The Ephemeric

So it finally happened, Thierry Henry has left Arsenal for Barcelona, having realised he's going nowhere at a club that has been trophiless for 2 years in a row now. The real joke of the matter is that they got a tiny tiny price for him, when they could have got double had he gone last summer. Considering he has had a very nothing year I think this certainly can be seen as a missed opportunity by Arsenal, especially when they failed to get Eto'o in exchange.

So what are the wider implications for Arsenal?
Dein is gone, the smart money says Wenger will soon follow next summer at the latest, and if the media is to be believed some of their young guns are already eyeing up the exit, trying to jump ship before it brings them down with it.

Pessimistic? perhaps. But either way the inescapable fact is that bad things are happening behind closed doors right now at Arsenal, a team which was already massively overrated in terms of potential. The team now hinges essentially on the shoulders of 19 year old Cesc Fabregas and now if he goes then troubled times will undoubtedly ensue for the club.

The brightside? If anyone can turn this around its the current manager Wenger. If he stays he can always have the ability to pull a miracle from nothing.

song of the day: "On a Saturday" by "Jacob Golden"
icon of the day:


HOT:
impulsiveness
travelling
sony ericsson

NOT:
evasiveness
backing out of plans
motorolla

It is very common to read about video game criticism from suburban idiot 50something parents in america who have never played a videogame in their lives or politicians desperately searching for a 'hot button' to spread their name nationally in the press. This comes for a variety of reasons, most of which come along the lines of 'all these penniless hoodlums are increasing gun crim with their $1000 gaming system as training' or 'sex is ok in magazines, movies, tv, books, advertising, but NEVER in a videogame'.

Most of the time we can tune this out, leave us not forget the father of a notably famous pianist criticising how bad such instruments were for the nation's youth. It is only natural for videogames to receive a similar baptism of fire before people realise that its just another form of entertainment like books or tv. The only difference now is that idiots are louder and have more outlets for complaining to people with much more important things to do with their time.

I bring this up today seeing as the newspapers have been littered all week with stories of how the Manchester Cathedral is pressing for a game to be banned for staging a gunifght between aliens and the player in a church. Put your hands up if youve ever seen a videogame/book/movie which contrasted violence in a religious setting. (everyone raises their hands). So why is this such a big issue? They have tried issuing complaints about it encouraging violence in youths, and that it defiles the sacred ground of a church.

A) there is zero correlation between violent videogames and violence, zero, except that maybe violent people will play these games more, videogames themselves have never been shown in any study to affect people in this way. In fact due to money/class issues, as well as the types of people who are indoors playing videogames you will probably find exactly the opposite correlation. No scapegoats please.

B) The church is an industry that has been bathed in violence in the past, perhaps one should look at the real imagery in place here, that in the time of an alien invasion the last place standing, th epoint from which the resistance (the name of the game in question) makes its last stand... if anything its putting the church and faith in a positive light

C) for pete's sake its a videogame!

Next!

Every Chelsea fan/neutral observer who pays attention to the football press has no doubt been intrigued by the goings on of the summer so far. For years anyone caught wearing blue has had to endure taunts of 'you bought the title' or 'its only because you spend so much'. Indeed the best response these critics can come up with when faced with facts such as 'well actually there are a lot of clubs who spend like this and dont win' is the notion that 'this is worse'. So understandably in a summer where Chelsea have spent approximately 0.0 million pounds on players as compared to Man u topping 50 million and Liverpool threatening to break the bank 'like a drunken sailor' it is perhaps slightly surprising not to see the media and football supporting fans alike reaching for their pitchforks in protest on how these clubs are 'ruining football' like Chelsea apparently were.

Suddenly spending ridiculous amounts of money is a good thing, and why not? If it benefits you then why should you care? We have long sicne become accustomed to the double standards in the press, but still i think it will be interesting what they come up with this season to explain why Chelsea are good... looking forward to that one.

I know at least a few of you watch Lost, so vote for this... and for those that dont, shame on you and vote anyway just pick the most amusing line.

song of the day: "impossible Germany" by "wilco"
icon of the day:


HOT:
summer reunions
old friends
spanish football

NOT:
Manchester Cathedral
Hypocrites
sensationalist politics

Well I am adding a new feature, polls, for the roughly 10 of you who seem to read this page regularly.

The first one is a simple



will announce results in a few days depending on how many vote

Exams have come to a close and for the first time since... well... ever, uni students have a free June to relax in the sun and have picnics. Lucky then that thanks to global warming we can look forward to the hottest summer in an even longer time... as we speak I already have a sunburn on the back of my neck from picniccing in the park today.
London seems to be a place becoming more and more accustomed to dealing with the heat. A brief walk around London will reveal the increasing prevalence of air conditioning around the city. still more issues to tackle, drinking fountains in parks being an obvious example.

song of the day: 'lost' by 'the maryonettes'
icon of the day:


HOT:
Picnics
Tall grass
Finally breaking out those summery colours

NOT:
Sunburn
Bugs
Lack of air conditioning