Ha, come on Portugal, we can do it! Should have won world cup in 66- but never mind Eusebio or the golden generation, could this finally be the one? Has Ronaldo’s time arrived?
Re Jerry’s initial predictions, Croatia in trouble for racism v Balotelli. Ukraine and Poland have already blotted their copybooks. Heroic effort from Greece. Can they keep going against the odds? Germany will be clear favourites. Down with wicked witch Merkel! There will be no love lost, no, a real grudge match…Rivers of blood..
Russia flattered to deceive again. Holland were a disgrace in world cup final and now a surprising failure, the commentator was critical of their attitude. I loved their total football in the 70s, what a shame they lost in 74, but they have still gone down in legend- how you play, not just the result that matters.
England: they could go all the way, unless public expectation and hysterical flag-waving start to get to them, or can still be ko’d. I’ve unusually mixed feelings- adopting an anti Rupert Murdoch approach. The Sun had a go at Hodgson in their usual sick turnip head way and misread the public mood, as he’d not even started, and now the lower expectations, as well as not having the gutter press on their backs, should help England.
Less than 1/2 hour left i think. I was getting my British Summer Time (an hour ahead) muddled with GMT. This will have been a big surprise to me if Israel win. But Kuxa’s effort with the write-up will have been rewarded
Adder male- the female is dark and light brown with similar markings-. Wales’ only venomous reptile. Bites are rare and very few of those have been fatal. They’re quite shy, and i’ve only seen 2 though i know someone who found one in her bath, another’s kid found one on the porch.
@ Matthew: that sounds a terrifying life and death struggle. In Toronto my wife and i were surprised to come across a black squirrel- never knew such things existed. It was very tame and came up to us to be fed at arm’s length.
I’m reading The Second World War by Antony Beevor. His earlier Stalingrad was superb and this is very good too, though i’m taking it in bursts whereas Stalingrad was hard to put down at all. I don’t like the hardback cover map, one of the ridiculous ones that has Greenland much bigger than Africa and UK moved towards the centre of the world.
I did expect England to make the 1/4 finals at least, partly due to the change in media expectations and the Murdoch gutter press, otherwise Jerry’s predictions all seemed sound. Germany may be favourites, are on form and look to have the easiest of the 1/4 finals. I hope Greece beat them, and Portugal, Italy also win. There’s no reason Spain can’t win for the 3rd major tournament in a row but England shouldn’t be too relieved they’re playing Italy instead. They were lucky with the Ukraine goal disallowed- after all the fuss over Lampard’s disallowed goal v Germany in the world cup. And let’s not forget the 66 world cup final decision. But what the hell is wrong with so many officials and obvious blunders these days?
Impressive! I was only expecting a few names, to top up my list to 50. I was wondering whether to count Di Stefano. I don’t rate Sepp Maier as highly as some not already mentioned. Sandro Mazzola, Suarez, Xavi, Iniesta and Gento were among the borderline possibles. I’m surprised you left out Hagi. He had temperament problems but he was a genius. And surely Bergkamp was greater than Haan? Good to see Gunter Netzer mentioned- he’s often overlooked nowadays, was the star of Euro 72, i remember he was too good for England, West Germany in green at Wembley. That was the best German team in my lifetime (the 74 team was lucky with home advantage).
Ah ha, onward Portugal- for revenge v France or Spain. My hopes are high. A fair wind behind for the great voyagers. Could this be the time at last? I won’t make a prediction, but my antennae are twitching with anticipation.
Ah ha, i wanted Wales taking on England, and instead it’s Japan! :( It was bad enough for Wales being drawn against a little Belgian gem last time. Other Side of Underneath may be more divisive than Sleep Furiously, a very different, more abrasive film and setting. Not seen the Kuroki, though it’s in a couple of my lists, look forward to it.
No surprise Germany beat Greece. A pity- i feel for Greece and to have more punishment handed out by Merkel’s country must be hard to take, but they’re not in the same class.
I rate Oliver Kahn higher than Meier, and Buffon at least the equal of Zoff. Pat Jennings was a better goalie than Zoff or Meier, imo
Yeah, fair enough with Di Stefano- it was his already having played for Argentina that confuses things but my list needed more Spanish anyway (several borderline ones).
Glad you picked John Charles; in Italy he’s known as a centre forward but he was also one of the 2 greatest British central defenders (most experts pick him alongside Moore in all-time British team), and often played for Wales at centre half. Has anyone been as good in 2 such different positions? Beckenbauer moved to sweeper from midfield, as did Matthaus, but i think Charles trumps them. You could have him score for a 1-0 lead then go back to maintain it! Gianni Rivera belongs in a European 50.
Robert Minhinnick: The Fox in the National Museum of Wales
He scans the frames but doesn’t stop,
the fox who has come to the museum today,
his eye in the renaissance
and his brush in the baroque.
Between dynasties his footprints
have still to fade, between the Shan and the Yung,
the porcelain atoms shivering at his touch,
ah, lighter than the emperor’s breath, drinking rice wine from the bowl,
daintier than the eunuch pouring wine.
I came as quickly as I could
but already the fox had left the Industrial Revolution behind,
his eye has swept the age of atoms,
the Taj Mahal within the molecule.
The fox is in the fossils and the folios, I cry.
The fox is in photography and the folk studies department.
The fox is in the flux of the foyer,
the fox is in the flock,
the fox is in the flock.
Now the fox sniffs at the dodo
and at the door of Celtic orthography.
The grave-goods, the chariots, the gods of darkness,
he has made their acquaintance on previous occasions.
There, beneath the leatherbacked turtle he goes,
the turtle black as an oildrum,
under the skeleton of the whale he skedaddles,
the whalebone silver as bubblewrap.
Through the light of Provence moves the fox, through
the Ordovician era and the Sumerian summer,
greyblue the blush on him, this one who has seen so much,
blood on the bristles of his mouth,
and on his suit of iron filings the air fans like silk.
Through the cubists and the surrealists
this fox shimmies surreptitiously,
past the artist who has sawn himself in half
under the formaldehyde sky
goes this fox shiny as a silver
fax in his fox coat,
for at a fox trot travels this fox
backwards and forwards in the museum.
Under the bells of brugmansia
that lull the Ecuadoran botanists to sleep,
over the grey moss of Iceland
further and further goes this fox,
passing the lambs at the feet of Jesus,
through the tear in Dante’s cloak.
How long have I legged it
after his legerdemain, this fox
in the labyrinth, this fox that never hurries
yet passes an age in a footfall, this fox
from the forest of the portrait gallery
to engineering’s cornfield sigh?
I will tell you this.
He is something to follow,
this red fellow.
This fox I foster –
he is the future.
No-one else
has seen him yet.
But they are closing
the iron doors.
Just when it seemed not taking chances would cost Italy dear, they won on penalties anyway, when i’d had a feeling all along it would go to penalties and England would win. Italy have had bad luck in tournaments with penalties; i was reading earlier they have never lost a 1/4 final except on penalties (twice), whereas England have never won a knockout match against a top team outside England. England still need a creative midfield genius.
I’ve seen those Charles videos; he should have a lot more views on youtube.
We’re left with the 4 best teams now in Euro 12, or the 3 best and Portugal have deserved to make it too. Holland the main disappointments but that was a hard group.
Germany and Spain must be favourites but I hope it’s Portugal v Italy final
@ Mais1, there’s a good interview on youtube with John Charles and Dickie Davies, in which Charles spoke about little Sivori, his brilliant Argentinian creative partner at Juve (bottom right in team photo in 2nd video above), having to do a runner from the Mafia after a match in Sicily. Sivori-Charles was a great little and large combination, better than Toshack and Keegan.
I’m planning to catch up with Welsh books- for starters, 3 now ordered from Amazon:
- The Acid Real by John Evans
- The Long Dry by Cynan Jones
- Link Arms with Toads by Rhys Hughes.
I’ve generally been more familiar with Welsh poetry than novels and short stories.
I really must read Arthur Machen, e.g Three Impostors, look forward to new Robert Minhinnick book The Keys of Babylon, and i’ll be interested in opinions of Cardiff-born Iain Sinclair.
Cynan Jones has apparently had great reviews in France and Italy but, as often the case with Welsh writers, not so much interest in England
Pnau have given Elton a makeover for Ibiza and summer. I didn’t like this much at first cos Curtains, sampled here, is one of my favourite Elton songs, but i’m coming round, and i like the video.
Euro 2012 about 1 year ago
Ha, come on Portugal, we can do it! Should have won world cup in 66- but never mind Eusebio or the golden generation, could this finally be the one? Has Ronaldo’s time arrived?
Re Jerry’s initial predictions, Croatia in trouble for racism v Balotelli. Ukraine and Poland have already blotted their copybooks. Heroic effort from Greece. Can they keep going against the odds? Germany will be clear favourites. Down with wicked witch Merkel! There will be no love lost, no, a real grudge match…Rivers of blood..
Russia flattered to deceive again. Holland were a disgrace in world cup final and now a surprising failure, the commentator was critical of their attitude. I loved their total football in the 70s, what a shame they lost in 74, but they have still gone down in legend- how you play, not just the result that matters.
England: they could go all the way, unless public expectation and hysterical flag-waving start to get to them, or can still be ko’d. I’ve unusually mixed feelings- adopting an anti Rupert Murdoch approach. The Sun had a go at Hodgson in their usual sick turnip head way and misread the public mood, as he’d not even started, and now the lower expectations, as well as not having the gutter press on their backs, should help England.
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Euro 2012 about 1 year ago
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2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #37: Israel (A Woman’s Case) vs. Thailand (Blissfully Yours) about 1 year ago
Less than 1/2 hour left i think. I was getting my British Summer Time (an hour ahead) muddled with GMT. This will have been a big surprise to me if Israel win. But Kuxa’s effort with the write-up will have been rewarded
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The Auteurs Gallery of great places and buildings about 1 year ago
can’t resist another view of Portmeirion
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The Auteurs Gallery of great places and buildings about 1 year ago
Yeah Portmeirion is where they filmed The Prisoner. Well worth a visit.
Several miles down the coast is another favourite spot
Mawddach Estuary
moving across to the East side of North Wales:
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
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The Auteurs Gallery of Marvellous Creatures about 1 year ago
Basking Shark
Can admin please move this to off topic section?
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The Auteurs Gallery of great places and buildings about 1 year ago
Ah that is very different from Wales, a lot less rain for a start. I’ve only spent 1 1/2 hours in USA, at Niagara
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The Auteurs Gallery of Marvellous Creatures 12 months ago
Adder male- the female is dark and light brown with similar markings-. Wales’ only venomous reptile. Bites are rare and very few of those have been fatal. They’re quite shy, and i’ve only seen 2 though i know someone who found one in her bath, another’s kid found one on the porch.
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The Auteurs Gallery of Marvellous Creatures 12 months ago
@ Matthew: that sounds a terrifying life and death struggle. In Toronto my wife and i were surprised to come across a black squirrel- never knew such things existed. It was very tame and came up to us to be fed at arm’s length.
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Films featuring manual labour 12 months ago
How about Barren Lives (Nelson Pereira dos Santos)? Bill Douglas’ masterpiece Comrades may fit..
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OT: What are you reading? 12 months ago
I’m reading The Second World War by Antony Beevor. His earlier Stalingrad was superb and this is very good too, though i’m taking it in bursts whereas Stalingrad was hard to put down at all. I don’t like the hardback cover map, one of the ridiculous ones that has Greenland much bigger than Africa and UK moved towards the centre of the world.
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
I did expect England to make the 1/4 finals at least, partly due to the change in media expectations and the Murdoch gutter press, otherwise Jerry’s predictions all seemed sound. Germany may be favourites, are on form and look to have the easiest of the 1/4 finals. I hope Greece beat them, and Portugal, Italy also win. There’s no reason Spain can’t win for the 3rd major tournament in a row but England shouldn’t be too relieved they’re playing Italy instead. They were lucky with the Ukraine goal disallowed- after all the fuss over Lampard’s disallowed goal v Germany in the world cup. And let’s not forget the 66 world cup final decision. But what the hell is wrong with so many officials and obvious blunders these days?
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
All-time greatest European players:
Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Puskas, Zidane, Platini, Eusebio, Van Basten, Meazza, Charlton, Muller, Yashin, Maldini, Baresi, C.Ronaldo, Matthaus, Charles, Best, Gullit, Laudrup, Moore, Rivera, Henry, Facchetti, Bergkamp, Dalglish, Edwards, Figo, Hagi, Baggio, Kopa, Bican, Krol, Nordahl, Matthews, Sindelar, Giggs, Kocsis, Schmeichel, Fontaine, Rummenigge, Finney, Scirea, Kubala, Banks, Cannavaro, Ibrahimovic….
other suggestions please for 50
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Impressive! I was only expecting a few names, to top up my list to 50. I was wondering whether to count Di Stefano. I don’t rate Sepp Maier as highly as some not already mentioned. Sandro Mazzola, Suarez, Xavi, Iniesta and Gento were among the borderline possibles. I’m surprised you left out Hagi. He had temperament problems but he was a genius. And surely Bergkamp was greater than Haan? Good to see Gunter Netzer mentioned- he’s often overlooked nowadays, was the star of Euro 72, i remember he was too good for England, West Germany in green at Wembley. That was the best German team in my lifetime (the 74 team was lucky with home advantage).
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RIP Andrew Sarris 12 months ago
His favourite films
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
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GREAT MUBI CULTURAL POLL: FAVOURITE POEMS 12 months ago
Still 10 days left to vote!
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Ah ha, onward Portugal- for revenge v France or Spain. My hopes are high. A fair wind behind for the great voyagers. Could this be the time at last? I won’t make a prediction, but my antennae are twitching with anticipation.
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2012 MUBI World Cup - match announcements 12 months ago
Ah ha, i wanted Wales taking on England, and instead it’s Japan! :( It was bad enough for Wales being drawn against a little Belgian gem last time. Other Side of Underneath may be more divisive than Sleep Furiously, a very different, more abrasive film and setting. Not seen the Kuroki, though it’s in a couple of my lists, look forward to it.
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Portugal should have won by more- this Czech team lacked the flair of many predecessors
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
No surprise Germany beat Greece. A pity- i feel for Greece and to have more punishment handed out by Merkel’s country must be hard to take, but they’re not in the same class.
I rate Oliver Kahn higher than Meier, and Buffon at least the equal of Zoff. Pat Jennings was a better goalie than Zoff or Meier, imo
Yeah, fair enough with Di Stefano- it was his already having played for Argentina that confuses things but my list needed more Spanish anyway (several borderline ones).
Glad you picked John Charles; in Italy he’s known as a centre forward but he was also one of the 2 greatest British central defenders (most experts pick him alongside Moore in all-time British team), and often played for Wales at centre half. Has anyone been as good in 2 such different positions? Beckenbauer moved to sweeper from midfield, as did Matthaus, but i think Charles trumps them. You could have him score for a 1-0 lead then go back to maintain it! Gianni Rivera belongs in a European 50.
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Our Favourite Poems- for a site anthology 12 months ago
Robert Minhinnick: The Fox in the National Museum of Wales
He scans the frames but doesn’t stop,
the fox who has come to the museum today,
his eye in the renaissance
and his brush in the baroque.
Between dynasties his footprints
have still to fade, between the Shan and the Yung,
the porcelain atoms shivering at his touch,
ah, lighter than the emperor’s breath, drinking rice wine from the bowl,
daintier than the eunuch pouring wine.
I came as quickly as I could
but already the fox had left the Industrial Revolution behind,
his eye has swept the age of atoms,
the Taj Mahal within the molecule.
The fox is in the fossils and the folios, I cry.
The fox is in photography and the folk studies department.
The fox is in the flux of the foyer,
the fox is in the flock,
the fox is in the flock.
Now the fox sniffs at the dodo
and at the door of Celtic orthography.
The grave-goods, the chariots, the gods of darkness,
he has made their acquaintance on previous occasions.
There, beneath the leatherbacked turtle he goes,
the turtle black as an oildrum,
under the skeleton of the whale he skedaddles,
the whalebone silver as bubblewrap.
Through the light of Provence moves the fox, through
the Ordovician era and the Sumerian summer,
greyblue the blush on him, this one who has seen so much,
blood on the bristles of his mouth,
and on his suit of iron filings the air fans like silk.
Through the cubists and the surrealists
this fox shimmies surreptitiously,
past the artist who has sawn himself in half
under the formaldehyde sky
goes this fox shiny as a silver
fax in his fox coat,
for at a fox trot travels this fox
backwards and forwards in the museum.
Under the bells of brugmansia
that lull the Ecuadoran botanists to sleep,
over the grey moss of Iceland
further and further goes this fox,
passing the lambs at the feet of Jesus,
through the tear in Dante’s cloak.
How long have I legged it
after his legerdemain, this fox
in the labyrinth, this fox that never hurries
yet passes an age in a footfall, this fox
from the forest of the portrait gallery
to engineering’s cornfield sigh?
I will tell you this.
He is something to follow,
this red fellow.
This fox I foster –
he is the future.
No-one else
has seen him yet.
But they are closing
the iron doors.
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Just when it seemed not taking chances would cost Italy dear, they won on penalties anyway, when i’d had a feeling all along it would go to penalties and England would win. Italy have had bad luck in tournaments with penalties; i was reading earlier they have never lost a 1/4 final except on penalties (twice), whereas England have never won a knockout match against a top team outside England. England still need a creative midfield genius.
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
I’ve seen those Charles videos; he should have a lot more views on youtube.
We’re left with the 4 best teams now in Euro 12, or the 3 best and Portugal have deserved to make it too. Holland the main disappointments but that was a hard group.
Germany and Spain must be favourites but I hope it’s Portugal v Italy final
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
@ Mais1, there’s a good interview on youtube with John Charles and Dickie Davies, in which Charles spoke about little Sivori, his brilliant Argentinian creative partner at Juve (bottom right in team photo in 2nd video above), having to do a runner from the Mafia after a match in Sicily. Sivori-Charles was a great little and large combination, better than Toshack and Keegan.
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Germany v Italy; 2 matches come to mind at once, (W.Germany it was then)- 1970 semi final and this
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Euro 2012 12 months ago
Eusebio has been having heart surgery
He was the star of the 1st world cup i watched.
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OT: What are you reading? 12 months ago
I’m planning to catch up with Welsh books- for starters, 3 now ordered from Amazon:
- The Acid Real by John Evans
- The Long Dry by Cynan Jones
- Link Arms with Toads by Rhys Hughes.
I’ve generally been more familiar with Welsh poetry than novels and short stories.
I really must read Arthur Machen, e.g Three Impostors, look forward to new Robert Minhinnick book The Keys of Babylon, and i’ll be interested in opinions of Cardiff-born Iain Sinclair.
Cynan Jones has apparently had great reviews in France and Italy but, as often the case with Welsh writers, not so much interest in England
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Post a song you are currently listening to 12 months ago
Pnau have given Elton a makeover for Ibiza and summer. I didn’t like this much at first cos Curtains, sampled here, is one of my favourite Elton songs, but i’m coming round, and i like the video.
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Post a song you are currently listening to 12 months ago
Know the section of Le Plaisir with the old guy dancing in a mask? that’ll be me at Ibiza.
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