Famous Gooners: Roger Daltry

This series will highlight famous people who are known or profess to be Gooners i.e. support the Arsenal.

More famous for being the frontman for The Who, Roger Daltry is also a Gooner. He wrote and performed "Highbury Highs" at the Highbury Farewell ceremony at the last ever match at the Arsenal's venerable old ground, Highbury, on 7 May 2006. Good work, fella!

Motörhead Sponsor Under-10s Football Team

Greenbank under-10s B team from Lincolnshire in the UK have struck a sponsorship deal with metal stalwarts Motörhead. Their kits will be black and will have the band's logo and motif on the front. They will also run out onto the pitch to Motörhead's anthem, 'Ace of Spades'. Apparently, a match against Iron Maiden has been organised. Rock on!

Mighty Magyar Dies Aged 79

Hungarian football legend Ferenc Puskás has died at the age of 79. Nicknamed the Galloping Major - he started his career at the Hungarian Army team Honvéd - he was a member of the Mighty Magyar side of the 1950s that won the Gold Medal at the 1952 Olympics and famously beat England at Wembley- the first non-British side to do so - 6-3 in 1953. They also lost to West Germany in the 1954 World Cup final. In 84 games for Hungary, he scored 83 goals! A remarkable feat.

Puskás fled his homeland after the 1956 Hungarian Rising and took up Spanish citizenship - he played for Spain in the 1962 World Cup. He went on to become a member of the great Real Madrid side that dominated the European Cup in the late 1950s. After retirement Puskás became a coach and, most notably, led Greek side Panathanaikos to the European Cup final in 1971.

It's Up For Grabs Now!

I don't know how to put pictures in comments, so here's that Arsenal jersey I mentioned in the last post. While players didn't have their names on the back (only the number) in those days, I'd have "Anfield 89". Nice!

In fact, here's a video of Michael Thomas's famous injury time goal that won the league for Arsenal in 1989. It's up for grabs now!

Back In The DDR

My search for information for my statistical profile of Hungarian society since the fall of communism in 1989 led me to a site where one can buy retro football shirts. I particularly liked the old Eastern Bloc ones. While I couldn't find a 1980s USSR shirt, this East German one from 1974 is the pick of the bunch.

Luton Town Manager Faces Inquiry After Sexist Remarks

Luton Town's manager, Mike Newell, faces an inquiry after he launched a scathing attack on women football officials. The twat.

Jesus' Image Appears on Dog's Arsehole

According to the Metro, an image of Jesus has appeared on a dog's rectum. Now, why the Son of God would choose to appear on place where other dogs often sniff one another is beyond me, but they do say that God moves in mysterious ways.

Perhaps every mother's favourite, Cradle of Filth, could print a t-shirt saying, "Jesus Isn't A Cunt, He's An Arsehole".

Tory Suspended Over Racist E-mail

Make that 8!

Tory Westminster hopeful Ellenor Bland has been suspended for forwarding a racist e-mail.

She maintains that it was a lighthearted joke, but I think it shows that despite David Cameron's pathetic attempts to portray the party as progressive and moving towards the centre, they're nothing more than a bunch of nasty, right-wing bigots.

Course Apathy/Blogging Frenzy

You have probably noticed that I've been blogging quite a lot over the last few days - 7 posts in the last four days. I was off work on Friday and today and I have had lot to say. I took today off work because I'm wrecked after seeing Slayer last night. I can't mosh as hard as I used to!

I suppose it's also one way I've been procrastinating. I've been back to college for over a month, but I just haven't been able to muster any enthusiasm for it. I don't find either subject I'm doing this semester (Development: Theory and Practice and International Political Economy) particularly interesting. I also have a 15,000-word thesis to work on, but I haven't even decided what to do it on, never mind meeting my supervisor.

I get periods where I think I've chosen the wrong course and I'm out of my depth. I sometimes think I'd have been better off with something to do more with history, which I love. However, at least the course has stretched me, so it has been good in that regard. I've found most assignments challenging, as it's been years since I was a student and I don't know a lot of the subject matter, so I've had to do a lot of research. I must be OK at this course, as I've been getting decent marks, so I'm happy enough with that.

I know once I get started on my assignment (a statistical profile of Hungarian society) for the Development module, I'll get more motivated. I'm just going to have to pull my finger out for IPE. I just can't see myself growing to like it. At least, we have been given the exam questions to prepare. Also, I hope my elective module for the second semester (The Arab-Israeli Conflict) is running, as that is one I have heard good things about and would be very interested in doing.

Festival: Day of Darkness

I meant to review this festival ages ago considering it was in July! However, the small matters of getting married, going on honeymoon and general apathy conspired to get in the way.

I have admit that I don't make for a great reviewer. It's not that I can't write and I like to think that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to things metal. However, when I go to gigs or festivals, I have a tendency to stay in the bar for as long as possible and get very drunk and miss a lot of what happens.

This is exactly what happened at this year's Day of Darkness, Ireland's premier metal festival. In its sixth year, it takes place at Pedigree Corner in Co. Laois in the midlands and has started to attract fairly big names on the underground extreme metal scene. Most bands are Irish, but the headliners are generally a "big name" international act. It's value for money at €35 for a one-day ticket. Buses (for €15) are run from all the major cities in the country to bring you there and back, as the venue is in the middle of nowhere.

I only saw four bands this year, which is absolutely criminal. With country beer prices, there was no getting me out of the bar! The first band were death metal. I can't remember their name - I had been drinking on the bus on the way down, so I wasn't even sober when I got there- but I do remember not being that impressed. So, it was back to the bar!

My mate and companion for the day Eric managed to coax me out to see Mass Extinction. I was very impressed by them. They play old school thrash reminiscent of the '80s Bay Area scene, although I think they were still in nappies when this style was popular. Nevertheless, their songs were chock full of good riffs and they were well received by the crowd. I even had a drunken conversation with their bald singer at the bar afterwards. I'm such a groupie, me.

After a brief respite in the bar, I missed another two bands, but ventured back in to see Primordial who are Ireland's biggest metal band. A favourite of mine, they've been around in one form or another since 1987. I've felt that they haven't matched 2000's superb Spirit the Earth Aflame, but that could be down to me getting a little bored of metal as I have got older. They concentrated on material from the last two albums, which I'm not mad about, but they did play tracks from the aforementioned Spirit... and their excellent debut Imrama. They played a good set; however, due to time constraints, Primordial were unable to play an encore. I was most disappointed, as this is generally their best song and a fave of mine 'To Enter Pagan'.

This year's headliners were Destruction, a third of Germany's Unholy Trinity of thrash metal. I don't know them that well, being more au fait with the two of the Trinity, Kreator and Sodom. They were good. However, as you have probably guessed, I was very, very drunk by this stage. I thought their songs all sounded the same and they also suffered from sound problems, which at one stage caused them to restart an entire song. Their frontman Schmier also made the fatal error in saying (in accented English), "we're so glad to be in Ireland, in the United Kingdom". D'oh! As you can imagine, this did not go down too well with the crowd. I'm sure I heard someone say, "we've been independent for 80 years, ye prick!", but that may have been me. However, Destruction did not let a little wounded national pride get in the way. They soldiered on and managed to win them back.

When it all ended at 2am, I was glad to be on my way home. The weather had been awful, but this actually helped the festival, as it forced everyone inside to watch the bands. There's a great atmosphere and it was good to see that the underground has got bigger and better organised since the days I was going to shitty gigs in The Attic and upstairs in Slattery's in the early and mid-'90s. I really enjoyed myself, but I was knackered. So, it was back on the bus for a quick kip before being dropped off in the city centre about 4am. I managed to stagger to a Nitelink and get back to Chez Horan safely.

Australia 109-69 Ireland

I went to the second test of the International Rules Football match between Ireland and Australia at Croke Park yesterday. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a hybrid game combining Gaelic football and Aussie rules that is played beween the two countries every year. The series alternate between Ireland and Australia and are decided on the aggregate score over two matches.

Ireland led 48-40 from the first test played in Galway a week earlier. Despite over 82,000 in attendance, the game was never much of a contest. Australia outplayed Ireland for most of the match and deservedly retained the Cormac McAnallan Cup. They were much fitter and physical and were a lot more comfortable with the ball. Ireland could only kick long balls and try to win marks, which they didn't do successfully. Neither did they pass the ball well. They also stood off opposing players and gave them too much space. However, one player who did shine for Ireland was Alan Brogan, which gave Dublin fans some small consolation. His running and scores were pretty much the only things that gave us any hope. Unfortunately, the match finished 69-31 in Australia's favour with them winning the series 109-69 overall.

I'm sure there will be calls for the series to be abandoned. There were several brawls throughout the game. However, to me that's part of the reason I went to the match, although I would hate to see a repeat of last year's scenes where some of the Australian players deliberately set out to injure their opponents. All in all, it was quite disappointing and my misery was compounded when I found out that Arsenal lost 1-0 away to West Ham. Bollocks!

Film: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Jagshemash! This was the third film I had seen in a month, which is really good for me, as I don't go as often I'd like. We saw it at the Savoy, a charming cinema on Dublin's O'Connell St. I like the place. It's got real character unlike a lot of the soulless cineplexes on the outskirts of the city.

Anyway, back to the film. Arguably Sach Baron Cohen's funniest creation, Borat did not disappoint. It's one of the funniest films I've seen for a long time. The plot involves Borat travelling around the USA making a documentary about its people and customs for his native Kazakhstan. Along the way he encounters various people who believe that Borat is a foreign television correspondent with no understanding of American customs or culture. They try to enlighten him and deal with the embarassing situation he has placed them in.

One could argue that Borat is a racist and ignorant portrayal of Kazakhs and other Central Asians. However, I don't think it's a case of laughing a foreigner, but at the more at the ignorance and hypocrisy of those he meets. He is rabidly anti-Semtitic and mysoginistic and he often elicits casual racist or sexist comments from others. The humour works beacuse most of his victims are unaware that it's not real and they and most of the audience probably haven't heard of Kazakhstan. Some of the situations are so cringe-inducing, I had to watch them through my hands. However, it's a hilarious film and well worth watching. I LIKE!

COME ON, YOU BOYS IN BLUE!!!

The Dubs will meet either Meath or Kildare in next year's Leinster Senior Championship quarter-final. Although my preference is to meet Meath - need you ask! - I'd be happy for us to come up against Kildare, as there is a fair bit of rivalry between the two counties.

I'm not sure where the match is due to be played, but I imgaine it will be in Croke Park. If it is, I'll be on the Hill singing: "COME ON, YOU BOYS IN BLUE!!!"

Film: Little Miss Sunshine

Clare and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine at the Savoy last weekend. It's a comedy-drama about a dysfunctional family that go on a road trip to a beauty pagent in Calfornia, in which the seven-year-old daughter is participating.

Little Miss Sunshine benefits from good dialogue and a strong cast: Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Alan Arkin. The character of the young girl Olive is brilliantly played by Abigail Breslin.

This film won the Best Feature - World Cinema Audience Award at this year's Sydney Film Festival. It also received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival, and deservedly so. While there were some sad moments, there were plently of laughs: one involves a raunchy dance to Rick James's 'Super Freak'. I think this is one of the best films I've seen for a while. I recommend you all to go and see it.

A Road To Somewhere

I've never learnt to drive. I never felt the need to until now. When I turned 30 recently, I decided to pull my finger out.

In Ireland, one must successfully complete a Driver Theory Test before applying for a provisional licence. This is designed to test a learner driver on his/her knowledge of the Rules of the Road, and to make him/her a better driver in the future. I did a bit of revision, but not that much. Most of the questions require you to use your common sense. However, there are some, such as stopping distances, that you just have to learn.

Clare and I did the test this morning (at 9.00!) at the test centre on Dublin's Parnell St. I was probably the oldest person taking the test today. The test involved answering 40 questions randomly generated from a bank of 1,250. In order to pass, you have to get 35 correct - that's a pass mark of 87.5%!

We both passed: we both answered 36 correctly. Time to crack open the champagne.

Did You Know? Pendle Hill

Welcome to yet another new series on my blog. In it I hope to share the most trivial of facts with you.

Pendle Hill is located near my wife's hometown of Burnley in the north-west of England. It's famous for its association with the Pendle Witches. However, its name is unusual because it means the same thing in three different languages. In the 13th century it was known as Pennul or Penhul, which was derived from the Cumbric - an extinct Celtic language - pen and the Old English hyll, and both mean "hill". When the name evolved into Pendle and the meaning became opaque, the Modern English Hill was added.

Now, isn't that interesting?