CASTER SEMENYA DESERVES BETTER
August 20th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I am disgusted by calls to test her gender. She should sue the dirty chunks of media in the Constitutional Court.
She may be our only gold medal winner at IAAF this year. She’s worked to get where she has. She had to qualify and qualify and qualify. It’s flipping tough to run like that.
After she won the medal, the Supersport studio was quiet and filled with rubbish. They just wanted to joke about Semenya because some schmuck did the same thing on the radio earlier and the day before.
Plus, she clearly looks female. People who doubt that are an embarrassment to humanity.
Latest comment - “She doesn’t give a damn about the gender scandal surrounding her” eTV – brave words but still she must have found the allegations hurt a little or has there been worse adversity in her life.
We can argue that sportsmen should or should not be supported but this woman deserves dignity.
Saving the economy starts in the classroom
July 23rd, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Universities need to play a role in preventing financial crises according to the world’s brightest minds. Has Wits heeded the call?
Both economists and financiers are arguing – in the throes of the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression – that universities need to teach their students how to avoid the mistakes their predecessors made.
In his recent presentation at Wits, Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz
argued that the old “one person taking care of his own wants” model was insufficient.
He felt more attention should be given to the way the decisions of economic players all affect each other. But in the wake of his talk, the audience was left without a concrete solution. Stiglitz didn’t explicitly suggest what model was more suitable.
“Since he’s speaking to a university, I expect him to spend more time discussing how the teachings should change” a student was heard to say.
Commenting on Stiglitz’s plea, Wits Finance Professor Christo Auret, said: “Each lecturer has his or her own style. What is important is the content and, obviously, we are keeping up with the latest developments. We do not however have the luxury of a previous Nobel prize winner as lecturer.”
Kenneth Creamer, an economics lecturer added: “I think that the teaching of economics is enhanced by the kind of polemics that are raised by Joseph Stiglitz.”
“I think it is important that students are taught to think about both sides of debates on important policy frameworks such as inflation targeting. It is pedagogically barren simply to teach critiques of policy frameworks without building up a thorough understanding of the rationale supporting these frameworks.”
Another critique getting attention at the moment is that of a professor from Australia, who predicted the economic crisis.
In his book, Debunking Economics, Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Western Sydney, Steve Keen, argues that modern economics is directly to blame for the crisis.
He says their assumptions evade reality, and are undesirable because they are inefficient. The conclusions of economists are far too sensitive to slight changes in these assumptions.
The book’s conclusion looks at economic schools of thought in general. “None of these is at present strong enough or complete enough to declare itself a contender for the title of ‘the’ economic theory of the 21st century.”
Wits may not offer Nobel Laureates as lecturers, but even the “great minds” of the world don’t seem to agree on or even know how to solve the most serious economic problems we’ve had to face for generations.
Too Cool for Vuvuzela Print
Tweet Tweet
June 11th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I’ve been told my blog reads like a series of tweets - I don’t mind that; tweets are popular. However, they tend to relate to peoples’ doings in life, more than to their opinions on things. Yes tweets do report.
This blog is a free animal. Please read into it what you will.
My more narrowed blogs live elsewhere.
Kaka - moving or not
June 3rd, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
So is one of the greatest players ever leaving Milano? A Spanish media report said he is to go to Real Madrid for 65 Million Euros. That would be a record for any player, if I’m not correct; it would be a ton of cash. The deal is reported to be for 5 years. In case you didn’t know, Kaka, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, is a 27 year old Brazilian football player. Thus a five year deal at Real Madrid would probably finish off his career. He could play a season at Sao Paulo or something afterward but this would be the ‘2nd prime of his career’.
Wherever Kaka plays, he is likely to do well. I hope he continues to give awesome interviews like he did in Esquire in 2007. A ‘gentleman’; they call him. He doesn’t dive - at least I have not yet seen him do so.
What does this mean for C Ronaldo? Will they still buy him. They do have enough cash. Uli Hoeness said Ribery was worth over 100 million. Ribery is younger but that sum is astronomical. There is talk of a lure deal where Sneijder and/or Robben will be lured in a deal with BAyern Munich for Ribery. Those two are very good players. Ribery is great but not worth two of them.
Let’s see what the silly season brings up next.
van Heerden joins Blackburn Rovers
June 2nd, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1065202.html#rovers+seal+van+heerden+deal
Yo
So the South African player with the most potential of performing well at the 2010 World Cup is joining a Barclay’s Premier League team. What does “with most potential to do perform well” mean? Let’s say he is the SA player most likely to make the Fifa team of the tournament. I reckon he is unlikely to make it unless he can keep goals out of SA’s net, not as a goalkeeper.
Blackburn must recognise his quality, at least. Although, having Aaron Moekena probably helped.
City Girl Poem
May 26th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
City Girl – Inspired by the film, “Lost In Translation,” written and directed by Sofia Coppola.
Senior SACEE National School Poetry Competition 2004 1st place
00:00 AM
The Witching Hour
Blue Krane
Neon Explosions
frenetically she runs
unlike the tenacious technology around her
out of breath, out of time
WHERE IS he?
a man blessed with destiny?
a destiny OF DOCUMNETATION?
Maybe.
doubtful.
Maybe NOT.
No answers
No time
hollow liaisons
Still, she runs
then…walks
Conscious of the exterior
unconscious of the Interior
a mouse amongst a maze of a modus operandi of mongrels mauling one another for much needed success?
But she has to escape, to continue
accepting loneliness
unsurity’s plaything
02:27 AM
Theatre Of Spirits
the player cannot sleep
a jester tired of his OWN jokes?
the ‘jovial’ puppet
technology’s trinkets
Faulty
almost OBSOLETE
tautological pseudo television tantalises tired taste buds
starved of social succulence
insurance benefits
health spa
sumo sushi on a Sunday
a society of baroque and strict, lax, severe, slack, firm, limp, definite rules and regulations massage wake-up call take away fujitsu funake karaoke
searching useless catalogues
keys to life’s millions of answers text messages that litter the worldwide streets of Tokyo a web of desire excess regime and beautiful people generally looking for love and an imperfect truth sprinkled with the ever-welcomed lies of life
alone
03:00 AM
Fateful Platonism
A science of the future?
Easier
More difficult
Simple, safe and secure
Crash
They meet like two needles in a platinum coated, iron oxide-filled haystack, laced with un-rustable copper, amalgam 686, element 6
boy meets girl
the actor meets his muse
the muse finds her meaning
so they run
and run
hand in hand
but he is so desperate
he has to make it work
broken marriage?
lost friend?
or just good company?
she doesn’t care
she can breathe
breaths of honesty grace her lungs
so she runs
and doesn’t stop
he runs too
experience and prodigy
birds of a feather amongst a flight of cranes
that dwell in automated autobahns of autonomy
04:00 AM
More Than This
She lies hands back upon the soft snow covered meringue cushions
Her form long
Like a personal painting
Decadent yet beautiful
Devoid of seduction
in its spirituality
he is a solemn
guilty of the trivial deed
another artist
or just a bohemian?
FREE OF worry
he leaves
she lies
between activity and sleep
a state of suspended animation
a life suspended
fear still
bliss frozen
worry immobile
perfection realised
or just life “sussed out”
AM
she wakes
a cloud of mist lies upon the city streets like a blanket on a dormant driven people’s playground
he stands, shirt out
hands at either side
tweed jacket
down-turned face
defeated or overcome
by Her
she sees Him
they embrace
and then…he lends an ear
the secret passes from ear
Never to be broken
The sun rises
Frenetic
Busy
Frantic
Lively
Neon Bloom
© Alistair Anderson 2004, SACEE 2004
How to be James Franco
May 26th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Apparently this hunk isn’t just a hit with the ladies, he’s the industry darling. He’s been twice nominated for a golden globe, as a gigolo and as a stoner. Both characters have heart and many ladies like this.
If you want an in-depth bibliography, go to Wikipedia or something. Here are a few quick tips on how to be that dude from Pineapple Express.
Get a degree – eventually. James finished his last year.
Learn ballet so you can pick up chicks like Neve Campell. Her career might have died after The Company but at least she got to dance with Franco. Isn’t it great how I cater for both male and female readers?
Anyway, back to Mr Franco - he smiles a lot. You should smile a lot too.
Wear scarves and be demure.
Ladies seem to agree that he is hottest as Saul from the Pineapple Express. Manohla Dargis wrote: “He’s delightful as Saul, loosey-goosey and goofy yet irrepressibly sexy, despite that greasy curtain of hair and a crash pad with a zero WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor).
Ok, I just preferred that performance to his annoying one as Harry Osborn in the Spiderman trilogy. However, Harry Osborn is supposed to annoy us.
He dresses rather badly by Blackwell’s standards in that movie. Hippie-chic. Maybe it would be better called stoner chic. There’s no such thing as stoner chic. OK, maybe he’ll try hobo chic in his next movie.
Speaking of hippies, he’s playing that dude who wrote a really long poem, Allen Ginsberg in his next movie.
Wear Lennon-esque glasses – he seems to wear those in the streets. He’s got them in his Wiki picture, but they aren’t rose-tinted.
Incredible Sulk becomes incredible Hulk
May 25th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Anelka
Nicholas Anelka is really good at scoring or he’s just the final piece of every Chelsea move that works without Lamps scoring at the end.
Last season, he scored once in the league and missed the final penalty in the champs league final. Hence, he decided he’d do better, I reckon. Well, no hey, so he scored 19 in 37 games, with two assists. That’s a special rebirth. He also pipped whiney Ronaldo; gotta love that!
Anelka is the current Ruud van N. of the Premier League - the garbage collector.
Chelsea would be very stupid to sell a player who has hit, the final wind of his career.
He can move - quickly - he’s strong. He’s clever. He’s deceptively lazy. He’s the player Berbatov was supposed to be this season, not that Dimitar got that much of a chance.
Drogs may be more talented but Anelka can score. He may sulk but he doesn’t dive very often. I reckon he realises he needs to work for his place.
This is his first golden boot. 19 goals is a good return. Some seasons have seen golden boot winners exceed the 20s. His tally of 19 is the second lowest top scorer tally in Premier League history, with 1997-98 and 1998-99 seeing the award won by a tied group of three players on 18 on both occasions. Still, he’s scored a goal every second game; that’s always impressive.
If Chelsea sell him, Marseille beckons. Bordeaux and PSG don’t really get on, so don’t expect him to join his old team yet again.
Miraculously, he’s 30, and becoming less temperamental.
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1995-96 Paris Saint-Germain Division 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1996-97 8 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 10 1
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
1996-97 Arsenal Premier League 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
1997-98 26 6 9 3 3 0 2 0 40 9
1998-99 35 17 5 0 0 0 5 1 45 18
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
1999-00 Real Madrid La Liga 19 2 0 0 0 0 9 2 28 4
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2000-01 Paris Saint-Germain Division 1 27 8 0 0 1 0 9 5 37 13
2001-02 12 2 0 0 0 0 7 3 19 5
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2001-02 Liverpool Premier League 20 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 22 5
2002-03 Manchester City Premier League 38 14 1 0 2 0 0 0 41 14
2003-04 32 16 4 4 2 0 5 4 43 25
2004-05 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 7
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2004-05 Fenerbahçe Super League 14 4 2 0 - 2 0 18 4
2005-06 25 10 6 2 - 6 0 37 12
2006-07 0 0 0 0 - 2 0 2 0
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2006-07 Bolton Wanderers Premier League 35 11 3 0 1 1 0 0 39 12
2007-08 18 10 0 0 0 0 4 1 22 11
2007-08 Chelsea Premier League 14 1 3 1 2 0 5 0 24 2
2008-09 35 19 4 4 0 0 12 2 51 25
Total France 49 11 0 0 2 0 17 8 68 19
England 242 103 29 13 10 1 21 6 312 120
Spain 19 2 0 0 - 9 2 28 4
Turkey 39 14 8 2 - 10 0 57 16
Career Total 350 115 36 14 12 1 57 16 459 162
[edit] International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. October 10, 1998 Moscow, Russia Russia 1-0 3-2 Euro 2000 qualification
2. February 10, 1999 London, England England 1-0 2-0 Friendly match
3. February 10, 1999 London, England England 2-0 2-0 Friendly match
4. June 6, 2000 Casablanca, Morocco Morocco 4-1 5-1 Friendly match
5. August 16, 2000 Marseille, France FIFA XI 5-0 5-1 Exhibition match
6. May 30, 2001 Daegu, Korea Korea Republic 3-0 5-0 2001 Confederations Cup
7. November 9, 2005 Fort-de-France, France Costa Rica 1-2 3-2 Friendly match
8. October 11, 2006 Sochaux, France Faroe Islands 3-0 5-0 Euro 2008 qualification
9. March 24, 2007 Kaunas, Lithuania Lithuania 1-0 1-0 Euro 2008 qualification
10. June 2, 2007 Saint-Denis, France Ukraine 2-0 2-0 Euro 2008 qualification
11. October 13, 2007 Torshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 1-0 6-0 Euro 2008 qualification
12. September 11, 2008 Stade de France, Paris Serbia 2-1 2-1 2010 World Cup Qualifying
Stats courtesy of wikipedia
FAst fact - most paid for player in footie history - commanded more than 85 million euros in transfer fees
Winter Fashion - keeping it stylish
May 24th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
A Woman’s View
Lisa Steyn
Its hard enough to be a student and keep up with the latest fashion trends – never mind keeping it up in winter. Waking up in the freezing cold, before the sun rises, and struggling through traffic hardly leaves time to style yourself fabulous.
Admittedly, most students can get past the fashion police with a pair of All Stars and decent jeans. But for those who dare to try keeping up with the latest trends, here are some of the most student-friendly picks for winter.
A fitted coat is definitely a must-have for the colder months. South Africa is a bit new to the idea of proper coats (and the cost thereof), but once you get used to having one, you will wear it stukkend.
According to Cosmo, fur coats are in this season, but any practical student would know that it is unlikely to go down well with tree-hugging art students lurking about campus with unlimited supplies of paint. Rather stick to nylon, eh?
Boots are still trendy and if you can really, honestly pull off the ankle cut – then go for it. Oh, and those faux-rabbit-pom-pom-whatever-booties should be thrown out immeditely. It’s time to end the suffering.
Skinny jeans are in (again), but please, if you think your thighs and bum look unusually large when wearing stovepipes - then they probably do. Boys are not exempt from this.
The gargantuan accessories that you already own will have to make room for even bigger decorative pieces. Yep, the chances of your finding anything in your bag this winter are going to be very slim.
Tartan is undoubtedly trendy, but be careful not to over-do it, lest you end up looking like a picnic blanket.
Gold and purple are finding their way into stores - perhaps to counteract all the greys and blacks of mid-recession fashions.
A strong Victorian feel is rearing its head so be sure to incorporate lace and ribbon into any plain outfit to be ahead of the fashion minyons.While the military look is still going strong in men’s fashion, guys too may find themselves with a few ruffles here and there.
A Man’s View
Alistair Anderson
The girls may have their fur or faux fur, but we will always have our wool. Forget the Quicksilver sweaters and embrace that jersey your granny bought you.
If you can get your pants to match your socks and your shoes, you’ll be in the company of well-dressed blokes like Barack Obama. If not, you’re joining Cristiano Ronaldo’s club-Which maybe isn’t such a bad thing.
No matter what your friends tell you, scarves don’t make you look like a “ponce”.
As far as your locks are concerned, you either have wild, unbrushed hair or you cut it really short. Seriously, there is no middle ground. In exam time, you don’t want to grant too much time to grooming. However, shaving is always a good idea. I don’t care how cold it is, lose the beard.
Hugh Jackman may be bringing back the macho man in Wolverine, but that’s no excuse. You don’t want your lady to get annoyed by stubble when you’re trying to keep her warm.
Regarding those formal dinners, apparently white is in. For those who struggle to keep a white suit clean, there’s always the blue blazer. Use dark plastic buttons instead of gold ones for a more modern look.
Liverpool football club needs to get serious - originally published in March
May 24th, 2009 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I’m tired of my football club not giving enough of a Kenny Dalglish. Manchester United is looking like equalling our record of eighteen first division titles and it’s rather annoying.
Yes, that’s “rather annoying”. You would think I would be depressed by how Liverpool has had such a promising first half of the season and such a pathetic second half, so far. I’m sick of drawing matches. Liverpool has become the new Aston Villa and Aston Villa has become the new Arsenal, at least they almost have. They play exciting football but they aren’t quite as consistent as the inconsistent Arsenal have been in their good seasons.
Still, Gabriel Agbonlahor is an exciting player. Gareth Barry is a hard-man and even though he attacks more than he defends, he marshals his team much like Patrick Vieira marshalled his. The point is unless Torres is having a good game, we do not have enough to give title-worthy performances.
We beat Chelsea 2-0. Torres destroyed them with a brace. Then, we lost in the FA Cup to Everton. Liverpudlians don’t like losing to Everton. Their fans hate it even more. It’s not just that Mikael Arteta and Xabi Alonso are mates. It’s not that Tim Cahill, when he pulls can really get to a world-class player like Steven Gerrard on occasion.
Cahill’s the “Wizard of Oz” and he really does live up to that title. He performs magic tricks on the pitch but not often enough. The wizard in the Judy Garland movie is not in the film enough. This is probably because the producers lacked a budget big enough to pay for more special effects. They are always looking for the wizard but they only find him very late in the film. This is after they are tormented by annoying flying dogs and really annoying witches.
Liverpool then won matches again and then they lost to one of the most usually boring teams in the Premiership, Middlesborugh. This was only our second loss this season. We then go and defeat Sunderland. Sixteen wins, ten draws and two losses is not good enough when you compare it to Man Utd’s twenty wins, five draws and two losses.
On March 14th, we will play Manchester United at Old Trafford. This is where the title is decided.
Forget about Chelsea, they are going to be too experimental with player selection and even tactics. Hiddink has potential to bring greatness to Chelsea but he cannot do it over around ten matches. Benitez tinkers more than any manager I have ever seen, apart from, maybe, the fools at Newcastle United. They have often had injury problems in the past, whereas Benitez just likes to play football.
Will Manchester United win the title next week? Will Liverpool start another UEFA Champions League comeback but on an arguably larger scale? Will we just take three points from Fergie’s superstars? Will Benitez ever start playing Fifa on a PS3 instead?
Manchester United will lose to my boys in red next week. Later on, they will lose the game in hand too. After that, they will go on to take the Premiership but only because the other teams will not have what is required. Rafa is going to be at Liverpool next season. Will we win the Premiership then?
We will if he buys six players. Fat chance of that but I refuse to lose faith.
Oh well, if I’m lucky Spurs or Newcastle will get relegated. That’s almost as good as winning the Premiership for me. It compensates for a Man U victory, boo ya!
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