Steafan's Blog Diary

A World Gone Mad!

2009-01-15T15:08:00.006+01:00

I know with a post title like this I could write about the many struggles and hardships this poor earth has to cope with, and in a way I guess I am because this post is about the greatest evil of all! Yes, that's money, but I'm not going to let this get too deep because I want to blog about the ridiculous amounts money involved in football/soccer right now, in particular, Manchester City FC and Brazilian superstar Kaka. Now it used to be that Mancester United (current greatest team in the world), along with maybe Real Madrid and Barcelona or even AC Milan were the big money record setters when it came to buying and selling players, then came Chelsea, where do you even begin with Chelsea, the amount of cash injected in that team was astronomical, surely things couldn't get any bigger. But no, we were wrong, along comes Manchester City, now owned by members of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, their wealth is endless. They have reportedly offered AC Milan an astonishing 100 million pounds for the purchase of their star player, also offering the player himself 500 thousand pounds per week!! This to me is really unbelieveable, Man City are, at best, a mid-table Premiership club. I know it can be argued that Chelsea made it to the top with money but this is no gurantee. In my opinion I can never see them making third place every season, never mind winning the Premiership, which is what they will have to do to attract players of Kaka's calibre. Sure, some players will be lured by the lucrative money deals offered, but too many, especially Kaka, won't want to be languishing mid-table or be in a relegation battle, which Man City aren't exactly safe from either.

Kaka is under contract at the San Siro until 2013, and although he stated last February that he wanted to remain at Milan for the rest of his career, he did hint at a desire to play in the Premier League - which he has described as the "best championship in the world".

The Wrestler

2009-01-10T14:18:00.004+01:00

Just saw the new movie, "The Wrestler", starring Mickey Rourke. This is a truly excellent watch and a great look into the hard hitting life of a wrestler and the things they can go through, its not all fake that's for sure. Just like the documentary "Beyond the Mat", The Wrestler explores some true to life facts in a very saddening way, you just can't help but feel for Rourke's character, Randy the Ram a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.

Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy "The Ram" back into his world of wrestling.

An amazing watch, very moving and highly recommended.

Monkey Magic!

2008-12-03T20:15:00.005+01:00

I think this is wonderful, monkeys are great...

A Japanese restaurant has changed the face of customer service by employing two monkeys to help with the table service.

The Kayabukiya tavern, a traditional 'sake house' north of Tokyo has employed a pair of uniformed Japanese macaque called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve patrons.

Twelve-year-old Yat-chan is the crowd-pleaser as he moves quickly between tables taking customer drink orders.

These little guys are smart, love it :)

2008-12-01T15:25:00.006+01:00

I've come across some really great work just surfing the net..

Great Illustration!

2008-12-01T15:02:00.004+01:00

I like to dabble in drawing from time to time, think I'm gonna start posting any great illustration work I come across online :)
Some of my own....

I wonder did anyone notice?!

2008-11-30T15:12:00.002+01:00

Haven't blogged in a few months for various reasons, I will probably just take notions when it comes to blogging as I do tend to become totally useless at thinking of anything to put in a blog!!

So I'm just gonna put up this quick post, with a mention to some of my favourite blogs/sites at the minute...

Great place for music! Really like this, lots about music and you can even listen to a selection of new albums for free.

My city! Berlin, love this city, this blog is great.

More great music A wonderful site where people send in their own old mixtape tracks with the story behind the choices.

Football! A great site with clips and highlights of all matches from around the world. Also has a good blog.

My Top 10 British Sitcoms!

2008-09-12T23:44:00.013+02:00

I love watching television, no matter how bad, I still love watching it. Now that I live in Germany it's different, I never even look at german television so thank goodness for the internet! Now my favourite things on tv were always the good old sitcom, fair play to the odd american one like "Friends","Cheers", "Frasier" or the more recent "How I Met Your Mother", very funny indeed but it's hard to get better than the British sitcoms.

So, I'm addicted to watching these and look for them online all the time and it's a good way to remind myself of home. Here's a list of my favourites!...

1. Last of the Summer Wine. Used to watch this all the time, a very funny show about a bunch of old people who really should know better.

2. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Ah, Frank Spencer, the craziest man ever to grace british tv.

3. The Royle Family. A show about a family watching tv! most of the time, suprisingly funny!

4. Red Dwarf. Total daftness in space.

5. Keeping Up Appearances. The notorious Hyacinth Bucket!

6. Only Fools And Horses. The definitive Britcom, Dellboy and Co. First class comedy.

7. Fawlty Towers. John Cleese at his very best.

8. Bottom. Ultimate slapstick nonsense!

9. Father Ted. An amazing comedy taking the mickey out of catholicism.

10. One Foot In The Grave. Last but not least and always my favourite, starring arguably one of the most famous characters in tv history, Victor Meldrew.

Sheepfilms!

2008-09-05T15:07:00.003+02:00

Hey! Two posts in one day:) cool! Anyway, discovered this funny and sometimes quite genius collection of film/animation shorts on Youtube by a guy called Sheepfilm/Dave, don't know much else about him but he also has a really good website.
www.sheepfilms.co.uk
Some of my favourites...

Fantastic Movie Posters

2008-09-05T00:50:00.010+02:00

While browsing the web I came across this great collection of hollywood movie posters from Poland. Check it out...

http://wellmedicated.com/inspiration/50-incredible-film-posters-from-poland/

The style that some of the artists use is truly amazing and abstract and alot of them have a very eerie feeling to them. One of my favs has to be a movie from my childhood, Short Circuit 2.

See link below for a really good site with a great selection of Polish poster art...

http://www.transart-productions.com/

My Book Review

2008-09-02T17:40:00.006+02:00

I have just recently finished reading my first ever book by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. I always found the thought of reading something by Dostoevsky very daunting but as soon as I picked up a copy of 'The Idiot' I couldn't put it down. This masterfully written piece of russian literature is so many things, heartwarming and heartbreaking, totally hilarious and nearly every character borders on ridiculous at some stage! An amazing, gripping tale which I could read again.
The story follows the Prince Myshkin's return to Russia after spending a long part of his life in a Swiss sanatorium. Even before he reaches home he meets the dark Rogozhin, a rich merchant’s son whose obsession with the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna eventually draws all three of them into a tragic denouement. In Petersburg the prince finds himself a stranger in a society obsessed with money, power, and manipulation. Scandal escalates to murder as Dostoevsky traces the surprising effect of this “positively beautiful man” on the people around him, leading to a final scene that is one of the most powerful in all of world literature.

Champions League Draw!

2008-08-28T22:59:00.002+02:00

So tonight was the big draw for the group stages of the great Champions League, footballs elite competition and it certainly didn't disappoint. 32 of the world's best clubs have been sorted into groups and will now prepare to battle it out for football's greatest prize.
The title holders, Manchester United will once again face off in the Battle of Britain against the always tough Celtic, I being a Celtic fan welcome the challenge once again, we've beaten them before and we can do it again, of course the rest of group E won't be so easy for us, the dangerous La Liga runners-up Villareal and Danish champs Aalborg.
Last season's losing finalists Chelsea appear to have landed the easiest group possible for them while Liverpool and Arsenal will find things alot more difficult in theirs.
Chelsea were drawn with Roma, Bordeaux and Romanian minnows CFR Cluj, while Liverpool will meet PSV, Marseille and Atletico Madrid in a tough group. Arsenal will play Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.
All five British clubs will be pleased to have avoided the likes of Bayern Munich and Juventus, who were potential opponents in the second pot of teams.

The first set of matches will be played on 16/17 September.

Group A
CHELSEA
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

Group B
Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C
Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D
LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Group E
MAN UTD
Villarreal
CELTIC
Aalborg

Group F
Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

Group G
ARSENAL
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

Group H
Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

Games will be played on the following dates:
16/17 September
30 September/1 October
21/22 October
4/5 November
25/26 November
9/10 December

The Bhoys Are Back In Town!

2008-08-24T13:02:00.002+02:00

Football talk time!...So after a slow start to the season things have be quick to turn around for the better, Celtic are back where they belong at the top of the table after a wonderful slip up by Rangers!! Things weren't looking too good at first with the loss of our two main goal threats in Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink but it was soon turned in our fortune thanks to the big greek Samaras and the return of the prodigal son, Shaun Maloney(he proved any doubters wrong,including me,and played a blinder). Well done Celtic, bring on the Orcs next week!

A brilliant piece of football which also deserves a mention is the King Henrik Larsson's wonder goal in a recent friendly for Sweden against France. The man, without a doubt has still got it.

Been a busy week but...

2008-08-22T16:17:00.002+02:00

So I have been working all week and haven't had any time to write in my blog BUT it occurs to me that no one even looks at the page so I guess it doesn't matter if I miss a few days!! Honestly but how does anyone even know about these blogs?? I haven't had a single view by anyone in 4 days! Of course this is now just the ramblings of a madman talking to himself! (please post a comment if you look at my page so I know i'm not completly alone..pretty please..) Well I better go and find something interesting to blog about now that i've got that off my chest. Note to self..Steafan, you are nearly finished one of the finest pieces of fiction, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky so views on that coming soon:)

Funky Fantastic Show and A Fitting Tribute

2008-08-17T02:20:00.008+02:00

Hmmm...starting to notice a pattern here, three out of my four posts so far are about music! This won't always be the case:) Anyway, the funky DJ Mr Craig Charles had another wonderful show on Saturday, if you don't know what I'm talking about then check it out every Saturday evening 6-9pm(GMT)

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/funk&soul

It was of course, a fitting tribute to the iconic legend, a true soul hero of the 20th & 21st century, Isaac Hayes. He did so much for music, with his own hits and the tracks he laid down for motown and artists like Sam & Dave. He will be truly missed.RIP Sir Isaac.

Dancing Politicians

2008-08-16T10:57:00.004+02:00

Love this unofficial video of Coldplay's fantastic track "Violet Hill" directed by Mat Whitecross (Co-director "The Road To Guantanamo"). Played on the screens at their live gigs, it fits in well with the song and its political lyrics. It comes from the new album Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends which seems to be much of the same from Coldplay but still pretty fresh, pumping melodic rock which is perfect for their massive concerts, which unfortunatley I won't be attending in Berlin due to it selling out long ago!:(

Speaking of fresh, the new Keane track which I managed to download for free!from the official website last week, is a huge change in sound from a band whose style is always very mellow. A great happy 80's style sound with a part of the song echoing the great David Byrne of Talking Heads. Well that's how it sounds to me anyway!

Night On The Town

2008-08-14T20:32:00.003+02:00

Tonight we celebrate! A good friend has passed her final Masters exam so a night of partying in the great city of Berlin ensues!! I, being a man who doesn't care too much how I look am ready to go but I wait patiently for my beautiful girlfriend to decide what she wants to wear, giving me enough time too write in my blog:) So I look forward to tonight and a hangover tomorrow!!

First Post!

2008-08-13T22:11:00.005+02:00

Only just discovered the amazing post-punk group, Gang Of Four, I remember being at a festival a couple of years ago, the great Electric Picnic http://www.electricpicnic.ie/ in Stradbally Ireland and Gang Of Four were playing, I was too into New Order, Groove Armada and a whole mish mash of acts to notice them at the time but boy I'm I gutted now that I never paid more attention! Especially now that I've learned they are once again no more:( What a pity, totally mesmerising guitar sound.