celebrity series once (I think it was the one where that Chantelle woman won) and was driven crazy - it was all in aid of a project I had to do and watching it every night was such a strain.

What I want to know is, where do they get these people from? There's always some crazy people in the house, along with some blonde bimbo (sorry to any of my blog friends who are blonde, I must say that not all blondes are stupid and/or crazy) and a macho guy who everyone seems to like.

But what's the point? Nothing happens, and it's only on the odd occasion that anything particularly interesting goes on. Even the tasks don't really stir up any kind of interest for me.

Maybe I'm just a bit strange, since everyone I know loves it and judging by the two minutes I caught last night after watching House, everyone will be in the grip of BB fever again. Personally, I can't stand the thing! There must be something better on TV than this voyeuristic.. tripe!

Lost Again

Oh God, I watched the final episode of Lost on Sunday night and was completely baffled. And a bit frustrated. Well, come on! The writers say that they're not making it up as they go along but they clearly are - Locke is Jeremy Bentham and he's dead? Everyone has to go back to the island? What's all this stuff about Widmore? They moved the island? The Oceanic 6 are being stalked?

Aw c'mon, this is ridiculous. No doubt that I will still watch the show just because I'm now curious to see how they're going to tie up so many loose ends in just two series that are meant to be shorter than previous ones. A challenge, and I don't think they can do it. The ending will be a cliffhanger, in my opinion...