Writes the future ah

I'm sure you've all already seen this video. Some of you like it, some of you think its really matrep and some of you don't care because no German players are in it.

Anyway, I noticed something about the players in the vid. Think about it, what do all these players have in commmon, besides their link to Nike? Give up?

Didier Drogba - Bad World Cup. Ivory Coast out.

Fabio Cannavaro- Bad World Cup. Italy out.

Wayne Rooney - Really bad World Cup. England got dismantled.

Franck Ribery- Bad World Cup. French Soccer team is the nation's pride right now.

Ronaldinho Gaucho- The only exception. He hasn't had a bad World Cup. But then again, he's not in it.

Cristiano Ronaldo - By his standards, he has had a bad World Cup. Portugal are out.

This vid is a jinx. It jinxed the players and their respective teams. I think thats why Dunga left out Ronaldinho. Good move Dunga.

Hopefully both Federer and Kobe don't fall prey to this curse.

Siape menang?

Chilean ke pe.

The crowd was great. They cheered and sang, singing along with the players during the national anthem. I just step and followed along. I even tried to say the usual "butos" and "gua percaya sama lu la sanchez" but apparently Chileans aren't really familiar with those terms. So after a while I had to pip down and just watch the game. I also had to take my flag, which I placed on my back, down, cos it was hitting this guy. I was more of a nuisance than anything else, thank god I didn't get beaten up ah.





Although Chile lost, thank god Honduras did me a favour. Why me? Cos i wanted to celebrate and soak in the atmosphere. It was insane. When Chile scored, I went nuts, I just jumped around and like joined a group of guys and shouted and all. Then after the game when we found out Chile was through, it was even crazier ah. Vuvuzelas being blown, confettis thrown, people cheering, posing for photos. Party on streets. Like when they opened the streets, and the cars drove by, people would like go to the cars, cheer, rock them and all. Then the drivers will horn back, wind down their window, sing and stuff.


When Chile scored


I wanted to take picture with one person but when others saw, they just rushed in


Just one of the many groups standing outside their houses and celebrating

Ah now this is really street soccer. And thats my ball. I caught it in the end but decided to just give it to them so that they could enjoy.



Next up Brazil. Actually it doesn't matter who wins. If Chile wins, then another street party. If Brazil wins, then hopefully they'll make it all the way to the finals cos I'll be there by then. So to answer the question, aku menang.

Tula, Pak Abu...

We all know Dutch people have a linked history with the Malays. Didn't know they watch Bujang Lapok also. Enjoy

Singfest, Quick Update

Hey guys I just came from the Singfest press conference announcing the dates, location and most of the line-up (they havent confirmed all yet, they'll update me in the coming days) for the 3-night music extravaganza.

So, it'll be from the 3rd-5th of August, at Fort Canning Park. Performances will kick off in the evening, because they understand that it's in the middle of the week, and not the weekend.

So the confirm line-up:

SMASHING FUCKING PUMPKINS!!!!!! I was happy when they reunited, but I didn't know they'd make it down to Singapore!

Kanye West. 50 bucks for someone to go onto stage when he's performing and say, "I'm happy for you Kanye, and I'll let you finish, but TOWNs has the best damn blog in Singapore right now! Best damn blog!

Katy Perry

Wondergirls (those Korean hotties who sang I want nobody, nobody but you)

Orianthi (the blonde lady guitarist for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour)

Diane Birch. This hello American soul and blues singer.

Ian Brown. Not to be confused with Mr. Brown. One's a blogger, the other is the former lead singer of The Stone Roses. Was a big dude in the Brit Invasion days.

30 Seconds To Mars. That is one fast spaceship.

More updates as I get them.

Ultra Marathon Match

With all the attention on the World Cup in South Africa, there is actually another major sporting event that is going on at the same time. The Wimbledon Open 2010 is officially underway this week on the pristine grass courts in England.

And whist the usual favourites like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal take centre stage, there was an absolutely amazing match that took place at court 18. The match between Nicolas Mahut of France and John Isner has officially become the longest match ever in Wimbledon history and get this, it is still not over. Due to poor light conditions at the end of the match, it will resume again today. Here are the mind-boggling statistics that will not be seen ever again in Wimbledon history.

The match is currently tied at 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 59-59. That's not a typo but ya. For all you tennis noobs, the Wimbledon Men's Singles matches like any other grands slams are played over the best of 5 sets. There will be no tie-breaker in the final 5th set, meaning that the winner has to win by a margin of 2 games. Last year's Wimbledon final saw Federer edging Roddick with a scoreline of 16-14 in the final set. That is child's play in comparison to the 59-59 scoreline. If anything, it looks more like a basketball score.

The match is into its 10th hour! That's right, 10 whopping hours! The last set alone has lasted 6 hours and is still counting! To put this into perspective, the previous record of longest Wimbledon Men's match stood at 6h 33 min. The only break these players will get is a 1.5 min break at the end of every 2 games when they change end and a 2 min break at the end of each set. Other than that, they are constantly up and running, chasing, hitting and serving balls. But the players are not the only ones affected. The poor umpire's ass must be sore from sitting on the same chair for almost half a day. The linesmen and ballboys must be claiming for overtime pay. And the fans surely are getting their every penny's worth. So far, John Isner has served 98 aces and 218 winners while Nicolas Mahut has served 94 aces and 216 winners. These are just ridiculous numbers unheard of in the game.

I can only feel sorry for the loser of this match. To have played 10 hours of non-stop quality tennis and be knocked out only in the 2nd round will be the most bitter pill to swallow. Whatever the outcome though, these two players have surely cemented their names in tennis history. Respect to the max.

Del Piero and Oasis

While some people's favourite bands have their songs on the soundtrack of lame vampire movies, my favourite band gets namedropped by one of Italian soccer's biggest stars.

Waka Waka: This is Sur Africa

During the World Cup, everyone is a football pundit. We all have our own views, takes, critiques and intips.

For me, this World Cup has been quite boring. I hope its just a temporary thing. The games have been picking up, but there is still nothing much to cheer for. The one bright spot for me is that Chile is in the World Cup and its great to see how the people are crazy about soccer, and hopefully next week I'll be able to wake up on time and be part of it. Other than that, the World Cup, like I said, has been quite quay. Even Spain, with their array of very talented players, did not perform. Thank god for Argentina and my current personal favourite, Serbia, for making me have hope, that things will turn around.

The one team that everyone talks about besides Spain, is obviously the soccer nation of the world, Brazil. But we all know that this isn't vintage Brazil, with the matrep Dunga wanting a more organized team. Boring. And whats even more boring, is how they manage to leave him out.



Yes, he might not be at his peak and all that nonsense, but come on la, how can you leave a player of such calibre out. Its players like him who are able to light up the World Cup. And no Suff, I am not referring to Cantona. Which brings me to another matrep, Domenech. You bring players ike Henry and Malouda (for a Chelsea player he isn't that bad), but you start with Govou who can't even finish a simple tap in and play Gignac. I rather call back Vikash Dhorasoo ah. Thats why Anelka was bingit I think. He was so fed up playing with Govou upfront that he was thinking, "Je te flouppe Fli", loosely translated,"I can't play with that matrep". So what do you do, swear at your coach, don't apologize, and off you go. Since he was subbed out before Mexico scored, he can say he didn't lose any game in the World Cup. Good thinking Anelka.

All I hope for now is for Spain to remember how to score, Italy to learn how to defend, and for Lennon to sit on the bench and not play for England again. And for every country to play soccer befitting the World Cup

August Man's World Cup Review - AUGUSTMAN.com

August Man's World Cup Review - AUGUSTMAN.com

World Cup Kisurat

Brazil was so boring, that the commentators were talking about Carlos's freekick during the game.

"I remember one time, Carlos curled a freekick in! ... ..."

The Ball is Too Round.

It has been 5 days into the World Cup and yet the star of the show so far has undoubtedly been... the ball. That's right. The official ball for World Cup 2010, the Adidas Jabulani.

I've scoured the net for the players' opinion on the ball. And here's what I got.

“The ball is dreadful. It’s horrible, but it’s horrible for everyone.” – David James (England, goalkeeper)

“The ball is a problem. You can’t anticipate which direction it is going to go in. It is difficult for defenders to deal with and you can’t take your eye off the ball until the very last second.” – Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Japan, defender)

“The new ball is not decent, not just for goalkeepers but for everyone. Its trajectory is unpredictable.” – Gigi Buffon (Italy, goalkeeper)

“It’s very weird. All of a sudden it changes trajectory on you. It’s like it doesn’t want to be kicked. It’s incredible, it’s like someone is guiding it. You are going to kick it and it moves out of the way. I think it’s supernatural, it’s very bad.” – Luis Fabiano (Brazil, forward)

“It’s like a beach ball.” – Claudio Bravo (Chile, goalkeeper)

“It’s terrible… like a ball you’d buy in a supermarket.” – Julio Cesar (Brazil, goalkeeper)

“Maybe they should stop trying to keep developing the ball and just change the look of it. The ball goes all over the place.” – Seigo Narazaki (Japan, goalkeeper)

“It’s a little sad that in a competition as big as the World Cup to have such a poor ball. It’s not just the goalkeepers complaining, but the outfield players as well.” – Iker Casillas (Spain, goalkeeper)

“It’s a catastrophe. I played with many different balls, some of which wiggled or changed directions, but this one is the worst of them all.” – Vladimir Stojkovic (Serbia, goalkeeper)

“It’s a disaster… It moves so much and makes it difficult to control. You jump up to head a cross and suddenly the ball will move and you miss it!” – Giampaolo Pazzini (Italy, forward)

“Technology is not everything; scientists came up with the atom bomb, doesn’t mean we should have invented it!” - Marcus Hahnemann (USA, goalkeeper)

“For sure the guy who designed this ball never played football.” - Robinho (Brazil, Forward)

"But every cross I have seen has been overhit. It goes over the back post. I haven't seen anyone get a free-kick over the wall yet" - Jamie Carragher ( England, Defender)

Apparently, Germany has been using the ball for a good 6 months before the World Cup because the Bundesliga was free to use any ball of their choice thus choosing the Jabulani once it was launched. In the BPL however, Nike is the official ball supplier and the England team was still playing with an Umbro ball in its pre-World cup friendlies because of its arrangement with Umbro. This could possible explain the disparity in performance between Germany and the rest of the countries so far. But to what extent is the ball to be blamed for the team's performances on the pitch?

Altitude can also be a factor, given that the matches in South Africa are played way above sea level. Having seen the matches, there seems to be a noticeable difference in the trajectory of the ball. Somehow, and this is especially evident in the replays, the ball has the ability to sway and even pick up pace in the middle of its trajectory. The fact that the ball has drawn severe criticism from numerous players now seems to suggest that there is a credible argument behind the complaints of the players. Maybe Adidas should just go back to basics. Instead of incorporating new technology and testing it out in their labs with their robots, they should just keep the technology simple and gather feedback from the players before anything else.

Let's just hope that teams like Spain and Brazil will prove all the critics wrong. That a ball is a ball after all and that football can be played beautifully, regardless.

Jabulani Fever

And so it has begun. World Cup 2010 is finally here. 4 years in the making and for the very first time in the land of Africa. For people like us who eat, breathe and live football, there is no grander occasion to be a part of.

But for some weird reason, no one in this blog has displayed this enthusiasm on the blog so far. Bunch of lazy bastards. Nevertheless, it's never too late to inject some good old football enthusiasm. I guess everyone has picked out their favourites going into the World Cup. Mus - Germany. Nas - Argentina. Suff - EAT DA POO POO. Nazir - Chile (cos you're in it). I think Spain is a definite favourite since they play the most beautiful football now with all the gloriously talented players in their team. England will be watched by everyone because of our close affinity to the EPL.

So if I am left to pick a team, it'll be the Netherlands. I still have fond memories of them in Euro 08 and if only they can put their differences aside and play as a team, I think they can really be a force to reckon with. How many teams can boast such an attacking array of talent in Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben and Van Persie? And not to forget Kuyt. Ok nvm let's forget Kuyt. No doubt they'll have a difficult route to the final with the prospect of facing Brazil and England, but these teams are probably equally fearful of facing the Netherlands themselves. Then again, beautiful football doesnt always guarantee results but for the sake of football, I really hope that the winner this time round does it with a brand of football that all of us can only hope to emulate, much like how Spain did it in Euro 08. Only that will do the world of football justice.

The Next Phase

So about a week ago, I sat for what could probably be, barring any disastrous results, my last university exam. And with that, it officially concluded my university life. Another 3 years of education that has ended before I could even come to terms with it. The post-exams feelings were great, a mixture of absolute liberation and anti-climax nothingness. It's a funny feeling, having nothing to do after weeks of studying. But I'm not complaining yet.

All of that though cannot mask the fact that I am about to enter the next huge phase of my life, the unenviable task of making the transition from the familiar school environment into the virtual unknown of the working world. To feel nervous will be an understatement, but along with it also comes a tinge of excitement. One that probably stems from the fact that it is an inevitable process after all. A rite of passage of that all of us will go through sooner than later.

So the journey starts here. Job hunting. God knows how long it'll take me to find a job. Ideally, I'll like a job revolving around Audit/Assurance/Taxation so I'll be applying for jobs in these areas. A boring job but whatever la nothing beats Data Reconfiguration and Statistical Analysis so ya. Whether I'll get the job is another matter so to quote a good old friend, I'll "cross the bridge when it comes".

Till then, I'll be revelling in the lazy days that lie ahead of me. Ahhhh life.

Phoebe's Quirks 101