Football Superstars That WON’T Be Going to the World Cup

Everyone is abuzz with the world cup in less than two weeks. We all know who’s going to Germany, and there’s the usual talk about who’ll be the star of the World Cup (Messi? Deco?), who’s going to be the topscorer (Adriano? Tevez? Henry?) who’ll be the first to score an own goal, etc… But here are some of the big names in football that WON’T be appearing in Germany this summer, for a variety of reasons…

Ryan Giggs – At his prime, Giggs was one of the most gifted wingers in the world. But unfortunately, none of his Welsh countrymen of his generation were quite up there with him, so he’s destined never to play in the World Cup, although he is hugely successful at club level. Wales did come close to qualifying for Euro 2004, only to be pipped by Russia.

Jonathan Woodgate – He was labeled the biggest prospect for England when he was with Newcastle, but after a high profile move to the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid, everything has gone wrong for Johnny boy. Terribly wrong. Since then, he has been injured a lot, scored an own goal, got sent off, and got injured some more. What’s even more ironic is that his replacement, Sergio Ramos, bought from Villareal, is now going to Germany with the Spanish national team. Anyway, with Rio, John, Sol and so many others ahead of him in the pecking order, it’ll be tough job for him to get into the national squad…

Zlatko Zahovic – Slovenia’s most illustrious player was mostly remembered for being expelled from the last World Cup in Japan/Korea for rowing with the national coach after just one match. He retired from international football 2 years later, and pretty much disappeared into oblivion since…

Salomon Kalou – First he was supposed to play for Ivory Coast. But he wanted to play for the Netherlands, and so did the national coach Marco van Basten (and even Johann Cryuff). So he applied for a Dutch citizenship only to see it tanked by the immigration minister Rita Verdonk. So now he ‘decides’ to play for his native Ivory Coast after the World Cup. Incidentally, his brother, Bonaventure Kalou, is the Ivorian captain. Gee, if he had stuck with Ivory Coast from the start, he would be assured of playing in Germany next month, no?

Fernando Morientes – Another prolific striker who, at one time played for Real Madrid. But due to some big signings by a big-spending president, he was moved down the food chain below the likes of Raul and Ronaldo. Later, Liverpool saved his career. Unfortunately, as hard as he tried, he couldn’t repay the Kop with goals in EPL, a problem that most of the strikers at Liverpool faced at that time. Recent news is that he’s going back to Spain.

Ludovic Giuly – Made a huge impact with European champions Barcelona alongside Eto’o and Ronaldinho in a 3-man attack, this nippy forward has been controversially left out in the cold by French coach Ray Domenech. But Giuly isn’t the only one feeling puzzled, a large portion of the French press has also expressed puzzlement over Domenech’s increasing strange choices (like Barthez over Coupet in goal). But with the World Cup about 2 weeks away, there still might be a cance for Giuly to make it…

Although the same can’t be said for countryman Nicolas Anelka – He was brought into the limelight by another Frenchman, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, then sold for an obscene profit to Real Madrid, later journey all over the place, including Liverpool and Manchester City. Last we heard, he was playing Sunday League in Turkey, and while he can moan and bitch and beg all he wants, it’ll be a long time before he plays for France again…

I was just about to add Wayne Rooney to the list here, but let’s wait and see…

Good Year for Having a Baby

I just found out that some friends of mine, a just married couple, are expecting already. And last month, another couple friend of mine also found out that they were pregnant. They were also recently married. Hmmm…I’m beginning to see a trend here.

(Sidenote: This month alone, three of my colleagues have delivered. Next month, there’s going to be another two. And this is a small office with less than twenty people. There’s another trend forming. End of sidenote)

This year seems to be a good year to have a kid. I dunno, maybe it isn’t. Some years ago, in 2000, they said it was a good year – year of the golden millennium dragon it seems. Then in 2001, it was even better. They said so, because there would too many golden dragon kids around, and a kid after that year would be good because this kid wouldn’t have to compete with all those other kids. Especially when it comes to Toys’R’Us sale time. You won’t believe the nightmare when your kid drags you to that event. Don’t even start when the circus comes to town.

Yeah, okay, 2000 and 2001 came and went. Okay, I thought 2002 would give me a relief in terms of baby presents and ang pows for newborn kids. Phooey.

You know that saying in Chinese, ‘long ma jing sun’? Translated it means ‘funny boy speak no Cantonese’, no wait, ‘eat less pork dumpling, tubby’… no seriously, it means ‘Dragon Horse Energetic’. I’ve no idea what it means, but old Chinese aunties always say that to encourage couples to have a ‘horse’ baby, i.e. born two years after the aforementioned dragon baby.

So yeah, then came the deluge of horse girls and horse boys. (Please insert your own Ruud Van Nistelrooy joke here.)

Then it was 2003. More babies born. Mainly from over-enthusiastic parents who missed the 2002 ‘Dragon Horse Energetic baby’ boat. (2003 was the year of the Goat. Baaa.)

2004 & 2005 was no better. I think it was because of the many romantic love stories they showed in the cinemas early in the year. Enough said.

Anyway, jokes aside, having a baby is a fantastic experience, and it is an ultimate privilege for anyone to go through it. Congrats to the soon-to-be-parents…

Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 5

Okay, this is the last posting on my Singapore pictures. Remembering back, it was and excellent trip, and I really enjoyed posting my pics up here. Too bad photoblogs are a little unpopular these days, and I’m really a photo buff. Anyways, regular programming to resume after this…

Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 1
Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 2
Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 3
Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 4

Below: I spied this somewhere in Jurong, on the way back from some famous Singapore tourist destination. If they ever offer free finger food and cordial drinks in between classes, stay away from the ham sandwiches, I’d say…

Below: This is a banner advertising the staging of West Side Story at the Esplanade, you that pointy building supposedly to look like a durian but looks more like a cempedak. Look at the pix. Doesn’t the guy look like a young Jay Leno?

Below: They recently built this merlion in the middle of Sentosa island. Taking this pic in the twilight, it looks really spooky and a little scary. But not as scary as the amount of Singapore Dollars you need to spend per day on Sentosa…

Below: Speaking of Sentosa, from atop the Carlsberg Tower you can actually see part of the Indonesia islands.

Below: I had to take this pic. My mom has this exact same rubbish bin back home, exact hers is orange instead of yellow. What a coincidence. She bought it in Singapore like 20 years ago. Why? Was there a manga-rubbish bin sale somewhere on Orchard Road back in the mid-80’s? Intriguing. And check out the dog that looks like Scooby Doo.

Below: And so finally a hectic few days on the island, it was time to go home. Tiring, but a very good trip. It’s been more than 8 years since my previous visit to the island republic, and i hope it won’t be so long til the next one….

So what’s next on the agenda? I need to clear some leave by next month, so maybe a short weekend break to escape the traffic jams due to the NAM CoB meeting… i dunno where yet, prolly somewhere near and cheap. And we’re still going to ChiengMai this year, right, Pat?!

Technorati Tags: Singapore, West Side Story, Esplanade, Jay Leno, merlion, Sentosa

American Idol: Top Five Reasons Why Taylor Won And Katherine Lost

Well, it’s over, Soul Patrol beat out the McPheever to become the fifth American Idol. Not unexpected, though, a lot of people were predicting it to happen. Actually, for me the highlight of the show was them getting that Rhonetta back on air again…

Top Five Reasons Why Taylor Hicks Won the American Idol Finale

• Americans are very politically correct voters. They want to give equal opportunity to the old and graying elderly generation.
• Some people mistook him for George Clooney with a bad case of mumps.
• Some of Katherine’s fans were temporarily blinded by the flashy, hideous purple jacket Taylor wore for the first song and keyed in Taylor’s voting number instead.
• Voting irregularities in Florida again.
• Simon Cowell hates to be wrong. And I hear he’s pretty nifty with his fingers on his cellphone.

Top Five Reasons Why Katherine McPhee Lost the American Idol Finale

• A shocking number of Americans reported a sudden case of diabetes after the saccharinely sweet overdose of her singing (and therefore unable to vote for her).
• The viewers dislike people who repeat themselves. The viewers dislike people who repeat themselves…
• The male demographic was very disappointed there was no wardrobe malfunction again this time.
• Everytime she appeared on the stage, she made Paula Abdul look really old. And I hear Paula’s pretty nifty with her fingers on her cellphone.
• People were afraid she’d turn into another Britney or Jessica Simpson…

Technorati Tags: Soul Patrol, McPheever, American Idol, Taylor Hicks, Simon Cowell, Katherine McPhee, Paula Abdul

American Idol: Taylor Hicks vs. Katherine McPhee

Today’s the finale for the American Idol Season 5. First off, I couldn’t care less about Taylor Hick-boy or Katherine “I’m too cute it makes me barf”. Sorry, I’m still annoyed about them kicking out Chris and Paris.

Okay, if I were to pick between the two, I’d go for the lesser of two evils i.e. Taylor Hicks. He’s okay, so long as he doesn’t do that jerky knee dance. He thinks its cool, Paula thinks its cute (look, Paula Abdul thinks everything under the sun is already a star and has touched her heart), but I find it embarrassing. Other than that, he’s quite okay. He’s got that George Clooney-before look (you know those before-and-after pictures…?).

Katherine McPhee, well, she’s got the young crowd going for her. Her voice is not too bad, but Taylor can sing better. I don’t buy that ‘best voice in the series ever’ that the judges seem to compliment EVERY other contestant EVERY YEAR.

So its better voice versus better looks. Elliot was the last singer booted off the show. Elliot, I would have thought he could make the final after Chris and Paris were eliminated, but IMHO still I feel he doesn’t have X-factor to make a superstar.

Let me rant about Chris and the others. From the initial 12, my favourites were Paris, Chris and Mandisa. Mandisa, well, she had the voice to win, but unfortunately, American Idol is about the total package, and while her song choices were not superb, she was bumped off midway through the 12. Chris was a shoo-in for the last 3, but amidst conspiracy rumours, out he went. I hope he releases an album or single like Bo Bice. Paris went out way too early too, probably as a result of the voting trends this year. Kellie had a good chance to do well with the whole ‘country girl next door’ but her inexplicable song choices made sure her luck ran out. Other ‘filler’ top 12 like Bucky, Ace and Kevin were, I suspect, put in to attract a certain demographic of viewers. There is no way I can picture either of them becoming the next American Idol.

So am I going to watch it tonight? Probably, if I reach home on time. I just wish they cut down the length of the show by concentrating on the finalists and not so much on the past contestants. There is only so much singing the viewers can take in a two-hour show.

Technorati Tags: American Idol, Taylor Hicks, Paula Abdul, Katherine McPhee

A World Cup Wish List

World Cup is less than a month away. I don’t it’s too early to put up my wishlist for the month-long footie fiesta, so here it is.

• Please don’t get Shebby Singh to be the guest pundit. Get Paul Masefield or Jamie Reeves. Heck, get Hasbullah Awang, I don’t care. I can’t stand that Shebby Singh.

• Stop spamming us throughout the whole World Cup month with all those advertisements of SMS goal alerts, 3G live matches, SMS chats, man-of-the-match contests… Look I know some of these companies sponsor the telecasts, but there is something as overdose or overexposure until the viewers are sick of it.
• I just hope there won’t be any domestic disaster like washing machine breaking down, toilet being stuck, car tyre needs changing, radioactive toxic waste leaking from nuclear plant next door, etc, that require my attention when I need to concentrate on the matches.
• My office closes down a month for termite fumigation / accounting irregularity investigation / acute office paper shortage and declare the whole month as a holiday.
• Don’t snip off the pre-match shows or opening ceremony where they have celebrities performing.
• Ban all cars with the registration plate beginning with ‘W’ or ‘B’ from entering the city during the day, so that I can come home in 10 minutes and sleep it off. Obviously, I don’t drive a local car…
• Somebody give me a free coffee maker. While I’m at it, get me a good one. Like the one they feature on ‘Living Coffee’.
• No boring, boring nil-nil draws. I know this is football, not basketball, but you don’t go to the World Cup and play ultra defensively for draws and hope to win on penalties. You may be able to win the Euro with that…
• I want to see Sven Goran-Eriksson lose his cool at any point during the World Cup. His reaction during that match versus Portugal in Euro was a classic…
• Not related to this list, but if you didn’t have cable TV, you’d probably have to put up with this on local channels: “Ya! Kami sudah terima isyarat dari Germany! Sekarang kita terus Zainal Abidin di Stuttgart… Apa khabar, Zainal…? Zainal…? Nampaknya belum ada ‘audio’…”

Technorati Tags: World Cup, Shebby Singh, Sven Goran-Eriksson

Ultra Competitive In-Laws

A guy friend of mine (let’s call him Andrew) married this girl who came from a big family. This big family, has 3 girls and a few boys. Nice happy family, they happy big gathering dinners on the weekends, where everyone turns up with their kids and maids and small yapping carpet dogs. I really hate those annoying creatures (the dogs, not the maids).

But the thing is this – according to my friend Andrew, the other two sons-in-law in the family are super-competitive. They’re all older than him, and one is a manager in a big public listed firm, while another runs his own successful business. So during the big family dinners, these guys (and their bejeweled si lai wives) are forever bragging about the big business contracts they have, the overseas vacations, the big Beemer they’ve just bought (like we all can’t see the humongous petrol guzzler parked right in the middle of the porch, Andrew says), the big promotion, etc. Primarily to impress the parents-in-law, and everyone else within earshot. Even the daughters get caught up with the whole ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ thing, let’s not even start with their pudgy obnoxious children.

Well, my friend Andrew, comes from a small, simple background, he gets a little uncomfortable with the whole intimidating one-upmanship on show. Doesn’t help that he’s just started out in an entry level job, and isn’t really that all interested in material stuff, he’s content with what he has.

He tells me sometimes he dreads these family weekends, he misses staying at home to watch football or a DVD. And missing these things is like a cardinal sin. I can only empathize with him. No wonder he looks dreary on Fridays…

Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 4

This is an ongoing series of photos i took on last trip to Singapore. The first two parts can be seen via the following links:

Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 1
Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 2
Singapore: Sign of the Times Part 3

Below: As you probably can tell, this photo wast taken in Chinatown. You’ve heard of that famous Broadway musical ‘Miss Saigon‘? Well, this is the male version…

Which reminds me of a joke. Did you hear about the this other Broadway musical about a small aircraft that missed a Vietnamese airport runway and crashed into the sea? It’s called ‘Missed Saigon’. Bwahaha. Sometimes i crack myself up…

Below: Another sign that caught my fancy. It was actually taken at the Underwater World, i think it was refering to the crabs. Why? i’ve no idea, it just reminded me of the movie ‘The Usual Suspects‘.

Below: Something Malaysians should emulate. Especially all those ‘ah long’ (loan shark) stickers plaster everywhere.

Below: Just look at this one.

Maybe the Secretary would be appreciated more if she didn’t sleep on the job. Check it out, the phone is even off the hook so that she won’t be disturbed by incoming calls. Okay, i know the whole idea of the poster is to show that she’s overworked, but i just had to snap the pic because it reminded me of my ex-boss’ secretary during lunch hour…

Below: McDonald’s at the Science Centre. Hey, there’s two Ronald McDonalds!!! Which is the imposter?! And what on earth is the left one trying to listen out for?

Below: After McD’s, it’s only fair i’m posting a pic from Burger King’s. It’s the whole set of Happy Meal toys from the Ice Age 2 collection. How come we didn’t get this in Malaysia? I thought the sloth one was pretty cute.

Next: Part 5: End of journey and back home.

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Miss Saigon, The Usual Suspects, McDonald’s, Ronald McDonalds, Burger King’s, Ice Age 2

Big Task for Arsenal Tonight

(Caution: Rare footie posting ahead. My humble apologies to all my non-footie inclined readers, since it’s a momentous occasion, I just have to blog about here. Regular programming to resume tomorrow…actually also depending on the outcome of the match.)

It’s the big European Champion’s League Final tomorrow morning. As excited as I am, it’s going to be difficult for Arsenal to beat Barcelona. Difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible in football.

When the 2nd round draws were announced at the end of last year, Arsenal were set to meet Real Madrid. When the draw was made, I was confident Arsenal would beat Real. Even in the weeks leading up to the match, Arsenal was in a domestic slump while Real’s fortunes were on the upturn, I still knew Arsenal could beat them. I had watched Real play over the past 3 seasons, and I knew it was tactically possible to outmaneuver the Galacticos. Arsenal beat them 1-0 over two legs.

Then came Juventus. Then I was worried. Juve had a talented team, almost a star-studded team, if such a term can be applied to football. At that time they were leading the Serie A by something like 9 points. Yes, I was worried. Very difficult to win, I thought, but at least we weren’t facing AC Milan or Barca, I thought. But Juve had a crummy first game at Highbury, and lost 1-0 over two legs. What a relief.

Then came Villareal. I never doubted Arsenal would win that one. It was close, but in the end, the brave provincial team was outlasted by a jaded Arsenal. That was that.

Now comes Barca. For one, at least they cleared AC Milan out of the way, but inevitably, we had to meet either of them in the final. I don’t know which is better, but Arsenal would be underdogs against either of them.

I hope the boys keep their composure and stick strictly to the gameplan. Don’t lose concentration for even a second. These Barca boys can punish you over a small mistake.

I don’t know if the teams have been picked but this what I’d go with:

Lehmann between the sticks, no issue there. In front of him, it’ll be Campbell as the last man, Toure slightly forward. Toure will have to mark out Eto’o.

Fullbacks, no question again, Cole marking Giuly, Eboue (good luck!) marking the great Ronaldinho. Beyond them, a 5 man midfield. Gilberto has to stop Deco from passing out wide. Fabregas playmaker.

But the midfield is the most interesting, where the game will be decided. I’d go with Reyes on the left, Hleb on the right, Pires in the whole behind Henry. He’s been iffy this season, but I think he’s got the experience in big matches ahead of the midfield pack. Hleb has been outstanding this season, the key with him, Reyes, Henry, Fabregas and Pires is to use their roles interchangeably, and lead out Barca’s back four.

Henry, lone striker, a foregone conclusion.

So it’s set, tomorrow morning at 2.30am, Stade de France. Arsenal FC against FC Barcelona.

The Gunners against Barca.
English against Spanish (well, at least in name).
Wenger against Rijkaard.
Henry against Ronaldinho.
Or as Eyeris puts it, Barca against Arsa.

Up the Gunners.

Da Vinci Code Spoofs: I Just Can’t Wait…

In a few weeks, the Da Vinci Code hype machine is going to take over the whole world with the movie launch. The paparazzi with the book and the lawsuit was bad enough, the movie will probably make it reach Harry Potter meets Star Wars level. Soon enough well probably see the copycat movies, or at least spoofs like these…

‘Da’ Vinci Code – Aw, man, this is da bomb. Movie ‘bout a black brother named Vinci who finds, like hidden messages in Tupac’s lyrics. So this brother, he’s like a total Tupac fan, you know what I’m saying? So he sets on a quest to analyze all of the rap superstar’s lyrics, and get this, he find’s out that Tupac had hidden a stash of diamonds, gold and bling bling somewhere in Brooklyn. Soon, like the gangstas are trying to jack this brother, and the coppers mistake him for a wanted killer… Movie accompanying by a killer Tupac Shakur soundtrack.

Da Vincci Code – A store owner is found gruesomely murdered in an Italian shoe store in an up-market shopping centre, her body enigmatically arranged in a ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ pose. But even more intriguing, the white shoe boxes arranged with their serial numbers in a square root Fibonacci-Fourier series, sparking off a mad chase across the foodcourt where it culminates in shocking revelation about an ancient secret society involving Jimmy Choo, Mahnolo Blahnik and Bata…

The Ah Win See Code – So ah, actually ah, this story la, this guy Chong Win See ah, sell DVD at the pasar malam one la, one got someone go and kill him ah… oh never mind. You get the joke.

D4 V1nc1 K0d3 – 2 leet haxors break into a CIA mainframe and discover an evil secret cover-up by the US government that JFK had an illegimate child with Marilyn Monroe, and a cult of supporters, mainly powerful world leaders, has gathered around this person who is said to possess the powers of telekinesis. The cult, called the Privy of Scone is hellbent to make this person heir to the ancient Stonemason throne of George Washington, and are willing to depose George W. Bush. So a game of game of cat-and-mouse escalates with both the members of the insidious Privy of Scone and the CIA chasing down the 2 leet haxors….

Da Vincent Code – HTML code from this guy’s blog. Bwahahaha…

******

Technorati Tags: Da Vinci Code, Tupac, Tupac Shakur, Jimmy Choo, Mahnolo Blahnik