27 November 2007

Sevilla 3 - 1 Arsenal

Da Silva Eduardo (11)

Whats in the water? First Fergie, now Wenger gets sent off! One can only pray that whatever it is stays across the pond! Quite the lack-luster performance from Arsenal who seem set to finish second behind Sevilla in group H. The interesting thing is when the group draws were initially held, I was of the opinion that the only team to worry about would be Sevilla in this case I can hate to be right. On the bright side though, we are theoretically through to the next stages and I am thinking seeding doesn't matter going into the draws for the next round.

So it has happened, we have finally suffered a defeat. Better here than in the Premiership though, I tell you. I expect every newspaper, radio program, tv program and sports website to make a song and dance about the loss, I hope the lads find a way to blot out the impending brouhaha and just concentrate on the task at hand, with 7 premiership games in December, notable among which is the away game to Chelsea on the 16th a CL and Carling cup engagement each, we need to be focused and ensure this performance does not mark the beginning of the end (I shudder as I type that, picture me snapping my finger over my head 3 times).

Next up we face Aston Villa away on Saturday, and our game in hand comes up on Wednesday the 5th against Newcastle.

Match Report soccernet.com

Correction: We are home to Chelsea on the 16th. Thanks anon.

24 November 2007

Haba!

Animal Planet get your facts right, Porcupine are found in Africa, and the meat (aka bush meat in Nigeria) is very tasty especially when smoked.

American Gangster

I saw American Gangster yesterday, first I hardly noticed the length of the movie (157 min) second just as with Alonze in Training Day I was in love with Frank Lucas (the character) by the time the end credits rolled. I can love Denzels bow legs ehn, so this movie was a treat for me; enough full shots of him walking with his posse down 116th street, escorting his mother to church, walking down the aisle on his wedding day, entering/exiting his club with his wife, just generally looking dapper. As I watched the movie, I could not help but notice a marked resemblance between Frank Lucas of New York in the late 60's early 70's and Stringer Bell of Maryland in the early 2000. It was a nice movie with a lot of lessons to be learned; never let the enemy/opposition see you coming, generosity practically guarantees loyalty, never mix business with pleasure that is a sure recipe for disaster.

I didn't pay much attention to the soundtrack (which has sold 556,400 copies in 2 weeks of which 250,000 was reportedly bought by def jam) I googled the real Frank Lucas and I can see why Jay-Z was suffering under the illusion that he should play him, the resemblance is quite striking. I have never seen Jay-Z act, but I doubt he could have done a better job than Denzel, no bias.

19 November 2007

I am not there and my very first traffic ticket.

A couple of months ago a friend sent this link to me. It was a scene from a yet to be released Bob Dylan biopic. I am not the biggest fan of Dylan's, I know he is quite the American icon and prior to him beating Sting to win the Oscar for best original song ('Things Have Changed' from Wonder Boys) in 2000 I had no opinions about him (after that win I hated him just a little bit). The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that the actor playing Dylan in the scene I saw was Cate Blanchett. Huh!? I must say she bore a striking resemblance to him and had I not been told before hand would have mistaken her for some male actor. I filed the clip away under 'interesting, try to see this when it opens' and promptly forgot about it. I recently discovered NPR and I am totally hooked. Wednesday last week Todd Haynes was on 'Fresh Air' talking about the movie and I learned not 1 but 6 different actors played Dylan representing 7 phases in his life. A quick call to my dear friend confirmed that she had received an invite to a screening for the movie in the upcoming weekend but she was unsure if she would be able to go see it. My fingers are crossed. Saturday rolls along and she rings me, yes she was available after all for the screening. Goody! I nearly missed seeing the movie, I lay down for a 30 min nap and woke up an hr and 45 mins before the screening was to begin, unwashed and an hr to an hr and a half away (depending on how LA traffic was faring). I made it on time though and found street parking (25 cents per hr). Halls on hand to help soothe my throat and reduce my coughing I settled down to enjoy the movie. It opened with mugshots (if you will) of the different Dylans, OMG! Christain Bale!!! I can love Christian Bale ehn ... please go see American Psycho if you haven't. I didn't know 2hrs 15 mins could fly by so quickly, I was hardly aware of the time, so intense were the performances of the actors, so complex the subject matter.

I was very impressed with Marcus Carl Franklin's performance, ( I am told he was really good in 'Lakawanna Blues', I must see that) he played a young Dylan named Woodie Guthrie (Woodie Guthrie was a huge inspiration for Dylan in his earlier years) who seemed keen, desperate even to escape who he was, indeed he was always on the move, on the run if you will. Having an african-american play Dylan set in a time when everyone understood the need to 'pass' was genius in my opinion. Christian Bale played both the activist and born-again Dylan with Julianne Moore playing Joan Baez (I think). The activist Dylan came across as heavily burdened, the born-again Dylan simple and free. Cate Blanchett played the Electric Dylan very convincingly (recall it was her performance that brought me here in the first place). Her physical embodiment of Dylan was so on point, it was quite eerie watching this thin ... thing with the thin face and mass of curly hair. I think it was quite clever to introduce a hint of androgyny to the electric Dylan, lord knows a lot of his fans didn't know exactly what to make of him 'going electric' and all. Michelle Williams played Coco Rivington (who I am thinking is Edie Sedgwick whom he dated in the period). Heath Ledger played the rock star Dylan endlessly touring and womanizing with Charlotte Gainsbourg playing his wife. Richard Gere played a Billy the Kid-esque Dylan with Bruce Greenwood once again playing 'the establishment' ( He played that role beautifully as the reporter interviewing the electric Dylan).

There was a Q&A session after the screening and Todd Haynes was on hand to answer questions. Apparently Marcus Carl franklin was the only actor do do his own singing (and apparently his own guitar playing as well), not bad. When asked Haynes did not know if Dylan had seen the movie although he did know he (Dylan) had a copy of it on dvd with him on tour. As a story teller himself, I am thinking Todd need not worry, Dylan would give it the thumbs up.

Warm from the glow of a Saturday evening well spent, I ambled over to my car with my friends to find - shock, horror, parking ticket! Apparently parking on that particular side street requires a residential permit after 6 pm :-( bloody wankers! On the other hand I really must learn to read those signs ...

16 November 2007

Cookery Lesson of yesteryear

I just got off the phone with an old friend. In the middle of catching up (he had recently totaled his car and walked away unscathed with his daughter who has learned a valuable lesson; speed can be fun and also very costly) he was like ' ah, I need to thank you, you might not remember, its been a while' I am racking my brain wondering what it was exactly I did seeing that I hadn't seen this friend in like 5 yrs 'ehen, wetin be dat?' I asked 'I just finished cooking chicken stew' I started laughing. Apparently many (many) years ago I taught him to cook stew and he has not wanted for a home cooked meal every since. Please find 'attached' photographic evidence as received via text.

15 November 2007

Senate admits awarding N500m broadcast contract

I am little confused, did the Senate really need to pay media outlets to cover the senate confirmation hearings? What is the work of the NTA? I can understand that it will not make sense financially for a private media outlet to devote hours broadcasting the hearings for free, the hope of another 'please sing the national anthem' moment isn't really worth that much. As the propaganda machine for the FG I would have thought broadcasting the hearings would fall perfectly with the purview of the NTA. Perhaps this is the exact reason why private media had to be used, to let the public know that no 'magomago' was involved. I am sure there is a more cost effective way to have gotten the job done though, even after factoring in the 'ghana must go' bags.

Senate admits awarding N500m broadcast contract punchng.com

14 November 2007

Wonderful!

You have got to love America!

I just heard this on NPR. Carpenters in Chicago are protesting the use of non union labor by a local bank for its renovations. I am guessing in order not to miss out on business (union carpenters earn $24/hr), they hired homeless people at $8/hr to picket for them! One of the homeless people who was interviewed stated that he needed more money. For a split second I was wondering does he need more money as per his picketing gig or he needs more money is the reason he hooked up with the picketing gig in the first place ... I am thinking the latter is the case.

Home Stretch


I have been committed to shedding the weight I gained while job hunting last year in Dallas. I joined a gym and tried to eat sensibly. I will not lie, I fell of the wagon a lot more times than I might like to admit, at the very worst time I was living off pizza and Chinese take out and went to the gym once a week only because I had paid for the training sessions. One day in June I was like enough is enough, how hard can it be to get in shape? Am I going to go the whole of my life not liking the way my clothes fit, wishing I was a little lighter? Come on girl you can do this. So I said bye bye to fried rice and embraced brown rice and steamed veggies. I stopped eating at the deli (not seeing Raphael was a price I had to pay) and became a regular at SubWay. I stopped eating pizza for dinner and embraced the salad with renewed gusto. I also picked up the pace at the gym. At this time I weighed 169 lbs (76.65kg). By the end of August I had lost about 10 lbs (4.5kg). I was consistent with my gym schedule (cardio 45 mins a day, 4 days a week, strength training 45 mins a week) and was eating properly, watching my portions, staying away from processed foods, drinking lots of water etc.

For the next month I think I lost just a pound, and frustration began to set in I was this close to saying sod it. I was chatting with a friend and whining as usual about my weight and my being stuck at 156 lbs forever (God bless him the darling) when he suggested I keep a log of what I was eating, perhaps I wasn't creating the calorie deficit I needed to actually lose weight, perhaps my current schedule was just maintaining my current physical state? Hmm ... that made sense. So I created an excel file and proceeded to document everything (edible) that passed through my lips. On the 4th of October, I created a profile on calorie-count.com. I weighed 156 lbs and based on my age, height, body type, daily activity level and my goal weight (which the website calculated to be 139 lbs based on what I don't know) I was advised to consume no more than 1800 Cals and no less than 1200 Cals a day. I had previously calculated my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) to be about 1490 Cals so I decided to peg my caloric intake at 1500 Cals a day. The very first day I started my food log, I consumed 1690 Cals and that was only because I was extra conscious of what I was consuming. Aha! So I have been sabotaging myself all this time ehn? I began to pay extra attention to what I was eating, making a note of everything I mean everything (a teaspoon of brown sugar contains 15 calories) In no time I once again began to drop the pounds. As well as eating right (I still have ice cream, chocolates etc) I also increased my physical activity (I am now up to 65 mins of cardio a day, 5 days a week). This morning I weighed 148 lbs and I have retired 3 pairs of pants!

I will be going on vacation in December and I think that image of me in my head on a beach in a bikini steaming up the water with my killer abs (kinda like Laila Ali) will be a reality. Although I expect to lose some of my weight loss momentum while on vacation, I think I am on course to hit my target weight (140 lbs) by my target date (Janury 28th 2008). I can hardly believe it, I have managed to drop a total of 20 lbs! Its been a lot of work I must admit but here I am, preening infront of my mirror actually stopping to look at swim wear in the shops. The hard work is a distant memory. I hope this post encourages someone, writing it has certainly encouraged me. You go girl/guy!

13 November 2007

The New Speaker

Princess and I generated quite a bit of sms traffic during the Etteh saga. The fact that Etteh is from Ikire, Osun State (Princess is from Osun State and has worked in Ikire) made our exchanges more interesting ... at least for me, I took great pleasure in needling her ('you poeple should hold town meeting o and 'call' this woman back home', 'is this the custom in Osun state, eating with all 20 digits?') I guess she was far more chuffed at her ability to decipher my shorthand (l8r, IDK, OMG, LMAO (we are not amused!)) then impressed with my cheekiness. Anyhow on the morning after Etteh resigned I received the following txt message from her 'Etteh-kete has resigned, we thank God 4 His mercy!'. The next day on the phone she gushed about the new speaker, 'He is single and good looking, he has eji-oke (gap between the upper central incisors) like your father, he is Oxford educated (not like my father) ... ' I like to think the apple didn't fall from the tree, in terms of my politics anyway, so I can only assume she is listing the irrelevant (with respect to the Nigerian leadership model) as a result of the fact that she has a single daughter in her 30's in no immediate danger of coming home with a BF/Fiance. I waited patiently while she waxed poetic about the new speaker (whats his name again?) as soon as she stopped for air I quickly jumped in 'Princess you do know that we had to do away with Etteh not because she was a hairdresser therefore 'uneducated' (inspite of her diploma in Law from the University of Abuja) but because she had to stick all her 20 digits in the national cake with such reckless abandon?' 'Of course' she replied, 'I am just glad that such a well educated young man is in politics and has actually made his way to a position where he might be able to effect some change' hmmm ... I am not knocking a good education but really Nigeria is not where it is today for want of oxford/Harvard/Princton/University of Ibadan (hehe) educated nationals. What we have a dearth of in public office obviously are people who realise they are in office to serve first and then reap the benefits of office not vice versa. 'Eni ba she ni idi pepe, a je ni idi pepe, ko kin sebi ti pe ko wa je pepe run o' (He who serves at the altar will eat at the altar, this is not to say one should eat the whole altar) We can only hope that the new speaker will with all his education and paper qualification will be able to decipher his real mandate and get on with the job he along with his fellow law makers were mandated by their constituencies to carry out. And now that he has presented a copy of his NYSC certificate I am 100% sure nothing else stands in his way.

Top of the Tables

Ah, a lot has been happening on the soccer front.

Da Silva Eduardo (8)
Da Silva Eduardo (50)
Neves Denilson (69)

We beat Sheffield United 0 - 3 away to move into the quarter finals of the Carling Cup where we will meet Blackburn Rovers away on the 18th of December.

Match Report soccernet.com

Francesc Fabregas (48)
William Gallas (90)

We drew Manchester United 2 - 2 at Emirates, with Gallas performing a remarkable feat - getting his name on both sides of the score sheet. I was expecting us to win the match, we did beat them at home and away last season. A draw is not half bad, we are still top of the tables thanks to a higher goal aggregate and we do have a game in hand. I am glad to see that the boys showed they can get 'A' result in a crunch, no fluke, we are the real deal. When all else fails, (skills, etc) character is what helps you 'breast the tape' (that an steroids but that is a totally different sport!) ahead of your fellow competitors. It is now quite clear that this Arsenal squad has character in spades. Twice in a week we have come from behind to squeeze the points through, nice! But ehn (Oliver Twist) make una squeeze a little more ehn and collect all the points at stake. 'You can do it put your back into it!'


I didn't watch the match (I am ashamed to be typing this) not my fault though, my trusty (NOT!) Internet feed messed up at the last minute and I just didn't have the energy to get dressed and race to Santa Monica to watch it at the pub so I turned to Gamecast on soccernet.com. I have decided when I lose my last 10 lbs I will reward myself with a DirecTv subscription (Entree - Setanta, sides - HBO, ShowTime. ;-). Apparently the first half was uneventful,
though not for Sir Alex who felt that the only remarkable thing that occurred in the 90 plus mins of the game was some play which I can't now recall by his side in that half. When the Rooney/Gallas combination produced the first goal in the dying minutes of the first half, I began to fear our goose was cooked. I did a little jig in the 48 min when Cesc leveled the score. I was strangely calm when Ronaldo once again put ManU in the lead in the 82 min, somehow I just knew the worst we would do is share the points. I wasn't surprised when we once again drew level in the dying minutes of the 2nd half. I was surprised it was Gallas who scored and I am sure he was relieved (he certainly sounded relieved in the post match interview) I guess Sir Alex was just pissed to be sharing the points after taking the lead twice cos a lot of the stuff he said post match just didn't make sense. He complained about being heckled by fans, (err hello! What do you expect the fans to do, rub you on the head?) he complained about the officiating ... 'All we are saying, please shut your mouth!' Re: Officiating, a couple of accounts of the match I read reported that the ref was a bit officious. Its interesting that I observed the very same thing with the Liverpool - Arsenal match which he officiated just the week before.

We drew Slavia Prague away, nothing much more to report, we play Sevilla at home on the 27th of November

Mathieu Flamini (44)
Emmanuel Adebayor (52)
Alexander Hleb (78)

We coasted back to the top of the tables yesterday with an easy 3 - 1 win away over Reading. Flamini scored his first goal this season which has been a long time coming

Match Report soccernet.com

Next up we play Wigan at home on the 24th of Dec, I hope and pray we come through the international week ahead unscathed (I am replaying the video of Rvp's injury in my head, yikes!) Speaking of international week, I saw this yesterday. I see the 'bombast' has left the big German, perhaps he blew it out over his birthday cake? German 2nd division ehn? He really wants the German No. 1 short badly. Well Almunia is looking solid in goal, he might just get his wish come January.

04 November 2007

Rat Race


A friend sent this to me right in the middle of the 'Ettehgate scandal'.