Voice. It's a magic quality akin to an alchemist turning base metal into gold, something all writers want and need: storytellers and singers, songwriters and poets. Arlo Guthrie has voice, even if you don't like the way he sings. The song isn't really about Alice's restaurant. It's about something far more important. Funny and ironic, it's also profound. Listening to the words and Arlo's delivery, I laugh until the refrain rolls around at the end and then I'm covered in goose bumps. You can get whatever you want at Alice's Restaurant. At Guthrie's insistence, I'm singing along "in four-part harmony".
The ballad begins on Thanksgiving Day. Our songwriter and his friend drive up to the little town of Stockbridge, MA, to visit Alice and her husband, who are living in a converted church. It's been a long time since the husband took out the garbage (me blame Alice?) so the two friends cart it off to the town dump, making noble use of their VW microbus. BUMMER, it's closed for the holiday. BUT driving around, they spy a pile of garbage at the bottom of a big cliff, figure one big pile is better than two little ones, and get to return to Alice's for a great Thanksgiving dinner. TROUBLE the next day when Office Obie calls to speak to our hapless singer. Kid, we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half-ton of garbage. Know anything about it? Following Obie's orders, they stop by the police station on the way to pick up the garbage. ARRESTED and handcuffed, they're brought to the scene of the crime–the biggest this town has seen in 50 years. At court the next day, Office Obie has his 24 color 8×10 glossy photos to present as evidence, but the judge shows up with his seeing-eye dog; it's a case of BLIND JUSTICE. The criminals are fined $50 and ordered to pick up the garbage.
Fast forward two years to New York City. The Vietnam War is raging, and our anti-hero has to report to the draft office for a physical. He's scared to death and determined to get de-selected: gets good and drunk the night before; jumps up and down and tells the shrink who interviews him about all the mean and ugly ways he wants to kill people. He's still their guy. UNTIL they ask him if he's ever been arrested and put on trial. Could this be his way out? Unlikely. Place on the Group W Bench with a bunch of really scary ex-cons, he's told to fill out a long form. One question really gets to him. You want to know if I'm moral enough to go to war after being a litterbug? he blurts out to the guy in charge. KISS OF FREEDOM. They don't like his kind and send his fingerprints off to Washington.
Let me be clear. I'm thankful for every man and woman who's had the guts to put on a uniform. But war is hell. Some wars or military actions have been mistakes. Not all, but some. War is full of heroes and cowards, triumph and tragedy, poignancy and absurdity, truth and fiction. Whenever possible I'd rather weep over death and destruction in a novel than watch real soldiers suffer through it–during and after they're home. If they come home. This Thanksgiving I'm grateful for all the military men and women who've sacrificed so much for their fellow Americans. But I'm also thankful for the different voices that make up America. There's no harmony in a song with only one singer. And there's no democracy unless multiple voices are allowed to rise up and twist and shout and rock-n-roll. Some may sound off-key, but freedom of speech resounds with its own kind of harmony.
PARIS. I imagine most of us watching the tragic news unfold this past Friday thought back to 9/11. In the City that Never Sleeps, a blue-sky September morn is reduced to a single mirror image: the imploding Twin Towers. Fast forward 14 years. In the City of Light, a crisp November evening is transformed into scenes of unforgettable carnage. But that's not what I want to talk about here. Not the carnage or the deaths or the terror or those responsible for it. Reporters and eye-witnesses in Paris will tell those stories. And they should.
I'm a former New Yorker living in the U.S., and I want to talk about the feature film The Walk because it takes place in the air space between the Twin Towers, two iconic buildings that we can't forget even though they no longer exist. And because the man on the wire who crossed the void and accomplished the impossible was a Frenchman, Philippe Petit, who is as diminutive as his name suggests. Except it's a sacrilege to call him small. Forty-one years ago on a windy August morning, New Yorkers learned that Philippe's passion and determination were infinite.
When he arrived in New York (a year before 'the walk') to take his first real look at the Towers, he thought: my dream, it's impossible. His next thought: somehow I must do it. And do it he did. Two hundred feet across a wire, a quarter mile in the air, no safety net or harness, forty-five minutes of back and forth ballet. Up until then, most New Yorkers weren't too thrilled with the double giant in their midst. Critics called the buildings ugly and impersonal. Then along came a Frenchman who put a human face on the towers. His strange high-wire dance was a thing of beauty. New Yorkers fell in love with the buildings, and years later as a young working girl, I was one of them.
My sons are both in their twenties now, but they never knew the Twin Towers, apart from watching them come tumbling down. Over and over for months on the TVs playing non-stop everywhere they went. And what of all the school children born after 9/11? What's their visual when someone mentions the Twin Towers? The film The Walk is a chance to see the North and South Towers as the Rock Stars they were, before 9/11 happened. Cinematic wizardry and a director revered for his special effects (Back to the Future, Polar Express, Contact) recreate them for us. As for suspense, think Mission Impossible. Up on the wire with the actor portraying Philippe, it's that kind of scary. You'll be begging him to get down long before he does.
The Artistic Crime of the Century. That's what it was called, back in the day. Call me crazy, but I like it as a message for kids. Dare to dream. Dream Big. Surround yourself with a small group of people who support and believe in you. Never Give Up. And, most importantly, if you need to break any laws, don't do it to be wicked or mean or hurt people.
Two giant Towers. One small Frenchman. Think about it. And if you haven't seen the movie yet, please run–don't skip–to see The Walk on the Big Screen. Take your kids or your neighbors, and tell your friends and family. Do it as an American, but pay your respects to the French.
Conversation is like champagne. You want it to be good enough to rise to the occasion. That's my thinking, anyway, and I was listening for it when I went to see Spectre, the new James Bond film. In one scene 007 travels to an exclusive health clinic in search of a young woman who knows something. He finds himself sitting across a desk from her as she reviews his answers to a questionnaire. No surprise, she's beautiful, and he delivers some clever quips. But what is his occupation, she wants to know.
Not bad, plus Daniel Craig's delivery is perfect. James Bond didn't invent clever repartee, but he's certainly added to the canon. We'd be disappointed if he didn't order his vodka martini "shaken, not stirred" or introduce himself as "Bond. James Bond." His creator Ian Fleming wrote 12 novels, but James Bond has spawned twice as many films so far and made stars out of several of the six men who've played him. (I say, extra shouts to Sean Connery and Daniel Craig) Some of the films have been much better than others, but the franchise wouldn't have the staying power it does if novelist Fleming hadn't tucked some memorable lines into Bond's arsenal. And that includes the bad guys and the women.
"You only live twice. Once when you're born and once when you look death in the face." From You Only Live Twice.
"It's just that I'd rather die of drink than of thirst." From Thunderball.
"Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract from one another." From Diamonds are Forever.
"It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window." From Farewell, My Lovely.
"Dead men are heavier than broken hearts." From The Big Sleep.
"The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything, and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little. " From The Long Goodbye.
"I don't like your manner," Kingsley said in a voice you could have cracked a Brazil nut on. "That's all right," I said. "I'm not selling it." From The Lady in the Lake.
"I don't think I'd care to employ a detective that uses liquor in any form. I don't even approve of tobacco." (And Marlowe says:) "Would it be all right if I peeled an orange?" From The Little Sister.
I say cheers to great dialogue, and long live the writers to write it!
Anybody remember the Randy Newman song Short People? Growing up tall and female in a small town outside New York City, I got teased–mercilessly at times. Then everybody grew up. Even so, I loved Randy's Short People. It felt like payback: "They got little noses and tiny little teeth. They wear platform shoes on their nasty little feet." Turns out the song was about prejudice, but who knew?
This blog is about the prejudice directed against truncated art forms: short stories and films. Like many people, I love short stories, but we're a miniscule percentage of the reading population. There's a joke in publishing circles. What's the fastest way to clear a room full of editors? Tell them you've written a short story collection. Pardon me for saying this, but isn't that a little short-sighted? The great Canadian writer Alice Munro has made a career out of short stories. She's won all sorts of major awards, culminating with the Nobel Prize in 2013. Eighty-two at the time, she said, "I would really hope this would make people see the short story as an important art, not just something you played around with until you got a novel." A starving writer in her early days, no doubt she's been eating well for a while. Her story The Bear Came Over the Mountain was made into the acclaimed movie starring Julie Christie, Away from Her. It's about a wife who starts down the road to Alzheimer's, but it's also about love, betrayal, pay-back and re-configured love. All that in one short story–that's why it's such an art form. Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer in 2009 for Olive Kitteridge, a collection of linked stories (like a novel in short bursts) that became an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries last year. Other top films inspired by short stories include: Hitchcock's The Birds, In the Bedroom, Brokeback Mountain, Minority Report, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.* How many times have you heard a friend say the book was much better than the movie? If the novel is an orange, the short story is the extracted juice without the pulp. It takes up less space in the glass; there's room for champagne.
I'll close by giving honorable mention to a short person. The great Judi Dench starred in one of the shorts, Friend Request Pending (2011). I googled her after I got home and was stunned to learn she's only 5'1″ tall. She played M to James Bond something like seven times. How did she manage to look so formidable? I've got nine inches on her, but I will forever bow to her talent.
*See I Spy page for more details.


In this article, I am going to tell you that instead of going for communication marketing you need to go for physical marketing. There are many types of physical strategies you can use. For example, you can use custom stands which will be made according to your product requirement. You can install these stands in front of your shop or store, and the people will see them their self.
You can put your best product on these stands which will attract the consumer towards your business without any communication marketing. Many people attend the exhibition, and if you are also planning to attend the exhibition to promote your business, then you need to make the exhibition Display stands which will be a bit vary then the others. Remember that; there are many shops you will send you this product so go for the one which has the best credibility in the eyes of the past clients.
Don't go for the bad agency and bad quality of the product otherwise if during the exhibition your stand gets broken then you will not only lose your business but also your Prestige in the eyes of the consumer who is around you.
So I can promise you one thing that if you go for physical marketing like putting custom stands in front of your shop, then not only you will get many consumers towards your business, but also you will get the marketing done without any workforce.
I tried my best to tell you people about this thing, and hopefully, you will follow these if you are willing to get the consumer towards your business. If you are already doing communication marketing, then also add physical marketing with that.
Share this article around and help other people who are in similar trouble as you are.


text:
"""Functions to plot on circle as for connectivity."""

from __future__ import print_function

# Authors: Alexandre Gramfort <alexandre.gramfort@telecom-paristech.fr>
#          Denis Engemann <denis.engemann@gmail.com>
#          Martin Luessi <mluessi@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu>
#
# License: Simplified BSD

from itertools import cycle
from functools import partial

import numpy as np

from .utils import plt_show
from ..externals.six import string_types

def circular_layout(node_names, node_order, start_pos=90, start_between=True,
                    group_boundaries=None, group_sep=10):
    """Create layout arranging nodes on a circle.

    Parameters
    ----------
    node_names : list of str
        Node names.
    node_order : list of str
        List with node names defining the order in which the nodes are
        arranged. Must have the elements as node_names but the order can be
        different. The nodes are arranged clockwise starting at "start_pos"
        degrees.
    start_pos : float
        Angle in degrees that defines where the first node is plotted.
    start_between : bool
        If True, the layout starts with the position between the nodes. This is
        the same as adding "180. / len(node_names)" to start_pos.
    group_boundaries : None | array-like
        List of of boundaries between groups at which point a "group_sep" will
        be inserted. E.g. "[0, len(node_names) / 2]" will create two groups.
    group_sep : float
        Group separation angle in degrees. See "group_boundaries".

    Returns
    -------
    node_angles : array, shape=(len(node_names,))
        Node angles in degrees.
    """
    n_nodes = len(node_names)

    if len(node_order) != n_nodes:
        raise ValueError('node_order has to be the same length as node_names')

    if group_boundaries is not None:
        boundaries = np.array(group_boundaries, dtype=np.int)
        if np.any(boundaries >= n_nodes) or np.any(boundaries < 0):
            raise ValueError('"group_boundaries" has to be between 0 and '
                             'n_nodes - 1.')
        if len(boundaries) > 1 and np.any(np.diff(boundaries) <= 0):
            raise ValueError('"group_boundaries" must have non-decreasing '
                             'values.')
        n_group_sep = len(group_boundaries)
    else:
        n_group_sep = 0
        boundaries = None

    # convert it to a list with indices
    node_order = [node_order.index(name) for name in node_names]
    node_order = np.array(node_order)
    if len(np.unique(node_order)) != n_nodes:
        raise ValueError('node_order has repeated entries')

    node_sep = (360. - n_group_sep * group_sep) / n_nodes

    if start_between:
        start_pos += node_sep / 2

        if boundaries is not None and boundaries[0] == 0:
            # special case when a group separator is at the start
            start_pos += group_sep / 2
            boundaries = boundaries[1:] if n_group_sep > 1 else None

    node_angles = np.ones(n_nodes, dtype=np.float) * node_sep
    node_angles[0] = start_pos
    if boundaries is not None:
        node_angles[boundaries] += group_sep

    node_angles = np.cumsum(node_angles)[node_order]

    return node_angles

def _plot_connectivity_circle_onpick(event, fig=None, axes=None, indices=None,
                                     n_nodes=0, node_angles=None,
                                     ylim=[9, 10]):
    """Isolate connections around a single node when user left clicks a node.

    On right click, resets all connections.
    """
    if event.inaxes != axes:
        return

    if event.button == 1:  # left click
        # click must be near node radius
        if not ylim[0] <= event.ydata <= ylim[1]:
            return

        # all angles in range [0, 2*pi]
        node_angles = node_angles % (np.pi * 2)
        node = np.argmin(np.abs(event.xdata - node_angles))

        patches = event.inaxes.patches
        for ii, (x, y) in enumerate(zip(indices[0], indices[1])):
            patches[ii].set_visible(node in [x, y])
        fig.canvas.draw()
    elif event.button == 3:  # right click
        patches = event.inaxes.patches
        for ii in range(np.size(indices, axis=1)):
            patches[ii].set_visible(True)
        fig.canvas.draw()

def plot_connectivity_circle(con, node_names, indices=None, n_lines=None,
                             node_angles=None, node_width=None,
                             node_colors=None, facecolor='black',
                             textcolor='white', node_edgecolor='black',
                             linewidth=1.5, colormap='hot', vmin=None,
                             vmax=None, colorbar=True, title=None,
                             colorbar_size=0.2, colorbar_pos=(-0.3, 0.1),
                             fontsize_title=12, fontsize_names=8,
                             fontsize_colorbar=8, padding=6.,
                             fig=None, subplot=111, interactive=True,
                             node_linewidth=2., show=True):
    """Visualize connectivity as a circular graph.

    Note: This code is based on the circle graph example by Nicolas P. Rougier
    http://www.labri.fr/perso/nrougier/coding/.

    Parameters
    ----------
    con : array
        Connectivity scores. Can be a square matrix, or a 1D array. If a 1D
        array is provided, "indices" has to be used to define the connection
        indices.
    node_names : list of str
        Node names. The order corresponds to the order in con.
    indices : tuple of arrays | None
        Two arrays with indices of connections for which the connections
        strenghts are defined in con. Only needed if con is a 1D array.
    n_lines : int | None
        If not None, only the n_lines strongest connections (strength=abs(con))
        are drawn.
    node_angles : array, shape=(len(node_names,)) | None
        Array with node positions in degrees. If None, the nodes are equally
        spaced on the circle. See mne.viz.circular_layout.
    node_width : float | None
        Width of each node in degrees. If None, the minimum angle between any
        two nodes is used as the width.
    node_colors : list of tuples | list of str
        List with the color to use for each node. If fewer colors than nodes
        are provided, the colors will be repeated. Any color supported by
        matplotlib can be used, e.g., RGBA tuples, named colors.
    facecolor : str
        Color to use for background. See matplotlib.colors.
    textcolor : str
        Color to use for text. See matplotlib.colors.
    node_edgecolor : str
        Color to use for lines around nodes. See matplotlib.colors.
    linewidth : float
        Line width to use for connections.
    colormap : str
        Colormap to use for coloring the connections.
    vmin : float | None
        Minimum value for colormap. If None, it is determined automatically.
    vmax : float | None
        Maximum value for colormap. If None, it is determined automatically.
    colorbar : bool
        Display a colorbar or not.
    title : str
        The figure title.
    colorbar_size : float
        Size of the colorbar.
    colorbar_pos : 2-tuple
        Position of the colorbar.
    fontsize_title : int
        Font size to use for title.
    fontsize_names : int
        Font size to use for node names.
    fontsize_colorbar : int
        Font size to use for colorbar.
    padding : float
        Space to add around figure to accommodate long labels.
    fig : None | instance of matplotlib.pyplot.Figure
        The figure to use. If None, a new figure with the specified background
        color will be created.
    subplot : int | 3-tuple
        Location of the subplot when creating figures with multiple plots. E.g.
        121 or (1, 2, 1) for 1 row, 2 columns, plot 1. See
        matplotlib.pyplot.subplot.
    interactive : bool
        When enabled, left-click on a node to show only connections to that
        node. Right-click shows all connections.
    node_linewidth : float
        Line with for nodes.
    show : bool
        Show figure if True.

    Returns
    -------
    fig : instance of matplotlib.pyplot.Figure
        The figure handle.
    axes : instance of matplotlib.axes.PolarAxesSubplot
        The subplot handle.
    """
    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
    import matplotlib.path as m_path
    import matplotlib.patches as m_patches

    n_nodes = len(node_names)

    if node_angles is not None:
        if len(node_angles) != n_nodes:
            raise ValueError('node_angles has to be the same length '
                             'as node_names')
        # convert it to radians
        node_angles = node_angles * np.pi / 180
    else:
        # uniform layout on unit circle
        node_angles = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, n_nodes, endpoint=False)

    if node_width is None:
        # widths correspond to the minimum angle between two nodes
        dist_mat = node_angles[None, :] - node_angles[:, None]
        dist_mat[np.diag_indices(n_nodes)] = 1e9
        node_width = np.min(np.abs(dist_mat))
    else:
        node_width = node_width * np.pi / 180

    if node_colors is not None:
        if len(node_colors) < n_nodes:
            node_colors = cycle(node_colors)
    else:
        # assign colors using colormap
        node_colors = [plt.cm.spectral(i / float(n_nodes))
                       for i in range(n_nodes)]

    # handle 1D and 2D connectivity information
    if con.ndim == 1:
        if indices is None:
            raise ValueError('indices has to be provided if con.ndim == 1')
    elif con.ndim == 2:
        if con.shape[0] != n_nodes or con.shape[1] != n_nodes:
            raise ValueError('con has to be 1D or a square matrix')
        # we use the lower-triangular part
        indices = np.tril_indices(n_nodes, -1)
        con = con[indices]
    else:
        raise ValueError('con has to be 1D or a square matrix')

    # get the colormap
    if isinstance(colormap, string_types):
        colormap = plt.get_cmap(colormap)

    # Make figure background the same colors as axes
    if fig is None:
        fig = plt.figure(figsize=(8, 8), facecolor=facecolor)

    # Use a polar axes
    if not isinstance(subplot, tuple):
        subplot = (subplot,)
    axes = plt.subplot(*subplot, polar=True, axisbg=facecolor)

    # No ticks, we'll put our own
    plt.xticks([])
    plt.yticks([])

    # Set y axes limit, add additional space if requested
    plt.ylim(0, 10 + padding)

    # Remove the black axes border which may obscure the labels
    axes.spines['polar'].set_visible(False)

    # Draw lines between connected nodes, only draw the strongest connections
    if n_lines is not None and len(con) > n_lines:
        con_thresh = np.sort(np.abs(con).ravel())[-n_lines]
    else:
        con_thresh = 0.

    # get the connections which we are drawing and sort by connection strength
    # this will allow us to draw the strongest connections first
    con_abs = np.abs(con)
    con_draw_idx = np.where(con_abs >= con_thresh)[0]

    con = con[con_draw_idx]
    con_abs = con_abs[con_draw_idx]
    indices = [ind[con_draw_idx] for ind in indices]

    # now sort them
    sort_idx = np.argsort(con_abs)
    con_abs = con_abs[sort_idx]
    con = con[sort_idx]
    indices = [ind[sort_idx] for ind in indices]

    # Get vmin vmax for color scaling
    if vmin is None:
        vmin = np.min(con[np.abs(con) >= con_thresh])
    if vmax is None:
        vmax = np.max(con)
    vrange = vmax - vmin

    # We want to add some "noise" to the start and end position of the
    # edges: We modulate the noise with the number of connections of the
    # node and the connection strength, such that the strongest connections
    # are closer to the node center
    nodes_n_con = np.zeros((n_nodes), dtype=np.int)
    for i, j in zip(indices[0], indices[1]):
        nodes_n_con[i] += 1
        nodes_n_con[j] += 1

    # initialize random number generator so plot is reproducible
    rng = np.random.mtrand.RandomState(seed=0)

    n_con = len(indices[0])
    noise_max = 0.25 * node_width
    start_noise = rng.uniform(-noise_max, noise_max, n_con)
    end_noise = rng.uniform(-noise_max, noise_max, n_con)

    nodes_n_con_seen = np.zeros_like(nodes_n_con)
    for i, (start, end) in enumerate(zip(indices[0], indices[1])):
        nodes_n_con_seen[start] += 1
        nodes_n_con_seen[end] += 1

        start_noise[i] *= ((nodes_n_con[start] - nodes_n_con_seen[start]) /
                           float(nodes_n_con[start]))
        end_noise[i] *= ((nodes_n_con[end] - nodes_n_con_seen[end]) /
                         float(nodes_n_con[end]))

    # scale connectivity for colormap (vmin<=>0, vmax<=>1)
    con_val_scaled = (con - vmin) / vrange

    # Finally, we draw the connections
    for pos, (i, j) in enumerate(zip(indices[0], indices[1])):
        # Start point
        t0, r0 = node_angles[i], 10

        # End point
        t1, r1 = node_angles[j], 10

        # Some noise in start and end point
        t0 += start_noise[pos]
        t1 += end_noise[pos]

        verts = [(t0, r0), (t0, 5), (t1, 5), (t1, r1)]
        codes = [m_path.Path.MOVETO, m_path.Path.CURVE4, m_path.Path.CURVE4,
                 m_path.Path.LINETO]
        path = m_path.Path(verts, codes)

        color = colormap(con_val_scaled[pos])

        # Actual line
        patch = m_patches.PathPatch(path, fill=False, edgecolor=color,
                                    linewidth=linewidth, alpha=1.)
        axes.add_patch(patch)

    # Draw ring with colored nodes
    height = np.ones(n_nodes) * 1.0
    bars = axes.bar(node_angles, height, width=node_width, bottom=9,
                    edgecolor=node_edgecolor, lw=node_linewidth,
                    facecolor='.9', align='center')

    for bar, color in zip(bars, node_colors):
        bar.set_facecolor(color)

    # Draw node labels
    angles_deg = 180 * node_angles / np.pi
    for name, angle_rad, angle_deg in zip(node_names, node_angles, angles_deg):
        if angle_deg >= 270:
            ha = 'left'
        else:
            # Flip the label, so text is always upright
            angle_deg += 180
            ha = 'right'

        axes.text(angle_rad, 10.4, name, size=fontsize_names,
                  rotation=angle_deg, rotation_mode='anchor',
                  horizontalalignment=ha, verticalalignment='center',
                  color=textcolor)

    if title is not None:
        plt.title(title, color=textcolor, fontsize=fontsize_title,
                  axes=axes)

    if colorbar:
        sm = plt.cm.ScalarMappable(cmap=colormap,
                                   norm=plt.Normalize(vmin, vmax))
        sm.set_array(np.linspace(vmin, vmax))
        cb = plt.colorbar(sm, ax=axes, use_gridspec=False,
                          shrink=colorbar_size,
                          anchor=colorbar_pos)
        cb_yticks = plt.getp(cb.ax.axes, 'yticklabels')
        cb.ax.tick_params(labelsize=fontsize_colorbar)
        plt.setp(cb_yticks, color=textcolor)

    # Add callback for interaction
    if interactive:
        callback = partial(_plot_connectivity_circle_onpick, fig=fig,
                           axes=axes, indices=indices, n_nodes=n_nodes,
                           node_angles=node_angles)

        fig.canvas.mpl_connect('button_press_event', callback)

    plt_show(show)
    return fig, axes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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text:
Posted on March 25, 2015 by asiafootball
Korea & Japan.
Five years ago I joined Guardian Football's World Cup 2010 Fans project, where a writer would represent fans of a participating country. I chose Republic of Korea (South Korea) since my hunch was correct – five British men had represented Japan. Besides me were a couple of British men. North Korea was represented by one old Englishman, probably a Trotskyist. They dig North Korea.
My duty was to tweet comments during South Korea's matches, and I was very lucky that South Korea surprisingly won their opening match against Greece. I gleefully (pun intended) wrote my report and players' rating, it's here.
I represented a proud footballing nation of 50 millions which I never stepped into, which language I don't understand, which I have no direct relations too. I spoke for the feelings of millions of Kims, Lees, Chas, all the clans.
Because none of them wrote for the Guardian. For comparison, all the African nations were represented by African students studying in Britain, and I supposed there were several hundreds or thousands Korean students in Britain, or perhaps Korean-American or Korean-Canadian readers of Guardian Football. But throughout my twelve years of reading Guardian Weekly or Guardian Football, I never met any of them.
When I applied for the voluntary position, I had no football blog. After 2010 World Cup had ended and the project was folded, I made this blog. Strangely I got to know the Brits who represented Japan instead of South Korea, namely Ben Mabley and Sean Carroll.
I'm very different to both men. They are lucky enough to be born in England as white men (both might have Irish heritage, seeing from their names), learned Japanese, and moved to Japan to work. To put it short, Japan is the dream country of all Asians save for Koreans (even until early 2000s, Korean pop singers and footballers built their careers in Japan). I'm lucky enough to be born in a middle class family in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and studied in Australia.
And yet I threw away my chance to stay in Australia and the 2006 World Cup was a scarring experience for me – Australia, representative of Oceania, demolished Japan, the Kings of Asia, just in five minutes. I hated Australia for several years because of that.
Australia was the place where I developed my Asian pride. Because it's a developed nation, it's easy to find goods, people, and cultural items hailing from Japan, Korea, China, and India there. It's easy to find Chinese people from different backgrounds there – Malaysians, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Thais. And everyone is proud and open about their background. This is very different to my experience in Indonesia, where Chinese-Indonesians subdue their own identity due to fear.
So why do I support Japan and South Korea instead of China? I supported China in 2002 World Cup. Of course, it was a bit exercise in futility, and I have little love for the People's Republic of China. You know too well why, from its government to its footballers. My love for Japan and South Korea national football teams go hand in hand with my love for their foods, video games, movies, cartoons, electronics, clothing labels, and cute stuff.
And of course, Japan and South Korea can take on the world on football, unlike China. Japan and Korea have footballers playing in Europe and famous enough worldwide.
Throughout four years of blogging on Asian football, I feel loneliness. Many people I know that talk about Asian football are usually Anglo-Irish men, Australians or British, who are based either in Australia or Asia and work as journalists. They're on football stadiums week after week, they interview footballers, and they fly between cities.
Some Korean women did follow me, but usually communication ended after it's clear that I'm not Korean and I don't speak Korean.
Sometimes I cursed my own fate of being born in and living in Indonesia instead of say, Singapore. But even if I were a Singaporean, local football scene is also far from my ideal. I would be sitting with few other football geeks cheering Malay and foreign players in deserted stadium, complaining about the masses (i.e. Chinese like me) who strolling the malls wearing Manchester United and Barcelona jerseys and the mismanagement of the league (not to mention the single-season foreign teams). Being a Hong Konger would be just few notch up.
Being born as a Japanese or Korean might have its perk of having a mass media reporting local football and packed stadiums, but I would also get frustrated with the timidity and dishonesty of the media and the football world in discussing controversies and bad stuff.
And in any case, I would grumble why do I learn everything about local football from the white men.
In fact, all my world knowledge I get from the white people. Not from my own people.
One characteristic of forums and blogs on Asia is its cynicism, and I don't like being cynical. Of course, the characteristic of Asian websites is its neutral tone and smiling face. Being fake, in a word.
So I take the irreverent and humorous approach, a la Guardian Football. I want to be entertaining and honest, I don't want to be being the lying cheerleader of Japan or South Korea or being the bitter "they suck anyway' prophet of doom.
I enjoy what I wrote, but it did not make me enjoying Asian football better. I could not growth a community, I could not make new friends. And the quality of Japan's national team is just maddening.
But the main reason I won't write any new entry on Asian football is because I want to concentrate on my newfound passions. Last year, unexpectedly, I entered the world of feminism and in no time I made new friends and connections worldwide. My Twitter has become so lively with notifications and new tweets that made me can't stop learning, discovering, exploring, and even laughing.
The consequence is I'm getting disillusioned with everything I loved about Japan and Korea. After saying goodbye to anime and K-pop, now I'm not sure if I'm saying goodbye to their footballs. That might be different. I will always love football, I will always love Japan and South Korea. But I believe it's futile to write more about them. John Duerden has always written the best bits about them, and also Australia that now I also love (I still dislike China), and if there'd be someone else replacing him, it'd be another Anglo-Irish man instead of Japanese or Korean.
In short, I want to spend my time and energy in writing about feminism. It's kinda sad that although Japanese women footballers are among the world's best, so little attention is given to them, including by the Japanese themselves (who would keep complaining about their clubs and men national team). Even it's kinda sad that JFA will always differentiate the color for men and women national team jerseys, instead making it red for the women too (after the flag, right?).
Thank you for reading and following my blog and for being patient with me. You can stay in touch with me via Twitter on @mariorustan, where I would still tweet about football in Australia, Japan, and Korea.
The Last Image.
A good example of how parochial the English media can be is by referencing the Prime Minister of Denmark as "The wife of Labour candidate for Aberavon" or "Wife of (Neil) Kinnock's son". This blog will also get parochial and view the Asian version of UEFA Champions League and Europa League (hmm…there's simply no classical Asian word for "Asia", is it?) from Japanese, Korean, and Australian perspectives. Specifically if those West Asian teams have Korean players in them, otherwise I will just ignore them. Begin with the Champions League.
Ask me about Riga's best lounges.
Hot hot hot. Al Nassr, Lekwhiya, Persepolis, Bunyodkor. Only Al Nassr, however, have won a continental cup in 1998 (Cup Winners' Cup) and played in FIFA Club World Cup. It has no one interesting, unlike Lekhwiya, whose no 10 is Nam Tae-hee and whose coach, Michael Laudrup, is browsing London and Tokyo city guides (great life, Mike). Persepolis predictably have only Latinos, but what about Bunyodkor? Their number 9 is Minori Sato, a journeyman who had lived in United States, Mexico, Latvia, and Belarus! And Keisuke Honda complained about how pampered Japanese footballers are.
Hmm…Pakhtakor, Al Shabab, Al Ain, and Naft Tehran. Just Al Ain with Lee Myung-joo, then (those clever Korean attacking midfielders! Choose to play in the Gulf when you want to get out of Korea, paid well, and not benched!)
Foolad, Lokomotiv, Al Hilal, and Al Sadd. Al Hilal have Kwak Tae-hwi while Al Sadd have Lee Jung-soo. Interesting though, that Al Hilal's new forward is Georgios Samaras, on loan from West Brom.
Al Ahli Dubai, Tractor, Nasaf, Al Ahli Jeddah. Nice, two clubs with the same name will face each other. Dubai's winger is Luis Jimenez, who played for Internazionale and West Ham and is listed as a Palestinian (since Dubai want to show that they are Asian-friendly and therefore can buy another Latino, and yay, Jimenez has Palestinian background). Meanwhile, their attacking midfielder is Oussama Assaidi, who played four matches with Liverpool. If AFC rejects Jimenez' Asian status, then there's ex-Jeonbuk midfielder Kwon Kyung-won.
East side – home to deserted stadiums, mediocre Japanese performance, interesting Chinese and Thai performances, and Australian away supporters who are proved to be more interested in local culture than other Asians are. Jeonbuk have familiar faces like Eninho, Alex Wilkinson, and Lee Dong-gook. Shandong have Diego Tardelli, who believed he should have been called for Brazil in World Cup 2014 (aren't you glad now, Diego?). Vietnam again proves it's the second best footballing nation in Southeast Asia with Becamex Binh Duo. Finally, there's Kashiwa who wasted 2 hours last week to dispatch Chonburi. They are, though, still the best J. League team in the ACL for the past two years.
Gamba's back, now with forward Shingo Akamine. They are with Seongnam FC (now Moonies-free), Buriram United, and Guangzhou R&F. Buriram's New Zealander's forward, Kayne Vincent, is half-Japanese. They also have Go Seul-ki, who lifted the 2012 ACL cup with Ulsan. Guangzhou R&F sport Park "Dokdo is Ours" Jong-woo and Jang Hyun-soo, who ironically played with FC Tokyo during the London Olympics.
Brisbane Roar have the usual names of Michael Theo, Henrique, Matt McKay, and Thomas Broich. Urawa maintain their all-Japanese look, with the exception of Slovenian forward Zlatan Ljubijankic. Same goes with Suwon Bluewings with Jung Sung-ryong, Oh Jang-eun, Jong Tae-se, and a trio of Brazilians. Beijing have no selling names but have a Swede with interesting name: Erton Fejzullahu (he's Albanian Kosovar, like Adnan Januzaj).
G.E.T. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, presented by Evergrande Real Estate Group and Alibaba Group. Kim Young-gwon is still there, and so are Elkeson and Rene Junior. Their new Brazilian is Ricardo Goulart, bought for 15 million euros from Cruzeiro. Western Sydney can expect another sleepless night in Guangzhou, and extra love for their two Japanese, Yusuke Tanaka and Yojiro Takahagi. At least they can see Tokyo again, well, its mirage, from the deer island of Kashima. The Antlers are same as always, with Masashi Motoyama, Koji Nakata, Davi, and Mitsuo Ogasawara. It's like 2005 all over again. Finally: FC Seoul. Same – Kim Yong-dae, Kim Jin-kyu, Mauricio Molina, and Cha Du-ri. I hope Japanese Sergio Escudero stays with Seoul, although its fans prefer to take him as a Spaniard.
So yeah, ready for another disappointments and relief? Now move on to the cheaper brand of AFC Cup, which is more interesting for Southeast Asians and Hong Kongers.
Group A-D
Nothing's important. Ignore the rumor that porn star Akari Asahina is the manager of Al Wahda Damascus. Certainly one of these West Asian clubs will lift the trophy again, like from Bahrain or Kuwait or Iraq.
Bengaluru have India's darling Sunil Chhetri, Josh Walker, whose virtual version was available from FIFA 08 (Bournemouth) to FIFA 13 (Scunthorpe United), and Wayne Rooney's long-lost brother Sean. Persipura retain many Papuan football stars like Boaz Solossa and Ian Louis Kabes. Warriors prove the sorry state of Singaporean football by only having 20 players, including four foreigners and two naturalized Singaporeans. Yes, what a football crazy nation. Maziya from Maldives surprisingly have a Spanish, Bulgarian, and Japanese (why surprising? No man would refuse working on a resort island where there are places where the sharia doesn't apply for them).
Kitchee: five Spanish, two Brazilians, a Nigerian, two Koreans, a Canadian, and four naturalized Hong Kongers who grew up in Ghana and China. Nice. Besides two Nigerians, East Bengal have Australian Milan Susak, who played in Serbia, Germany, Indonesia, China, Iran, and UAE. Now this is one Mr. International. And also New Zealander Leo Bertos, who played in NZ's three draws at 2010 FIFA World Cup. Like Kashima, Johor maintain the spirit of 2005 by playing Luciano Figueroa, Argentina's hero of Copa America 2004 and FIFA Confederations Cup 2005. Sadder than Warriors, Balestier only have 19 players.
Yadanarbon win the Club with Interesting Players' Names award, thanks to Okpechi Happiness, Boakay Foday, and Djedje Djawa (who should have played in Java). South China prove that globalization happens with Hong Kongers Jack Sealy and Michael Campion and Irish Sean Tse. And also Daniel McBreen, 2012-13 A-League golden boot winner. Global become the first Filipino team in the championship, and you can get Japanese overload with names like Daisuke Sato, Hikaru Minegishi, and John Kanayama. And there are two actual Japanese players besides those locals. Finally, Pahang make dream comes true for Pakistani and Jamaican football fans dreaming of seeing their nationalities represented in the world-famous AFC Cup.
My hometown team, Persib Bandung, are here. Sadly nothing is really interesting from this group (group of bore? Lucky you, Persib), besides the fact that Lao Toyota's Japanese midfielder Dan Ito has played in 16 Asian countries over the last 15 years.
Milan Susak: Friend with Dan Ito on Flickr?
What, you want group prediction? I'm too afraid to make one. It'd be so funny though if GET don't get the first place.
Posted in Asian Overseas, Continental	| Tagged A-League, ACL, AFC Champions League, AFC Champions League 2015, AFC Cup 2015, Al Ahli Dubai, Al Ahli Jeddah, Al Hilal, Al-Ain, Al-Sadd, Balestier Khalsa, Beijing Guoan, Bengaluru, Boaz Solossa, Brisbane Roar, Bunyodkor, Buriram, Cha Du-ri, Daisuke Sato, Dan Ito, Djedje Djawa, FC Seoul, Gamba Osaka, Georgios Samaras, Global, Guangzhou Evergrande, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, Ian Louis Kabes, Jack Sealy, Johor Darul Takzim, Jong Tae-Se, journeyman, Kashima Antlers, Kim Jin-kyu, Kim Yong-dae, Kitchee, Koji Nakata, Lao Toyota, Lee Myung-joo, Lekhwiya, Leo Bertos, Luciano Figueroa, Luis Jimenez, Masashi Motoyama, Matt McKay, Mauricio Molina, Milan Susak, Minori Sato, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Nam Tae-Hee, Pahang, Persib, Persib Bandung, Persipura Jayapura, Ricardo Goulart, Sean Rooney, Sean Tse, Sergio Escudero, South China, Sunil Chhetri, Suwon Bluewings, Urawa Reds, Warriors, Western Sydney Wanderers, Yadanarbon, Yojiro Takahagi	| Leave a reply
I'm Excited about AFF 2014. Really.
Posted on November 22, 2014 by asiafootball
Gee, I wonder where I can get all these Indonesian stuff on any Nike store in Indonesia…because I have checked stores in Jakarta and all they have are Barcelona and Manchester United.
Tonight, Southeast Asian football will look at itself. For the next one month.
The ASEAN Football Federation (ASEAN is Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Championship begins tonight with Philippines vs Laos. Of course, nobody will actually see that, so we move on to the proper opening match featuring co-host Vietnam taking on my country Indonesia. Tomorrow Malaysia will face Myanmar while the real match of the day would be between Singapore and Thailand. All the way to the second leg final on 20 December 2014, five day before Christmas and at the same day with the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Championship final. So it's a double treat for the winning nation (I really can't think of anyone, really). Philippines and then Real Madrid.
That one-month long tournament idea it's just stupid. I blame Nike. And Suzuki. And Fox Sports Asia. We can have the whole championship wrapped up just in two weeks but this is as long as the World Cup. In 2010, the prolonged tournament was a recipe for disaster for Indonesia. Indonesia did well, then president Susilo B. Yudhoyono watched Invictus and thought of himself as Nelson Mandela (Irfan Bachdim became Matt Damon) and showed up to the playoffs, effectively ruining Indonesia's morale and integrity.
I apologize, though, for blaming Nike. Even Nike Indonesia does not take this tournament seriously. Yesterday I went to the mall and saw a display of #RiskEverything with Irfan Bachdim and his tattoos (2014 appearance for Ventforet Kofu: 0) but the Nike store had only few away shirts, probably leftover from last season. No polo or jacket or cap. In contrast, from the same mall's Adidas outlet I have collected Japan's jersey, t-shirt, jacket, cap, and backpack. All I have to do is wear them all and be like Joey Tribbiani.
This picture has nothing to do with Asian football.
How could the "football crazy" Indonesia cares little about the Red and White? That's because Nike Indonesia cares little about it. That's because the football crazy Indonesians care more about Germany, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Juventus (and Japan, in my case). That's because we don't think we'd win the championship, even as we are crying war. Then again, maybe so our neighbors.
So I assure you, not just Nike Indonesia (and their customers) cares about the lack of availability of Indonesia merchandises, we also don't care about the other teams. Enemies. Opponents. Foreigners. Sports tabloids and newspapers can write a little about "players to watch" and predicted lineups, but don't expect too much from television.
So, I take the responsibility to educate my fellow Indonesians a little about teams that Indonesia will defeat and that will defeat Indonesia, and to give an introduction to the world on Indonesia and other Southeast Asian teams.
Surprisingly, the ones with Japanese touch. Maybe Vietnam have taken its rivalry with China to a new level. Coach Toshiya Miura had experiences with Omiya, Sapporo, and Kobe in the 2000s. Their female supporters can be the most visible and enthusiastic ones, and the host advantage can be with them.
Foreign-based player? No.
The Ace: Le Chong Vinh, number nine. Experienced unsuccessful stints with Leixoes in 2009-10 Primeira Liga (they were the worst team) and Consadole Sapporo in 2013. Did not score in 2012 championship, though.
The Foreigner: Mac Hong Quan. Born in Czech, he was with Sparta Prague B before moving to Vietnam in 2013. Still an underachiever.
Problem Child: Dinh Thanh Trung. Left Hanoi over dispute, he played in Division 2 last season.
The perpetual dark horses, Philippines grew from one of the worst teams in the region (and Asia) into a feared one, thanks to half-Filipino players recruited from Europe and United States. They became fine footballers and decided to play in the United Football League and dating models rather than busting their asses in European lower leagues (they still can date models there, right?). If they still can't reach the final, blame UFL.
O yeah, their coach is Tom Dooley, one of my heroes when I supported United States in early 1990s.
Foreign-based players? Several. Goalkeeper Ronald Muller in Servette, captain Rob Gier in Ascot United, Jerry Lucena in Esbjerg, and Martin Steuble in Sporting Kansas City. Until they will play in UFL and get cozy.
The Ace: Mark Hartmann, who scored 27 goals this season with Global. Might overshadow old favorites like the Younghusband brothers.
The Foreigner: Most of the team, but the peculiar ones would be defender Daisuke Sato and midfielder Misagh Bahadoran.
The Problem Child: Surprisingly nothing, but expect them to argue with the referees and challenge other players with combative gestures.
Indonesia can't let go of the big country syndrome – since we have so many people and have the biggest area, we have to be the biggest bully of the block, right? I hope new president Joko Widodo can help the team concentrate now and let publicity takes the back seat. Austrian coach Alfred Riedl worked for Vietnam again and again from late 1990s to mid 2000s.
If Indonesia makes a rip-off of Cantabile, he's very suitable to play Franz Stresemann.
Foreign based player? Sergio van Dijk, once an attraction of A-League, plays for Suphanburi in Thailand.
The Ace: Uruguay-born Cristian Gonzales, consistently one of top scorers in Indonesian Premier League and has good record with Indonesia. At 38, however, he's getting fatter and fatter.
The Foreigner: Besides those two, there's the Nigeria-born defender Victor Igbonefo.
Problem Child: Being a stereotypical stern Austrian, Riedl omits Irfan Bachdim and night club regular Diego Michiels from this team. Unfortunately, he also omits IPL 2014 MVP Ferdinand Sinaga, who I believe deserves a forward spot better over van Dijk.
The Poland/Greece of Southeast Asia – you'll need to copy and paste their names rather than typing. The lovable losers who survived the qualification run. Coached by English Dave Booth, a veteran of Indian football (and Grimsby Town's 1973 Player of the Year).
Foreign-based player: Soukaphone Vongchiengkham (pasted) plays for Thai Division 1 club Saraburi.
The Ace: Him, maybe.
The Foreigner: None.
The Problem Child: None as far I know.
The defending champions and eternally an annoying shrimp for its larger neighbors, at least in football. They are expected to reach semi finals, at the expense of neighbors and rivals Malaysia. They are now the only team to have an ethnic Chinese footballer.
Foreign-based players: LionsXII, where most of the players work for, compete in Malaysia Super League. Other than that, Hariss Harun plays for Johor and captain Shahril Ishak, 2012 Championship MVP, is in Johor II. Baffling, no?
The Ace: Khairul Amri, on his tenth year with the Lions and scored four goals in the 2012 Championship. This year he's the top scorer in the Malaysia Super League who is not a Brazilian or Argentine.
The Foreigner: For the last ten years, Singapore had been powered by naturalized players from England, Nigeria, China, and former Yugoslavia. Not anymore. Gabriel Quak, on the other hand, becomes the first Singapore-born ethnic Chinese who's good enough for the national team since Goh Tat Chuan played in early 2000s. Ironically, in Chinese-majority Singapore, his name and feature are unique for Singaporean football. Maybe just like Hugo Lloris in France.
The Problem Child: Khairul Nizam, brother to Khairul Amri, served eight matches ban in 2010 for brawl against Beijing Guoan Talent players.
Another favorite for the championship and have to decide who they hate most – Singapore, Thailand, or Indonesia. Coached by Dollah Salleh, the legend of late 20th century's Asian football. If Singapore are the team to feature a Chinese player, this is the one to support if you're into Indian footballers.
Foreign-based players: None.
The Ace: Indra Putra Mahayuddin. A favorite of 2000s, he disappeared from international football scene and stages a comeback this month.
The Foreigner: Malaysia has never naturalized any foreign star or a foreigner with Malaysian background, although they had accepted few Muslim Burmese in the past. The Indian Malaysians I talked about are Gary Steven Robbat and Kunanlan.
The Problem Child: Safee Sali. He's a nice guy who's got into some troubles several times. The first Malaysian who played in Indonesian Super League, he was promised number 10 shirt at Persija Jakarta but got number 55 instead. A somewhat working analogy of his time in Indonesia is like a Japanese star who plays in K-League – both Indonesians and Malaysians are okay with it and he was not heckled, but both parties saw him as tainted. In 2014 Johor almost handed him over to Selangor, but eventually he stayed with Johor.
Difficult spellings too, but hey, it's essential to remember their names. Traditionally seen as the big boss of Southeast Asia, they are in crazy and unstable forms in this century. This week they defeated New Zealand 2-0 but lost all their qualifications matches for Australia 2015. Like Malaysia, they entrust the national team to a national hero, Kiatisuk Senamuang – who scored 70 goals for Thailand from 1993 to 2006.
Foreign-based player: None.
The Ace: Kawin Thammasatchanan, best goalkeeper of the 2012 edition and one of the most formidable goalkeepers in Southeast Asia, standing at 185 meters (6 feet 1 inch).
The Foreigner: Charyl Chappuis, formerly a reserve player in Grasshopper Zurich and a member of Switzerland winning team at the 2009 U-17 World Cup. He graduated from Thailand U-23 last year and scored his first senior goal this year against Kuwait.
The Problem Child: Thai generals. I really want to support Thailand but if they do good, the generals will take credit for the "happiness".
Who cares.
So, that's the preview of eight teams competing in AFF Suzuki Cup 2014. As I'm writing this conclusion, Philippines have overturned a 0-1 shock from Laos into a 2-1 lead. Please enjoy this feat of Southeast Asian football since there won't be any at the Asian Cup.
Posted in Asian National Teams, Continental, Editorial	| Tagged Alfred Riedl, Charyl Chappuis, Cristian Gonzales, Daisuke Sato, Dollah Salleh, Gabriel Quak, Gary Steven Robbat, Indonesia, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Irfan Bachdim, Kawin Thammasatchanan, Khairul Amri, Khairul Nizam, Kiatisuk Senamuang, Kunanlan, Laos, Le Chong Vinh, LionsXII, Mac Hong Quan, Malaysia, Mark Hartmann, Myanmar, Philippines, Safee Sali, Sergio van Dijk, Shahril Ishkak, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Tom Dooley, Victor Igbonefo, Vietnam	| 1 Reply
Trying to Love Winning Eleven is a waste of time, really
You might not like the title
In high school, I was the only one who played FIFA (right from when Dad bought FIFA International Soccer for Super Nintendo in early 1994, and asking an Australian game store clerk if there's FIFA 95 for Super Nintendo – it's a Genesis/Mega Drive exclusive).
Other kids played World Soccer Winning Eleven (WE), then known in the West as Goal Storm. The classic argument was that FIFA had no elegance – pass-pass-shoot-shoot, while WE rewarded tactic, individual skill, and brainy build up – even shot strength and direction.
But the more important reason WE was and is more popular in Asia than FIFA is because it's a Japanese brand. Back in 1990s I didn't care about Japanese culture (including anime and manga) and was into American and British culture, that's why playing Manchester United and England with FIFA was such joy. Re-enacting MU's Treble season on FIFA 99, to the tune of "The Rockafeller Skank", was magical.
Then in 2001-2002 I fell in love with Japan and Korea (because of Utada Hikaru and My Sassy Girl, really), coincidentally fell into place with FIFA 2002 and 2003. Big difference between two versions – FIFA 2002 had 2000 AFC Asian Cup and complete schedule of Japan and Korea's 2001 friendly schedules (including Kirin Cup series and 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup), being a licensed JFA product. On the other hand, FIFA 2003 did not have Japan at all (amusingly, it rated Lee Young-pyo as a 87 central midfielder).
Inamoto (Arsenal) vs Nakata (Parma)?! Sweet! As if!
So I bought Pro Evolution Soccer 2, as Winning Eleven 6 International was known in Europe and Australia, and re-enacted the 2002 World Cup (in the official game I could only play one team and it relied heavily on volleys, a stupid concept). I switched allegiance so I can play Japan (even then and now I find little fun in getting into the K-League).
Pro Evolution Soccer 4 was the peak – I played Park Ji-Sung in PSV Eindhoven and Japan's friendlies (including semi finals of 2004 AFC Asian Cup, although it's safe to say that both FIFA and WE had ignored international football at this point).
I stuck with Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), as now WE is known internationally (including in Asia) but by PES 6 I'd seen the sign. The presentation got more drab, the gameplay did not evolve (as I was reading about what FIFA's up to), and steadily more disappointments came in. No German league at all. No improvement in team licenses. The boring commentary.
PES 2008 (supposedly PES 7, but Konami was tired of Westerners thinking they were one year behind FIFA) was a mixed bag. I could play 2007 AFC Asian Cup, but I could not play every team besides Australia, Japan, and Korea (not that I wanted to play Saudi Arabia and Iran). The group stage was replaced with home and away qualifications. The songs (all produced in house) was horrible and so was the menu outline – compared to FIFA 08.
I made no choice in 2008 and when I bought PlayStation 3, I chose FIFA 10. I didn't really care about Japan, as long I could play the A-League, Nakamura in Espanyol (he's supposedly the team's best player!), Morimoto in Catania, and that wonderful blondie Honda in VVV. I could play UEFA Champions League with all the pristine kits and club names.
Even sharing attention with PES only made it worse. Yes, I could play 2011 AFC Asian Cup in PES 12, but I could not play Kagawa in Dortmund. Unlike in previous versions, you could not register Japanese national players to clubs – they could only be transferred from other clubs. The UEFA Champions League license was bleh with the English teams (Man Blue, London FC, North London, Merseyside) had to be inserted manually (computer tends to skip them when picking teams), and looking back at the cover, I noticed how insidious Konami was – it depicts Honda vs Nagatomo in their club jerseys, but all images of Kagawa shows him in Japan jersey.
Conned. Even the Japanese.
And oh, of course. J. League.
EA had featured K-League since 2000 and claimed they wanted to put in J. League too, but Konami has the exclusive right with J. League (and JFA, in terms of Japan national team). J. League, however, was and is only featured in the Japanese edition, while you can play K-League with whatever region your copy of FIFA is. J. League and Konami always claim that they believe that J. League will not be interesting enough for international consumers.
By late 2000s I'd learned that Japanese gamers may have to buy two copies of Winning Eleven each year – one for J. League, the other for the European leagues. No one-stop- playing like in FIFA, where a Korean can play K-League and also Premier League.
This weekend I went retro and played Winning Eleven J. League games for PlayStation 2, utilizing basic knowledge of Japanese, familiarity with PES/WE architecture that hardly changes, and good knowledge of J. League teams' emblems and key players. Finally I could play both the league and the Emperor Cup.
I thought I could go all way to Winning Eleven 14, but turned out the Japan version ceased to be published for PlayStation 2 in 2012. My PlayStation 3 is not modded and it's impossible to find a Japanese copy of WE 13 & 14 here.
But what I found next was startling – it's not good to be a Japanese WE player either.
J. League in Winning Eleven 13 is a Downloadable Content – DLC. Maybe it's free, but a Japanese who bought it and went home would not find her/his hometown club. Now, for many reasons some people don't have their PS3 connected to broadband internet. That'd be suck, isn't? And say, a Japanese student in United States ordered the Japanese copy through Amazon or bought it in Japan. Can he or she download the J. League DLC if the PS3 machine is located outside Japan? How can Konami be this cruel to Japanese football? Of course, the decision was made with the consent of J. League, if only the main reason was to prevent non-Japanese gamers from buying the Japanese edition so they can play J. League.
What about Winning Eleven 14? A parent who bought WE14 for their kids needed to spend another thousands of yens if the kid loves J. League. WE 14 does not have it, World Soccer Winning Eleven 14: Aoki Samurai no Chousen has it. And not on PSP (no, no Vita version).
I felt conned with Winning Eleven 14. The international version cruelly does not license Japan, has their home jersey color red, and put everyone name to be fictional. I won 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup after painstakingly putting in Honda, Kagawa, and Kawashima and renamed other players (painfully many played in Bundesliga), but red Japan looked yucky. So I looked for a PSP image for Aoki Samurai 14 and played it.
Again, had I been a Japanese I would've flipped the bird to Konami. Same terrible menu, same terrible songs. Road to Rio? In 2014 FIFA World Cup I could start from friendlies in 2010 before the first match against North Korea in fall 2011. In Aoki Samurai 14 I jumped straight to the Fourth Round, played away match to Oman with no regard for Oman's jersey, Ali Al Habsi's distinctive look (PS3 version might draw him like a Metal Gear Solid character, but the ugly generic jersey stays), and no home crowd as everyone was chanting "Nippon!".
The meaning of all these
It's all clear now. EA and Konami run the global duopoly of football video games, but Konami enjoys its rule of Japan and Asia (and parts of Latin America, especially Brazil) too much. It gives the same terrible menus, music, and licensing to Japanese gamers, knowing that they won't switch to FIFA anyway. For a decade or more they have managed to ask Peter Brackley and Jon Champion to sound robotic, laconic, and boring. Not only they had to follow typical Japanese commenting style (once you can go past Jon Kabira's "Shutto!" and "Nippon!", all his banters will end with "Desu ne" and "Ee."), but they had to follow the Japanese impression/stereotype of calm and composed English commentators.
It might be puzzling, but I believe the best explanation on why Konami and J. League guard the league jealously is because it does not want non-Japanese to play it. Of course, the ability to play K-League or MLS do not make Europeans want to visit Jeonju World Cup Stadium or CenturyLink Field, and I've known dozens of Westerners who stand on Saitama Stadium 2002 and Osaka Expo 70 proudly week by week, but Konami has a vision and that is that J. League should not be a global obsession (it has). To the point of ripping Japanese consumers by separating J. League from the vanilla Winning Eleven.
The only proper way to enjoy playing J. League in video games is to play it on FIFA – not as a mod, but as a real licensed league with licensed kits and rosters that are updated weekly, just like Saudi Pro League and A-League's teams are. EA likes the idea, but Konami and J. League (and JFA) will not see it happen. Maybe J. League is wholly overrated, but somehow we can't replace it in our heart with K-League or A-League.
So, Winning Eleven 2015? From what I understood today from Konami's ad when watching Kashima v Urawa, maybe J. League will available in the vanilla game – in Japanese market. If it's so, good for Japanese players.
WE/PES 15? I'm skeptical that Japan national team will be licensed. If it does, it means Konami has learned a lesson. Its primary perk for me would be 2014 AFC Champions League – I can play Kawasaki or Jeonbuk, or even re-enacting the great path of Western Sydney. 2013 ACL was dreadful, but it's not Konami's fault. Hiroshima had no decent player besides Nishikawa, Aoyama, and Sato, Ulsan were absent, Australia only had Central Coast, and I couldn't love Evergrande no matter how I saw it.
If American critics like PES 2015 enough, I might be a sucker for the game, even only to play the ACL. Man.
Posted in Asian Leagues, Business, Editorial	| Tagged AFC Champions League, EA, Fifa, J. League, Japan, Japan exclusive, Keisuke Honda, Konami, Pro Evolution Soccer, Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, Shinji Kagawa, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation Portable, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Champions League license, Winning Eleven, Winning Eleven 2015	| Leave a reply
Their love is for Manchester United, really
James come from Manchester. "Just Like Fred Astaire" was a soundtrack of my high school romance.
Few days ago I was surprised to know that Quinton Fortune is now an assistant coach to Cardiff City U-21. Hmm…Ole Gunnar Solksjaer…Quinton Fortune…Cardiff City.
Then, Salford City, which plays in…um…Northern Premier League Division One North is half-bought (50% shares, you see) by Singaporean Peter Lim. So that's why the other owners – Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and the Neville brothers (and yeah, Nicky Butt, he played for MU didn't he?) were often spotted in Singapore in recent years. I thought they were just paying a visit to Paul Parker, who is now a Singaporean pundit.
I fell in love with Manchester United after borrowed Manchester United: The Double (often mistranslated by Asian pirates as Manchester United 2) in 1994. A serious bug (or deliberate design?) made Andy Cole always, always injured for 99 days even when benched. It is hectic as Sensible World of Soccer, but at least I could win the FA Cup and the EPL, unlike in Sensi.
Anyway, then Britpop came and I followed the EPL when everyone else in Indonesia was following Serie A (we always prefer Continental Europe than UK, unlike Malaysia-Singapore and Thailand). So there you go, from Giggs, the left midfielder in The Double, to Fortune, the sub midfielder in FIFA 2003 (I played Pro Evo Soccer/Winning Eleven since then, until returned to FIFA in 2009). Now they are working or partnering with a Southeast Asian Chinese.
Was Rio Ferdinand in MU back in FIFA 2003? Because he's in Queens Park Rangers now. Well, he's the only link between QPR and MU now. O yeah, there was Park Ji-sung.
Like Cardiff and Salford (and Valencia, probably), QPR is owned by a Southeast Asian. Not Chinese, but Indian. Tony Fernandes, perfectly the Southeast Asian version of Richard Branson (he was indeed a protege) operates Air Asia, Southeast Asia's hippest airline (when my plane to Singapore was airborne, Girls' Generation was played over the PA. I screamed in orgasm although sitting next to a Malay old man). He was also the Southeast Asian Donald Trump, being the boss of the regional version of The Apprentice. Actually there are more qualified of candidates here (being a nutty conservative/conspiracy theorist) but they are too camera shy.
You might remember that QPR sported the Malaysian Airlines logo in 2011-12 season. One year later, it changed to Fernandes' own Air Asia. Coincidentally, in 2012 Cardiff City stole the headlines with the red dragon makeover. And theeen, Cardiff players were the one who wore the "Malaysia" word on their red shirts. Fernandes moved to Jakarta, to the heckles of who he described as "right wing bloggers".
My Australian professors offered a wisdom – never, never believe rich Asians who said they were born poor. They were always born rich. Fernandes at least acknowledged his childhood of learning business from her mother's Tupperware tea parties and his love for piano, while Tan's family background is mysterious. All stories about him begins in 1985, when the 33-year old acquired the Sports Toto lottery from his good friend, then Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammed.
Peter Lim followed my professors' rule by declaring that he is the son of a fishmonger…before saying that he's an alumni of the Raffles Institution – Singapore's most elite secondary school. In Australia, as an accounting student, he worked as a waiter, cook, and cab driver, although I'm not sure international students are permitted to become a taxi driver there. He built his fortune back in Singapore by becoming a real estate broker for Indonesian clients.
The second rule to be a Southeast Asian tycoon is to be close with the center of power, i.e. the ruling party. Australian and American tycoons can donate billions to the opposition party and criticize the government, but Malaysia and Singapore have not seen any change of government since their foundations. So Malaysian tycoons are friendly with the National Front coalition (the Chinese through Malaysian Chinese Association, the Indians through Malaysian Indian Congress), while Singaporean tycoons keep good relations with the People's Action Party.
Make the movie. Make the movie. Make the movie.
Peter Lim was known outside Singapore when he courted every club in Europe – Liverpool. Rangers. Valencia. Milan. Finally this year he settled with Valencia. Has he? Valencia did receive considerable coverage this year in Singapore, which is bit weird for a region that cares only about La Liga because of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The third rule applies to Singapore – no one is permitted to be a famous tycoon in Singapore. No one is permitted to be more famed than the Lee family who runs the government. Peter Lim is probably the first tycoon of the 21st century that many people outside Singapore have heard of, and it's precisely because of the Liverpool proposal and the Valencia purchase.
So we have the abrupt switch from "Malaysia' sponsorship from Fernandes' QPR to Tan's Cardiff, Manchester United Class of 92's visits to Singapore, and the excitement of Valencia purchase. My guess is that Tan and Lim work for the government.
The real owners of Cardiff City and of Valencia (and Salford) are the Malaysian and Singaporean governments, respectively. Just like Manchester City is owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Paris St. Germain is owned by Qatar. They are not Glazer brothers or John Henry, who can contribute billions to American political parties but do not work on behalf of Washington.
Still, they are unhappy with what they have. Because their (the billionaires and the governments) main prize is Manchester United. So far they have to be content with faux-MU – Salford, red Cardiff City, Rio Ferdinand, and Valencia. Valencia? Yes, when they have got Mata back. Too bad about Solskjaer.
Posted in Business, Editorial	| Tagged Cardiff City, Club ownership, Glazer Brothers, John Henry, Liverpool, Malaysia, Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Paul Scholes, Peter Lim, QPR, Quinton Fortune, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Salford, Singapore, Tony Fernandes, Valencia, Vincent Tan	| Leave a reply

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Members of Italy's Jewish community have been protesting outside a lawyer's office in Rome where a former Nazi officer has begun work.
Shouts of "Murderer!" greeted Erich Priebke, 93, as he arrived for his first day on the back of a scooter.
A court ruled last week that Priebke, who is serving a sentence for multiple murders, could work on day release.
Priebke was jailed for life in 1998 for his role in the massacre of 335 Italians in 1944.
He had been discovered working as a schoolteacher in Argentina, and was extradited to stand trial.
In 1999, he was given leave to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in his lawyer's home, on the grounds of his ill health.
But a military court ruled last week that he could go to work at his lawyer's office "every day, freely" and also to "go out to satisfy, at nearby places and for the time strictly necessary, the indispensable necessities of life" - interpreted as going out for lunch.
He will work as a translator, and will also spend time on his biography, which he began during his brief spell in jail.
The president of the Jewish community in Rome, Leone Passerman, questioned how it was possible that a Nazi war criminal, allowed to complete a sentence at home on health grounds, was suddenly fit enough to go back to work.
"The first thought that I had was of the magistrate that made the provision, perhaps had remembered the lesson that was on the gate at Auschwitz - 'Arbeit macht frei', 'work will set you free' - and perhaps he thought it was right to free Mr Priebke to allow him to work," he said.
One Jewish protester, 80-year-old Leone Sonnino, said: "It's an absolute disgrace, people forget.
"People say 'It's enough now.' Enough for what? Nothing should be enough, there can never be enough grief."
But Priebke's lawyer, Paolo Giachini, defended the decision.
"The law says that after a period in prison, inmates have the right to certain benefits, because detention here in Italy isn't just punitive, it tries to re-educate those who have been condemned," he told Reuters news agency.
Priebke is serving a life sentence for the murder of 335 people at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome.
The 1944 massacre was a reprisal ordered by Adolf Hitler after partisans killed a patrol of 33 German soldiers.
Priebke was one of several officers present during the killing of the men and boys, 75 of whom were Jewish, at the caves.


text:
The Football Tribe Asia XI: June 2018
By: Editor, July 9, 2018 9:00 pm
Image Credit: Football Tribe
June was a special month for Asian football, with five AFC members taking place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup where they wowed fans across the world.
Because so many domestic leagues were on break as a result of the World Cup as well as the Eid holiday, Football Tribe's staff decided that June 2018's XI would be a special one, combining Asia's best players at the World Cup as well as the best players from active leagues in Asia.
Who made our final list of 11 players and who was named our Asian Player of the Month? Click through to find out!
Goalkeeper: Cho Hyun-woo (South Korea)
Is any explanation needed? South Korea's World Cup star managed to keep a clean sheet against Germany and lead the team's historic 2-0 victory. His nickname is "Dae Gea," after his club "Daegu" and Manchester United's DavidDe Gea, but his performance in Russia was indeed better than the real De Gea, with a 81.8% saving rate from 13 saves.
Defender: Nattaporn Phanrit (Navy)
The 36-year-old center back used his experience to help Navy, who before June appeared to have no hope of remaining in the Thai League 1 and faced a difficult schedule. Instead they managed wins over Chonburi fc, Bangkok Glass and Pattaya United, conceding just three goals thanks to superb performances by Nattaporn at just the right time.
Defender: Gen Shoji (Japan)
The Kashima Antlers centre-back had a fantastic World Cup campaign which has already earned him interest from European clubs such as . The only J.Leaguer who was good enough to make Akira Nishino's starting XI.
Defender: Kim Young-gwon (South Korea)
Made up for criticism that has dogged him since his controversial comments about crowd noise in the team's qualifier draw against Iran last year. Kim was as solid as rock against tough opponents in Group F, resulting in South Korea conceding only three goals. He also scored a goal in the team's historic win against Germany and has drawn attention from European clubs.
Midfielder: Omid Ebrahimi (Iran)
Eyebrows a'plenty were raised when an injured Ebrahimi was selected by Carlos Queiroz for Team Melli's final World Cup squad, but he proved that he was up for the task in three terrific starts against a group that was widely believed to be one of the most difficult of the tournament.
Midfielder: Gaku Shibasaki (Japan)
Established himself as the heir to Samurai Blue legend Yasuhito Endo at central midfield with great vision and effort on both sides of the ball. Created or otherwise participated in many of Japan's attacking chances; fans in Europe could soon see him playing in the Champions League if some reports are to be believed.
Midfielder: Riko Simanjuntak (Persija)
Riko been superb for Persija in June, despite missing training due to a national team call-up late in the month. Even though he just scored one goal and one assist, he was the key factor in Persija's brilliance last month as they went undefeated in three matches before the Eid break.
Midfielder: Le Sy Minh (Nam Dinh FC)
Le Sy Minh was one of the best players in the V-League last month, scoring three goals to help Nam Dinh FC move out of relegation zone with four unbeaten matches. He is one of the best free-kick specialists in the league this season.
ASIAN PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Midfielder: Takashi Inui (Japan)
After entering the World Cup in great form by scoring twice against Paraguay in Japan's final pre-World Cup friendly, Inui dominated for Japan by scoring two golazos against Senegal and Belgium to become the Samurai Blue's standout attacker of the tournament.
Forward: Nguyen Van Toan (HAGL)
Van Toan scored three goals in June to help HAGL earn 4 points. While the team has struggled to find quality foreign players, Van Toan has more than made up for it by becoming their key attacker.
Forward: Son Heung-min (South Korea)
Korea's ace led the team with two goals in their World Cup campaign. Though one might blame Neuer entirely for Son's goal against Germany, he deserves plenty of credit for beating a high offside trap and running at a speed of 32.83km/hour after playing for 90 minutes. It was a brilliant move with strong concentration from one of Asia's best.
Who else deserved inclusion in June's Asia XI? Let us know on social media and stay tuned for next month's edition!
gaku shibasaki
Football Tribe Asia XI
Takashi Inui
Riko Simanjuntak
Van Toan
Sy Minh
Omid Ebrahimi
Kim Young-gwon
Gen Shoji
Nattaporn Phanrit
The Football Tribe Asia XI: May 2018
The Football Tribe Asia XI: April 2018
The Football Tribe Asia XI: March 2018
Previous article Vietnam U-23 goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung to represent 2018 World Cup Man Of The Match award
Next article J1 Recap: F. Marinos light up Vegalta as top flight action resumes in Japan


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1918 Indian Twin Board-Track Racer – An Original American Superbike
Ben Branch March 26, 2018
Reading time: about 3 minutes.
Board Trackers
This original 1918 Indian Twin Board-Track Racer is a good reminder that back in the early 20th century, American motorcycle manufacturers were one of there world-leaders in the design and construction of racing bikes.
In 1911 the Indian factory racing team took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy – beating the best in Europe at their own game, on their own turf.
The Indian Twin Board-Track Racer
The Indian Motocycle Co. originally started out in 1897 manufacturing bicycles like the "Silver King", "Silver Queen", and the "American Indian". Company founder George M. Hendee was joined by Oscar Hedstrom in 1900, the two men were accomplished bicycle racers and manufacturers, and they teamed up in Middletown, Connecticut to build a prototype 1.75 bhp "moto cycle".
The popularity and sales success of this simple motorized bicycle was immediate, and in 1903 Hedstrom set the world motorcycle speed record of 56 mph – triggering global newspaper headlines and doing absolutely no harm to Indians sales figures.
The first Indian V-twin appeared in 1905 as a factory racer, it won countless races, set speed and endurance records, and became famous in its own right. By 1907 when the first consumer version of the Indian V-twin was available, the factory had a hard time making enough of them to keep them on showroom floors.
The competition between Indian, Excelsior, and Harley-Davidson in the 1910s was utterly fierce, and by 1915 Harley-Davidson had eked out an advantage. Indian responded by re-engineering their V-twin with a flathead design in place of the original F-head design, roller bearings were used, and a range of smaller improvements were included.
This new "Powerplus" 998cc V-twin was ridden by Indian works team racer Erwin "Cannonball" Baker from from Vancouver to Tijuana – covering 1,655 miles in 3 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes. This trip was known as the "Three Flags", and Cannonball set a new record on the Powerplus Indian.
The Indian board track racing motorcycles built by the factory were defined by their bright red frames, gleaming engines, and the prominent "Indian" logo on the fuel tank installed between the frames two top tubes. These motorcycles would travel around America racing on the gigantic wooden board track racing stadiums, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph with no brakes, no helmets, and no suspension.
Today these early American board track racing motorcycles are rare, and hugely collectible. Their simple, beautiful styling became the foundation for many of the racing motorcycles that would be developed over the following decades.
The 1918 Indian Twin Board-Track Racer Shown Here
The Indian you see here was bought as an almost complete but disassembled basketcase requiring a full restoration.
The process of restoring a motorcycle like this is a very difficult business, you can't just replace parts willing-nilly as it negatively impacts the originality – so you need to carefully rebuild and restore as many original parts as possible.
Importantly, the frame and engine of this Indian are both originals that have stayed together for 100 years since they originally left the factory. The bike did need new pistons, a new fuel tank, front forks, and handlebars – all of which were carefully hand-made to exact original specifications.
If you'd like to read more about this Indian or enquire after buying it, you can click here to visit the listing on Heroes Motors
Images courtesy of Serge Bueno
Ben Branch
Ben has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This article and its contents are protected by copyright, and may only be republished with a credit and link back to Silodrome.com - ©2020
Published by Ben Branch - March 26th 2018
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Do you have 5 years of patience?
A question I frequently ask CEOs is whether the ownership/board and C-Suite executives have five years of patience.
Recent work with a client led to developing these thoughts on the act of scapegoating.


iles.des.caraibes.me 9 out of 10 based on 700 ratings. 800 user reviews.
Power Supplies. Cell Circuit: Supplies electrical energy from larger terminal ( ) positive sign. Battery Circuit: A Battery is two or more cells, the function of battery circuit is the same as cell circuit. DC Circuit Symbol: Direct current (DC) always flows in one direction. AC Circuit Symbol: AC (Alternating Current) flows periodically reverses direction.


Anti-Transferrin (human) in rabbit, IgG fraction | Polysciences, Inc.
Suggested working dilutions are given as a guide only. It is recommended that users titrate the product for use in their own system using the appropriate negative/positive controls.


I create because if I don't, I become irritable. I create because I have to. I create because God created me to do so. I create because it feels like the one and only thing which I do very well. It's the most natural thing I do in my life (besides loving my husband).
Are you creative? What would you use to fill in the blank: I Was Born To Create ___________.
So, what's stopping you from creating/doing the things you put in that blank?
Time? I use that one A LOT!
Motivation? Sorry, I've taken that one too!
Space? Hey, I mastered that one! I made room for a studio.
I'd love to hear about those things you've always wanted to do. Whether you've started them or not, whether you're in the middle or are just a dreamer! Dreaming is the first step to making a plan.
Really! I am excited about everything. Life carries with it so much opportunity. We travel this way only once. There's so much potential in our dreams and plans and creative desires. Sometimes we just need to block out the "mind chatter" and concentrate on those things which have been placed in our hearts.
The Martketplace is tomorrow, February 8, 2014 from 10-5. The artisans decided that no matter what the weather, we were still getting together because we have too much fun to miss it. I'm excited about seeing them and our returning and new clients.
I'm excited about getting new glasses.
I'm excited that I am in the perfect will of God in this season in my life ------ NOW THAT'S EXCITING!
I'm excited to make some beautiful jewelry.
I'm excited to get some much needed time away with my hubby.
I'm excited that I started Yoga and LOVE it!
If you haven't noticed, I love quotes/sayings. I probably have hundreds pinned in Pinterest. They give me a little boost, or act as my muse. I hope these have helped you today.
Have a fabulous weekend. Hope to see you at The Martketplace. Above all, stay warm!!
How would you fill in the blank about your creativity? How will you do away with your excuses to do what you've always wanted to do? What are you excited about today?


text:
Kangarilla, South Australia
Kangarilla is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga and has postcode 5157. At the 2016 census, Kangarilla had a population of 896.[1]
Kangarilla
Main street of Kangarilla
35.148°S 138.660°E / -35.148; 138.660
896 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)
41 km (25 mi) from Adelaide
LGA(s)
City of Onkaparinga
Southern Adelaide[2]
Adelaide[3]
Federal Division(s)
Division of Mayo
Localities around Kangarilla:
Clarendon Clarendon Mylor
McLaren Vale and McLaren Flat Kangarilla Jupiter Creek
The Range Blackfellows Creek Meadows
The land around Kangarilla was first settled in around 1840, with wheat and vineyards the main produce. A town was founded in 1849 by John Bottrill, and properly surveyed in 1860.[4] The name was changed regularly in the early days; originally called Scaldwell, then Eyre Flat, the name "Kangarilla" (a word from the local Kaurna language meaning "place of two springs") was settled upon in 1862.[4]
The historic settlement of Dashwood Gully (also known as Dashwoods Gully) existed within the present-day bounded locality of Kangarilla. It was named for George Frederick Dashwood, who settled there in 1841[5] and was appointed as a member of the South Australian parliament in 1843. The first Dashwood's Gully post office opened in November 1863 and closed in 1867; a second post office opened from December 1871 to December 1930.[6][7][8]
History of Adelaide
European settlement of South Australia
Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Kangarilla (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
"Southern Adelaide SA Government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
"Search result for "County of Adelaide, CNTY" with the following data sets selected - "Counties" and "Local Government Areas"". Property Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/kangarilla.htm
"Placename Details: Dashwood Gully". Property Location Browser. 25 July 2007. SA0017978. Retrieved 22 December 2017. Feature Type: Gully; Derivation of Name: Captain G F Dashwood, RN; Other Details: Captain Dashwood settled there in 1841.
"'A hill's post office near Dashwood's Gully' [PRG 1316/12/150] • Photograph". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
"Dashwood's Gully (1)". Post Office Reference. Premier Postal. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
Suburbs of the City of Onkaparinga
Aldinga Beach
Blewitt Springs
Christies Beach
Coromandel East
Dorset Vale
Hackham
Hackham West
Huntfield Heights
Ironbank (part)
McLaren Flat
Maslin Beach
Morphett Vale
Noarlunga Downs
O'Halloran Hill
O'Sullivan Beach
Old Noarlunga
Old Reynella
Onkaparinga Hills
Port Noarlunga South
Reynella East
Seaford Heights
Seaford Meadows
Seaford Rise
Sellicks Beach
Sellicks Hill (part)
Whites Valley
Willunga South
Former localities
Landcross Farm


text:
Which comedy stars have you met?
Which comedy stars have you met? Page 11
Sunday 20th August 2017, 4:49pm
Syd Little on Felixstowe sea front when he and Eddie were appearing at the Spa Pavilion there sometime in the 90s and short while after I had had a sketch accepted for their TV show.
And Lenny Bennett and his then comedy partner Jerry Stevens when they did a private stage show in Nice for the franchise photographic company I was with at the time in the late 70s. I have a photo somewhere of me and them getting pissed in the hotel bar.
OH! And David Frost on Ipswich railway station in about 1964 when I was going to London for a job interview and he had just been to see his parents at Beccles in the north part of Suffolk. I only had a second class ticket but was determined to talk to him and so sat with him in first class, hoping the ticket inspector wouldn't appear. He didn't and David got off at Colchester (short trip) to be interviewed for something. He disappeared to the bog to put some make-up on and when he came back it was a bit of a shock to see how thick he had laid it on his face!!
He told me that at the time he was writing a TV prog. (or it may have been an article) about Randolph Churchill. The other biding memory was he had really bad acne around his neck.
A really nice man who took the time to speak to a nobody like me - I bet his heart sunk when I sat in the opposite seat to him!!
Michael Monkhouse
Monday 21st August 2017, 8:32am [Edited]
Eternal City, Italy
Nick Revell is my Italian girlfriend's aunt's Scottish husband's English cousin, and as it's such a close tie he once got me into his stand-up free and we had a good talk afterwards. The Open Mic we run in Rome occasionally attracts knowns, but I'm talking the Italian circuit... The following don't really count as it was just for autographs but: Alexei Sayle, Eddie Izzard, Kit Hollerbach, Jeremy Hardy, David Baddiel, Jack Dee, Diane Spencer, Nick Wilton, Ballard Berkley (the major in Fawly Towers). At university I knew Mitchell and Webb but not so well, and Borat's Dan Mazer. Dan was confident and career-orientated. This is English for 'didn't give a f**k about anyone else, least of all shits like me'.
Molly Sugden's bridesmaid?
Quote: Aziza Sabah @ 6th January 2014, 9:16 PM I once met Dustin Hoffman about 20 years ago! ( well he was funny in Tootsie)
He is hilarious in 'The Graduate'! That film's like the Catcher in the Rye in that the first time around I only got the humorous aspect,, and the seriousness only seeped in slowly.
I love it when you meet a celeb for 5.29 seconds and this convinces you Yeah, (s)he's really NICE.
Quote: wayne fenton @ 6th November 2013, 12:24 AM I nearly forgot Terry Scott when I was six.
When did you remember him?
Tuesday 22nd August 2017, 4:46pm [Edited]
Me (conveniently cropped off) assisting Frank Williams to get some sandwiches & cake from the bar. More tea, vicar?
Wednesday 23rd August 2017, 2:38pm
I met Gary Delaney.
Saw him perform in a pub in Exeter, seemed like a nice bloke
Sixty3closure
Sunday 22nd October 2017, 1:06am [Edited]
W1A, Scotland
David Frost. For reasons far too complicated to go into I had to store the Frost on Sunday sofa. I think its fair to say that he wasn't quite as humble as when Hercules met him. Although to be fair (to the title of the title of the thread) it had been a long time since he'd done comedy.
Sunday 22nd October 2017, 1:44am
Danny Devito, Johnny Knoxville, Jack Black, Drew Carey, Gallagher, Hillary Clinton (her campaigns were a joke.)
Oregon USA, United States
So far the most famous person I've met is Richard Herring (met him 4 times in 2 weeks because I'm a ridiculous person)
Also had a couple of nice chats with Trevor Lock at this year's fringe. Does he count as a comedy star? He's a star in my eyes.
I met Tim Heidecker (of Tim and Eric fame) at some after party/house party after he did a gig at the Portland comedy festival years back and then subsequently at an exclusive after after party with an open bar (I was definitely underage). His animator/editor Doug Lussenhop had the hots for my best friend so he snuck us in. I felt pretty special. Talked to Tim in the after after party briefly. He's very friendly and humble. Oh and I talked to Stuart Goldsmith a couple of times at the Fringe as well (and he responds to me on his facebook group and emails semi-regularly). Again, not super famous, but a top-notch comedian in my book. Absolute;ly genuinely kind and delightful human being too.
If I lived in the right country I'd probably have a lot more people on my list.
On a slight plus side, at my current job one of my coworkers who is ahead of me in the race to get promoted high enough to start their own office on our office's dime (at the level above where we are you get salaried and get a corporate bank account that receives 10% of weekly office profits until you get 15-20k then you pick 5 people to move with you and branch out somewhere to be the CEO of your own office.) Anyhow, he has decided to open his office in Londoncif he can (our CEO claims it's a definite possibility as we have two clients in London at the moment, British Telecom and Virgin Mobile) and I'm no 1 on his list to move with him. It's a more than a bit of a long shot right now, but that could possibly be my ticket into the country. Our broker handles all the work visa stuff which is my main hurdle in this whole epic quest to move to the UK. Gonna have to put up with at least a year of 6 days a week of 10 hours days of door to door marketing to get to that point, but I'm actuallly getting pretty dang good at it and having fun with it. Made enough in comission this week to earn another 300$ bonus, so my cheque for the week is goiing to be pretty chunky. Putting that money in my Fringe fund for now so I can meet more comedy stars!
How did you meet Danny Devito?
Loopey
Tuesday 16th January 2018, 8:24pm
Fairyland, England
Helen Fraser, Ian Lavender.
paulted
127 Inkerman Terrace, Newcastle, England
I once observed as a homosexual, a muslim, and Bernard Manning walked into a bar. Too much?
Will Cam
Quote: Loopey @ 16th January 2018, 8:24 PM Helen Fraser, Ian Lavender.
Yey, welcome back Loopey, where in the heck have you been?
Wednesday 17th January 2018, 6:40pm [Edited]
Quote: Will Cam @ 16th January 2018, 9:36 PM Yey, welcome back Loopey
MrBean457
Friday 23rd February 2018, 12:30pm
Unfortunately I haven't *met* any comedy stars yet, but (true to my name, I suppose) I did spot Rowan Atkinson at the airport once. Made me think of that news story a bunch of years ago where he was apparently being flown across Kenya in a private plane and flew the plane himself for a bit when the pilot fainted...
Adolf Hitler. His George Formby impression was spot on, his Charlie Chaplin less so.....
Derbys, England
I've seen Peter Kay and Jo Caulfield in (different) motorway services car parks.
Many years ago I was in the family Ford Prefect when my dad nearly knocked down Ted Lune on Blackpool front.
Stephen Goodlad
Saturday 24th February 2018, 8:46am
Mirfield, England
I did a `rock on Tommy` to Bobby Ball in a pub in Torquay.
They both smiled as they ate their ploughmans lunch and pint.
I bet no one had ever said that to them before.
"Toughest job I ever had: selling doors, door to door." - Bill Bailey


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The house is made at the corner as U shapped and it has two big rooms, one shower, one bathroom, store, maid room, guard room, and parking for 10 cars. It is suitable for clinic, restaurant, show room, or other businesses. The rate is negotiable. Note: it has around 200 meter square open space at the front which can be used.
House for rent, Kality, 500 plus meter square, Addis Ababa.