Tuesday 30 October 2012

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of the single story

Picture by Cup of CocoaSo, if you've read the title, you will probably know what I'm going to write about. We watched Chimamanda Adichie make a TED talk and made a dozen or so notes. The assignment we had was to make that to 5 or 6, then make it 3.

Well, I'll skip and only show you the 3 I got in the end.

1) Not making a solid view from only hearing one side of the story is important
I chose this because it was pretty much what the whole talk was about according to my brain. It was all about not having a single story- a one sided story.

2) You must reject a single story and see the truth for yourself to know the truth.
The same thing pretty much, but it is more about how you must see the truth to know the truth.

3) Single stories can be misleading and will dispossess you of true knowledge.
This one is completely about how you must have more than one story to know the truth.

So, thats all. I don't know if I'm right with this being the most important things because I might also be having a single story but this is what I came up with and I'm not redoing this.


  picture by Cup of Cocoa

Monday 29 October 2012

Merseyside Derby- Liverpool vs Everton

The Merseyside derby, the matches between the neighbors Liverpool and Everton, is the roughest game in the premier league with the most red cards being shown in the games; this one no different.

For a long time, Liverpool have been the better side, always being one of the best teams in the premier league. However, the side with power have changed from red to blue, as Everton have started to come higher in the league table while Liverpool have gone down fro it's peak.

So, the match started with both sides attacking in different styles: the hosts passing around and the visitors going old style, booting the ball to Fellaini upfront. Each side takes two corner kicks, until the moment of glory comes. Enrique gets a wonderful through ball from the left and charges into the penalty box, then sends the ball in for Sterling to finish. However, Sterling gets pushed over and cannot  reach the ball. It looked like the chance had come to a waste, but Suarez out of the blue gets the ball and takes a shot. The ball hits Baines, a Everton defender, then gets sucked into the net.

With the early lead, Liverpool attacks even further, Suarez scoring a sensational goal from Gerrard's free kick. With a 2-0 lead it looked safe, but the time was only 20 minutes into the match. The defense must have let their concentration down and not thought about the famous saying "the 5 minutes after you score is the most vulnerable." because their lead was reduced to 1 from Everton's corner kick not being punched away far enough by Jones, which resulted in a firing shot in the back of the net.

With the tide completely turned, Everton scored another goal in the 35th minute, tying the score 2-2. Everton attack furiously even after that, and got close to their come-back goal several times, but the effort was not enough to break through the defense. Time went on with nothing happening, Sterling's one on one with the keeper on the 48th minute being the biggest chance, until injury time. The ball had found it's way into the goal.

It was the 93rd minute. Gerrard's free kick again. He crossed the ball to Coates who headed the ball down, where Suarez got his foot out and blasted it in the net. The players were already celebrating, until they noticed that the off-side flag had been raised. But it wasn't an offside!

However, the decision did not turn, finishing the match with only 1 point for Liverpool, not the 3 they should have been given. With 7 yellow cards being shown, the match was indeed a tough one, but Everton did have the right to gain one point from the effort they had shown to get back from 2 down. It was indeed a great match and it is such a shame that it had to be ruined in the dying minutes.

You can view the offside/goal moment here. (I could not put it on the page, as it was not on youtube.)


Saturday 20 October 2012

Liverpool vs Reading

It was a nice cool afternoon at merseyside and the Red's fans were looking forward for liverpool's first home win this season. Liverpool have not exactly been the luckiest team up till now, with injures being the latest news half the time. So, the guys who had newly joined the disabled list were Borini, out for around 3 months, and Reina, a slight injury in the hamstrings which shouldn't last long. However they did have hope for victory, because they were against 18th placed Reading.

So, the match started with Borini and Reina being replaced by Suso and Jones. Liverpool dominated the game right from the start, but cannot get anything useful done in the penalty box. On the 24th minute, an accident occurred to reading. Jem Karacan had to be taken out, due to Gerrard's tackle a minute or so ago. The event barely changes anything on the field, as the hosts were keeping the ball at least 30m from goal the whole time. Then, the moment of magic came on the 29th minute. Suarez taps the ball over the head of reading's defense line and 17 year-old Sterling takes a touch before finishing it in the net. GOAL

That was the only goal in the whole match, getting Liverpool 3 points and their first win at Anfield. Although Reading did get back into the match some how in the second half, they couldn't get it past the goal line and suffered it's forth loss.

The next match is against Anzhi for the Europa league and after that comes the long awaited merseyside derby against the other team in town, Everton.

Sunday 14 October 2012

From Bad to Worse


Sometimes, it really feels as if things are not going right at all. It feels like things are getting worse and worse. This is the situation Liverpool is in. Liverpool has failed on their start dash this season mainly due tot he absence of goals, which do not match the number of chances. Liverpool only had Borini, Suarez and a few other young strikers, as Andy Carroll was loaned for West ham.


It was quite easy to see, even for a elementary student, that if either one gets injured, it is game over for Liverpool. And like a nightmare, that did happen. Fabio Borini, who has been playing for almost every game this season, broke his right foot while out in international duty.

When looking at comments from other liverpool fans on the internet I found that nearly half say that it won't make a difference because he has not proved useful, supported by the fact that Borini has yet to score his first premier league goal.

However, I think that it will be a huge blow because although Borini hasn't scored, he has contributed to Liverpool attack and kept the formation 4-3-3.

Now it is for young hopes such as Sterling, Suso (whose preferred positions are not strikers), Yesil and Dani to fill in Borini's gap.

pic from cady ϟ

Saturday 13 October 2012

Japan vs France football

On the 24th of March 2001, the Japanese international football team which won the asian cup the year before, played a 90 minute football match in Saint Denis against the French international football team. The match became a event that would be known through Japanese history as "the tragedy in Saint Denis" with the French crushing Japan in a 5-0 win.

Eleven years have passed and things have changed. France have failed in their generation change and have had many problems inside the team, thus dropping their FIFA rank all the way to 13. Japan on the contrary has started to have players like Kagawa who now play at the top level, thus moving up their FIFA rank all the way to 23.

The time for the rematch had come. On the 12th of October, in the same place as 11 years ago, Japan faced France again.



As many had predicted, France pushed forward with all their might, getting close to the goal thousands of times. However, they cannot break in with Japan's trusted goalkeeper performing amazing saves every time they get close, keeping the score 0-0 until the first half whistle

The tide started to turn to Japan's side as the second half came to a start and Japan started to make some chances. But France became serious as the score stayed 0-0 and sent in Ribery. Japan also makes some substitutions sending in Takashi Inui. The one who got the ball in the net first was France. From Giroud's overhead pass, Gomis heads it into the net. However, Giroud was on a offside position, one body over the line, and the goal does not count.

Both teams starts giving their final power out, making chances after chances, but neither side can score. On the 87th minute, Giroud shoots a definite shot but Kawashima makes an astonishing save, sending it out for a corner. France gets a slight chance from the corner but the keeper flings it out again, making them take another corner. It all happened from there.

France takes the corner again, in a rush as it is just 3 minutes from the end. The flying ball comes in to the middle of the penalty box but it bounces out of the penalty box after hitting a player on the head. Komano, the 29 year old Japanese defender who has been blocking all chances in the back-line all day, reacts to the ball and dribbles up the field with all the power he has left. France, who had never expected such a thing had only 3 defenders behind. Every player on the field rushes toward the goal for their last opportunity. Komano sends it to the right for Nagatomo, the side-back who plays for Inter Milan who had out ran Ribery. He fakes for a shot and instead crosses it in for Kagawa, the number 10 of japan. Kagawa throws his body on the ground and meets the ball with his right foot. The ball blasts in the goal, shaking the net. GOAL. It was an unbelievable counter attack, only taking 15 seconds after the ball was kicked in for a corner.

The final whistle blew. It was 1-0. The revenge had been successful.
Japan will be playing Brazil on the 16th of October. Why not go for another Giant Killing?

Friday 12 October 2012

I Trust Liverpool



Video by YRC1997TV

Things have not gone the way liverpool fans have wanted yet again with 1 win, 3 draws and 3 losses. Nothing is clicking. Nothings is going right. Nothing is as annoying. However, it is just the start. There is no time to keep our heads down. I trust Liverpool and so do I trust Brendan Rodgers. I trust that Liverpool will get better, and for that, I will keep supporting them no matter how low they get on the table. Remember, there is nothing as exciting as winning the Premier league crown and it will only happen if you trust.

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE


Thursday 11 October 2012

Abnormal Characters: Billy Beane

Billy Beane, the protagonist from the book and movie "Moneyball" is quite an abnormal character.

He was the general manager, the GM, of the oakland Athletics, a major league baseball team, which was the poorest team in the whole major league. He was the man who lead the team to the league trophy by his new way of rating baseball players called sabermetrics which was a revolutionary change. He is now known by almost every baseball fan in the world as the man who changed all the "normal" in baseball; that the teams with the most money, like the New York Yankees, will win.

He has a slight connection to me, as I also have a passion in baseball but do not play the game itself. Since Billy Bean is a GM, he does not go on the field but is still the man who knows most about the game and chooses how it is played.

                                                                                                                           Picture by Leaders Event

I believe that he is abnormal from the fact that he had quite an unique way of thinking and was on a completely different scale compared to other GM in that time.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

How and why do we see different?

Showing and not telling was probably the most important skill I learnt this unit and will also be the skill I will remember most. It was a whole new way of writing, as it included a lot of description, which was not how I wrote before. I think that the new style helped me improve my metaphoric language and describing the scene in detail.

It was also interesting how the story completely changed from when you wrote in first perspective to another person's perspective. It made me think of the feelings of people other then myself and how their's will be different according to their age, motivation and the position they were in.  It made me reflect on how I was so concerned about myself that I didn't stop and look around most of the time, especially when I was doing something that excited me. I think that writing from another perspective changed me to think from not just my own view.

All of this was new interesting learning to me. It improved my writing dramatically by description and also by writing in different perspectives.

Choice of Book "Moneyball"

I chose to read Moneyball by Michel lewis. It is a real story about how a poor baseball club, the Oakland Athletics, and Billy Beane, the baseball manager, won a 102 games in one baseball season.


I picked this book because I have watched the movie version of it, which got great ratings. I wanted to know more about the story and about the aspects that the movie could not show.

My expectations are that it is even better than the movie and will tell the story in more detail.

I already like the fact that it describes Billy Beane's background completely through taking snippets of his high school carrer and how he got into the big leagues.

However, there is a slight problem that the book has the concept of finances and money which is not a concept that I understand much about.

I really think that this book would be worth reading and will keep
me sucked in so much that I will  read until the end in no time.


picture by pursuethepassion

Friday 5 October 2012

Liverpool vs Udinese 2-3 WHY?


Liverpool vs Udinese 2-3                                                                                             Photo by Teastick
Typical Liverpool. Sums it up really. Make a thousand chances in the first half, barely make use of it. Go to sleep in the second half and boom! Disaster. This is pretty much what almost all liverpool matches have been this season. The passing tactic that Brendan Rodgers brought in was a double sided sword. It makes many chances, but one mistake = instant death. It's not Rodgers' fault entirely. It's quite hard to get a totally new style of play when the team you took on had been playing barbarian football for the last 3 years. So, the defenders who aren't used to passing so much are going to make crucial mistakes at least half the season. The attackers have mixed in quite nicely in this style, but just can't get the finishing touch. Suarez has been doing a great job and so has Sterling, the young star. Gerrard has been ok and Allen has been excellent. So, why can't Liverpool win? SHOOTING! Do some practice. Get it in the net. That all. And one those goals start appearing from players like Borini, Liverpool WILL be back. Next Match will be on the 7th, against Stoke City, a must win match for the players but also Rodgers to keep his neck in tact.

Wednesday 3 October 2012

A Person/Character I admire

I admire Shinji Kagawa. He is a Japanese footballer who plays for one of the most famous teams in the world, Manchester United.

I chose a footballer because football is pretty much what I know best about. I admire him because he has set many new records for Japanese footballers, like having scored the most goals than any Japanese footballer has scored in Europe. He is probably the most famous person in Japan because he appears in almost every sport news that I see. He is not as good as the superstars like Messi and Ronaldo but I admire him more than them because I feel more connected to Kagawa. He also wears the number 10 jersey, which is a special number only the best players in japan have worn, for the Japanese international team. So, most of what I have written so far is about how I admire him as a footballer but there is more than just that to him that makes me respect him so much.

(Video features him in Borrusia Dortmund, the club he was in last year.) 

I also admire his personality, as he is not like several world class players who behave as if they were the king, instead he is honest and respectful. You can sense his personality from interviews, TV programs that he was on and most of all, his play. Many players who have a attacking position in big clubs are selfish. They hold on to the ball for a long time and tries to get goals by themselves. Kagawa, on the contrary has a great balance between passing and dribbling, thus getting him both assists and goals being a great team player.

So, in conclusion I admire Shinji Kagawa because he is amazing not only as a footballer but also as a human.

Monday 1 October 2012

One at Bat

One of the awesome projects that the internet and social media created.



The "One at Bat" project was started by Matt Liston, a film maker, to give Adam Greenberg a second chance. Adam Greenberg was a man in the Major leagues and in July 9th 2005, he was given the right to stand in the batters box of the Majors for the first time. Pinch hitting in the ninth inning, it was the highest point of his life until just a few seconds later, he got hit in the head with an 92 mile per hour pitch. The first pitch he saw becoming the last. The accident caused him 1 and a half years to recover and never got him back to the level he was at.

Matt Linston felt the urge to help this poor man, and so the idea he came up with was to get Adam Greenberg his official major league at bat. To do this he used the internet, the social media, and the story spread like a fire.

And on the 27th of September 2012, Miami Marlins made a 1 day contract with Greenberg to give him the one at bat that he deserves. The match will be on the 2nd of October (3rd in singapore) against the New York Mets.

                                                 From http://www.oneatbat.com/index.html