Welcome Back….

Happy new year one and all. I apologise to both my readers for my lack of updates, but you find me in good health, recovering from a Cajun chicken pannini which hit the spot nicely. Now the thoughts of an afternoon’s work with a full stomach fill me with dread….

I’ve decided after a bit of a shit ending to 2012, consisting mainly of man flu, a job interview process with the least professional outfit I have ever experienced (and I used to work for Setanta Sports) and poverty around Christmas that 2013 is to begin with optimism.

So far it has paid off, current very badly paid work is chugging along okay. I’m highly amused by the adoption of 131 reg plates instead of 13 on cars, rumoured to be something to do with bad luck (my, don’t we live in a quaint country still!?). I’m building a large Lego R2D2 that I got for Christmas (yes, even at 29 I’m still a child at heart). Liverpool has a 100% win record in 2013, which sadly will probably end this Sunday. But most of all, one of my all time favourite heroes is back from obscurity.

The internet exploded with delight on Tuesday following the news that David Bowie was back, with a new song released on his 66th birthday and the promise of a new album in March. Rumours of ill health which saw him relegated to the status of recluse for the past six years have been brushed aside by four and a half minutes of frail melancholy.

I wont go into depth about the song itself as it has already been done to death almost everywhere on the net (I’ve lost count of the amount of articles on the Guardian website) but I do like it. I always fear when legends release new material, because half the time it sounds crap. But ‘Where are you now?’ sounds great to me. It harks back to the Berlin era Bowie, my favourite period of his career.

It is a time I really wish I was my father, as he lived in Berlin during this magical era. Releases such as ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ as well as ‘Lodger’ and Iggy Pop’s output from the late 70′s hark to the sound of the wonderful German bands of the time such as Kraftwerk, Neu, Can and Tangerine Dream. All of these bands I discovered off the back of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy and teutonic music I have cherished for a long time.

What I love most of all about this development is that it came completely out of the blue. When people bemoaned the lack of Bowie at the Olympic closing ceremony they thought we had seen the last of the original unique artist. In the days of instant media, social networking and media hysteria he kept a lid on things and shocked us all. It’s a brilliant piece of publicity and Bowie shows once again that he is the master of his own destiny.

So the good news rolls in 2013 so far. I hope that it continues. A good year is due for so many of us after years of austerity-related bullshit. I also hope Bowie tours. I tried to get tickets for his gig in the Point about ten years ago but they sold out in record time. I then heard he was to headline Oxegen and I bought my ticket for that before he pulled out due to heath issues. I’m sure the third time will be a charm.

There’s more to this than Crap Trap

So, another roller-coaster few days in the life of an Irish football supporter. Friday was most definitely the lowest of low points in all my years watching the boys in green play, even lower than the ill-fated Euro campaign, and more damning than the Cyprus debacle under Staunton for me. Back then we were merely lead by incompetence, this time it was a distinct lack of heart and a lack of fight.

The general consensus is that Trap should pack his one dimensional tactics into his hand-crafted Italian luggage and split with a nice big pay cheque. In his defence, Friday was only the second defeat he suffered in qualifying as Ireland boss, and I couldn’t see getting anything against the Germans. They are a wonderful side, getting better all the time.

However, it was the manner of the defeat that was the worst part of the story; no fight, no conviction no heart. It’s something Irish teams have traditionally held strong in their values. It’s this lack of desire that was the most damning piece of evidence against the Italian remaining as Ireland boss.

Last night started little better against The Faroe Islands. The first half offered an interesting contrast in styles of play. The Faroes, who are ranked a lowly 158^th in the admittedly farcical FIFA world rankings, passed the ball about in little triangles with aplomb, while we insisted of booting up the middle from the back and constantly gave away possession. The fact that at times the minnows comfortably passed the ball around us shows this problem might go further than the top job in Irish soccer.

I remember playing underage football at a fairly low level. When playing under 10s we played on full sized pitches with full sized goals. We were lost on this vast green field, and were constantly told to ‘get rid of it’ once we got the ball. No finesse, no encouragement to enjoy having the ball and pass it, no opportunity to improve on vision for passing. Just boot it. And we did, booting the ball long was the only way to get around the pitch.

While the players playing for Ireland are talented professionals and were streets ahead of me at a similar age, you can still see the discomfort in some when they have the ball at their feet. A bit more relaxation came into it in the second half but we still played a long ball game for the most part. It could be argued that Trap has moulded a team to play to these strengths. However, the football that results is most definitely of the ‘caveman’ variety. On top of that, he regularly leaves out players who would be more arguably comfortable on the ball.

After the Ireland game I watched some of the Belgium v Scotland game. Belgium football was in the doldrums for many years after having a fantastic team in the 1980s and early 1990s. Ten years ago they created a ‘Centre of Excellence’ to take the best talented youngsters in the country and mould them into top players. Now they’re reaping the reward and look to be an outside bet for the World Cup (should they qualify!)

Maybe the same needs to be done here. The culture of coaching certainly needs to be changed. Irish players are being left behind in the Premier League as they lack comfort on the ball, playing in lower leagues and lower teams in the Premier League. We need to put the foundations in now to get this right in the future. Then we could worry about the top of the tree.

Postcards from the no. 13 bus; “Who Sir? Me Sir? No Sir!”

Two hours. Two bleedin’ hours to get home from work the other day. And why you may ask? The evening rush hour you might think? Well, I’m afraid not. There hasn’t really been a bad rush hour since someone called Sean Quinn or similar decided to run over the Celtic Tiger in his Bentley. Or something. I can’t recall who’s being blamed for the demise of our economy this week, I say we only accept the first answer we gave which was Fianna Fail.

“Was it the inefficiency of Dublin Bus?” I hear you subconsciously inquire? Once again, you bark up the wrong tree. I was waiting but a few minutes for my chariot home. Staked my preferred seat upstairs and turned up NEU! on the ipod to enjoy a whimsical German flavoured journey home.

So, what was it then? Well, we made the transition from Dame Street to Lord Edward Street before the bus pulled into a stop and decided to go no further. At first it was just like any bus stop routine; people got on, people got off. However, after that we didn’t move. Puzzled faces displayed the inquisitive nature of commuters when their journey breaks from the norm. Maybe the bus broke down? Nope, engine still running. Then came the lemmings complex that we all seem to do. “Who will go downstairs and ask first?” or “Will someone get frustrated and complete their journey on foot? If so, I will follow you like some Pied Piper.”

I wasn’t really arsed, I was enjoying my journey through 1970s German prog rock to care otherwise, knowing my actions would have little impact in the situation we were in. I knew I’d get home eventually, and the ingredients for my stir fry would still be in the fridge and press if I turn out to be a bit late.  I put my faith in the fact that this was a temporary issue, nothing more.

In the end, the man next to me went downstairs and talked to the driver. He then stepped off the bus and lit up a fag. Still we waited. Then a few more joined him. Twenty minutes had now passed, and even I was getting a bit annoyed. It was an unusually warm evening.

I went downstairs and was going to get some fresh air and see if the next bus was far behind when a woman in front of me asked the driver what was going on. He told her that some tits upstairs didn’t pay their fare and that the guards had been called. I decided to go back upstairs and sit down. Others did too, and before long the story swept the upstairs of the bus like wildfire.

So, now the tits knew that they were the reason why the bus had been stopped, and that the Gardai were on their way. Did they move? Did they fuck. They sat there, and waited. Another ten minutes of opportune escape time went by before a Gardai Transit showed up, blues and twos flashing, air raid siren screaming. Still, no movement.

Silly Billys

Upstairs they came, and pointed out the four tits and ordered them all off the bus. “Who sir? Me sir? No sir!” exclaimed one in a thick Rathkealeesque brogue. “Didn’t do naaathhhan sir.” said another. And with the drama complete, off we rolled on our much delayed journey home.

Silly billys. Not only did they delay around 70 people and slightly ruin all their evenings, they had ample opportunity to escape but they sat there, and waited. There really are some stupid people out there.

Terry v Ferdinand; the lowlights

“Anton Ferdinand has been asked by the court to act out his ‘shagging gesture’. He obliged, bucking back and forth.”

From Anton Ferdinand’s evidence in court on Monday, shortly after saying ‘You shagged your team-mate’s missus’ to John Terry: ”I did not mention the name Wayne or Wayne Bridge.”
So who is Terry riding this time?

Flimsy defence for a defender…

John Terry’s lawyers: “How many times have you been sent off in your career?”
Terry replied: “Four times…I remain calm in tense matches.” Like the semi final of the Champions League?

“We’d prefer it if you stood” – Chief Magistrate at the trial.
“I’d like to sit down” – Ashley Cole.

Lawyer: “Are your domestic circumstances, whatever happened with [Wayne Bridge's partner] a no-go area?”
Terry: “Clearly not.”
Lawyer: “You are respected in the football community, aren’t you?”
Terry: “I’d like to think so.”

Terry was shown footage of a nose-to-nose confrontation with Paddy Kenny, a few minutes after the flashpoint with Anton Ferdinand. As he ran back up the field, Terry could be seen turning to Kenny and blowing out his cheeks and puffing out his arms. It was the classic schoolyard pose. Fatty, fatso, porky. Terry denied he had been deliberately trying to humiliate his opponent. Kenny, he said, wasn’t fat, it was just “the camera puts a few pounds on”. Terry said he did not like fat jibes because he had once suffered them too. “Oh come on,” the prosecutor Duncan Penny responded. “You’re not fat, are you? You’re a supreme athlete.” Terry has had his injury issues. “I used to be,” he lamented.

Ferdinand when his style was inspired by Zsa Zsa Binks.

“I said to him: ‘How can you call me a cunt? You shagged your team-mate’s missus, you’re a cunt!’” – Anton Ferdinand

“You can’t talk to JT like that”: Ashley Cole to Anton Ferdinand on that fateful day.

Ashley Cole told the court that as Ferdinand made a fist-pump gesture he heard him shout “Bridgey or black” and “cunt”, he told Westminster magistrates court: “I can’t make out – him either saying Bridgey or black.”

Asked about Terry, Cole described him as an “inspirational captain”, and “cool, calm and collected” who did not rise to taunts on the pitch. Of the abuse Terry received over an alleged affair, Cole said he had had “the same said” to him, and they used to “laugh about it”

Chief magistrate Howard Riddle said: “Weighing all the evidence together, I think it is highly unlikely that Mr Ferdinand accused Mr Terry on the pitch of calling him a black cunt. However I accept that it is possible that Mr Terry believed at the time, and believes now, that such an accusation was made.

“It is therefore possible that what he said was not intended as an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to him. In those circumstances, there being a doubt, the only verdict the court can record is one of not guilty.”

Riddle said there was no doubt that Terry had uttered the words when he was angry. But it was crucial that nobody gave evidence that they had heard what Terry had said – “or more importantly how he said it” – and “nobody has been able to show that he is lying”. He found Terry “a credible witness”.

If a bomb went off in the courtroom, would anyone cry?

Football has eaten itself.

Please, forgive me…

…I’m back. Sincerest apologies over the distinct lack of updates over the past number of weeks. I’m guessing that my two loyal readers feared that this would become yet another desert blog bereft of entries, withering away in the blogisphere like a neglected plant on an office desk long after its keeper departed the company.

Fear not, I shall do my best to make sure the slide was an exception rather than a rule. It had coincided with a return to the world of the worker. No longer can I be accused of sleeping in until 3pm, playing mind-rotting PS3 games to well past my bedtime while the honest folk of this country work hard to keep me in a lifestyle I’ve become accustomed to. Well, I know most streetwise people aren’t as cynical as that, especially those who know me.

Unfortunately while I’m back in full-time employment, it is not for a proper full-time wage. I have signed up to a six month internship under the ‘Job Bridge’ government scheme. It was something of a conundrum for me; I hate the thought of working for a commercial company for free. I don’t think that is fair or indeed it should be allowed. So I said no to commercial gain off my back for free. However, I felt that if it was a charity then I would play ball, simply as it’s for the greater good.

Previously neglected plant, now in my care.

Luckily, I scored with a charity. Six weeks later and things have been going rather well. They seem happy with my work, I’m working with some very skilled people who are teaching me well and there has been events which have sold the organisation well to the public. Most of all though, it has given me a sense of purpose and value; something which disappears quite quickly when you lose your job. I have a reason to get up in the mornings, I’m relied upon and my professional opinion is valued and sought after, I’ve had to work late, the odd evening and weekend. Happy days.

I’ve heard horror stories from people that some job bridge internship schemes are being fundamentally abused by employers, with interns hoping to make a splash and pick up new skills learning nothing more than where the paper jams regularly occur in the office photocopier. I would implore the government body running the scheme to seek a series of feedback sessions from the interns participating in a job bridge internship. After all, the Department of Social Protection gives us an extra €50 per week under the scheme. They should know that the extra €50 is being put to good use. Abusing this system can work both ways.

Glorious, glorious files!

Overall it is a pro-active approach by the current government on getting people skilled up. I’m still actively seeking full time work and the experience will embellish my CV further. Most of all I’m building relationships with industry folk and in this game it’s most certainly a case of ‘not what you know, but who you know.’

Either way, I’m back in the rat race and enjoying being one of the skulls again. I’ve even adopted a previously neglected plant on my desk which my predecessor left behind.

Postcards from the no. 13 bus part 5 – A message for Amy..

A short postcard from my Thursday morning commute to the city centre as the picture really does speak for itself. It was written on the steamed up window opposite my seat.

A message to you, Amy.

So, Amy is a freak in the sack apparently. I wonder what lead the author of this statement to come to the conclusion that poor Amy went a bit nuts in bed? I wonder if Amy saw this message? After all it was addressed to her. Who are Amy and the author? So many unanswered questions.

Most of all it pissed me off greatly. It’s nothing to do with the statement, but few things in life annoys me more than the improper use of ‘your’ and ‘you’re’. It bothered me for the rest of the day. And Amy thought she had problems…

The calm before the treaty storm…

And so we move into the calm waters created by the media embargo on reporting on tomorrow’s referendum before saturation news coverage hits us. Will it be the doom and gloom of the naysayers getting their way? Or will it be resignation that a yes vote will bring? Will the German’s pat us on the head and congratulate us on being good little citizens? Or will they bang their desks in fury and scream at us for our insubordination?

I will be voting no.Here’s a link to a blog which offers four points that I broadly agree with. The author is someone who has suffered at the hands of the austerity measures imposed on us and was forced to leave the country, like so many of our citizens have done in recent years. Our emigration rate now is worse than it was in the late 1980′s, oft considered to be a particular low point in Ireland’s sad history of exporting people.

On top of the four points made in the blog referenced above, I have my own views on the state of the EU. Firstly, I do not agree with the undemocratic nature of the EU itself. Making people vote again on referendums because they didn’t give you the answer you wanted the first time is disgraceful. The European Commission, where the big EU decisions are made, is not elected by the people.

One eye will be on the Irish tomorrow…

On top of that we have the Euro; a significantly flawed currency which was doomed to failure from it’s inception. Having a single currency over a diverse range of economies with a plethora of individual central banks is lunacy. For the Euro to work there needs to an even playing field for all economies who use the currency, meaning that people in Greece need a similar wage structure as Germany. This is not going to happen.

There also needs to be one impartial central bank that oversees the currency and not 12 separate institutions which make their own rules. This would include altering interest rates for the good of the whole union and investigating the possibility of devaluing the currency to take the pressure off national economies suffering under recession. Ireland’s plight would’ve been helped if we still had our own currency by taking on such measures. Instead, we are stuck with provisions which suit economies such as Germany.

Despite my grumblings above I am not anti-European Union or a stereotypical ‘euro-sceptic’. I think there are huge benefits of a European Community, especially around trade agreements. I just feel that the needs to be more democracy, transparency and a fresh approach taken. The European Community was at its best pre Maastrict Treaty but since then there has been an erosion of our sovereignty, too many bad ideas (the Euro) and too many vested interests.

I’ve yet to see or hear one convincing argument on why we should vote yes. All I hear is ‘stability’ and ‘ooohhh they might turn off the money for the bailouts’. Nonsense, the last thing the Euro needs now is for Ireland to fail and default. It would be catastrophic for the Eurozone and would probably bring down the whole currency and the economies throughout the continent. And what is ‘stability’ anyway?

Mothers make their point to Labour (shamelessly stolen from Richard Boyd-Barrett facebook page)

Austerity isn’t working, will never work and has never solved any problems when used previously. Why would we enshrine it into our law as a tool to use every time such economic difficulties arise?

Anyway, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. Here’s something I saw on broadsheet.ie from people who have a better idea…

“Austerity without debt forgiveness can’t work. School kids could figure this out. It also explains why what is good for the individual is not necessarily good for the collective and explains why everyone saving at the same time is good for no one. This is why the fiscal treaty is Kamikaze economics for most of Europe, it is designed to suit the Germans’ short-term political interests and has nothing to do with macroeconomics as we know it.”

David McWilliams. Economist.

“I will vote No in solidarity with peoples throughout Europe who are and have been denied any say in this treaty or any say on the other European treaties, treaties that, in the main, favour rich and powerful elites throughout the union at the expense of the mass of people.”

Vincent Browne. Journalist.

“The Government has rushed us into voting ‘Yes’ in a vacuum. I cannot, and will not, do that. If we defeat it, little will be lost. During the summer the clouds will clear over Europe. We will be able to vote again, this time on the full package in the Autumn. Richard Bruton told us so.”

Shane Ross. Independent TD.

“I’ve thought about it, it’s hard. I would say vote No. At this point the Germans need to face the reality that this cannot work and that the Irish, who’ve been such good soldiers in this crisis, if even the Irish say no then that would actually send a helpful message.”

Paul Krugman. Nobel Prize-winning economist.