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Orange County, California
Template:Infobox County
This is an article about the county in California. For other uses, see Orange County (disambiguation).
Orange County, California is a county in Southern California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. With a population of 2,846,289 (2000 census), it is the second most populous county in the state of California and the fifth most populous in the United States. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Orange County is "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA." The county is known for its wealth and political conservatism, although it is in reality neither as uniformly wealthy nor as politically conservative as its sterotypical image suggests.
6 Government
6.1 Politics
7 Orange County in literature and popular culture
8 Famous Orange County residents, past and present
9 Cities and towns in Orange County
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 mi²), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 mi²) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 km² (789 mi²) of it is land.
Orange County is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the east by Riverside County, and on the south by San Diego County. It is at the center of Southern California's Tech Coast.
The northern part of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southern half lies on the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most of Orange County's population resides in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the Santa Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The coastal plain gently rises into the Santa Ana Mountains, which lie within the boundaries of the county and of the Cleveland National Forest. The high point is Santiago Peak (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby Modjeska Peak, just 200 feet shorter, form a ridge known as Saddleback, visible from almost everywhere in the county. The Santa Ana Mountains are part of the Peninsular Ranges that stretch from Mount San Jacinto in the north to the Baja California peninsula in the south.
The Santa Ana River is the principal watercourse. Its major tributary running through the county is Santiago Creek. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and Horsethief Creek. The San Gabriel River also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line. Laguna Beach is home to the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which were formed when water rose up against an underground fault.
The most important roadway is the Santa Ana Freeway, or Interstate 5, which runs north-south bisecting the length of the county. It merges with another key north-south road, the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in Irvine. The 5 and 405 freeways meet at the "El Toro Y," one of the busiest interchanges in the U.S.
Residents often divide the county into "North County" and "South County", as opposed to an East-West division characterized by coastal and inland cities. There is no formal geographical division of North and South County, though a South-North border may be drawn somewhere along the city limits of Irvine-Tustin, Newport Beach-Costa Mesa, or the division between the 949 & 714 area codes.
Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño nations long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the first permanent European settlement.
A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the prevailing industry, cattle ranching, and much land came into the possession of James Irvine and other land barons. In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. This growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. It was named for its most famous product, but other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were also important to the early economy.
Orange County benefitted from the July 4, 1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley connecting Los Angeles with Newport Beach and Santa Ana. The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that the city of Pacific Beach changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of robber baron Collis Huntington. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and U.S. Highway 101 (now mostly Interstate 5) in the 1920s.
Agriculture, such as the boysenberry which was made famous by Buena Park native Walter Knott, began to decline after World War II but the county's prosperity soared. The completion of Interstate 5 in 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom community for many who moved to Southern California to work in aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland.
In 1969, Yorba Linda born Orange County native Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.
In the 1980s, population topped 2 million for the first time, making Orange County the second largest county in California.
A spectacular investment fund melt-down in 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of Orange County treasurer Robert Citron. On December 6, 1994, Orange County declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from which it emerged in June 1995; this was the largest ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. The county lost about $1.6 billion through high-risk investments in derivatives.
In recent years, the county has been characterized by conflict between the older northern and newer southern cities over development, the building of new toll roads, and a recently defeated proposal to build an international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to supplement the crowded John Wayne Airport.
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county. The population density is 1,392/km² (3,606/mi²). There are 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474/km² (1,228/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 64.81% White, 30.76% Hispanic or Latino, 13.59% Asian, 1.67% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races.
There are 935,287 households out of which 37.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% are married couples living together, 10.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% are non-families. 21.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.00 and the average family size is 3.48.
The population is diverse age-wise, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.7 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $58,820, and the median income for a family is $64,611. Males have a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The per capita income for the county is $25,826. 10.3% of the population and 7.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Orange County is home to several colleges and universities, including:
University of California, Irvine;
California State University, Fullerton;
Chapman University;
Concordia University; and
Soka University.
Its county department of education also oversees 28 school districts. See List of school districts in Orange County, California.
The area's warm Mediterranean climate and miles of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and surfing; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. Other tourist destinations include the theme parks Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. Little Saigon is another notable tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam.
Notable structures include the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the largest house of worship in California; the historic Balboa Pavilion [1] (http://www.balboapavilion.com/history.html) in Newport Beach; the Huntington Beach Pier; and the restored Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Some of the most exclusive (and expensive) neighborhoods in the U.S. are located here, many along the Orange Coast. Large shopping malls exist throughout the county, such as the Irvine Spectrum Center, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and The Block in Orange.
The county is home to the University of California, Irvine, California State University, Fullerton, Mission San Juan Capistrano (destination of migrating swallows), and the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace (the only privately-controlled presidential library in the nation since the government began constructing these libraries in 1939) in Yorba Linda. The Nixon Home is a National Historic Landmark, as is the home of a very different character, Madam Helena Modjeska, in Modjeska Canyon on Santiago Creek.
The Anaheim Angels, which still play in the county as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, won the World Series in 2002. The county's National Hockey League team, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, lost the 2003 Stanley Cup finals after winning three games in a seven-game series. NFL football left the county when the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1996, but Anaheim city leaders are currently in talks with the NFL to bring a franchise back to Orange County.
Orange County is a general law county of California; its seat is Santa Ana. Its legislative and executive authority is vested in a five-member Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor is popularly elected from a regional district, and together the board oversees the activities of the county's agencies and departments and sets policy on development, public improvements, and county services. At the beginning of each year the Supervisors select a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, but the administration is headed by a professional municipal manager, the County Executive.
Seven other public officials are elected at-large: the County Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Public Administrator.
The majority of Orange County citizens have conservative or moderate political views. Accordingly, the area has historically been a stronghold of the Republican Party. Since the mid 1980's the Democratic party has garnered momentum amongst County voters. This trend reverted slightly, however, in the 2004 elections.
Orange County produced such notable Republicans as President Richard Nixon, U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel (of Anaheim), U.S. Rep. James B. Utt (of Santa Ana), U.S. Rep. Robert E. Badham (of Newport Beach), and U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (of Fullerton). U.S. Rep. Chris Cox (of Newport Beach) is President Bush's nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The county has produced relatively few prominent Republicans in state government, although in 1996 Curt Pringle (currently mayor of Anaheim) became the first Republican-elected Speaker of the California Assembly in decades.
Republican majorities in Orange County helped deliver California's electoral votes for Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1968, Gerald Ford in 1976, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George H. W. Bush in 1988.
While Orange County has long boasted one of the largest Republican Party organizations in the state, it is also home to one of the largest Democratic Party organizations, and elected such prominent Democrats as Richard T. Hanna and Jerry Patterson to the U.S. Congress. Still, the Republican voter registration outnumbers the Democratic 3-2. Five of the County's six U.S. Representatives, four of its five State Senators, and seven of its nine State Assembly members are Republicans, as are four of the five members of the County Board of Supervisors. Since the 1990s, the growth of the Hispanic population—and reaction to the divisive campaign tactics of former state governor Pete Wilson—have softened the county's staunch Republicanism. In the landmark 1996 election, Democrat Loretta Sanchez defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan, and has held the seat ever since. The county Republicans have made more explicit efforts to court the Hispanic vote. As more immigrants and liberals settle in of Orange County, there are signs that the longtime Republican monopoly are beginning to dwindle. This has led to higher margains for Democrats such as Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein as well as former Governor Gray Davis, in addition to Democratic Presidential candidates, which had fared better here recently until the 2004 election. However in the 2004 election Orange County's political conservatism prevailed. Senator Barbara Boxer won the election statewide, but failed in Orange County getting roughly 43% of the vote to Republican Bill Jones' 51%. President George W. Bush captured 60% of the county's vote, this was an increase from the 55% he recieved in 2000.
The county features prominently in the book Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr. She argues that the County's rightward orientation in the 20th century owed much to its settlement by Midwestern transplants, who reacted strongly to communist sympathies and the turmoil of the 1960s in nearby Los Angeles—across the "Orange Curtain."
Orange County in literature and popular culture
Orange County has been the setting for numerous films and television shows:
It is best-known as the setting of the eponymous 2003 Fox Network television drama The O.C. (although the series is actually filmed in Los Angeles County to keep production costs down). The show has been criticized by residents who feel that the show misrepresents their community.
It is the subject and setting of the eponymous 2002 movie Orange County.
It is also the setting of the sitcom Arrested Development.
MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was filmed in the Orange County coastal town.
A plotline in the television drama The West Wing involved a dead liberal Democrat unexpectedly winning a Congressional seat from an Orange County district.
Popular punk rock bands such as Thrice, The Offspring, and the bands No Doubt, Lit, Sugar Ray, Social Distortion, and Rage Against the Machine all hail from Orange County.
Famous horror author Dean Koontz has set a number of his novels in the area.
Orange County is the place in which Kim Stanley Robinson's Three Californias Trilogy is set. These books depict three different futures of the Orange County (survivors of a nuclear war in The Wild Shore, a developer's dream gone mad in The Gold Coast, and an ecotopian utopia in Pacific Edge). Philip K. Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly was also set in Orange County.
Orange County is also the base for several significant religious organizations:
Chuck Smith, father of the Jesus People movement, is headquartered at Calvary Chapel located in Costa Mesa.
Reverend Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral is located in Garden Grove.
Trinity Broadcasting Network began as Channel 40, located in Tustin.
Saddleback Church is in Lake Forest.
The Vineyard Christian Fellowship movement began in Orange County.
Famous Orange County residents, past and present
Jackson Browne, popular musician
Kobe Bryant, NBA player
Kevin Costner, actor
Dick Dale, musician
Leo Fender, inventor of the solid-body electric guitar
Will Ferrell, comedian
Paul Frank, clothes designer
Dean Koontz, horror author
Steve Martin, comedian
Mark McGwire, baseball player
Richard Nixon, US President
Donny Osmond, singer/actor
Dennis Rodman, former basketball player
Peter Vidmar, gymnast
John Wayne, actor
Tiger Woods, pro golfer
Cities and towns in Orange County
Tustin Foothills
John Wayne-Orange County Airport (SNA)
Orange County Transportation Authority
List of school districts in Orange County, California
County of Orange (http://www.oc.ca.gov/) - Official County Government Web Site
Orange County Business Journal (http://www.ocbj.com/) - Weekly newspaper covering business in OC
Japanese Food (http://oc-japan.staticusers.net/) - Markets and Restaurants in OC
Location Orange County (http://www.locationoc.com/)
Orange County Business Council (Chamber of Commerce) (http://www.ocbc.org/)
The Orange County Register (http://www.ocregister.com/) - OC's chief Newspaper
OC Weekly (http://www.ocweekly.com/) - Orange County's Alternative Newsweekly
Orange County ArtSource (http://www.ocartsource.org/) - Links to Major Visual and Performing Arts Venues
Orange County Metroblog (http://oc.metblogs.com) - News and happenings in Orange County as written by local bloggers
Writing in Orange (http://orange.notfrisco2.com/) - Blog of information for writers living in the county
Unofficial Orange County History Page (http://members.aol.com/kennykao/ochistindex.html) - From the 1400s to the present
Orange County Transportation Authority (http://www.octa.net)
Template:Cities of Orange County, California
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I've heard of writer's block, but never dealt with coder's block until today. Seriously, I've always been able to just unleash that kernel of code simmering inside in a big pop of keyboard slamming.
As an aside, my wife and her friend happened to walk in on a coding session one day and they remarked that they could easily do what I do. Why, I'm simply stabbing at the keys at random! They proceeded to mimic me jamming the keyboard as an insane pianist attempting to perform a Liszt piece at twice the speed might do. Hmm, hopefully my clients don't find out and replace me with a monkey.
But today, alas, I'm tipping my head to the side, and nothing is pouring out. Zip. Guess it's time to take a break and maybe buy some books.
I've had this. I call it burnout.
Nah, probably just need a beer or two. Or maybe the gods of programming are mad at you for pooh-poohing the OO patterns. Write three Factories, one Decorator, and half-a-Strategy, and you should be good as new.
The same thing happened to me after I went on vacation and moved. It lasted about three weeks. I finally got back into the grove by going through the ASP.NET 2.0 beta 2 classes with reflector, and by brushing up on C and C++ (which I haven't used in over a year).
Ehhh, try learning a new language or just writing a little helper function for your current project. That usually is enough to break me out of a coding funk.
Thanks for the tips. I think getting sleep is probably my best bet. It's more a matter of motivation than really being blocked. I bought a few books and reading them is getting me pumped. Plus my wife is back home, which is helpful.
Refactoring To Patterns is by far the best GoF Design Patterns book I know of (especially if you're mostly C#), the Head First books look awesome, their weblog is amazing.
Ah, I need a wife damn it.


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text:
Five more classified pages found at Biden's Delaware home
US President Joe Biden speaks on COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 at the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on June 21, 2022. (NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)
WILMINGTON, DE – US President Joe Biden's counsel said on Saturday that five additional pages with classified markings were discovered at the president's Wilmington, Delaware, home on Thursday, and they were immediately handed to Justice Department officials.
Biden's special counsel, Richard Sauber, said he traveled to Biden's Wilmington home on Thursday to facilitate the handover to the Justice Department of a document with classified markings that was found there earlier.
Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with. US Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Thursday to probe the matter
"While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them," Sauber said in a statement.
Biden's legal team acknowledged this week it had found classified documents relating to his time as vice-president in the Obama administration at his Delaware home, including some in his garage.
ALSO READ: Special counsel to probe Biden's handling of classified documents
Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with. US Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Thursday to probe the matter.
"How many more classified documents will they find at Joe Biden's house?" the Republican House Judiciary Committee said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
Sauber said Biden's lawyers have acted "immediately and voluntarily" to hand all the documents found to the proper authorities.
"We have now publicly released specific details about the documents identified, how they were identified, and where they were found. The appointment of the special counsel in this matter this week means we will now refer specific questions to the special counsel's office moving forward. As I said Thursday, the White House will cooperate with the newly appointed special counsel," he said.
Biden is spending the weekend in Wilmington with his wife, Jill Biden, who underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove skin lesions from her face and chest.
ALSO READ: Reports: Biden aides find classified documents at new location
Biden was asked by a reporter on Thursday about the wisdom of storing important material next to his Corvette. The self-declared 'car guy' president said both were in a locked garage.
"It's not like they're sitting out in the street," he said. "People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously."
Republicans in the US House of Representatives launched an investigation on Friday into the Justice Department's handling of improperly stored classified documents possessed by Biden, and questioned whether his son, Hunter, had access to any. In a letter to Garland, top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee demanded all relevant documents and communications between the Justice Department, the FBI, the White House and Biden's attorneys.
Republicans have sought to compare the investigation to the ongoing probe into how former President Donald Trump handled classified documents after his presidency
On Saturday, James Comer, Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, described the matter as alarming and said the National Archives, Justice Department and White House had not been transparent. Comer said his panel would also review the case.
Republicans have sought to compare the investigation to the ongoing probe into how former President Donald Trump handled classified documents after his presidency.
READ MORE: Classified documents from Biden's vice-presidency found at think tank
The White House says the two cases are different because Biden's team has cooperated with authorities in their probe and had turned over those documents. Trump had resisted doing so until an FBI search in August at his Florida resort.
Bob Bauer, Biden's personal lawyer, said in a statement that Biden had directed his attorneys to be "forthcoming and fully cooperative with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department regarding the documents.
"In addition, the president's personal attorneys have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigation's integrity. These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing," he said.
Tagged biden's, classified, counsel, documents, found
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Home > Arts décoratifs > tapis > Lot: 25
A RARE CHINESE IMPERIAL GOLD-GROUND SILK 'FIVE DRAGON' RUG LATE QING DYNASTY Decorated with a central medallion enclosing a blue confronting dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl, with four further sinuous dragons to the corners, the beasts surrounded by stylised lotus scrolls, with a band of key fret encircling the design, all bordered by flowerheads and auspicious Buddhist emblems, woven to one end with the five characters Jingren Gong bei yong, 2.7m x 1.8m. Provenance: purchased at auction in the 1980s or 1990s. Jingren Gong, or 'The Palace of Great Benevolence', is one of the palaces in the Forbidden City. Jingren Gong was built in 1420 and it was used as the residence of Imperial concubines during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Kangxi Emperor was born in this palace. Cf. Sotheby's Paris, 18th June 2020, lot 28 for a very similar carpet inscribed Taihe Dian bei yong.
wiltshire, Royaume-Uni


text:
Boys swim team firing on all cylinders
By ALEX RACZEK
Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) boys swim team has started their season. The 21 boys on the team have won all three of their conference meets and they are still looking strong.
"The goal for this year is to win the conference meet and go on to win the sectional meet," Coach Bob Allen said.
Allen has been the head coach for the last seven years and has a record of 44 wins and three losses with dual meets.
Coach Allen is helped by Maggie Reilly, the assistant coach and managers Brianna Check and Jenna Strojny.
"I heard about this job from my boss and I talked to Bob and it seemed like a good fit," Reilly said. "I love it, working with the boys swim team."
If the boys pull off another conference win it will be their fifth consecutive conference championship.
There are seven seniors on this team, captains Zach Dahlseng and Hunter Shulfer as well as Daniel Hess, Eric Konkol, Ethan Whitmarsh, Aaron Kane and Reese Eckenrod-Snyder.
"Freshman year was my first year competing so it's been a pretty good experience to progress through the years and just have fun," Shulfer said.
Last year the team sent four swimmers and two alternates to the state meet. They had six individual events and two relays qualify. This year they hope to send more people to state.
"My goal is to make it back to state and break more school records," Dahlseng said. "I would like to make it back again this year and maybe place a little higher."
Last year SPASH had four school records broken. Two of the record were individual events and the other two were relays.
The individual events were the 50 free record broken by Ben Harris with a time of 21.66 and the 500 free record by Dahlseng with a time of 4:52.05. The two relays were the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay both the relays consisted of Dahlseng, Shulfer, Chad Franz and Harris.
The 200 free relay was tied with the time of 1:30.05 and the 400 free relay had a time 3:17.51.
The SPASH boys swim team is growing and gaining quite a few new faces they increase their team number. Last year they ended the season with 14 swimmers and this year they have a team of 21.
"This is my first year swimming. Practices have been long and I haven't expected to work this hard but I know I'll get a lot out of it by putting a lot into it," Zach Silvester, a freshman, said. "As of now I plan to continue next year."
There are all types of swimmers on the team and all of them are need to create a working team dynamic and culture. Before they get in the water the team gets together and has a question of the day where they all share something about themselves.
"I really like having a question of the day. It makes me feel closer to everyone on the team and helps me look forward to having practice every day," Konkol said.
This is a team that knows the value of being close as a team and valuing all members no matter how fast they may be.
"I enjoy going to their meets because they are always cheering for each other even if they come in last there is a real sense of family and friendship about the team," Myranda Cherney, swimming fan, said.
This is a team that not only knows how to work hard and see results but how to joke around and have fun.
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Elliott	• Dec 14, 2017 at 11:12 AM
https://spashmirror.com/3250/sports-and-wellness/boys-swim-team-firing-on-all-cylinders/#comment-4878


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text:
Biografia

Cinema
, ha preso parte come caratterista a molte commedie degli anni settanta e ottanta: numerose le interpretazioni nei film diretti da Mario Bianchi (Messo comunale praticamente spione, dove interpreta un sindaco democristiano contrapposto al comunista Aldo Sambrell, La dottoressa di campagna, Chiamate 6969: taxi per signora, Biancaneve & Co.), ma anche i piccoli ruoli sotto la regia di Bruno Corbucci in molte pellicole della saga di Nico Giraldi con Tomas Milian, come Delitto in Formula Uno, Delitto al ristorante cinese e Delitto a Porta Romana.

Sempre diretto da Bruno Corbucci, appare in La casa stregata (1982) e Rimini Rimini - Un anno dopo (1988), mentre è diretto dal fratello Sergio Corbucci in Roba da ricchi (1987) e da Mariano Laurenti in Pazzo d'amore e Vacanze sulla neve, entrambi girati nel 1999.

In anni più recenti, è da ricordare la sua partecipazione ai film Il divo (2008) – nel ruolo del faccendiere e politico Giuseppe Ciarrapico, La grande bellezza (2013) e Youth - La giovinezza (2015), tutti per la regia di Paolo Sorrentino.

Televisione
Per la televisione, lo si ricorda nel ruolo del capitano Cavicchi nelle due serie di Classe di ferro (1989 e 1991) e del vice questore Lattanzi in Quelli della speciale (1993), entrambe in onda su Italia 1, nonché del sacerdote don Verdone nel giallo-quiz Il delitto è servito (Canale 5, 1992-1993). Seguirono numerose partecipazioni ad alcune sit-com degli anni novanta come Casa dolce casa con Gianfranco D'Angelo e Alida Chelli, Casa Vianello con Sandra Mondaini e Raimondo Vianello, Nonno Felice e Norma e Felice, queste ultime due con Gino Bramieri.

Teatro
Nel teatro, inizia nel 1954 come ballerino in operetta, genere che tornerà a frequentare trent'anni dopo interpretando Max nella Principessa della Czardas, per la regia di Gino Landi.

Pochi anni dopo il suo esordio come ballerino inizia ad avere ruoli di presentatore e attore lavorando con compagnie di avanspettacolo e rivista tra le più qualificate, quali quelle di Beniamino Maggio, Erminio Macario e Carlo Dapporto. In seguito, pur conservando la passione per il teatro brillante si è cimentato anche in testi classici e contemporanei.

Partendo dalla seconda metà degli anni novanta, nel teatro brillante lavora spesso con Maurizio Micheli in testi firmati da quest'ultimo (Disposto a tutto, Cantando, cantando) o da Garinei e Giovannini (Buonanotte Bettina). Partecipa anche a rivisitazioni della rivista come Comico, spalla e soubrette con Barbara Bouchet e Franco Barbero e, alla Chanson, Profumo di rivista con testi di Dino Verde.

Nel 2000 recita in Sottobanco di Domenico Starnone, nella stagione 2001/2002 al fianco di Gianfranco D'Angelo in È ricca, la sposo e l'ammazzo e in quelle 2002/2003 e 2008/2009 in due commedie dirette e interpretate da Gianluca Guidi, rispettivamente Promesse, promesse di Neil Simon e Facciamo l'amore, un musical tratto dall'omonimo film di George Cukor. La frequentazione di classici, invece, parte nei primi anni novanta con Il mercante di Venezia interpretato da Mario Carotenuto, con il quale aveva già lavorato ne I ragazzi irresistibili, sempre di Neil Simon.

Dal 2003 inizia una stretta collaborazione con il Teatro Stabile di Palermo, dove, per la regia di Pietro Carriglio, interpreta testi di Achille Campanile, come Il povero Piero, Battute in libertà o Scene in disordine, ma anche classici di grande impegno come Assassinio nella cattedrale di Thomas Stearns Eliot, Il re muore di Eugène Ionesco e Marionette, che passione! di Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo. Di particolare rilievo il suo Brown, ne L'opera da tre soldi di Bertolt Brecht, con Massimo Venturiello, Laura Marinoni  e Tosca. Nella stagione 2011/2012 è il padre di Rosina ne Il barbiere di Siviglia, rivisitato in chiave comica da Toni Fornari e replicato al Teatro Ghione di Roma.

Morte
Muore a Roma il 6 marzo 2016, all'età di 80 anni.

Filmografia

Cinema
 Ric e Gian alla conquista del West, regia di Osvaldo Civirani (1967)
 Il grande silenzio, regia di Sergio Corbucci (1968)
 Isabella duchessa dei diavoli, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1969)
 Lisa dagli occhi blu, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1969)
 Le segrete esperienze di Luca e Fanny, regia di Bob Ghisais e Gérard Loubeau (1980)
 Delitto a Porta Romana, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1980)
 La dottoressa di campagna, regia di Mario Bianchi (1981)
 Chiamate 6969: taxi per signora, regia di Mario Bianchi (1981)
 Delitto al ristorante cinese, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1981)
 Pierino il fichissimo, regia di Alessandro Metz (1981)
 Messo comunale praticamente spione, regia di Mario Bianchi (1982)
 Biancaneve & Co., regia di Mario Bianchi (1982)
 Delitto sull'autostrada, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1982)
 La casa stregata, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1982)
 Il diavolo e l'acquasanta, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1983)
 Delitto in Formula Uno, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1984)
 Roma. L'antica chiave dei sensi, regia di Lorenzo Onorati (1984)
 Roba da ricchi, regia di Sergio Corbucci (1987)
 Il volpone, regia di Maurizio Ponzi (1988)
 Rimini Rimini - Un anno dopo, regia di Bruno Corbucci (1988)
 Abbronzatissimi, regia di Bruno Gaburro (1991)
 Mutande pazze, regia di Roberto D'Agostino (1992)
 Vacanze sulla neve, regia di Mariano Laurenti (1999)
 Fantozzi 2000 - La clonazione, regia di Domenico Saverni (1999)
 Pazzo d'amore, regia di Mariano Laurenti (1999)
 Il divo, regia di Paolo Sorrentino (2008)
 La grande bellezza, regia di Paolo Sorrentino (2013)
 Youth - La giovinezza, regia di Paolo Sorrentino (2015)

Televisione
 Drim (1980) varietà con Franco Franchi e Ciccio Ingrassia
 Patatrac (1981-1982) - programma TV
 Agnese E... (1982) - Video
 Un altro varietà (1986) - Serie TV
 I cinque del quinto piano (1988) - sitcom
 Cerco l'amore, regia di Marcello Fondato - miniserie Tv (1988)
 Il vecchietto dove lo metto?, episodio della serie TV Il vigile urbano (1989)
 Un caso di sequestro, episodio della serie TV Il giudice istrutore (1990)
 Classe di ferro (1989-1991) - Serie TV in 21 episodi
 Quelli della speciale (1992) - Miniserie TV
 Il delitto è servito (1992-1993) - Game show
 Nonno Felice (1993) - Serie TV (vari episodi)
 Norma e Felice (1995-1996) - Serie TV
 Ci vediamo in tribunale (1996) - Film TV
 Il cappotto scambiato e Il fratello di Linda, episodi della serie TV Linda e il brigadiere (1998)
 La donna del treno (1999) - Film TV
 Affari di famiglia, episodi della serie TV Tequila & Bonetti (2000)
 Forza 10 (2013) - Film TV

Doppiatori italiani
 Antonio Guidi in Ric e Gian alla conquista del West
 Gianni Marzocchi in Delitto a Porta Romana, Delitto in Formula Uno

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Attori cinematografici italiani
Attori teatrali italiani
Attori televisivi italiani

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text:
SPORTZ
Newz & Viewz
Image courtesy AFL
The anticipation felt by all supporters who attended their first Victorian game for over 15 months was palpable. I know it was for me. Getting ready to head to the G was surreal. As I packed my bag, got out my top, it all seemed like it was an out-of-body experience.
Entering the ground, finding my seat, catching up with people not seen for quite some time, I waited for the first siren to go to start the 2021 season. This had been a long time coming.
We are all aware that Carlton, finishing in the bottom 8, would have a tough time against a multi-Premiership side, with one of the best players in the competition that we have seen for a long time. The clash between Richmond was always going to be a tough one, and I hoped, really hoped, that if we were serious about top eight contention, we had to come out fighting for every ball from the first bounce. We had to fight for every mark, every tackle – everything. Did we do this? Yes, we did. Unfortunately, we just could not maintain that intensity to the end.
But what was really significant for me, for the team, was that despite some costly errors, for those in the media and social media who saw these errors as symptomatic of the playing group, they did not really see the game and the progress that has been made.
The discussion about Harry McKay's fluff at the goal square was one that an experienced player could have possibly rendered a different outcome, could have, not definite, but some still have a go at him for that fluff. They also seem to think, after only one round, that he needs to go given that he was outmanoeuvred for most of the game by a very seasoned and finely honed in defence team from, let's say it again, a Premiership side. What he will learn from this game that it is not doom and gloom, for it is only round 1; he will learn how to overcome a defence such as he had to endure and win in the end. He is an intelligent and serious footballer who has no trouble taking the game on. He needs to learn how to take that next step and become a super forward that I know and many others can see he will become.
I try not to discuss individual players as many others do that, but I try and see the game in its entirety. Yet, I cannot go on without mentioning the fantastic get of Oscar McDonald, who was subbed in for an injured Jack Silvagni, who, might I say, so far, is playing better this year than I have seen in a while. He is playing freer and more aggressively. The club's decision to sign-on McDonald was a revelation, for it gave us another player who can literally move around the ground and plug in the holes where needed, especially seeing as he can kick goals.
Images courtesy AFL
What I saw from the game was a team that is taking the slow and steady steps to become a top side. No team can become a top team unless their players develop, grow, learn and experience what it means to be a top team. This takes the form of learning what to do and what not to do during the game and to come out and play every damn quarter and leave nothing in the tank. The team did this, and you could see that for the first round of the season, we worried Richmond. This is what every fan, every sports supporter of any game, should be looking at. We need to look not at the disappointment of losing to a multi-Premiership team, but how the players played the game for the most part – on their terms.
The team that will eventually be successful is not the team that blasts every other team in every game. It will be the team that may start off slow, but towards the end, when it really counts, that they can step over that line that separates the bottom from the top. Because with every quarter, with every match, they gain more experience and understanding of what it is going to take to become a top team. Carlton did that against Richmond.
I have no voice from cheering and yelling at the umpires because, to be honest, it was atrocious, but that is what going to the footy is all about and what I and others have sorely missed.
The season's opening game could not have been more exciting and showed what the team is building, which was on display on Thursday night. With every game, we will become a better team. We saw it on Thursday night. Can't ask for more than that.
#GOBLUES!
P.S. There are those on social media who believe that Carlton is back to its old ways of the past and that it is time to get rid of some players and even the coach. These people do not see the growth that the club has gone through and will continue to. It took years, not a few, for Clarkson to make Hawthorn the team they were. It took years for Hardwick to make Richmond the team they are now. We have to allow that same process with Teague, and I believe, genuinely believe, that he is the coach to make this team a top team.
The Signs Are There People…
Photo Courtesy of AFL
Now that I am out of 'Facebook-Blocked-Me-Because-My-Blog-Was-Considered-News' (go figure), I can now write and comment on the practice match between Carlton and Essendon that was shown live (for members only). I am not going to debate the question of whether it should have been available to all members or not; I'm going to state my views on the match itself.
First and foremost, we should and must agree that a match played as a practice game is not an important one in terms of winning or losing. It is a match that allows players to gain some match fitness, game tactics and generally seeing what the new boys produce and what the old ones, after maybe a slow year for them, are now capable of producing. To be honest, while I did want Carlton to win (we cannot lose, EVER to Essendon), I would not have been too upset if we didn't. Judging by comments before the game, some said that our entire season resides on the back of this game! That some were even suggesting that if we lose, they would not renew or even contemplate their status regarding their membership is rather extreme and do not really understand these games' nature. (Do not get me started on those that complained about what they received for their membership in terms of the pack, as that is not the reason why anyone should join a club…anywhere!). Let me be perfectly candid here, the ONLY matches that count starts on Thursday 18th March at the MCG. Those matches are the ones that matter. That being said, here's my take on the practice match.
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/868696/practice-match-saad-and-williams-in-navy-blue?videoId=868696&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614315407001
What I noticed first was seeing both Adam Saad and Zac Williams. When they played for their other respective clubs, I watched them but did not take much stock; they were the opposition. Seeing them play in the Navy Blue, I was more than suitably impressed. Saad's agility and speed around the ground was mightily impressive. His capacity to see the game and the ball from where it was to where it would be going was a revelation, really. His playing skills are what our midfield had been lacking. The passage in the game when he took the ball from the centre to quickly move it down to our forward line, which resulted in a goal, had me stopping in my chair in sheer…what-the! As I was in the office, there was no-one around to high-five me, and I did have to keep my yells to a quiet whisper of YEAH! I can see what he will bring to the team and how he will make our midfield so much stronger.
Zac Williams showed how much he just loves being at the club and how his playing level has just turned up a notch. He was always good at GWS, but at Carlton, it is on a different level. Here is where I firmly believe: a good player at a club where they are not 100% happy or invested in, has the potential to be a magnificent player at a club they not only support but love and are willing to become better and better to prove to the club and supporters, that the right choice was made to get them there. Williams is that player.
Panic set in when we saw Harry McKay hobble off the ground, and we were subsequently told that he had just rolled his ankle. He was seen walking normally, yet people on social media called this the 'end' of his season. He played a great game and showed signs of being more consistent in front of goals and more agile around the ground.
His body looks fitter, more robust, and he will fast become someone that other clubs will fear. He needs to learn how to shake off opponents, but with more time and more experience, that will come. As long as a player such as himself understands how to convert marks or kicks into goals, the rest will take care of itself. His improvement and confidence are growing, and this match showed that. The same can be said about a player who has hit media headlines for his exponential improvement – Paddy Dow.
As with Jacob Weitering, I have always loved Paddy Dow since he played his first senior game. I loved his explosiveness around the ground, whether it be a tackle, a mark or his running ability with the ball and his kicks at goal. Then he, like Weiters, petered out. Those who think they know better believed he should be traded off, gotten rid of, thrown on to the heap of players that could, but just didn't; I never subscribed to that as I never believed Weiters should have been traded when he went through the same thing. Paddy Dow played a game that sees him not only moving faster but with more skill. It seems he has matured in his playing abilities, and we got to see glimpses of what he can be capable of once the season starts.
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/868024/practice-match-dow-stars-against-essendon?videoId=868024&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614231500001
Crippa played both in the midfield and down forward, and I loved that it seems that he now has others who can fill in the main midfield slot and free him up to become the player that will be one of the greatest in terms of what he can bring to a match. (We mustn't focus on whether he has signed or not a contract extending his playing at Carlton, for that will take away his focus on making Carlton, a club that he loves, become successful, which he has said all along.)
I do not want to name every player for this match, just a few for what I saw on Thursday was a cohesive, dynamic team that knew their teammates and what needed to be done. I watch a game where the team not only enjoyed playing but playing together. We can take from this match that the club is on track to reach, where I believe it will reach the top 8 when the season starts.
Do not be fooled into thinking that every practice match will be an illustration of the season ahead, for that is not the role of these matches to procure. It is a way of gelling the team together, putting players into positions that they may not have been used to, but are relishing. It is a way of formulating tactics for the start of the 2021 season. That is what we must be focusing on. We will lose some, but we will win more if we concentrate on what matters – the start of season 2021.
I, for one, am excited at where the team seem to be heading. We have the players, we have the skills, and we have the depth to be a top 8 team. I saw a glimpse of that in the practice match. When we take on St Kilda in the Community Series match, I want to see the same energy irrespective of the outcome. I want to see players give it their all for the pride of wearing the Navy Blue; not everything, but just enough to show the footy world that Carlton will be not tapping or knocking on the door to the top 8, but banging!
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/867983/practice-match-all-the-goals?videoId=867983&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614227432001
Good signs, people, good signs!
Photo Courtesy of Carlton FC
P.S Out of everyone in this photo, Teague's response is epic!
P.P.S Fisher and Ed…the tale of the hair! Love it!
For some, it takes more time…
Photo courtesy Carlton FC
In the past week, we have seen Jacob Weitering win the very prestigious John Nicholls award at Carlton. One of the most humble and down-to-earth people that you could meet; this is highlighted in how he goes about not only his footy but off-field as well. His thankyou speech was one that just shows how much of a team-player and Carlton stalwart he is. Yet, he wasn't always seen to be the player he has now become. After his first year, some said he should have been traded or is just no good. The similarities between his journey and Paddy Dow is the exact same thing, yet there are those who believe that what happens in another player is the same for all. Most do not really understand that people behave, grow and develop differently, and in this respect, in sport, what one player may take days or weeks to develop, another can take months or years.
As I have stated before, Luke Hodge took four years to finally become the championship player that he is, no-one else said this; he did in an interview a few years ago. It took him that long to develop and to grow into his body. The John Hopkins Medical website has stated that teenage boys and when players are drafted to a club, they are still teenagers and are still going through the latent stages of puberty. This means that while their body size may increase, their feet, arms, legs and hands may grow faster than the rest of the body, making them feel clumsy. Having boys myself, I understand this completely.
These boys who are drafted straight from school, for they are still boys, progress at different rates. We cannot expect every player to be a Sam Walsh or even a Connor Rozee. We have to understand that each boy develops not at the pace we want but at their pace. Weiters has stated quite emphatically that he sympathises with Paddy Dow and his once dynamic abilities on the field, to his now decrease in those same abilities. Paddy Dow has shown that he can become a fantastic player for the club, but he must, like Weiters, be given the time to develop and mature into a man and not a boy. This will take time and will only happen if given that time and the opportunities to grow. He is starting to enter into the step from being a boy to a man, and I know that 2021 will see him show this to the Carlton world.
We have to give some boys time to develop and grow into players' bodies and minds that will take Carlton to future successes. Not all are the same. Weiters has shown what patience and time can achieve; we need to give Dow the same time. I firmly believe that he will become a fantastic player for the club and the game, just as I firmly believed that Weiters when he was going through the same process, would be the amazing player he is now.
We cannot state that just because a handful of boys are the real deal from the get-go, all should be the same. No two bodies develop or grow alike, and no two players do the same. For some, it takes time, and while I know that we are impatient for continual success, we have endured the climb for a while now; with some setbacks, we just need to be a little more patient. The end result will be well worth it.
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/866202/weitering-managing-the-expectation
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/866174/jnm-weitering-honoured-by-win?videoId=866174&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614020400001
RESPECT: being proactive, not reactive!
In the past day, the AFL world heard that a report from the Collingwood FC is a damming take on their stance regarding racism. While it did not paint the club in a positive, significant way, the issue is not what the report states, but the way it has been handled in the media from the very man who has been at the helm of the club when most of the racism has purportedly taken place – Eddie McGuire. To state that he was proud of the club is a misuse of the meaning of that word. I am sure he is proud that the club initiated an independent review of its handling of racist accusations from an ex-player, but that is not the way it came across. He is being blasted on social media and the media generally. He has shown no remorse or contrition on how the club has handled racism issues, and he was their leader!
The report states, and yes I did read it, that the club was not proactive but rather latently reactive. This serves as a tremendous warning and opportunity for all clubs, and for this blog – Carlton. Racism is such a destructive and nasty element in our society and we, as fans, have a lot to do to eradicate it. We need to be proactive in calling out any racism towards not only players but supporters as well. There are those who either hide behind keyboards or at the games become so inebriated that it gives them cowardly courage to make racist taunts towards players and supporters.
We need to be proactive to ensure that Carlton FC has a rhetoric where players, admins and supporters know that they stand for equality and call out any form of racism. To some extent, they do this with their RESPECT initiative. While it is aimed at the insidiousness that is domestic violence, the message can also be used in this regard.
Their proud representation of Indigenous players and how they are treated and regarded in the club is something to be proud of. But the point is that it needs to go further, and the only way it can go further, if we, the supporters, embrace that word: RESPECT and stand against any form of violence, discrimination, including racism. We need to have our own rhetoric of ensuring that other supporters know what we stand for.
We cannot and must not allow the simpletons of this world to think that racism and any form of discrimination is acceptable behaviour, either perpetrated behind keyboards or in person. Racism has as its basis one of the vilest emotion – hate. It is easier to hate but takes so much more effort to accept and respect others and their differences: it makes our world much richer.
So my rhetoric in this is: I stand for equality and respect. I stand for accepting a person because of who they are, not what they are. I will stand against those that do not take responsibility for words and actions that demean and put down others because of what they are, not who they are. Call out and point the finger at those who believe that making racist comments is a joke.
Stand by what Carlton promote RESPECT!
GO BLUES!
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/791357/16-days-carlton-respects-why-do-we-do-it?videoId=791357&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1606869000001
Carlton FC 2020 RESPECT Round
On the eve of footy!
https://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/853497/the-time-has-finally-come?videoId=853497&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1611550246001
On the eve of the ALFW competition, and with what has happened in our world this past year, I want to reflect a bit. With the lead up to the sounds of footy's being bounced, sirens, yells, shouts, the many, many, many discussions surrounding the game that we love, I have become a bit more reflective of the game that I love so very much. Last year during the men's season, we saw racial discrimination permeate on social media pages. We saw players leave the game for a while because of mental health issues. We have recently learned that Richmond legendary player Shane Tuck had one of the most horrific CTE brain trauma that researchers had ever seen. This brings me to what I want to say on the eve of the start of the AFLW season and the lead up to the beginning of the AFL season.
One of our very own players left the hubs last year to focus on his mental health issues. We cannot and must not belittle nor dismiss the issues our players across the board suffer from. At Hawthorn we have seen Tom Scully leave the game indefinitely for reasons we do not know nor should we, but whatever the reason is, we have to understand that for that person, the issues are very real and very personal. They feel that they cannot achieve their best on-field and off-field they are not up to their best.
There are those in the footy world who want to harper back to a game and a world where the term "suck it up" or "harden up" is rife. This is not the world we are in today and we cannot and must not go back to that world, for that world allows a player who gets knocked out, or suffers from concussion, to either continue playing or to play again at the next game. We have evolved in our knowledge of what players go through not only physically, but mentally as well. We cannot dismiss this and tell them to "suck it up" for the damage long-term is one where a person thinks that life is just not worth it anymore and we mourn not only their shorten lives, but we mourn who they were – our footy heroes.
Then there is the issue of racism that seems to be prolific in some fan's circles. Those who believe that making a flippant or comment that to them and others seem to be a joke, but for the person/s who it is aimed at, it is hurtful and belittling. They don't see nor understand how comments such as these can affect a person. We must not and cannot go back to a time when comments about a person's race, religion or even sexuality becomes fodder for a "joke" or a "jibe" and that a person gets offended because someone else is, well offended. We have to be better than that.
We cannot go back in time when the game seemed to be more than what it is today. That it was accepting of racial taunting, name-calling and allowing players to be playing when they shouldn't. We cannot allow players, young players to walk away from a game they loved and strived to play for many years. While I understand that the AFL changes the rules far too often sometimes, we have to allow the game to evolve in such a way that allows players to feel not only secure in their minds, but in their bodies as well.
As a society, we have to teach our young players that some behaviors are not acceptable on and off the field. As a society, we have to understand that discrimination of any kind is just not – well, sport! As a society, we have to accept that the way the players, all players, play the game, that sometimes their well-being is far more important than winning a game.
I want to see my club, Carlton, become the successful club that I know and can see it can become, but not if it means watching a talented player walk away because they are being taunted because of their race, color, creed, or even their sexuality. I want to see the best players out there playing because they are proud to wear the Navy Blue, but I also want to make sure that they know, that we as a code, a club, care about their mental and physical well-being.
As we start the AFLW season and head into the AFL season, I truly believe that Carlton will start their rise up and we will achieve this because we have respect for the players and who they are and what they do to ensure that we as a club, can achieve greatness.
https://womens.afl/video/56867/2021-nab-aflw-season-launch
Season 2020…reflections!
Every year, without a doubt, I look forward to the start of footy. The distant smell of fresh grass, sounds of Sherrin's manufactured permeate my imagination and the call of the siren that signifies the beginning of a game rings pleasantly in my ears. This anticipation as with every new day, the date comes closer and closer.
Every year, I plan my year based on games and their location. I book accommodation and flights if they are not in Victoria. My social calendar reflects the dates of games. For part of the year, I know where I will be and who I will be with at this time.
This process gets me through a season that I am not particularly fond of; I'm not too fond of summer, but it becomes a bridge that I have to cross to get to where I want to be – the start of the footy season.
Now I am a positive-outlook type of person. I see things half-glass full. I take every negative experience and see the positive. I look at the mistakes as a lesson and a chance to change it into successes, but I am realistic and understand that circumstances and situations can alter a course. Yet all through this, I always had the knowledge that every week from the start of the footy season, I would be able to see my team play and be with those who I consider family. It became a cathartic experience that would make all the ills of the world and anything that was not great in a week, disappear; this changed in 2020.
From the onset, when the AFLW season was halted and stopped. When we knew that we could be at the opening match of the AFL season that eventually led into us, Victorian's not able to attend any game. There was no planning, no excitement of going to matches, no flights booked, no meeting up with friends from interstate that has become a part of my life. It was gone, taken away by the most unfathomable situation – a bloody virus, a damn pandemic.
I would not be able to see friends, or experience that extraordinary euphoria and disappointment that comes with going to a game. I felt left out, separate from a game that made me feel the exact opposite other times.
The games on the whole were, and I am not referring to just Carlton games, but the AFL on the whole, was, well, boring. Those games that got me on the edge of my seat (at home), were few and far between, yet I felt disjointed as if I was watching a game, but one that seemed unreal. The canned noise, while was good, made the games feel staged at times.
Without a doubt, some fantastic, epic, mind-blowing games resulted in spectacular marks, unbelievable close games, and who can ever really forget that goal at the end of the match between Carlton and Fremantle. It still blows my mind, but the little bubbles of sadness peak through because I could not be there.
The footy for me is an avenue of getting away from everyday life. It is a way to get together with people who share the same passion as me about the game and the team that I love. It is that excitement that starts after summer when you know that there is not long to go before that smell of fresh-cut grass fills the air, the knowledge that the Sherrin factory is getting ready and that in the distance the echoes of a siren flitters through.
As summer approaches, there is that disjointed feeling that the start of the footy will be a long, long, long, long way away when all I want is it to come, well, now. As Victorian's, we had to watch our beloved game being played everywhere else, except here. I am in no way taking away the impressive feat that the other states have achieved in continuing our 2020 season and how our interstate supporters were able to cheer on their team. Still, for me, as a Victorian, it is bitter-sweet.
As we head into December and the end of what has been, well, a year that really upset the cart, the hope that in 2021 we in Victoria will be able to get to games looms large and loud in our heads.
Season 2020 is fading away and season 2021 looms. I hope that I can plan some sort of normality in my footy calendar and look forward to leaving behind the trials and tribulations of a week and as I scan in my membership, leave that outside of the stadiums. The many experiences I have had over the years being at the footy, the good and the bad, far outweigh anything else. I want that back.
Here's to 2021 having some sort of normality and here's to hopefully, attending games. I want that sore throat at the end of the match. I want to feel that euphoria and sometimes disappointment that comes at the end of the game. I want to chant, sing, swear and yell, hug friends and banter with strangers and fellow supporters. I missed that in 2020.
#ALLOFUS!
Reflections! Hope! Excitement!
When the new year started, I for one was excited and hopeful of what this year would bring. The AFLW team was going great, and I was looking forward to attending the last games of their season and hopefully a Grand Final's berth. I was super excited to see what the new season was going to bring for the AFL team. I could not wait for the first bounce of season 2020, even if it did mean watching a Premiership team unfurl their winning flag.
The atmosphere would be electric, and I was going to be a part of that. I had made a vow, this season I would attend every single game, no matter where it was; last year I missed two games. The one against Freemantle and the Western Bulldogs game as I was in Byron Bay. Not this season, I was going to be at every single game.
In the group chats I was in; we could not wait to start the season: season 2020. But little did we know that something would happen that shook us all to our very core. That we could not see out the final games of the AFLW season and that we, Victorian's, would not attend one single AFL match.
Media and social media were full of this thing called COVID19. We did not understand what was happening or what this COVID19 thing was.
Theories floated around the world about this thing, this virus, this very deadly virus. The more we learned, the more we realized that this was a serious, a severe and fatal virus. Thrown into a pandemic, one where the world had not seen since 1918, we asked ourselves, how on earth were we to deal with this? We could predict, and it did happen bushfires. We could predict flooding around the world, even a war that could plunge the world into the depths of catastrophic despair was always in the backs of our minds, but this! A virus! How could anyone have seen this coming? (Conspiracy theorists please no diatribe!)
We all had our own opinions on whether the footy season should start and how was this going to affect the season and the AFLW season. After much deliberation by the AFL, the AFLW season stopped, no definite winner would be pronounced. But the AFL season would start with Round One, with no fans at the game.
Watching a game that would have been a sold-out blockbuster with no-one at the MCG was heartbreaking, to be honest. I, along with others, was grateful to see the season start but devastated that we were not there. Then the season stopped, and we were all placed into lockdowns, for the speed of the virus in our world grew, and people were getting sicker and sicker and dying.
Finally, the season would start up again, and it would start up in places that would make Victorians' barred from attending – hubs. Without a doubt, the states that had these hubs saved the AFL season, albeit, a shorter one. But we, Victorian's would not be able to plan trips to the footy. We had the doors firmly shut on our season, and we could only support from the comfort of our living rooms, which may be warm and cosy, we would have given anything to be at the games, through the cold and rain. But alas, we could not.
The debates heated as to whether the winner of this season should have an asterisk beside their name. No matter which side of the fence you sat, in the end, the team that won, deserve the win. In the end, for Carlton, it was a season that had so much excitement and some disappointments that made it, for me, a season that showed glimpses of the immense possibilities for the future.
The devastating final siren loss to Port Adelaide, but the thrilling, nay bloody memorable win against Fremantle after the siren. All the time wishing I was there, for both games. The revelation that showed the type of player Sam Walsh was becoming. The extraordinary prowess of our young ruckman, TDK and how after only a few games, he is proving to be that missing factor that we have been without with Kreuz being unable to play. It has seen the bloody fantastic chest punching euphoria of when Cottrell kicks a goal and the electric possibilities of what Hazza would become, to name a few.
We were not able to be there to send off two players who deserve all the accolades that one can give, Kreuz and Simmo as they retire from the game. We had seen how the team won when no-one thought they could or would. We have seen how the team is growing and developing. We have had the incredible lows and the enthralling and exhilarating highs, and we Victorian's were not there.
Season 2020 has been one that we have lived through all the time not quite believing that it happened. We have come out from this just a little bit more fragile at the tenuous state of our world and our game. I have to hope that season 2021 will be one where I can go to watch the games, no matter where and no matter if it is the AFLW or AFL. I am hopeful that I will be able to see in person another epic finish similar to what I consider the highlight of the year – Jack Newnes goal after the siren. For it was not only the goal that epitomized the result but the way the celebration at the ground, in the living rooms around the country and the hotel hub for the club. For it showed that despite what was being thrown at us, we the footy loving world would never give up on the game we love so much.
For most of us, we could not attend a season where there was much hope for the future of this great club and we thank those that cheered the boys on and made them feel the support that we Victorian's could not give in person. We are all hoping that we can be there for season 2021, to see the club rise further up and I cannot wait for the season to start. It's going to be an extra long period until it starts.
In a year filled with events that were out of our control, making us all retreat into our homes, it will be nice to get out and stand behind four white posts, all the while we get decked out in navy blue chanting with full voices "Carlton! Carlton!" It's exciting, and the anticipation is palpable. GO BLUES!
Sorry SOS…Disagree!
Disclaimer: This article comes with a warning. The warning is that there will be those that disagree with me, and they have that right, but I will not tolerate those that disagree by name-calling or that I have no idea. Come at me with rational arguments, not diatribe of irrelevant musings that are based on emotion and not rationale.
Social media and the media, in general, have gone ablaze with the interview on SEN with Stephen Silvagni, ex-list manager of Carlton. I listened with interest, that turned to anger. I was not angry at the Club but SOS himself, and the more I thought about it, I got angrier and angrier.
SOS's statements regarding how the club treated him is pure and merely sour grapes and all about him. He stated that Mark Loguidice told him that he had tried to fight for him to keep his position. He said that Cain Liddle, who has brought in more memberships this year than in our history, that Cain was scared that he would sabotage the club as a List Manager. The hosts of the show never had the "balls" to delve in deeper to those statements. So, let's go through it.
In the interview, he had told the club that he was thinking of leaving either at the end of his contract or this year. He stated that he was told that his contract would not be renewed because it was "complex."
Statement of fact here – no person, no matter who they think they are, will ever be subjective when it comes to their offspring in an organization, never. People in the medical profession don't treat family as their objectivity can be clouded by emotion; same scenario here.
SOS stated that he wanted to clear the record straight and tell us, the supporters what the club wasn't willing to say. Here I say, what a hypocrite. When interviewed on Footy Classified in the past, SOS brushed aside questions that didn't suit him; same scenario here except that he made a statement that worked for him. Herein lies the issue. The comments are HIS perspective and his alone, and there is an underlying agenda attached to them.
So, let's take this a bit further. The SEN hosts had the chance to ask relevant questions about this notion of Cain Liddle's view that SOS could sabotage the club. I agree, and here is why. If SOS was still around and given the fact that we have reduced list sizes, would he have delisted Ben? Would he have been able to let him go? Given how he carried himself today, he probably wouldn't answer that. Would he have kept an untried and rather lazy player over another player who may be untried, but puts their heart and soul into a game? He cannot be objective in this matter, because it would mean that the Coach has wanted this player gone, but the list manager, being who he is, would disagree.
That is sabotage because he is putting the personal connection above the needs and the requirements of the club, and what a position to be in, when you are a prominent person at a club, and you have to justify keeping a player, your son, when in any other club or circumstance, he would have been let go.
Then there is Jack. If SOS tries to convince Jack to leave because of the way SOS has been treated, then this again shows the hand of sabotaging the club.
He must be brave enough to distance himself from the club in all facets and allow his son to make his own decision without the looming presence of his father and accept that decision. If not, then he is sabotaging not only his son's career but the club as well.
I would have had more respect for a great player of this club, if he had just answered the questions about his leaving the club, in the same way he did when grilled on Footy Classified. I have no respect for him now. He is putting his own agenda above that of his professed love for the club. He is putting his needs above that of his son still at the club, Jack.
For some fans, they have said that it was time someone put some clarity on SOS's dismissal. Why? Because of his surname? Because of who he is? Why now? SOS has not said anything previously, otherwise, why would he not of said it before? There is a hidden agenda here for SOS, he is pushing his own agenda, putting his own son in danger. I just hope Jack has the strength to push that aside and look at his needs, for I believe he has the ability to be a great player and one that is not under the constant shadow of his father.
Sorry SOS, but this interview was for you and you alone, showing how you harbor bitterness and sour grapes instead of letting it go and look at what is going to be best for your sons, not you. Respect gone!
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/10/20/stephen-silvagni-slams-blues-ceo-cain-liddle-over-club-departure/
This time of the year!
First of all: Congratulations Mr Sam Walsh! Another achievement for a future leader of the club!
Now. The season hasn't ended entirely yet, and still, trades are going on around us, or are they? We have heard from Carlton about who is not going to get another contract moving forward.
So the club says goodbye to Darcy Lang, Hugh Goddard, Finbar O'Dwyer and Ben Silvagni, and because of the last name to be delisted, the "shit" hit the fan literally.
On social media, people went "off their face" about Ben's delisting and then took the word of a journalist who said that Jack Silvagni was next. The vitriol aimed at the club was and still, is not warranted and completely unjustified.
The romance behind the name that is Silvagni is just that: a romance. To have a player, two players whose surnames is Silvagni in a club where their father and grandfather were stars, is outstanding, for sure, but we cannot expect them to have a carte blanche path staying at the club because of their surname. They have to be able to perform at a senior level.
The fact that some are still levelling hate regarding the dismissal of Stephen Silvagni is not logical. I loved what SOS did for the club and will always, however, to have two of your children at the club and not be objective is narrow-minded. He finished his contract last year, and the club decided not to renew it. It wasn't one person's decision, as some are alluding to with regards to Cain Liddle. The foul names that he and even the entire Board are getting called is downright disrespectful and not warranted. If you disagree, disagree, but come at it with a rational point. Name-calling proves nothing, achieves nothing.
Let's get one thing clear here: list sizes of ALL clubs have been cut, due to COVID-19. Players that could have had more time to develop or grow, may have to be delisted because of smaller squad size. So, a player on the fringe, and out of contract, could be delisted. Ben Silvagni is one of those players. Just because he bears a surname linked to the club, does not mean that he should stay if he is just not up to it. Will he get picked to another club? I doubt it.
Then there was talk that some media person stated that Jack Silvagni is asking for a trade and will be leaving. Now that sent social media into a frenzy. Jack is a contracted player until 2021 and was injured for most of this year after suffering from a severe bout of gastro. He is not going, nor is he going to be traded. However, put that aside, and ask yourself: Do you want a player that is there because of his surname, or do you want a player who is there because he is and has the potential to be a great player?
I do believe that Jack can be a top player. He needs a bit more time to develop, and also needs to shake off the stigma of his surname, and this is why I believe that the decision not to renew SOS's contract was the right one. Hopefully, he will have a great pre-season and come back better than ever.
The trade period will see media spouting something to fill the air, and write conclusions on a team or player based on their determinations; this does not mean that it is true. Before posts are made about the likelihood of player coming or going, check the source, review the information and then wait and see what the club and the player will state. Don't fall down the trap of assuming that what you read or hear from sources that are not credible, are credible.
Also, the fact that others have said that Carlton's year has been a failure are just saying this for clickbait. I said at the beginning of the year that I would love to see Carlton sit at the top of the bottom 8. Most media put them finishing between 13th and 16th, nothing higher. We finished 11th! How is that a failure? Because we couldn't get into the top 8? We were not ready this year, and this season has taught us what we can be capable of and what we need to work on and strive for next year. This is not a failure, by any means.
We all want to see Carlton great again. It will happen, and I will say this now – Carlton will be in the top 8 in 2021. That is my view and opinion, and if you disagree, then that is your right. I won't call you names, promise!
Mr Kade Simpson…
As the news travels on social media, and the media in general, Carlton fans are stunned at the retirement of one of it's greatest players and most loved player. Our world reverberated with the announcement from Kade Simpson of his retiring and that the game against Brisbane Lions this week on Saturday night, would be his last.
I was on Blue Abroad this week, and when asked the question about who was my favourite player, I said that for me, the player who gives the game his all, who lays it all on the line for every game, and who may not be a forward or the star of the game, but that player who never gives up or gives in. Who is dynamic around the ground. Who, no matter what is in front of them, whether it be the conditions or the state of the game, they play with heart and soul. That is an apt description of Kade Simpson – Simmo.
For the past seasons, we have seen how this stalwart of a player, wearing the long sleeve jumper, and the number 6 on his back, came out in every game to play his heart out. He plays as if his life depends on it. That ball to the face a few weeks ago epitomizes the type of person and player he is. He got whacked, shook his head, got up and played on. That is the type player that I love and the person that is Simmo.
I always felt that his attitude to the game could affect not only his health but his well-being. The hit to the head by a ball, made me ponder that maybe his time should be up as a player. We have seen him battle his way through no matter what, and given the current status of head injuries and injuries, in general, that could affect a player as they age, I don't want to see Simmo become a player who left on terms that were not made by himself. I did not want him to retire because he was injured; I wanted him to retire because he felt it was time.
I would have loved him to be a part of a team that raised that 17th Cup, but I don't think his body could take much more. His heart could; his mind could, but not his body.
Kade Simpson will always be that player that I love in this game. That player who puts on the guernsey and plays for the pride of wearing it. Who still plays his heart out and with the satisfaction of playing for Carlton.
Simmo will always be that player that every upcoming player should try to emulate. He may not have the star quality skills or showmanship, but he has heart, and that heart was for the Carlton FC. He retires with his head, a little bruised, but held high. He goes out with the immense love and respect of all supporters, players, coaches and administrators who know that this quiet, little man gave it his all for the Carlton FC.
I hope Simmo that you achieve so much in your life after retiring from the game. You are one of a kind and for me, the type of player that I love.
From ALL OF US…we thank you, and we will miss you.
#ALLOFUS
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Not a word in this review about the original novel? I highly recommend you go read the original, it's a great story with a lot of subtleties that modern film versions keep missing. I can't congratulate Disney on their shoddy adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs books.
I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks.