UEFA Champions League 2007/08 - semi-final preview

And then there were four. We're now in the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League. The line-up promises some mouth-watering matches:

Liverpool (England) v Chelsea (England)
Barcelona (Spain) v Manchester United (England)

Matches will be played on a home-and-away basis. The 3 English clubs which reached this year semi-finals were the same 3 that appeared in last year's semis. The possibility of an all-English final is strong, & only Barcelona stand in the way of that scenario.

My forecast on how I see the semi-finals unfold are as follows:

Liverpool v Chelsea

This will be the third time both sides meet in the Champions League semi-final! That's because these 2 teams previously faced each other in the semis of the 2005 & 2007 Champions League. On both occasions, Liverpool narrowly prevailed to reach the final. On the basis of those results, Liverpool are seen to be the favourites (though not strong favourites) in this tie. Indeed, Liverpool have really thrived in this competition over the last few years, so it will surprise no one should they get past Chelsea yet again.

Matches between these sides tend to be tight affairs. This particular tie will probably not be any different - there will only be 1-2 goal difference at most over both legs. It's possible that a penalty shoot-out may be needed to separate the sides, as was the case in 2007. Both teams seem to play a similar, disciplined style of football. That is not to say both sides do not have quality players. Far from it. There are match winners on each side - Torres & Gerrard for Liverpool, & Drogba & Anelka for Chelsea. Besides these, both sides can also call on numerous other international players. On the coaching side, both coaches enter this tie with an opportunity to prove something - Liverpool's Rafa Benitez has a chance to establish his credentials as a tactical master for the big-games, while Chelsea's Avram Grant will have a chance to step outside the shadow of the previous coach Jose Mourinho.

Benitez suggested that Chelsea's players must overcome the mental block from the 2005 & 2007 semi-final defeats in order to get past Liverpool this time. He suggested that Liverpool therefore have the psychological edge. Some may see this as Chelsea's opportunity to gain revenge on those defeats. And I think they will get it this time. Chelsea's players will have to be careful not to get carried away with the revenge factor - the danger is that the desire for revenge can be so strong as to get the better of their emotions & consequently the ability to focus on their game. But I would think Chelsea's players are experienced enough not to let "revenge" get to their heads. Furthermore, the difference between now compared to 2005 & 2007 is that this time, Chelsea will have home advantage in the decisive second leg. And, overall, I feel Chelsea have a stronger squad than Liverpool. So, all things considered, I think Chelsea will make it third time lucky & will prevail. My verdict: revenge for Chelsea.

Barcelona v Manchester United

It is this semi-final tie, more so than the other, that will have football fans everywhere excited. That is because Barcelona & Manchester United both play attacking, enterprising football, compared to Liverpool & Chelsea who are both considered to be more tactical & conservative. Past matches in this competition have seen lots of goals - 4-0 to Barcelona in 1994/1995 season, & 2 sets of 3-3 draws in the season Man Utd won the treble. Another goal fest could be on the cards.

Now, if this match was to be played 2 years ago, I would be absolutely confident of an emphatic Barcelona victory. Back then, Barcelona were the best team in Europe. Today's Barcelona, however, are not as strong, & so I find it hard to imagine a comprehensive win over Man Utd this time. Barcelona's performances this season have been very inconsistent, & at times, ordinary. They have been struggling of late - just refer to one of my previous posts on FC Barcelona. They are having problems on & off the field (injuries, erratic form, uncertainty over coach & players' futures, etc etc). By contrast, everything is going extremely well for Manchester Utd. They have been in fine form, have such great team spirit, have no injury worries, & some of their players recently having their contracts renewed, which should boost the morale of those players.

Needless to say, I would be supporting Barcelona. For those who know me, it's no secret that I am no United fan & would not want to see them win this competition. However, I do like a couple of their players - Portugal's sensation Cristiano Ronaldo & Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez. The best compliment I could pay these 2 is that I wish they were playing for Barcelona. If so, then I can definitely see a comfortable win for Barca. But the reality is they play for Man Utd, & they will most likely be key in helping Man Utd get past Barca. Verdict: Based on form & their consistency, I would have to say Manchester United will prevail over the 2 legs. Never mind the fact that Man Utd will play the decisive second leg at home, their more impressive form alone is enough to persuade observers that they look more likely winners. But in football, anything can happen, so who knows, maybe Barcelona can rise from the ashes? I hope so...

Joke - Getting into Heaven (Dolly Parton & Queen Elizabeth)

Dolly Parton and Queen Elizabeth die on the same day and they both go before an Angel to find out if they'll be admitted to Heaven.

Unfortunately, there's only one space left that day, so the Angel must decide which of them gets in. The Angel asks Dolly if there's some particular reason why she should go to Heaven.

Dolly takes off her top and says, “Look at these, they're the most perfect breasts God ever created and I'm sure it will please the angels to be able to see them everyday, for eternity.”

The Angel thanks Dolly, and asks Her Majesty the same question. The Queen takes a bottle of Perrier out of her handbag, shakes it up, and gargles. Then she spits into a toilet and pulls the lever.

The Angel says, “OK, your Majesty, you may go in.”

Dolly is outraged and asks, “What was that all about? I show you two of God's own perfect creations and you turn me down. She spits into a commode and she gets in! Would you explain that to me?”

“Sorry, Dolly,” says the Angel, “but even in Heaven, a royal flush beats a pair - no matter how big they are!”

The 10 most annoying alarm clocks

#10 - Climbing clock: It hangs above your head and starts climbing while it rings. Don't wake up fast enough, and you won't be able to shut it up without a ladder.

#9 - Wake Up Puzzle: You have to build the puzzle to make it stop

#8 - Wake or Curse: You can ask it what the time is and it will answer. But if you don't wake up quickly enough it will curse you.

#7 - High Tech: This one has a vibrator, 95 db alarm and police style rotating light that you cannot ignore.

#6 - Find The Pin: You need find the right pin to stop it's ringing. Not going to stay sleepy after this mission.

#5 - Chicken and Egg Problem: The egg laying alarm clock. It will only quiet down after you put all the eggs back.

#4 - GI Joe: You will wake to the sound of your commander's wake up call. Don't mess with it.

#3 - Floating Around: Will float around the room until you'll catch it.

#2 - Kaboom: This acoustic grenade will wake the neighborhood with its ultra loud sound level.

#1 - Hide and Seek: The winner is the hide and seek alarm clock. Once it begins to ring it falls down to the floor and finds a random place to hide. Chase it down or else you're doomed.

Article - Australians work longer than many others

I saw this article today on NineMSN. Apparently, on average, Australians work longer hours than workers in other developed countries.

Wow, more than 43 hours per week. And hey, the Europeans & Americans have lighter workloads. Maybe they work more efficiently than Australians in the hours they are at work? Who knows??

My official weekly hours is 37.5 (7.5 hours daily). But last week was horrible, one of the worst weeks in my career. I was totally snowed in - I estimate that I must have worked about 44-45 hours last week. It was so bad that I had to give last Monday's Clay a miss. And last Friday was the only day I arrived home before 7pm (& only because it's a Friday). Last week was very stressful & I'm not sure if the next couple of months will be much better if at all. The stress has brought the worst out of me, causing me to be moody, grumpy & snappy.

I don't like working excessive hours. It takes away from my "free time" which I could spend on other things. But with my work schedule over the next couple of months, it looks like there will be some days at work where I stay back for quite a while. Not good. However, the one possible "silver lining" is that working longer increases my chance of getting a decent bonus. The bonus is payable if I exceed my annual billing target - so the longer productive hours I put in, the better the chance of getting over that target. Not saying I will definitely get the bonus (I wasn't even told what my target is), but it'll be good if I did. And then, next in line hopefully will be a hefty payrise. Go DT!

*********************

Aussies work longer than many, including US workers

From smartcompany.com.au
April 2008

Australians are working longer average weekly hours than their colleagues in other developed countries, according to new data from the OECD compiled by a Sydney academic.

Brigid van Wanrooy, at the University of Sydney, says there is a chronic culture of overworking among Australian full-time employees, which needs government intervention.

Australian employees' average full-time weekly hours exceed 43. By comparison, British workers do just over 42 hours, US workers less than 42, Spanish workers less than 41, German workers less than 40, and full-time workers in the Netherlands work on average less than 38 hours a week.

The data is being used to call for a cap on working hours because long hours can damage safety standards and productivity. Van Wanrooy told The Australian Financial Review that 48 hours of work a week is the tipping point. Working 48 hours in a week is likely to result in fatigue, poor performance and risks to health and safety.

Wheels falling off at FC Barcelona

All does not seem to be well at Barcelona FC. During mid-week, they chalked up an unconvincing 1-0 win over German club side Schalke in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals second-leg. The result meant they win 2-0 on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals. OK, so they managed to win, but the performance was far from polished & left a lot to be desired. I woke up early in the morning to watch the match. I saw a Barca side that looked very uncertain in defence. And the display was patchy & lacked any sort of urgency - they seldom showed their free-flowing fluent football, although they did somewhat improve in the second-half. Barca coach Rijkaard was jeered, & sections of the Barca fans waved white handkerchiefs, which was a sign that the fans were unhappy & disapprove of the team's performance.

Then just this morning, they could only manage a 2-2 draw away to Recreativo Huelva in the Spanish La Liga. The draw is a blow to their hopes of regaining the Spanish championship from arch-rivals Real Madrid. Twice Samuel Eto'o gave Barcelona the lead, & each time Recreativo's young Argentinian striker Marco Ruben equalised. I didn't see the match (we don't get ESPN), but by reports, Ruben's first goal was debateable as it did not appear to cross the Barca line. Still, not to win the match was disappointing. But Barcelona's recent form can most charitably be described as mediocre anyway, & the latest result is merely a continuation of that bad run. The wheels are falling off, if they haven't already.

In the past few weeks, I've been livid at Barcelona's poor & inconsistent run of form. I think I have moved past that stage, because now I've come to accept that Barcelona might not win anything this year. That's simply because they don't look like winning anything this year. Barcelona are currently a shadow of the side which won La Liga & Champions League in 2006. So I no longer expect Barcelona to sweep all before them. I'm just relieved that Barcelona are in the Champions League semis, slightly happy that Barcelona are still in the running for the Champions League. Anything more will be a bonus, in light of their current form. Of course, if/when they do crash out of the Champions League, I'll still be disappointed, perhaps angry. But expectations are not high from me, so perhaps I'll get over the disappointment quickly.

I've heard all sorts of reasons/"theories" being put forward to explain Barcelona's patchy & inconsistent form. Here they are:

• Injuries - key players have been missing for long periods this season. Eto'o missed a large number of games earlier in the season. Argentinian whizz kid Leo Messi was out at one stage, then came back but then got injured again, & made his return as a substitute in the Recreativo match. Ronaldinho is out for the rest of the season, & though he's not been fantastic at all this season, a player of his class & skill will always be an asset to any team & will always be missed. Deco is still out. Other players such as Krkic, Henry & Iniesta were rested from the Recreativo match to nurse slight injuries.

• Players - A lot of players have not been at their best form, & many fans think that some players are past their best. Deco is frequently "accused" of not being the player he once was. And on top of that, it has been said that some players have been so distracted with contract negotiations that it affects their performances on the pitch.
  

• The coach - Some critics have said Rijkaard is not the most tactically astute of coaches, that he's getting stale with the Barca coaching job. For much of the season, there has been lots of talk & speculation about Rijkaard's long-term future at the club. The Spanish media constantly speculate on suitable replacements for Rijkaard in light of rumours that the Barcelona board are looking for such a replacement. And also, with such uncertainty in the background, would one think that Rijkaard can do his job effectively? Can anyone really blame him if he feels he lacks support from the Barcelona board & that his position is untenable? Would his heart still be 100% devoted to the job with all that speculation over his head?
  

• Team spirit - Another rumour has it that team spirit is not the strongest, with certain players not getting on well with each other (e.g. Eto'o & Ronaldinho), others not happy with the coach & his tactics, & others not happy at the club (e.g. Henry complaining he never sees his young daughter as often as he likes, that he does not like his new playing position of the left of the attack). I don't know how true this rumour is.
  

In light of the above, many fans seem to consider Barcelona FC to be a club in crisis. After all, they are 6 points off the top of the Spanish league & not exactly impressive in reaching the Champions League semis. While all may not seem well at Barcelona, to say Barcelona are in crisis is probably an exagerration. It is a reflection of how demanding Barcelona fans can be, particularly those based in Spain itself. Lots of clubs would love to be in Barcelona's current position.

Having said that, as a fan, my head spins when I think of all those "theories" behind Barca's inconsistent form. I mean, goodness gracious, come on. Low team spirit, players not getting on?? We are talking about a great football institution here. Players, coach & coaching staff, fans, everyone at the club or connected to the club need to realise this. Everyone need to pull their finger out. Put aside whatever personal differences people may have with each other, & be absolutely united for the greater good of the club. The best interest of the club must always come first - people need to realise that if they want to be part of Barcelona FC. Have more team bonding sessions, whatever it takes to bring everyone together.

All that stuff about contract negotiations, if true, should wait until the season is over. Players & coach should concentrate on getting the club as far as it can in the Spanish league & Champions League. There is still plenty to play for. Not saying they will definitely win everything & anything. But that should be the aim. Hola Barca!

2 quotes (Chinese proverb; human beings)

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. Chinese Proverb

Hhhmm, that reminds me of my spiritual walk. It's much closer to standing still than growing slowly, with the way things have been going.


When they are alone they want to be with others, and when they are with others they want to be alone. After all, human beings are like that. Gertrude Stein

That is so true. I am sometimes "guilty" of such behaviour.

Unknown workers

Friend emailed me these pics this morning.

UEFA Champions League 2007/08 - quarter-final preview

Alright. The UEFA Champions League season 2007/2008 is now at the quarter-final stage! Some interesting match-ups are coming up. Anyway, here are the quarter-final matches:

Roma (Italy) v Manchester United (England)
Schalke (Germany) v Barcelona (Spain)
Fenerbahce (Turkey) v Chelsea (England)
Arsenal (England) v Liverpool (England)

The matches will be played on a home & away basis in the middle of this week & next week. Here's my forecast on the outcomes of the quarter-final ties:

Roma v Manchester United:

Both sides met at the same stage last season, & Manchester United ran out big winners, inflicting Roma a heavy defeat at Old Trafford. What will happen this time round? I think the matches will be a lot closer this time. Roma will definitely want to give a much better account of themselves this time round. Whether that extra motivaton will be enough to get past Manchester United is open to question. The tie promises to be interesting, as both sides like to play attacking, adventurous football. I think Manchester United will get to the semi-finals, simply because they have a stronger attack & have been in very fine form domestically & in Europe.

Schalke v Barcelona:

On paper, Barcelona are hot favourites. However, their form has not been impressive of late. For that reason, their ties against Schalke could be a lot closer than many people would expect. All is not well at Barcelona. They have been showing inconsistent performances & during the weekend, they let slip a 2 goal lead to lose 3-2 away to Betis in the Spanish league. An embarassing collapse, that, & a blow to their hopes of winning the Spanish championship. It's hard to tell quite how Barcelona will react to that massive setback. If they carry that patcy form into the Champions League, then Schalke are quite capable of causing a shock. However, if they can put that setback behind them, then they should beat Schalke. As it is (& perhaps I'm biased), I tip Barcelona to go through, but not by a huge margin.

Fenerbahce v Chelsea:

Turkish giants Fenerbahce caused quite a sensation by dumping highly fancied Spanish outfit Sevilla out in the previous round. That must be considered quite an achievement, given the talented footballers Sevilla have at their disposal. For that reason, it would be foolish to underestimate Fenerbahce. However, I still think Chelsea should have the measure of them & more. Chelsea look to have too much all round experience, & do have a bigger & better squad than Fenerbahce. For that reason, I think Chelsea will once again reach the Champions League semi-finals. But don't expect a walkover, for Fenerbahce should be tough to beat in Turkey. However, when they travel to London, it will be a different story altogether. And that's where this tie will be decided in the Londoners' favour.

Arsenal v Liverpool:

England's top 4 clubs have done very well in the Champions League this season. Two of them meet each other in the "all-English" quarter-final tie. Seasoned campaigners Liverpool travel to London to face talented Arsenal. Given their experience & European pedigree, some have considered Liverpool as the side no one wants to face in the Champions League. Many have said that they will be too experienced for Arsenal to handle. But then again, Arsenal were also written off when they were drawn against last year's Champions League winners Milan in the previous round. And guess what happened? Arsenal showed what they are capable of, knocking off the defending champions on their home ground. So having eliminated Milan, Arsenal will have no real reason to fear Liverpool, even though they may be the less experienced of the two sides. This will be a tactical battle between the respective coaches - Arsenal's Wenger & Liverpool's Benitez. Who will win the tactical battle, that's anyone's guess. But Arsenal are more talented than Liverpool & over both legs, I actually think Arsenal will narrowly edge it.

WrestleMania 24 - a review of sorts

OK, WrestleMania24 has come & gone. So let's look at how my predictions went.

Hmmm, looks like many of my predictions proved correct:

Randy Orton did retain the WWE Championship belt.
The Undertaker did extend his unbeaten WrestleMania streak to 16-0.
Kane did win the Battle Royal before WrestleMania & then win the ECW Championship during WM itself.
Shawn Michaels did beat Rick Flair in the retirement match, thus forcing Flair to retire. The next day on Raw, they had a Flair retirement address, & Triple H had the everyone in WWE (the entire roster, referees, officials etc) come out to farewell him. Thanks for the memories, Rick.
Batista did beat Umaga (not the result I wanted).
JBL did beat Finlay, despite the best efforts of Hornswoggle to help Finlay.

Where I had my predictions wrong:

CM Punk won Money in the Bank Ladder Match (I tipped Jericho to win), so he will have a future title shot at the belt of his choice (he can choose from WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, ECW Championship).
Ashley & Maria didn't win the BunnyMania Lumberjack match - Beth Phoenix & Melina did.
And....The Big Show lost to Floyd Mayweather. Yeah, the wrestler who is more than 7 foot tall lost to a professional boxer in wrestling! But apparently, Mayweather had help from his crew, which was legal because the match was "no disqualification", meaning anything goes. So Mayweather managed to gain the win.

All in all, I don't think I did badly at all with the predictions!

Sister & brother-in-law's 1st anniversary

Today, Val & Andrew celebrate the first anniversary of their marriage! Woo hoo! Congratulations to them!! They are away for their anniversary, no doubt having such a great time.

I can't believe how quickly time passed. It's been exactly 1 year already. We were having a ball this day last year, celebrating their union. Some relatives & family friends from interstate & overseas came to Brisbane to celebrate that occasion. I still remember, with much fondness, pretty much everything that happened on the wedding day. It was a great great day, one to cherish. And I pray that God will continue to bless Val & Andrew, their marriage & their future richly.

WrestleMania 24 - my predictions

For those of you who don't know, WrestleMania is the biggest & grandest annual pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It is called "The Grandest Stage of Them All", & is usually held around the end of March or start of April. The latest edition, WrestleMania 24, is almost upon us. It will kick-off on Sunday night (US time) at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The final WrestleMania 24 card will be as follows:

Triple-Threat WWE Championship Match: Randy Orton (c) vJohn Cena v Triple H
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge (c) v The Undertaker
ECW Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Winner of Raw/SmackDown/ECW Battle
Royal Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Ken Kennedy vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. MVP vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison (winner gets future title match within 1 year of the MITB Ladder match)
Career Threatening Match: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Flair has to retire from wrestling if he loses)
Raw vs. SmackDown Match: Umaga (Raw) vs. Batista (Smackdown)
BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Ashley & Maria vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina (Snoop Dogg is MC for the match)
Belfast Brawl: Finlay vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL)
No Disqualification Match: The Big Show v Floyd "Money" Mayweather

Raw/SmackDown/ECW 24-Man Battle Royal: This will take place before WrestleMania. Winner gets a ECW Championship shot at WrestleMania against Chavo Guerrero. The participants: Elijah Burke, Lance Cade, Deuce, Domino, Tommy Dreamer, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Festus, The Great Khali, Mark Henry, Hardcore Holly, Jesse, Kane, Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Shannon Moore, Trevor Murdoch, Jamie Noble, Chuck Palumbo, Cody Rhodes, Snitsky, Stevie Richards, Val Venis & Jimmy Wang Yang.


Here are my predictions:

Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship belt. Actually, to be honest, I find this match hard to call. Many people are sure Orton will lose the belt. Some feel Triple H will win, while others say Cena will regain the belt. Orton's chances of winning seem to be overlooked. I thought I'd go against the popular prediction & tip Orton to keep his title. Being the "bad guy", Orton will likely cheat along the way to secure victory.

The Undertaker to become the World Heavyweight Champion, & so extending his unbeaten streak at WrestleMania, as he has never before lost at WrestleMania. That is also the case with Edge, but I tip The Undertaker to win the match, meaning Edge loses his own unbeaten Wrestlemania streak (which is much shorter than the Undertaker's).

Chavo will lose the ECW Championship to Kane. (see later)

Chris Jericho to win the Money In the Bank Ladder Match. WWE didn't bring Jericho back to the company last year just to be a bit-part player. He recently won the Intercontinental Championship belt, & I think he will win Money in the Bank. I would have tipped Ken Kennedy to win, but heard that he's making a movie shortly after WrestleMania - which means he's not likely to win Money in the Bank as he will have to devote considerable time to his movie. (Unless of course the movie rumours are untrue....)

Shawn Michaels to win, & end Rick Flair's career. Flair would be inducted into the Hall of Fame the day before WrestleMania. I take that as an indication he will be retiring soon. And if he is going to retire by losing, then who more "fitting" to do the honours than veteran, well-known, well-regarded, highly respected wrestler in "The Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels?

Batista to win. I would definitely be supporting Umaga, but I can't see him getting over Batista, who has been with WWE for much longer & is more experienced. I heard rumours that the storyline would see Umaga switching over to Smackdown shortly after WrestleMania to continue the feud with Batista. That suggests Umaga would lose this match, to fit in with the planned storyline. Umaga may eventually win the feud, but along the way, he would lose at WrestleMania. So, Batista to win, & he will have to do it the hard hard way - no one beats Umaga easily.

Ashley & Maria to win. Enough said.

JBL to beat Finlay in the Belfast Brawl. I just can't see Finlay winning. His role in WWE is basically to put over other wrestlers. I see JBL winning as a more believable outcome. After that, I can see JBL entering a feud with either Shawn Michaels or Triple H.

The Big Show to win, of course. WWE are not going to let one of their wrestlers lose to a boxer invited to the show to make a "guest appearance". Especially not with a wrestler the stature of The Big Show (biggest wrestler in WWE). Now, the outcome of this match seems to be a foregone conclusion. But I have a feeling WWE will come up with something to make the match a little less predictable, & make Big Show's win "less straightforward".

As for the 24-Man Battle Royal, hmmm.....I think size matters, so the winner is likely to come from one of Kane, The Great Khali, Mark Henry or Snitsky, as these are the biggest 4 wrestlers taking part in the Battle Royal. I can't see Snitsky winning, so he can be discounted. I don't find it easy to pick between the other 3 (Kane, The Great Khali, Mark Henry), though I am confident whoever wins will definitely go on to take the ECW Championship. I would tip Kane, if only because WWE might see fit to reward him for years of hard work & loyal service (Kane's been around longer than Mark Henry & The Great Khali). So, I tip Kane to win the Battle Royal, & then go on to win the ECW Championship from Chavo Guerrero at WrestleMania.

Now, those are just my predictions. I don't always get them right - in fact, I get more predictions wrong than correct! I can tell u that I won't mind being wrong on my prediction of Batista beating Umaga. Anyway, those of u watching WrestleMania 24, I hope u have a most enjoyable time.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? (by Sidney Sheldon)

I just finished reading the novel “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”, authored by the late Sidney Sheldon. It was published in 2004 – one of Sheldon’s last novels (possibly the last?) to be published. Look at the pic on the right – the cover of the novel hails Sheldon as “the master of the unexpected”. I would agree to that. For Sheldon is a true master when it comes to story-telling. I have read a few of his books, & “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” is as good as any of those that I have read.

Not that Sidney Sheldon’s talents are confined to novel writing; he is also a renowned screenwriter & playwright. On the screenwriting side, I remember Sheldon for giving us I Dream of Jeannie; though of course, he has done a number of other good works for TV. Sheldon the novelist has written a number of novels, some of which are best-sellers. I don’t know if “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” is one of those best-sellers. But that notwithstanding, trust me when I say this – that book was a terrific read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, & I am sure many who have read it would have felt the same way.

In “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”, 4 individuals in Berlin, Paris, New York & Denver all died simultaneously in mysterious & suspicious circumstances. In the wake of the deaths, widows of 2 of the dead – Diane Stevens & Kelly Harris – were then constantly harassed by unknown assailants hell bent on eliminating them. Both widows found each other unwittingly & learned of their common plight. Horrified by what might happen to them, the widows reluctantly joined forces.

The duo would discover that their husbands had one the thing in common – their dead husbands had worked for an international think-tank. They would discover that their deceased husbands had intended to travel to Washington DC to meet with someone, perhaps to reveal something important. The husbands were killed well before they even had the chance to get to Washington DC. And they would learn that their harassment by the assailants had everything to do with their husbands’ deaths – they are being hunted down to prevent them from discovering the dark secret that claimed their husbands’ lives. Diane & Kelly had to use all their intelligence to fend off their assailants. And in the process, they would discover the deep conspiracy within the think-tank that could have catastrophic, world-wide implications. The conspiracy which was responsible for their husbands' deaths. The conspiracy which was responsible for the attempts on their lives by the assailants in order to prevent them from learning the truth.

The novel is thrilling & fast-paced (Sheldon style), with danger lurking at every corner. At the risk of repeating myself, Sheldon is one heck of a story-teller. The way he tells the story (simple yet effective) kept me engaged & enthralled with every turn of the page. Alas, Sheldon is with us no more, which means no more new novels from him. But at least he has authored a sizable number of novels. I have already read a few, & I look forward to reading the others in the future.

Now I'm not feeling that well :(

Arrgggh, I'm not feeling too well right now. I've got a bit of the flu. I still went to work today, as I didn't feel sick enough to stay at home. But at work, I was sniffing & coughing constantly; I think I was the only one at work who's not well. So, already dismayed at the fact the Easter break was over, the fact I wasn't feeling 100% made it not such a great day. Actually my day wasn't that miserable, but it wasn't fabulous either. Maybe I should have stayed at home & rested?? *shrugs*

Then at dinner today, I had some curry eggs which made me feel a bit heaty. I just couldn't resist spicy food, so I went for it. Though I was told the curry eggs is not as bad for "sick people" as other spicy dishes, it still made me feel heaty, so I ended up restricting my consumption of the egg curry. Hmmm, now, I should be taking some rest instead of sitting in front of the PC & doing stuff like blogging & all that. But oh well...

Hopefully, I will have recovered by tomorrow - or else face the prospect of missing out on the assam laksa tomorrow night. I will head off to bed soon; hopefully the "mini-flu" (at times, it didn't feel so mini) & cough will have subsided by the time I wake up tomorrow morning.

Easter break - good but a bit too short

The 4 day Easter break came & went by quickly - too quickly for my liking. I love 4 day weekends - it gives an opportunity to sit back & be lazy. Though with my Easter break, I did anything but sit back. I was up & about.

Let's see what I can remember of my Easter break:

Friday:
I attended Easter day service at church & then we had Mark over for lunch & catch-up.

Saturday:
I picked up my future sister-in-law Nicole from the Gold Coast Airport (Ryan couldn't because he was working), & apart from that didn't do much else. Oh yeah, we had family dinner - Andrew & Val came. Food was nice. Yummmmm.......

Sunday:
Church as usual, then lunched with Nicole, BT, Andrew & Val (unfortunately Ryan was working still so he couldn't join us - ggrrrrr, doctor's schedule is like that) at that Japanese place at Hawken Drive. Effectively it's a family lunch, though my friend Ben C joined us. Then in the evening, I went to Southside church to listen to talk by a visiting elder from an American Chinese church John Huang on "The Meaning of Life".

After having dinner at home, I went out again, with BT to Echoes for karaoke with the Southside Clayers. My buddy Ivan was up in Brisbane for the Easter break, & we caught up with him & enjoyed each other's company (me, BT, Ivan, Maria, Edith, Ed, Jeannie, Sean, Kwang). Of course, I enjoyed myself. I always like karaoke, & though at times I think I'm now too old to do it, when I got the karaoke invitation, there always was going to be one answer from me (yes). The singing was fun. Edith & Maria enjoyed singing their Hongkie songs, it was good to see them going at it. I even managed to sing Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around"....well, yeah, I did. Ivan made me sing Aqua's "Cartoon Heroes", a song I've sung in the past. Hehe.

But me & BT ended up staying for less than 2 hours; whereas the others stayed till 1:30am! Me & BT left karaoke early to pick up Chris Ooi & then Mark to watch live football at our place. Ben C also came over. The matches were billed as blockbuster matches - Man Utd v Liverpool & Chelsea v Arsenal. These are the top 4 football clubs in England. The home teams both won - Man Utd by 3-0 & Chelsea by 2-1. Liverpool had to play with 10 men because Mascherano was sent off when they were losing 1-0; they would have lost anyway even with 11 men because they were rather uninspiring, but surely not by a 3 goal margin. As for the second match, Arsenal scored first but then let in 2 goals to lose the match. I feel Arsenal could have prevented both goals if they had concentrated fully.

Most of us were going for Liverpool &/or Arsenal. We were disappointed by the results (both teams lost). Me, I was disappointed by Liverpool's result, & not so much by Arsenal's result. With Chelsea & Arsenal, I don't mind either team - I just hope 1 of them can go on & prevent Man Utd from retaining the English Premier League title. By the time we slept, it was like 4am.

Monday:
I dropped off Mark & Chris, then had lunch at Shiok (in Eight Mile Plains) with Ivan, Maria, Damien & Grace, before Ivan heads back to Sydney. Jeannie came to Shiok after we finished lunch. Then after dinner, I went to Southside again to listen to another talk from John Huang, this time it is "Patience, Fruit of the Spirit".

Hmm, did I miss anything? Looks like I did quite a fair bit of things, wasn't just sitting around idle all the time. Unfortunately, the Easter break is over. I enjoyed it, but it was so short - just went by like that. You know what? I look forward to the next public holiday already!

My first prize - black 30GB iPod

A couple of weeks ago, during work hours, I received a call from Sydney from a guy with a South African accent. He said he was from WealthFocus. I initially thought it was Perpetual, because I do know they do have Perpetual WealthFocus investments (& in fact, I do have a bit of money with Perpetual). The guy said no, he was not from Perpetual. His company is simply called WealthFocus. When I questioned his reason for calling, he advised that I won first prize for an internet survey I did around this time last year!

I could vaguely remember the survey. From memory, the survey was about investments - one of those surveys where there is no correct or wrong answers. I cannot remember the specific questions or areas covered by the survey. All I remembered was stumbling on the survey by accident at night, & I did it probably because I had nothing better to do at that time. I would never have guessed that I would end up winning the first prize some 12 months later.

But win it, I did. The prize - a black 30GB iPod. Just checking Wikipedia, it looks like a fifth generation iPod. There are bigger iPods than the one I won. But hey, it's free, I paid nothing for it. I had previously considered getting an iPod when I go on holidays to Malaysia at the end of the year. But winning it as first prize means that won't be necessary & it's one less item on my shopping list.

To be fair, I was perhaps lucky to have won it, as the WealthFocus guy said there were a number of other candidates who had also been in the running to win the prize, based on their responses to the survey. But I was the only one to bother responding to their call, & since they also liked my responses to the online survey, they decided to award me the first prize. So there - a few days after the call, the iPod arrived in the mail (I gave them my work's postal address). And I showed it to some of my colleagues, who were impressed by my achievement.

Moral of the story - have a go when it comes to stuff like surveys, u never know what u might win. I should pat myself on the back, eh. I must have done something right in the survey, but can't quite remember what. All I did was fill it as honestly as I can (obviously, they liked my honest responses). And I struck first prize, & getting the iPod made me smile. Wow, DT won something. You done good, DT! All smiles! You know what - I'd be smiling even more broadly if I were to have the same luck in the gold lotto ;)

Hehehe, but anyway, now I got to figure out how to work the iPod. Hopefully, the iPod actually works & is not a dud. I'm a bit of a dummy when it comes to all those gadgets. One day, I will get there. I got lots of other things on my plate. Ahh, the distractions.....





The letter confirming that I won first prize (I covered up my work address)












The 30GB iPod with accessories, instructions booklet & box

The Devil’s Star (by Jo Nesbø)

Jo Nesbø, it seems, is a well-rounded person. He is one of Norway’s best-selling authors. He is also a former pop musician & he used to be a footballer with Norwegian club Molde FK. Just how good a footballer or musician he is/was, I would not know as I haven’t seen him play or sing. What I do know, however, is that Nesbø can write crime fiction very well. I say that after having recently finished reading one of his novels, “The Devil’s Star”. This novel (not Nesbø’s first) was translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett.

Here are some reviews that the novel has received from some British newspapers:

“Terrific….a first rate thriller” Sunday Telegraph
“Steeped in entertaining observational detail” Independent
“A well-crafted rollercoaster of a book….Nesbø sets a cracking pace.…A series of spectacular plot twists leads to a thrilling finale. Highly recommended” Guardian

Having read the novel, I feel that all the above acclaims are justified. Judging from “The Devil’s Star”, Nesbø is indeed a fine crime fiction author.

So what’s the novel about? Well, it started with a young lady found murdered in her Oslo flat. A finger was cut off from her left hand, & behind her eyelid, the killer left a tiny red diamond shaped like a pentagram, the devil’s star. Detective Harry Hole was assigned to the case, with a colleague that he doesn’t get along with, Tom Waaler. Harry suspected Tom of being involved in shady dealings outside his police profession; specifically he suspected Tom of being involved in an arms smuggling operation & of being involved in the killing of Hole’s work partner. Also, Harry was experiencing some personal problems (alcoholism, separation from partner). So for those reasons, he wasn’t keen on taking on the case. But he was already on notice for dismissal from the Oslo Police Force. That, & with various colleagues being away on summer holidays, Harry had to bring himself to work on the case with Tom.

Just 5 days after the murder in the flat, another lady was reported missing by her husband. The missing lady’s severed finger was later found, & it had the red diamond. Then, another murder took place in another part of Oslo. And then another murder in another place. All the patterns & clues suggest that a serial killer is at large. The key to the killings is the number 5 – the 5 points of the star-shaped diamond, 5 days between each crime, 5 fingers to a hand.

So Harry set about finding the killer, & at the same time look to expose Tom’s illegal & corrupt dealings. The story took a major twist after the supposed murderer was arrested. That arrest took place with roughly 1/3 of the novel (just under 180 pages) left to read, & that was when I had a feeling there was going to be more twists & turns as the real killer was sought.

I thought that the novel (which was more than 520 pages) was well-written. The story was relatively easy to follow, yet at the same time anything but predictable. Never at any point did my interest drop. Having a street outline of the Oslo City Centre at the front of the novel made it easier to follow the story. I would definitely recommend "The Devil's Star" as a book worth reading.

One other thing (& this doesn’t take anything away from the novel’s quality): though the story was set in a Norwegian summer, I didn’t find it easy imagining a sunny Oslo or the characters not wearing coats. I mean, when you think of Norway or the other Nordic countries, you would normally think of cold weather & people in thick clothes.

I have read some good writings of American crime writers (who typically set their stories in North America) & British ones (who normally set their stories in the UK, occasionally France). So it was a welcome change to expose myself to the work of a Nordic crime fiction author and a different setting of a Nordic country. A story set in Oslo gives the novel a different feel from stories set in the UK or the major American cities.

I would certainly look forward to reading more Nordic crime fiction in the future, whether by Mr Nesbø or by other Nordic writers.

Qld Roar - season 2007/08 reviewed

Overall, Queensland Roar can view their 2007/2008 A-League season as a success. They finished 4th on the ladder during the regular season. Then, they ousted Sydney FC 2-0 in the home-and-away semi-finals. Next up was Newcastle Jets in the preliminary final, but lost 3-2 after extra time. Losing narrowly at the Jets' home ground was no disgrace. And it is of some consolation for the Roar that Newcastle Jets would then go on to beat Central Coast Mariners 3-2 in the grand final to become A-League champions for 2007/2008. Consolation in the sense that at least Roar lost to the eventual champions.

Qld's achievments must be regarded as remarkable, considering how ordinary they were in some of the home games during the early stage of the season. Readers of this blog would have noted how I ranted & raved every time Qld Roar put on a mediocre performance and/or achieve unimpressive results. That was the case early in the season, & it looked unlikely that Qld Roar would achieve a top 4 position. But all that changed in the middle of the season, where the Roar put on an unbeaten run to propel themselves up the table. Eventually, they achieved the playoff spot, & even entered the last game of the regular season with a chance of winning the A-League minor premiership, but crumbled in Adelaide to finish 4th when just any win would have been enough to secure the minor premiership. Then came the playoff games against Sydney FC & Newcastle Jets.

The season also saw coach Frank Farina introduce some talented youngsters into the first team, such as Robbie Kruse, Michael Zullo & Tahj Minniecon. These youngsters produced some impressive performances, which bodes well for Roar's future if Roar can keep them at the club. As I always believe, clubs must give talented youngsters a chance. You never know what you got unless you try them. Also, it should be noted that reserve goalkeeper Griffin McMaster did well in the 3 games he played as replacement for the other injured goalkeepers. Perhaps McMaster has a strong case for starting next season as Roar's first choice goalie.

While Roar's season was pretty satisfactory, I still think they need more firepower upfront. In some games, the lack of finishing power was all too apparent, & it was frustrating to watch. They will certainly need new recruits upfront, because strikers Reinaldo & Lynch have departed. Reinaldo has gone to a Korean club while Lynch has gone goodness knows where. So signing at least 2 decent strikers should be top of Roar's priorities.

Besides new forwards, Roar could also do with at least 1 commanding central midfielder. I would recommend that an approach be made to sign Jonas Salley, the Adelaide Utd midfielder who hails from Africa. He played very well & impressed me when Adelaide played Qld at Suncorp in the first game of the season. Qld also need at least 1 central defender, as Ognenovski has signed for Adelaide. He has had a good season for the Roar, & will be missed.

All in all, whatever people's perception of Qld Roar, I would like to say well done to the club for all that it has achieved this season. I hope they can go on to greater things in the new season. It will not be easy, but if they continue to develop & sign the right players to boost their squad, there is no reason why Qld Roar cannot finish in the top 4 again. Roll on season 2008/2009. And go the Roar!

Late review - 2008 African Nations Cup

Egypt retained their African crown last month, beating Cameroon 1-0 in the 2008 African Nations Cup final. In doing so, the Pharaohs (nickname for the Egypt national team) confounded their critics who doubted their ability to win the tournament a second successive time. I'm one of those who didn't think Egypt could do it, & they've really proven me wrong. So they have the right to be called the best team in Africa.

Egypt started off by hammering Cameroon 4-2. Then they beat Sudan 3-0 before drawing Zambia 1-1 to finish top of their group. In the knockout stages, they narrowly defeat lively Angola 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Then in the semi-finals, they thumped tournament favourites Ivory Coast 4-1 to reach the final in impressive style. Their final opponent was Cameroon, the team that Egypt played first in the group stages. Egypt won 1-0 to become champions of Africa once again.

Their achievement is all the more impressive, considering that they did not select arguably their best & most well-known current player, Ahmed Hossam also known as Mido (formerly of Tottenham, now of Middlesbrough). The coach Hassan Shehata deserves commendation for all his hard work & dedication. According to reports, Egypt played stylish football throughout most of the tournament & deserved their success.

As for Cameroon, well, I didn't think they would have made the final, especially after the caning they got from Egypt in their first game of the tournament. But they pulled themselves together & roused themselves sufficiently to eventually get to the final, where they lost to Egypt again but this time narrowly. Good achievement to the Cameroonians, but from reports, I get the impression this young Cameroon side has less creativity than past Cameroon teams, & instead rely more on speed & strength.

What of some of the other teams? Let's start with Ghana. They were the hosts, & I tipped them to win the tournament. Their performances throughout the tournament was reasonable overall, from reports. They didn't really rip teams apart, but one got the impression Ghana were being steady & saving their big performances for the latter stages of the tournament. Instead, Ghana didn't even get to the final, due to the 1-0 loss to Cameroon in the semi-finals. Not sure what happened - was it stage fright? Perhaps Ghana missed a genuine top drawer forward that could have knocked in the goals to steer them to the trophy.

Ghana's lack of such a forward was the reason many people tipped Ivory Coast ahead of them as tournament winners. Up until the semi-finals, the talented & dangerous Ivorians showed the sort of form that justified their favourites tag. Then, it all fell apart against Egypt in the semi-finals. Perhaps Ivory Coast's undoing was the fact that they were not really tested in the matches up until the semis, & so were brutally found out by the first team that really had the weapons to cause damage. Ivory Coast also proceeded to lose 4-2 in the third-place playoff to Ghana - a match many had thought would be the final.

The tournament would have been a disappointment for quarter-finalists Nigeria & Tunisia, as well as such teams as South Africa, Senegal & Morocco, who both didn't even get past the group stages. Nigeria really let their fans down by struggling in the group stages, almost missing the knockout stages. Hosts & archrivals Ghana beat them 2-1 in the quarter-final. Losing to the host nation by a 1 goal margin in itself was nothing to be embarassed about. But the lament was in the fact that Ghana were Nigeria's biggest rivals. Perhaps the bigger lament was the underpar performances. Nigeria have lots of talent, but German coach Berti Vogts could not get the best out of them. Not surprisingly, Vogts stepped down after the tournament.

Tunisia were perhaps less disappointing than Nigeria, as they at least played reasonably well in the group stage - in fact, well enough to top the group. They were narrowly bundled out 3-2 in the quarter-finals by Cameroon, who then went on to reach the final. Tunisia then dismissed Roger Lemerre as they considered the quarter-finals not good enough. I think Lemerre was unlucky. He led Tunisia to win the 2004 African Nations Cup & took them to World Cup 2006. I would have thought being able to take Tunisia to consecutive major international tournaments was proof enough that Lemerre has the right credentials to handle a national football team. The Tunisian football fraternity obviously thought differently, & dismissing Lemerre is a sign that expectations in Tunisia are higher than in the past. Still, a quarter-final berth at the African Nations Cup is nothing to be sniffed at.

South Africa took a young, experimental side to the tournament. Perhaps in that context, their early elimination was not such a surprise. But it does mean that the South Africans have a lot of work to do ahead of the World Cup 2010, which they will be hosting. Their coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, has a big task on his plate. Still, the tournament would have given the young side some useful experience which will hopefully benefit them.

As for Senegal, I was disappointed that they went home early. I expected them to have topped their group, but this expectation was influenced by their quarter-final achievement in World Cup 2002. Obviously, the current side have a way to go to match the exploits of 2002. As for Morocco, they had a forgettable tournament. They started the tournament with a 5-1 romp of minnows Namibia, but then lost subsequently to Guinea & Ghana. They would probably have expected to beat Guinea, but they didn't & so that contributed to their demise.

The other quarter-finalists were Angola & Guinea. Angola showed that their qualification for World Cup 2006 was no fluke. They finished level on points with Tunisia, & only lost 2-1 to eventual champions Egypt in the quarter-finals. Guinea did well to accompany Ghana to the knock-out stages, but were thrashed 5-0 by Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.

The other teams that took part in the tournament were:
Namibia - bottom of Ghana's group
Mali - third in Ivory Coast' group, finishing equal on points with Nigeria but behind on goal difference
Benin - bottom of Ivory Coast' group
Zambia - third in Egypt's group
Sudan - bottom of Egypt's group

The matches were not shown here on TV, so I couldn't see them. But congratulations to Egypt for their success. Roll on the next edition of the tournament.

One Man's Trash

A friend sent me these today.

They relate to the work of Tim Noble and Sue Webster (artists from the UK). Noble & Webster take piles of trash and make art into them...but sometimes the art isn't apparent until you see it in a different light.

Very good, huh?

My new LCD monitor, & all that

Behold - my new LCD monitor for my PC. It's the Samsung 203B 20 inch TFT Silver. I got it from Umart, & picked it up on Saturday morning, parting away with $285 in the process.

So, it's bye bye to the old BENQ monitor, & hello to the new Samsung monitor. I'm really happy with the new monitor. Wow, feels like every part of the PC is new. Look at the pic on the right - that's what it looks like - except my monitor's neck looks a bit shorter than the pic.

Errr, I'd better watch my spending, eh. Fresh from with shelling out for that Samsung monitor, I splurged out a bit on clothes at Myer Indooroopilly on Sunday, after church. I bought a few shirts (business & casual) which were discounted. Now, it's not that I spent excessively at Myer. But a friend later asked - did I really need all those clothes, or did I buy for the sake of buying? Fair question. But, it's like this. When you see a bargain, go for it. No harm having a few more clothes. I mean, when I eventually buy a home, I won't be able to shop like this. So I buy now while I can afford to shop.

And now, the clothes I got on Sunday are still in the Myer bag behind me, together with a couple of other Myer bags which were from sales in December (Boxing Day) & January! Looks like I need to get the home rather soon, as it will give me the space I need to store my stuff!

Hmm, will Myer still have the sales this Sunday? Ohh hang on, why wait until Sunday? Myer City is open late on Friday (tomorrow) - guess who might be going there tomorrow? Hahaha......