World Cup news you may have missed

A frustrated Polish fan has taken legal action against Poland coach Pawel Janas claiming $4,000 in damages in the wake of Poland's disappointing 0-2 loss to Ecuador last Friday... Describing himself as an ardent Poland fan, Zygmunt Jan Pruszynski alleges he experienced a nervous breakdown and extreme frustration after Poland's stinging defeat. Pruszynski does not rule-out dropping the action should Poland beat Germany.

And I thought Central Europeans liked to suffer...

OK

so my career as a football pundit or gambler is over before it even started. I did get Portugal in the sweepstake at work, so Big Phil is my god at present. Even the offer of free CDs has failed to tempt people to dip their toes in the water of posting comments, so I am no good as a blogger, and my taste in music is clearly awful. No journalism or DJing as a career. Customer service is not one of my strengths, so bookselling is out. What can I do? Advice, please, dear readers... Can one be in crisis professionally?

Good day at work

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bad day at work

As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our responsibility.

Arnold Toynbee

More Stan

Here are the lyrics - this got to number 15, if my sources are correct:

Oh we're all going to Germany for the Cup
Oh we're all going to Germany for the Cup (yee-ha)
Oh we're all going to Germany, we're all going to Germany
Oh we're all going to Germany for the Cup

* Singing ay-yay-yippee-yippee-yay (clap three times)
Singing ay-yay-yippee-yippee-yay (clap three times)
Singing ay-yay-yippee,
the Germans bombed our chippy,
ay-yay-yippee-yippee-yay (clap three times)

Some of us are going on the plane
Others from Dover on the train
A few of us with women
The rest of us are swimming
But we're all gonna get there just the same

We'll be drinking German lager in the pubs
we'll be dancing and singing in the clubs
and there's forty lads from Huyton
who said they won't be fighting
so there won't be any need for boxing gloves

Singing ay-yay-yippee,
the Germans bombed our chippy,
ay-yay-yippee-yippee-yay (clap three times)

Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin
we haven't got a ticket to get in
so we'll take a pick and shovel
and dig a massive tunnel
and smuggle through inside a wheelie-bin (hee hee)

Carragher, Rooney and Gerrard
these lads are tough and very hard
and when they're in a battle
they won't shake or tattle
and they won't get a red or yellow card (card?)

we'll be taking lots of banners and some flags
there'll be thirty lads with ASBOs wearing tags
and when it's all over, we'll be heading back to Dover
so don't forget the 30, 000 fags

Eins, zwei, drei, vier, funf..

Predictions

Argentina v Mexico - Argentina (3-0 obviously)
Germany v Sweden - Germany (already won)
England v Ecuador - England (by the odd goal)
Portugal v Holland - Portugal (on penalties)
Italy v Australia - Australia (2-1)
Switzerland v Ukraine - Ukraine (2-0)
Brazil v Ghana - Brazil (3-1)
Spain v France - Spain (2-1)

Stan Boardman

With the Germans 2-0 up at half time, and with his song in the top twenty in the UK, it is time to revisit the hilarity of Mr Stan Boardman on Des O'Connor Tonight:

O'Connor : "Why do pick on the Germans so much?"

Boardman : "'Cause my dad was badly wounded by them in the war"

O'Connor : "Really. I didn't know. What Happened?"

Boardman : "An air raid over his airfield. He was a Spitfire pilot"

O'Connor : "Wow. What happened?"

Boardman : "A squadron of German Fokkers bombed them n only my dad got in the air. He took the entire squadron on single handed and got badly hurt"

O'Connor : "Incredible. Tell us more"

Boardman : "He flew into this squadron of Fokkers n opened fire. There was a Fokker fallin' here n a Fokker fallin' there...."

O'Connor : "I'd just better explain to an early evening audience that a Fokker is a make of German aeroplane....just to avoid any misunderstanding"

Boardman : "Yeah, that's right but these Fokkers were Messerschmidts!"

Russian folklore

Has been filling my thoughts recently. Masses of links of interest here. Or more particularly, how the Soviet regimes employed the tropes of Russian folktales to their own end, both in terms of the creation of new myths (a great deal of Socialist Realist writing has a strong folkloric underpinning), the creation of fakelore, and, most importantly the re-appropriation of folk stories, songs, art, etc by the Soviet propagandists for their own ends. However, as with most things at the moment, it is raising more questions than it answers, and I am now reading Levi-Strauss's take on the role of myth in societies, as well as the Formalist approach employed by Propp and Meletinksii. Fascinating.

Over a week

since my last post. A number of factors have contributed to this. Firstly being as busy as pants (© BIB) at work. Secondly, my PC at home demanding a complete re-install of Windows due to a corrupt registry entry, which meant I lost everything on it - thousands of songs, all my favourites, and in fact the patch applied to run the Pipex account through the BT router. And I have had two days off.

One of these was spent accompanying my brother's Tajik friend from Heathrow airport to Tonbridge (whilst trying to find him at the airport, multiple bad 1980's sitcom scripts ran through my mind - collecting someone you have never seen before from the airport is a truly nerve-wracking experience. I had been told he was Russian/Caucasian looking, but the flight from Bishkek had no noticeable 'Central Asian-ness about it - the ones from Bangalore and Toronto were easy to pick out. I had visions of him travelling on alone, and me standing at the airport for hours. I also didn't know that he spoke impeccable English (andRussian, of course), and the number of Shugni speakers in the UK is less than 100, I would imagine, so I had visions of him being trapped (metaphorically, of course) at Heathrow in an echo of that dreadful Tom Hanks film. None of this was helped by the fact he didn't know I was collecting him, and he had no idea what I looked like either.) Thank the Lord for the wonderfully helpful staff at the information desk.

Yesterday I did housework. Cleaned out the filters on the Dyson, got some compost to re-pot my bamboo, went to M&S. Played golf in the evening after a fruitless search for a driving range in West London - masses of golf courses but nary an open driving range to be found. So we went to the pitch and putt and had a free game as the guy had already gone home.

Today I am working, and tomorrow as well, so I'll miss the England game. I do get to see Argentina this evening though.

There is also an new 2 CD compilation in the offing - post below to get one sent to you.

Photo exhibitions

at the National Theatre - visited two this evening, James Sparshatt's Peru – The Land of the Inca - incredible images from the roof of the world, and a wealth of archaeological questions and answers. The other was The Press Photographer’s Year - the first image I saw was truly shocking - the bus from the Lonon bombings last year, but literally minutes after the explosion - the driver was in shock walking away from the bus, and, most upsetting of all, you could see those who died towards the rear - you can view this and the other pictures here.

Updated

my links - take a look. It's a load of things that interest me. More to follow soon...

Urlaub

I can't wait.

More fun

Best football shirt ever. From Nossa.

Games Provided By Blinkyou.com

Argentina

are still my favourites to win. The most gratifying part of this World Cup, however, has been that no team has looked completely outclassed - the quality of the football (with the notable exception of Ingerland) has been of a uniformly high quality, and the insistence by FIFA on clamping down on the parts of the game that undermine it as a spectacle have proven successful so far - although I disagree that overhead kicks should be construed as dangerous play. The Czech won (wonderfully - see the boy wonder below), Italy look ominously capable of grinding out results, and Australia could be a surprise package - Kewell, Cahill and Viduka are all capable of changing a match against anyone. Tomorrow sees Brazil vs Croatia - this should be the most technically gifted of all the first round games, and I for one cannot wait.

Rosický

What can you say?

What I have drunk today

Purdeys - made me feel human on the Tube this morning.

Coffee - made me feel too hot, even with my airconditioning on.



Iced Green Tea - bought from Arigato for me - it was simply too hot for me to go out at lunchtime today.


Water - masses of it this evening - live and direct from my Brita.

And I have just put several loads of ice cubes into the fridge. How do you all deal with the heat? I am going to buy several boxes of Fabs tomorrow.

Village names in Russia

Just press play...



Thanks to youtube

The Bosnian Pyramid

has been rejected as a real archaeological site (more here), although the most interesting part of the whole story has been this online petition, conspiracy theories, rewriting of history, etc... You can judge for yourself with the gallery over at www.bosnian-pyramid.com - here's a sample for you all:















There are plenty more conspiracy theories and pretty much everything else over at www.abovetopsecret.com.

Go Netherlands

World Cup 2006 sounds

I have avoided the trap of listening to either the official England song, or any of the other World Cup related songs. Even World in Motion (great John Barnes rap) and Nessun Dorma (here is a more entertaining version) have left me cold. I have been listening to a great many Brazilian and Cuban tracks, however, both of which are styles of music entirely suited to the heat and humidity currently hanging over Ealing. So here are the current top five:

1. Grupo Batuque - Brasileiros E Ingles - commentary from the 1970 Brazil-England game over an incessant modern Brazilian backing
2. Bebel Gilberto - Sem Contenção (Trüby Trio Remix)- blissful German remix of the delightful Brazilian
3. Nelo Sosa y su Conjunto Colonial - Que Te Pedi - pre-revolutionary Cuban goodness
4. Dedalus - Bahia - Electro-Tropicalia from LA
5. Jackson Do Pandeiro - O Rei Pelé - all about the great man himself

Halftime

in the Argentina-Ivory Coast game. Both teams look good, but Argentina have the air of champions. This is the most open and engaging match so far - I can't wait to watch both of these teams playing Serbia (& Montenegro) and the Netherlands. Ayala is a staggering defender, and Riquelme is finally living up to the hype that has surrounded him for the last 10 years.

Latest news from Germany

Man Murders Woman With Sausage

German police have arrested a man on suspicion of murdering a woman with a sausage.

Prosecutors and police said the 50-year-old was arrested after the woman's body was discovered in an apartment in Zwickau, eastern Germany.

They said she had choked on a Bockwurst, a popular large German sausage.

The prosecutors said the man had given a patchy account of events, acknowledging that he may have "administered" a Bockwurst to the woman.

They are now working to establish exactly what happened in the run up to her death.

1 hour and twenty-five minutes

to go. Ecuador won last night - the Poles were neat and tidy, but lacked penetration. And they were desperately unlucky to hit the frame of the goal twice in the last ten minutes. Germany won, but their defence is incredibly suspect. I think England would not fear facing any of the teams from that group should they qualify for the next round. I am off to empty the washing machine and mop the floor so I can have an uninterrupted run-up to the match. I am also over the moon that Martin O'Neill is working for BBC again - he is the only summariser I respect. He has the insight built up form years of playing under Brian Clough - it's a shame he didn't get the England job.

Kew

was blissful yesterday - I will take out membership, especially as it is only half an hour on the bus from Ealing. Bizarrely, my hay fever was entirely absent in the gardens - I got to see the bamboo garden, palms, the aquatic plant display, and all the other plants you see in passing. As soon as I got back to Ealing, sniffing kicked in, and this morning has been insufferable. Not least for my workmates who have had to deal with my incessant sniffling and rubbing my eyes. I currently look like a dope smoker with conjunctivitis and the flu.

Confidence

According to a recent poll, 6% of Russians are confident they will win the World Cup - even though they did not qualify.

Of the 1,600 people quizzed, Russia came just behind favourites Brazil, who got 10% of the vote, while 75% went for the "hard to say" option.

Five Tibetans

OK. So I haven't been doing the exercises as much as I should have. In fact, I've only been doing the first rite, and my body is slowly getting used to it. Putting your arms out and turning 21 times is an interesting experience. Given that I haven't been on a roundabout since I was eight, and that even then it used to make me feel intensely nauseous - I even refuse the joy (?!) of the waltzers because they make me feel so interminably ill. So spinning 21 times is interesting. I don;t feel quite as bad as I did when I started, but the author does say that your boday adjusts to this sensation (abuse?) after a couple of weeks. The other rites seem more physically challenging, as you use the weight of you body to build strength, but if it will give me a body like those in the illustrations without having to spend money/time on the gym/steroids/a personal trainer, it can only be good.

Socrates

Not the ancient Greek philosopher, but the Brazilian midfield genius of the 1980's. BBC3 has provided a treat this week in the form of World Cup Goals Galore, an hour and half of the best and most unusual goals from the World Cup. A considerable percentgae of them were from the Brazilian team of the 1980's - Josimar's screamer against Northern Ireland in 1986 in particular, but Socrates was always my favourite. Playing international football for Brazil whilst studying medicine and smoking a packet of fags a day. And he made a comeback for Garforth Town in 2004. This has actually made me fall into the reveries of World Cup fever. I have not adorned my car with flags, nor have I fallen foul of a St. George's cross t-shirt. I do not feel the urge to drink poor English lager, nor to throw plastic seating at foreign policemen. I do want to see the greatest players in the world playing to the best of their ability. And it all starts tomorrow. I can't wait. England are not going to win. Argentina are the best team overall. Messi and Aimar are incredibly talented players, and the rest of the team are experienced profesionals, most of whom have played in Europe. They are 8/1 to win the tournament. Shame it is so dangerous to wear an Argentina shirt in Ingerland. Somehow I also managed to get Portugal in the sweepstake at work. No chance, I realise, but what can you do?

This film is very interesting

(to me at the moment, at least):



Masses more Soviet posters over at Pittsburgh University, so if you fancy a Chapaev or an Aelita, rush on over. Professor Padunov has done sterling work there. These US universities seem to be grasping the nettle of web-usage magnificently. As I have been trawling the internet for articles/inspiration/a supervisor/an idea of the work involved in postgraduate study, I have visited the homepage of just about every major Russian/Slavonic department in the States. They all have staff profiles, photos, extra-curricular activities, post-grad groups, post-grad profiles and publications, online learning and cultural material. This is all in direct opposition to the UK, where even the greatest places for the study of Russian in the entire world are sorely lacking in internet presence. Most places have a couple of old photos, a CV and list of publications.

Laughter

Now, this morning I happened to catch the train into Paddington to get to work. A sunny day, train was full of people from the satellites to the West of London travelling in for a day shopping or zooing or parking or cottaging. When we got to Paddington, however, with a five minute delay (bring back Jimmy Savile and BR), two passengers in my carriage leapt from their seats and started to run down the platform. But tragically, not in the absolutely desperate "I'm going to miss my plane/wedding/operation/interview/date (delete as appropriate) style", but rather the classic British middle-class/middle-aged five step jog, in which they raise their pace for the aforementioned number of strides, but then drop back to walking pace as they start to sweat/realise they look ridiculous/find their bag too heavy/drop a pen/lose their wife, and then try to run again. In certain ways it reminds me of the walking in the Olympics, when the competitors are penalised for raising their feet too much. Are GB champions in this sport? If not, we should be.

Iron use amongst the Eastern Slavs

I am working my way through Rolf Hellebust's "Flesh to Metal: Soviet Literature & the Alchemy of Revolution" - he mentioned in passing that iron products were viewed in a negative way by the Eastern Slavic tribes, especially in relation to the dead (crosses, pins, nails in boots, etc were all removed before the body was placed in a coffin, taken to church and interred), which started me thinking about the religious architecture of the area. As my two readers know (from first-hand experience) at Kizhi, earlier Russian churches (of which there are very few remaining) were composed entirely of wood, not a single metal nail was used. Could there be a parallel between the folk beliefs about death and religion, or was it simply that the nails they could produce were unsuitable for construction? I shall investigate further.

Aleksandr Kosopalov

is a Sots-artist working in NY - this is his site. And this work in particular appealed to me, Thwip, 1986, Acrylic, canvas. 70x56 inches:

Pushkin and Gogol

by Daniil Kharms (Thanks to SovLit.com)

GOGOL: (Falls onto stage from the wings and lies quietly.)

PUSHKIN: (Enters, stumbles over Gogol and falls.) The Devil! It seems I've stumbled over Gogol!

GOGOL: (Rises.) How disgusting! You can't even rest. (Walks, stumbles over Pushkin and falls.) It seems I've stumbled over Pushkin!

PUSHKIN: (Rising) Not a minute of peace! (Walks, stumbles over Gogol and falls.) The Devil! It seems I've stumbled over Gogol again!

GOGOL: (Rising) Always drunk! (Walks, stumbles over Pushkin and falls.) How disgusting! Again it's Pushkin!

PUSHKIN: (Rising) Hooliganism! Sheer hooliganism! (Walks, stumbles over Gogol and falls.) The Devil! Again it's Gogol!

GOGOL: (Rising) This is sheer mockery! (Walks, stumbles over Pushkin and falls.) Again it's Pushkin!

PUSHKIN: (Rising) The Devil! Really, the Devil! (Walks, stumbles over Gogol and falls.) Gogol!

GOGOL: (Rises.) Disgusting! (Walks, stumbles over Pushkin and falls.) Pushkin!

PUSHKIN: (Rising) The Devil! (Walks, stumbles over Gogol and falls off stage.) Gogol!

GOGOL: (Rising) Disgusting! (Exits.)

(From off stage is heard Gogol's voice: "Pushkin!")

CURTAIN

This week has been

eventful. Another Bank Holiday at the start. The purchase of a suit for interviews. A trip to Quaritch to see their exhibition of Pushkin first editions. A Frankenstein-style construction of one working PC from two wrecked ones at work. And a Greek meal with my brother, sister-in-law and 7-month old niece. And I have to work this weekend. At least I am looking for books about simulacra in Soviet society. A thankless task, but someone has to do it. At this rate I will have written enough for a PhD before even starting it.

BBC World Cup Guidelines for commentary team

1 -Within 1 minute of kick off in the opening match (Germany v Costa Rica), the commentator must mention England.
2 - Regardless of what two teams are contesting the final, England have to be mentioned within the first minute.
3 - The commentator shall refer to the Falkland Isles in passing at some point in the match if England play Argentina.
4 - Whenever a hat trick is scored, comparisons with Geoff Hurst will be made within seconds of the third goal hitting the net.
5 - Should England wear their red jerseys, then '1966' should be mentioned approximately 20 times.
6 - 1966 will be mentioned approximately 10 times a match, or only on 4 or 5 occasions for matches not involving England.
7 - Prior to the captain of the winning team lifting the trophy, the commentator will mention Bobby Moore. And 1966.
8 - When Germany are playing, they must be referred to as being arrogant by the commentator on at least 14 occasions. This must refer to their style, their passing, their haircuts and their general footballing ability.
9 - Should England play Germany, mentions of Winston Churchill, Dambusters, The Luftwaffe and Adolf Hitler will be compulsory. And 1966.
10 - All Scottish members of our commentary team must continue to refer to England as "we" and "us".
11 - We must ensure that nationalistic stereotypes are adhered to. Of course, the Germans are arrogant. The Spanish are bottlers, The Ivory Coast are fast but bad at defending, The Angolans are disorganised, The Argentinians are cheats and the French are only good because their best players play in England.
12 - For matches not involving England, we must only discuss the players that are playing in England. (eg - Holland v Argentina should be referred to as Van Nistelrooy v Crespo).
13 - The mythical "bulldog spirit" phrase should be used as often as possible.
14 - Each match involving England should begin with the phrase "England Expects."
15 - Should any player be involved in an injury that involves the loss of teeth, then references to Nobby Stiles and 1966 are compulsory.
16 - If in doubt, mention 1966.
17 - Praise all of the stunning new stadiums in Germany but emphasise that they lack the presence of Wembley, the spiritual home of football since 1966.
18 - Commentators should feel free to imitate the style of Kenneth Wolstenholme, the hero of 1966.
19 - Should any team feature brothers playing together, then Jackie and Bobby Charlton should be mentioned.
20 - When England bow out after the first stage, we must emphasise that it is a massive blow to football and a serious loss to the World Cup.