.: Sep 16, 2007

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Fast Lady in Pearls - Zephirine

Racing driver and aviatrix Mary Bruce, looking sophisticated for the camera

Looking a bit more disheveled on arrival in Japan on her 1930
solo journey round the world.

How to fly a 1930s plane - note the speed required for take-off.

Read the full text of Zephirine's witty biography of the amazing Mary Bruce at Pseuds' Corner

Friday, September 21, 2007

Ahead of tonight’s crunch game at the Stade de France there’s surely only one name on the lips of those tense with anticipation, one image in theirs minds; Sebastian Chabal a.k.a. The Caveman (L’Homme des Cavernes), previously, and chillingly, known as The Anaesthetist.

France vs Ireland in group D of the Rugby World Cup will probably decide who gets past the group stages and who lingers there. For France, as the home nation, it is a must-win game as to be knocked out at this stage would be catasrophique.

Yet, “Cometh the hour, cometh the Caveman”, Sebastian Chabal has been doing a Lomu over the last few years and treading on anyone who gets in his way. Witness the literal destruction of the All Blacks in these clips from last June’s tour of New Zealand.

France is, apparently, in the grip of Caveman mania at the moment and his supporters enjoy nothing better than walking around in shaggy black wigs and long, wild, beards. He’s already been immortalized in the French version of Spitting Image (must they copy everything we do?) by ‘Les Guignols de l’info’ a Canal + institution (are there any French speakers willing to translate before I mangle it surreally?)

The Caveman persona is not just about his Neolithic countenance, primeval ferociousness in the tackle or nefarious doll marketing strategies, oh no. Like Eric Cantona, that other feral Frog, he plies his trade in the prehistoric wilds of England; at Sale. There, they like to sing “Chabad to the Bone” [sic] because he is and there is no better excuse for a bit of George Thorogood, is there?

The Revenge of the Underbull - Tony Ellis

My Favourite Sporting Photograph - MotM

Cricket is not a sport that lends itself to great photography, but it has produced just about my favourite sports photograph.

On one level, this is a photograph of the great West Indies pace quartet of the early eighties, but it's actually so much more than that.

In the background, one can discern the peaks of the Trinindadian mountains looming over Queen's Park, Port-of-Spain, a name redolent of the island's colonial past. The island's still troubled present is evident in the fences to restrain the crowd and the shabbiness of the stands (now gone in ICC World Cup redevelopment). The outfield is hardly the green baize of Lords with the fierce Caribbean sun having scorched the grass.

But none of that matters when you look at the four men. They stand in line, slightly impatient, but doing as they are told because they are a team with a job to do. But they are also individuals, each adopting a different stance and each finding a different position for their hands. Andy Roberts, Antiguan, stands at the front, the oldest, the subtlest and the acknowledged leader - a man who spoke little, but every word was cricketing gold. Next is Michael Holding, Jamaican, loquacious off the field, silent and devastating on it. Third in line is Colin Croft, Guyanese, constantly aggressive, sometimes ill-disciplined with a vicious delivery angling into the right-hander. Finally Joel Garner, Bajan, an extraordinarily skilled bowler who used his height and long fingers to great effect.

The West Indies pacemen defined bowling for a generation - the reasons are all there in the photograph. For more, read Zepherine's excellent piece at Pseuds' Corner.

Mouth of the Mersey

Photograph Getty Images courtesy of The Googly

The Big Wazowski - BlueDaddy

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Champions League Goals

Arsenal 3 Sevilla 0

Stomp Out Loud - file

Is basketball art?

Jose Mourinho - file

MOURINHO'S CHELSEA RECORD

2 June, 2004 - Appointed manager

27 February, 2005 - Wins Carling Cup 3-2 v Liverpool

30 April, 2005 - Beat Bolton 2-0 to win Premiership title

4 May, 2005 - Signs new five-year contract

29 April, 2006 - Beat Man Utd 3-0 to win Premiership again

27 February, 2007 - Beat Arsenal 2-1 to win Carling Cup

19 May, 2007 - Wins FA Cup by beating Man Utd 1-0 at Wembley

19 September, 2007 – Resolves quarantine issues once and for all

Special moments with Jose remembered

A secret tape of the behind-the-scenes discord at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1 (Jose's last match with the blues)

Everyone Needs Heroes - Mimitig

There is a film Christiane F for which this is a soundtrack. It’s a soundtrack for much more than that.

We all have times when we need an anthem to hum along to, and this certainly does that. Forget the politics, forget the Wall, this is music to listen to and weep, hopefully with joy.

Apocalypse Now - Mimitig

I never asked to grow up, but things happened. I was at school when the embassy in Saigon was evacuated. I was still at school when Francis Ford Coppola unleashed Apocalypse Now on the world.

It blew me away and remains one of my favourite films.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Llorando - file

Ok, a thousand points for the name of each of these post-modern men, bonus points if you know why they are blubbing but... you've got only got till the lady in red falls over (Llorando from Mulholland Drive - David Lynch)

Pikes Peak Hill Climb - Mouth of the Mersey

Sensational stuff with Ari the coolest of dudes at 3.27.

George Best - Pipita

Mimitig

Every now and then I go to Kinloss Abbey – an old Cistercian relic. I think the furthest north the no-knickers monks ever came. Originally I visited to tick it off on my list of abbeys visited, but it is very real now because the graveyard is current. Last year 14 men from Kinloss died in Afghanistan, this year we’ve lost a few more from Lossie and Kinloss.

There are rows and rows of white crosses for men lost in wars that we don’t really understand.

This is the clip that sums it all up.

Flower of Scotland - Mimitig

Back in the day, when men were men, and wore proper shorts, songs were sung.

Here we see a bunch of fierce Scottish lads, in white trews, waiting for a kicking by the Auld Enemy. But boy oh boy, don’t those pipes and drums send the chills.

Women's World Cup

England 6 Argentina 1

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

If everybody had an ocean... - file

The title World Surfing Champion is given to those surfers who get the most points annually in the Association of Surfing Professionals competitions. This is a video piece about the man who has won more world titles than anyone, ever, double the amount as it goes.

Kelly Slater, an American from Florida, is the undisputed Tiger Woods of surfing. He’s the man who has dominated the pro surfing scene since his first world title in 1992 to his most recent win last year. Slater has been world champion 8 times, the closest anyone else has come to achieving this is Australian Mark Richards with 4 title wins but these days he’s mostly just known as “that guy whose record Slater beat".

When asked for the secret of his success Kelly replied “It’s all about where your mind’s at”.

Coincidentally, the incumbent Women’s World Surfing Champion, Layne Beachley, is also the greatest surfer in women’s surfing history having won the title 7 times to her nearest rivals 4.

For those that like those little gems of trivia; the first ever World Surfing Champ (1964) was the wonderfully named Midget Farrelly from Sydney, Aus.

Teehupoo is one of the greatest ASP tournament venues. Located just off the south-east of Tahiti it’s a reef break and known for it’s heavy, glassy waves that often reach 3 metres and higher. Traditionally the surfer's lifestyle is as important as the surf ...

The song Surfin was written in the autumn of 1961 by cousins Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

They thought long and hard and came up with a name for their band; The Pendletones. Obviously The Pendletones were chuffed to get their first record deal and it was only when the Surfin single had been cut and pressed and they were unwrapping it from the boxes that they learned their name had been changed to The Beach Boys. A record promotions worker called Russ Regan is widely credited with the name that stuck, he’s said that he thought it was a good idea to link to the other surf bands of the times by association.

Surfin got all the way to # 75 in the US Top 100 by early 1962 and it was the song they performed on their first TV performance, though this clip is from is a later live performance.