Condoleezza Rice visits Liverpool (Edit)

Tomorrow US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting Liverpool with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. This visit is to reciprocate his visit to Birmingham, Alabama where she is from, which took place last year.
They will be visiting Blackburn where Mr Straw was a member of parliament. Then they will visit Liverpool, Paul McCartneys former school, the Liverpool School for Performing arts and see the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
There are many people here in Liverpool that do not agree with the war in Iraq and they are planning demonstrations in protest. All in all it should prove to be an interesting day.
I know a little about Dr. Rice. I know that she was born in Birmingham, Alabama and was the daughter of a Presbyterian Minster. She had a tough youth growing up during racial segregation and one of her schoolmates was killed by a bombing of a primarily black church. She initially planned to be a concert pianist but didn’t quite make it. She got interested in politics and went to college, later to become a professor of political science and the head of Stanford University California. She speaks Russian, French, German and Spanish. She is an all round clever woman. And of course she’s black.
I’ve never met the woman. I don’t know what she’s like. But I have seen her many times on TV even in a couple of movies. Primarily this has been highlighting the fact that during her political career and in particular the issue of Iraq she has contradicted her self many times (also sometimes know as covering up lies) and changed her story to suit the given situation. I’m sure you have all seen it…we are in no danger from Iraq…we are in direct danger from Iraq…Well as I said I don’t know the woman but I’m not convinced she is as righteous as she should be given all the hype about her being such a great black female role model, but when it comes to Iraq and all that stuff well I’m afraid she appears to have made her bed and now she must lie in it (pardon the pun about lying there).
I know that people will have opinions on this so let’s see what the comments are like… Does Condoleezza deserve to be subject to protest because of her involvement in the war in Iraq?

Edit: I've just seen on the news that the protests in Blackburn have been enough to put Condoleezza off. She was supposed to visit a mosque there and the reality of the situation wouldn't look good for Condoleezza's PR. She's had the opertunity to face muslims with concerns but has chosen not to face up to it. I knew that this would be interesting. More news tomorrow no doubt.

Nuns! Feck! Reverse!

who the fuck buys this shit? Look at the flippin rosary beads! you have got to be a bit daft to want a lamp that's supposed to look like a nun. I bet they are all the rage in the Vatican.

Better than mind the bloody gap!

Up again at 6:50am (Edited)

Edit: I've been advised that commenting on work related issues is not a good idea these days. It's all too easy for anyone to read your blog and find out things you didn't want them to know. This is the second time in a week that I've been told that it is now common practice for employers to google their employees and prospective employees.
I'm not usually one for censorship but I’ve got to cover my own ass here. The internet is a powerful tool for free speech. It’s never been easier for people to have their say to the world about what ever they want but…we should also be just as free to retract our statements realising that it may have been a rash comment after say 4 hours sleep and you’d just had a tough day. So that’s what I’ve done here.
If in the future I appear to be pissed of when writing my blog the reason for this may have to remain shrouded in mystery. At least until I get a tobacco sponsored blog like Twenty so that I don’t have to worry about a job and can spout all the crap that I want.

It's 2:16am

I've had a busy day. Got lots done but it's not been much fun. I'm not writing much in the blog today. I'll do some tomorrow when I've had some sleep.

Ouch! Granny aims for the Toodles!

Inside Man

I was looking forward to seeing this. Firstly it’s directed by Spike Lee. Secondly it’s cast includes Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe. Also it’s been describes as being reminicant of Dog Day Afternoon.
This reference to Dog Day Afternoon…well…hmmm? Yes it’s a bank robbery but I’m lost when it comes to seeing any other similarities. Marketing bullshit.
Spike Lee has made some great films but I think he’s really gone off the boil. Let me explain where I think this film goes wrong with this one. For some reason Mr. Lee has tried to combine humour with the high gloss of an expensive thriller. It all gets a bit confusing. The film doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be. There were so many elements to this film and each one had a completely different style. It just didn’t flow. One minute it’s a thriller. The next minute a comedy. The next a buddy movie. It’s not the worst movie I’ve seen. I enjoyed bits of it. When it was funny it was funny and the whole look the film was pretty good. But there was so much cheese in the script it stank.
Yolanda hated it. She had enough after the first 5 mins. If it was a DVD she would have turned it off and watched the TV instead.
I didn’t hate it. I thought it had potential but it all went wrong. But the more I think about it the more I know I don’t want to see it ever again.
My advice; save your money or go and see something else.

Liverpool 3 - Everton 1

I don't know what Gerard was doing getting himself sent off after 18 mins, but everyone else seemed to be on form for the day. A great continuation of the recent goal scoring to give a total of 18 gloals in 4 games. That's pretty good by any teams standards, and certainly goes a long way to making up for the many dissapointing score sheets in previous months. Will it keep up is the question. I hope so.

Salvation at the bottom of a glass

I've put some pictures from paddy's night on the photoblog if ye fancy a look...

The Kid From Brooklyn

Michael Caracciolo from Brooklyn, New York is a character that has to be seen to be believed. Here he is on YouTube but check out his home page for a daily dose of verbal diarrhoea .

Father Ted

Some of the best telly ever made...

A Joke from Henry...

While I was driving down the M50 today, (going a little faster than I should have been) I passed under a bridge only to see a copper on the other side with a radar gun laying in wait. The copper pulled me over, walked up to the car, and with that classic patronizing smirk, asked:
"Runway too short?"
To which I replied, "I'm late for work."
To which he asked, "What do you do?"
"I'm a rectum stretcher," I responded.
The copper was surprised and confused.
"A what...? A rectum stretcher?? And just what does a rectum stretcher do?"
"Well," I said, "I start by inserting one finger, then I work my way up to two fingers, then three, then four, then with my whole hand in, Work side to side until I can get both hands in, and then I slowly but surely stretch the hole, until it's about 6 feet."
Then the copper asked questioningly and cautiously,
"And just what do you do with a six-foot arsehole?"
To which I politely replied,
"You give him a radar gun and park him behind a bridge..."

Speeding ticket: £105.00
Penalty Points: 3
Court costs: £45
Look on copper's face: Priceless

What’s going on at Anfield?

15 goals in 3 matches! That’s what’s going on. They only scored 9 goals in the previous 14 matches which was a poor tally for a team at their level. So what’s changed to cause this?

Photos from St Patricks Day

some photo's coming later...

Happy St. Patricks Day

Hasn't it rolled round fast! It only feels like a few days since I was completely twisted and having a great laugh in the Irish bars of Liverpool. Well, actually it has only been a few days but I’m talking about St. Patrick’s day last year.
It should be a good night tonight, with no work tomorrow. The plan is to start in Pogue Mahone’s and just take it from there as usual. It’s going to be packed in there tonight so don’t bother getting all dressed up ‘cos some amadán is bound to spill half his Guinness down yer geansaithe! Prepare to get messy and very, very drunk!

He's Lovin' that DELL

Liverpool 5 – Fulham 1

Yes! Finally Fowler has got that first goal since his return to Liverpool, after having three disallowed in previous matches. This was followed by a levelling goal by Fulham and then an own goal by them put Liverpool back in front. But Liverpool had a great night for the strikers (for a change), Morientes, Crouch and Warnock got a goal each and gave us a confidence building 5-1 win. Let’s hope it continues.

Muppet Show - Swedish Chef

Jeff Bridges has a cool homepage/blog

Welcome To Jeff Bridges.com is cool because it all looks like it's just scribbles and sketches on paper. See for yourself...

Irish Blog Awards

Being a proud Irishman (I don't know any who aren't) I thought I better give a mention to the Irish Blog Awards held in Dublin at the weekend. Organised by Damien Mulley, and presented by Rick O'Shea, it was by all accounts a very successful event. Even though I’m new to blogging myself I’ve found the whole process fairly easy, except when it comes to original content. This is where it becomes tricky and when I see the consistently high standard to which these people reach on a regular basis I realise how funny and interesting these people must be in real life. And that for me seems to be the difference that sets blogging apart from other internet content. You don’t have to be a tech-head to set up your own blog you just need something interesting to say. So, well done all you who had blogs represented in the awards and keep up the good work. It’s your blogs that inspire the rest of us to give it a go, and who knows one of us might give Twenty a run for his money in talking complete shite to the highest calibre next year.

Mr T you mother!

Chuck Norris Top 10 read by Chuck Norris

Aine is getting famous

Aine Chambers of SligoZone.net made the national papers in Ireland yesterday. Thanks to Damien Mulley’s Blog for the links to where someone has scanned the paper for us all to see. Here and Here.
I knew the moment I saw her site she was destined for the big time!

Snowy Sunday

Woke up to find there had been a heavy fall of snow during the night. Not all that common in Liverpool despite it being a relatively cold place. Anyway, went out and took a couple of snaps.
An environmentally friendly Snowman... (no waste of fossil fuels for his face!)
Old tephalome boxes...Old man, also taking photos, with a weird camera. He says he refuses to buy one of those new fangled digital thingies as he's not able to operate a computer.
Then unexpectedly hear someone shouting "I've got your number!" I turned round to see the moustached 188188 guys from the telly in their new A-team styled van! Then I had to get on with cleaning the snow drift from the front of my car…
Then it was off to watch the football. I'm not in the mood for talking about that yet. It was a crap game and the boys let us down again. Although they did have some help from the referee. (not just my opinion that!) Some lovely food at Richard and Gaelle's flat kept the mood up though and genrally it was a good weekend.

Oh yes... I stayed in on Saturday night and watched 'City of God'. Not seen it before. It was excellent, a must see if you've not before.

Robot Donkey

When they give the Robot Donkey a head, it'll take over the earth!

More freaky kids doing stuff…

K O L L A B O R A T I O N : : Kollaboration Videos wait for the kid in the orange shirt to start...it's krayzee!

The Proposition

I know what's going to happen with this movie. The vast majority of people are going to focus on the ‘sudden’ violence and label this movie as a ‘nasty’. Well sorry but I just don’t agree with this. The fact is that the movie is set in a place and time that was particularly violent, 19th Century Colonial Australia. If you can get past the fact that it is violent you will be able to appreciate fine performances from Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Guy Pearce, John Hurt and Danny Huston.
There is no clear good guy in this film with both sides fighting with their morels to make a life in this remote part of the world. It’s clearly a hard life on the border of society and you can imagine the pong given off by these people when you see their filthy bodies and clothes, rotting teeth, dehydrated sun burnt skin, constantly covered with bot flies and drunk for most of the time. A visual feast just begging for the invention of Smell-O-Vision!
There is a warning at the beginning of the movie that the film might cause offence to Aborigines, this is fair enough, but a word of warning could have been added for those Irish viewers too as there are a few salacious comments about the Irish that might get a bit of a reaction too!
About half the people I saw this film with found the gore a bit too much to take or just didn’t find the film enjoyable for one reason or another. I thought it was great and would definitely watch it again. If you are reading this before seeing the film then I hope it prepares you for the violence and allows you to appreciate a great movie.

SligoZone

SligoZone.net The homepage of Aine Chambers has to be seen to be believed. There’s an 'interesting' selection of photos and video to be found on the site which is supposed to promote the 'City' of Sligo. It's come in for some criticism recently and has featured on Podge and Rodge.

When we put ourselves on the web for all to see we risk the judgement of others. All we can do is take it on the chin. However, a little careful consideration before posting can save us embarrassment in the long run. Check it out and make your own judgement. Does this kind of thing make the internet better or worse? I invite your comments...

Karting

A gang of us went karting recently. Hadn’t done it before, it was great craic! Looking forward to going again some time.
Some more photo’s here: Karting

Marriage Preparation Course

For those of you who haven’t had time to probe the depths of my blog you may be interested to know that I have another blog specifically dealing with the build up to Yolanda and my wedding. Part of this is the ongoing saga of the ‘Marriage Preparation Course’. If you are interested in seeing more check it out here:

Marriage Preparation Course - Episode I

and here:

Marriage Preparation Course - Episode II Attack of the Midwives

tune in next week for the continuing adventures of Paul & Yolanda in the land of God!

She's been Tango'd

I've been living in Liverpool for going on 10 years now and I've seen a lot of 'orange women' that are common around here. But this is one of the worst cases I’ve seen recently. It's difficult to see exactly where the orange belt she's wearing as a skirt finishes and her skin starts!
What's even worse is the fact that she's wearing little else along with the skirt and although it's not clear from this picture you'll have to take my word for it that she's no more than 16.
It was snowing that day and everyone I was with was wearing several layers to keep warm. What is it that these girls are taking so that they don’t feel the cold? I had a fair amount drank myself so I know it wasn’t alcohol, it’s got to be drugs of some sort! Seriously? How can she just stand there in what is no more than a bikini in the middle of the night when it could snow again at any moment and show absolutely no sign of feeling cold?

Anyway...can someone explain to me what is going through her little head when she'd deciding what to wear fo the night?

TSOTSI

Really enjoyed this film but I only saw it yesterday so I’ve not had the time to write some comments on it yet so I’ll have to get back to you on this one…

Ok! I've come back to comment on this movie because I said I would. It's a great movie! It's won Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this year and deserved it.

It's set in Johannesburg, South Africa and centres around the life of a gang leader. All about how he got where he is now and what he does when he accidentaly kidnaps a baby when he thinks he's just stolen a car.

No crazy special effects, no excessive violence, just one little bit maybe, but manly it's just a great script with strong emotional characters that you can get attached to.

I loved it. I'm sure everyone who see's it will love it too.

See! There! I told you I'd come back later!

Muppet on a Moped

I see some interesting things on the road occasionally. I once saw ‘Thomas the Tank Engine” (which was a full size train with a face on the fronot!) on the back of a lorry which was a bit surreal, unfortunately it was on the motorway and I was driving quite fast so it would have been a bit dangerous to start taking snaps. The example here I took at traffic lights so please don’t start with lectures!
This I thought deserved a mention because although I have seen guys with Mohicans glued to their helmets, which is daft enough but this guy with the huge ears takes 1st prise. What a clown! How drunk/stupid do you have to be to think this is a good idea?

Syriana

I've been looking forward to seeing this one for quite a while now and it was worth the wait. However, this is only because I’m of that age now that I've become politically aware enough to be able to understand it. It works great in terms of having a political message about the greed, power and generally dirty dealings that go on in the world of oil and how people in organisations like the CIA fit into this.
I've just seen in the news this morning that George Clooney has won the Oscar for best supporting actor. I think he deserved it as much as anyone for this on the back of his recent effort on 'Good Night and Good Luck'.
This is a complicated movie with several complicated storeys going on at the same time and how they all fit together isn't made blatantly obvious until close to the end. This is not unlike 'Traffic' which was written by Stephen Gaghan, who now directs ‘Syriana’.
If you liked 'Traffic' and didn't find that difficult to follow and you have some interest in global politics in relation to the oil business, then you will like this. If you find that kind of thing boring well just go and see something else because there is nothing for you here!

Ireland 3 - Sweden 0

Great result for Ireland! Could this be the start of a new generation of Irish soccer? The new boss Steve Staunton has pulled off a fantastic victory. Hopefully it will continue.

A young Jackie Chan in the making...

This guy is absolutly awesome! YouTube - this guy kicks ass