A Complete Explanation Of Everything

Travbuddy, Facebook, MySpace...

Where will it end?

Anyhoo, off out tonight to my best mate's 30th birthday party.

He's got a year and a half on me and well it's not really his birthday for another 2 weeks but the pressure is starting to mount, d'ya not think!

Sort your life out man, you're nearly thirty!

To quote Ryan Adams...

So, I am in the twilight of my youth
Not that I'm going to remember

I finally got some feedback from the public service appointments people regarding that little test I took a while back and well, the results were interesting to say the least.

Turns out I aced the verbal, no surprise there obviously, it might not come across here but the written word is apparently my strength. The first surprise was the numerical result, apparently, I did pretty well.

Top 85% well.

Which was a startling performance considering I'm not mathematically gifted in any way, not that it's calculus obviously but still. I was most famous in my old maths class for having the odd "computational error". I said that in first year and my teacher got mileage out of it for five years.

No, the really startling performance was in the job simulation exercise.

Apparently, this is the section where there are no wrong answers.

Turns out they lied and there are.

Because they only liked 36% of my answers in this area! Considering we are talking about not entirely similar, but not entirely dissimilar either, work that I currently undertake this was a bit of a shock to the system.

According to the best testing available, I'm entirely unsuited to my job.

I like to think the answers I gave espoused attributes like personal initiative, responsibility, dedication, etc. Obviously either that's not what came across or they're not looking for those types.

Maybe it just ain't meant to be.

Every now and again, you'll come across an article lambasting the upsurge in user created content on the 'net. I came across one a while back which basically stated that all of the new content was of the low brow variety or simply not rigorous enough.

In fact, now I recall, this dude was promoting a book and as such, somebody wrote an article and pointed out with a blinding flash of the obvious that alot of low grade stuff comes through the regular mediums anyhow.

But back to the actual question at hand. Is all of this helping or are we sinking into a morass of ultimately irredeemable tangential rubbish.

Am I pointing the finger at this blog?

I may as well be.

Let's look at this way.

I have a decent job, with some decent prospects. Might need to do a bit more on the education front but I'll be relatively sorted. I'm looking at some major political upheaval but am confident, I'll ride it out effectively enough.

However, whilst I enjoy my job and a great many other bloggers / forumers / facebookers and various other things derive satisfaction from their 9 to 5, it sure ain't the be all and the end all.

I'm denied the creative outlets in my day to day, for writing and making music and generally just pondering the planet, humanity and of course, football.

Here's what I'm coming to though, I'm beginning to suspect all of these online activities, whilst they start innocently enough as ways of venting frustration and just kicking back for a second or two, they tend to take over and distract from the original object.

This blog is far removed from a purpose so I suppose that's why it'll always be written into a bit of a void, I had intended that it would be providing effective literary, political, musical commentary. I don't think we've had too much of that to date.

Plus, I've changed a wee bit over the past year since I've been back.

Consequence of growing older, I guess.

I'm probably removed from the whimsical 27 year old I was when this started out.

28, you're kinda playing for keeps.

Probably why I've been focused on discussing property so much and getting sidetracked into that.

I think I might need to clear some head space in some ways, maybe stepping back from all this online stuff might be a good way of doing that.

Return stronger.

With some real user content.

Just thinking outloud.

I'm not sure what reception he'll get if the Champions League throws United and Madrid together in the next couple of years and he has to come back to Old Trafford.

He was the one of the relatively few bright spots in a torpid season during 2005/2006.

Funnily enough, I'll be catching both himself and Real Madrid in December.

See you then Gaby but until then, thanks for the memories...

"Argentina! Argentina! Argentina!"

Not content with bedding Kate Moss, Pete Doherty has resorted to giving his cat cocaine.

Initial reports are unclear as to whether Pete actually sold the drugs to the cat or whether the cat is in fact, Pete's supplier.

Presumably, police investigations will continue once they've managed to prise the cat from the ceiling where it's currently hanging upside down chasing the white dragon.

Our dear friend Jean-Claude here, head of the European Central Bank holds the key to the next phase of the grief cycle for the Irish Property Market. All bets were off as recently as two weeks ago that two extra quarter percent hikes were on the way, even in the face of the FED cutting rates in the States but now...

Well now, things aren't so certain. The way both the ECB and the FED have pumped short-term liquidity into the market for banks that were finding it tough to borrow has muddied the waters inexorably.

What is clear, is that a further quarter percent rise in September or October would ramp up the decline of the Irish bubble. The real question is what do people want? Do they want this to be as long and drawn out and ugly as possible or a medium term debacle. Yes, there'll be lots of pain and lots of kicking and screaming and many a gnashing of teeth and wigs on the green. But, to paraphrase moneyweek.com, this Irish bubble and looming crisis was as visible as the US sub-prime mortgage scandal. Perhaps it's just like a tip of the iceberg to the financially illiterate, only looming out of the water at the last minute whilst thousands of tons of behemoth ice float beneath.

The only people left on board and exposed in the Irish Property market are the ordinary Joe Soaps. People who don't understand risk or yield and have an undeniable faith in bricks and mortar. Make no mistake, "savvy" and "canny", two bygone assessments of Irish investors that are now gone from our daily news media thankfully have long left the building.

Anybody who wasn't off this ship by August 2006 was really just lining up to tune the strings of the band as the Titanic begins to list badly.

If you bought early 2005 or previous to this, you're probably fine.

If you hold more than one property but have a high degree of equity, you are fine.

If you have an interest only mortgage, you are never fine.

If you bought five apartments off the plans in late 2005 because you just had the estate agent in and he told you that your crappy semi-detached four bedroom home was worth a million and you thought you'd leverage.

Well.

You're really up the shitter.

Like taking a nasty plaster off your arm, coming off this thing is going to hurt. Just go for it, no messin' around, don't drag this out unnecessarily.

Over to you Trichet.

I've been spinning thoughts in my mind, for the longest while, well probably more concretely this past two weeks seeing as my annual leave is now effectively over till next year, about where next?

Since my round the world in a whirlwind tour lasting four months, I've taken this year to re-acclimatise and visit friends, family and relations and a bit of Europe. I've hit Italy and Slovakia for the first time this year and will have a short weekend in Madrid before the year's end and perhaps even Munich for a short hit on the beer bong at Oktoberfest. So that'll be Germany and Spain added to the first time ever list.

As a kid growing up, I literally went to France every year which was more than most, I'll readily admit but the variety of going somewhere different was kinda denied and that probably led to the break out last year and run across four continents. Perhaps not the mature response.

In any case, I've concretised it down to three major options at this point, that hey, will all be done at some point and two fallbacks which will also be done at some point. It's all just a question of when and in what order. There's also the small matter of little Dave in Foshan, China who might seem the rational choice for a visit but I did stop in and say hello when he was in Vancouver and he's probably moved to China for life at this stage, is it 2 years on at this point? Anyway, as much as I'd love to meet up with him, I'm afraid China ain't floating my boat at this juncture so I'll give you a rundown on what is.

Time and money no object. Probably at the top of the list is...

The Trans-Siberian Express

Yes. Running from Moscow to Vladivostok, seven straight days on the train or you can choose to break it up over the more hospitable 12 day variant, with a stop off at Lake Baikal in Irkutsk, this is the one of those infamous trips that sets the mind off into a reverie. Plenty of time for a reverie mind on a train that is travelling at approx. 60 km/h over a distance that's in excess of 9,000 kms! If I had managed six months off last time out, doubtless I would have taken this option up. The cost is dependent on the level of comfort desired but a basic budget of €5,000 should do the entire trip including flight to Moscow and extraction somehow from Vladivostok. Apparently, there's a highly recommended ferry to Japan but Vladivostok Air also goes to Japan. It'd probably be a cold day in hell before I take an internal flight in Russia given the safety record but I also really hate going back the same way I came. So, sure there are security concerns, comfort might include sharing a 4 man compartment with 3 complete strangers and probably Russian strangers at that and the language and food difficulties could be next to insurmountable. Still. It draws me. I have the guidebook and thinking cap on, very much for this one.

Likely Timeframe: May or Sept 2008/2009 (14 days minimum)

Itinerary: Dublin to Moscow -> Moscow to Vladivostok -> Vladivostok to Osaka -> Osaka to San Francisco -> San Francisco to Dublin

Budget: €5,000

Next up...

Cuba

Again, another one that may have been completed last time out given more latitude on the sabbatical and the simple fact that OneWorld would not allow me to book both flights to the USA and Cuba on the same round the world ticket. How's that for small print! In any case, I have a certain desire to visit Cuba before Fidel passes on and the whole thing goes native in a big way in an unabashed resurrection of captialism. But at the same time, you would have to be stunningly naieve not to think that Cuba is a totally warped experience for a tourist, in between the dollarisation of the tourism economy and the simple fact that the locals are constantly on the lookout for hard currency, it would probably be far more draining than Venezuela. If you weren't prepared just to spend the time lounging in the five star hotel, the positive and negative of the Cuban experiment are probably off limits to the vast majority. Still, it's the land of Che, I've been to Rosario which was his birthplace and consequently the temptation is strong.

Likely Timeframe: May 2008/2009

Itinerary: Erm. Cuba I guess. (7 days minimum)

Budget: No idea. How much is rum?

Next...

Israel

Ooh. Controversial, eh! Yes well, I've always had a soft spot for Israel and that's hard to do when you've done a Masters in Politics and associated with liberal lefties let me tell you. But still and all, I'm deeply intrigued by the place and the people. I'm into the history of the creation of the state and what has happened since, I've no big desire to get into the religious tourism but I wouldn't necessarily be adverse to checking some out, obviously, it's not my thang but I can appreciate the interest. I think it would be an entirely fascinating country in which to just kick it and talk to people. It's one of those that goes into the category of, definitely, at some stage.

Likely Timeframe: May 2009/2010 (7-10 days)

Itinerary: Tel Aviv; Jerusalem; Dead Sea

Budget: How much is a 'shekel' worth?

Moving on...

Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (Argentina to Chile - Part II)

Yes, I've been before. But I really like Argentina and I didn't do justice to Santiago last time out, I guess. Although I had a real blast. I'd like to come back and with a budget, do some of the West of Argentina and the incredible bus trip over the Andes from Mendoza into Santiago which I missed out on last time. I've drawn a little red dotted line on the map for you there which gives the indicative itinerary. There ain't much to this one, it'd be just cool to revisit BA and Rosario on a budget, check out Cordoba and Mendoza and then finally make it beyond Santiago to Valparaiso like I promised my mate Ronan, who spent lots of time in Chile and whose wife is in fact Chilean. I kinda got sidetracked in the old Hostel in Bellavista last I was there.

Likely Timeframe: April 2010/2011 (14 days)

Itinerary: Buenos Aires; Rosario; Cordoba; Mendoza; Santiago; Valparaiso

Budget: Flights would cost about €800. Buses about €300 and living about €100 a day, mebbe €150 if I felt like staying somewhere "nice" - €2,500 - 3,000

Now to the back ups...

France

Again! Straight out of left field you say. Well yes but not really. I've been down the West coast as far as Biarritz, I've lived in Nantes and gone to college there. I'm in La Rochelle every year and of course I've done Paris but at the same time. The South, the Alps, the East and Normandy remains largely a mystery, a bit of a tour round, even just to see that crazy bridge / viaduct in Millau would be something. A roadtrip of sorts. It's there as a back up.

Likely Timeframe: Some point in the future. Probably three weeks or so.

Itinerary: Erm. France!

Budget: Probably about €100-150 a day. Boat over could cost €500. Pricey enough when you think about it...

And finally...

Ireland

Holy shit! Yes indeed, well, I've been places but I've got a very specific idea for a very specific trip around this country. Does it include alcohol? Yes. But, it's all for another time folks, other things like just taking a boat on the Shannon, I've never done it but there's always a decent level of interest in it. Donegal is always a cool place but mebbe that could be just a weekend. Still haven't seen the Giants Causeway either...

Likely Timeframe: Oh, on and off for the rest of me life probably.

Itinerary: Anywhere but Dublin.

Budget: Damn expensive. Mebbe after the recession and we've absorbed the nascent property crash things will be better!

So there you have it, just some thoughts on places and trips that I'm thinking about. 2008 will include one of these but I haven't quite made my mind up, citybreaks to Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam are all on the cards and a return to Eastern Europe at some point in the future, probably Krakow or Warsaw I'd guess.

But you know, if we had infinite time and infinite cash, we'd only spend our time travelling I think.

Whether you're a simple begrudger, a naysayer or just your garden commoner doom-monger, I think'll you all join me in congratulating Patrick Bartholomew Ahern on this laudable achievement in becoming Ireland's longest serving Taoiseach in terms of consecutive days. Of course, Dev had a further two terms but sure I'm sure we'll be stuck with Bertie for many more years.

10 more years! 10 more years! 10 more years!

Viva il Duce!!!

I really liked the way the indo stated that his "profession" was accountant, I'd like to see the Diplomas Patrick, and you must have been the only accountant and Minister for Finance ever to have not held a bank account for 2 years. I'm still thinking of lobbing in an FOI (freedom of information) request to see whether his pay cheques in those years were made out to cash.

Some quick notes on my reading while I was away in France.

I finished off the biograghy of Mao: Mao - The Unknown Story, which really was a fascinating read. I had a peripheral knowledge of Maoism up to reading this tome, weighing in at 750 totally untedious pages but it really sets the scene with frank dissection of the negative nature of both the personality and policy of Mao. Written by Jon Halliday and Jung Chang, if there is a criticism to be made, it smacks of a one sided rhetoric and ideology that is hypercritical of the precepts of Communism in general even whilst admitting that Mao was no scholar of Marxism. It's in the little asides down through the years, reportedly attributed to Mao and supposedly drawn from his private memoirs that the most colour is given to the book and the frightening spectre of the totalitarian dictatorial state and personality cult that Mao built up and espoused is created. A fascinating read in any case with a huge amount of detail on his early career and how China came to be under the axis of the CCP.

Second up, was the third Dave Eggers' book which I've personally consumed although I believe it is his fourth book, entitled: What is the what? I was a big fan of Eggers' second book, You shall know our velocity, which brought a really manic nervous energy to the idea of travel and was very human. What is the what? should have been straight in this mould as it is a semi-fictional account of a Sudanese refugee's flight to Egypt and later America during the early eruption of the crisis in that region. The notion is that the author has listened to the protagonists anecdotes time and again but has drawn them into a story and a timeline that is not entirely accurate or includes embellishment. And I don't like this book I have to say. Although why I'm saying that might be a little difficult to understand, I believe it sets out to try and understand the heart of spirituality, what drives human existence from basic sweatshop immigrant toil in the United States to evading lions and Arabs and pure starvation in Africa. And somewhere along the way, the narrative descended into pure background whining. Maybe there is too much of a cultural divide between a man from Sudan and a man from Western Europe to find much commonality on. Maybe I was just plainly uncomfortable with the heavy focus on religion throughout, maybe Eggers stayed true to the subject matter and how it was related to him. Either way, I was left with the impression of a clumsy stab at depicting the immutable essence of what it is to be human. But at least the proceeds when to Sudanese refugees so it wasn't a dead loss.

I'm enjoying, that's not the right word, the same troubled start to the season as my real life team, Manchester United are. I'm currently plumbing the depths of both my own work league, which I helpfully administer and also the league in my Dad's office. That's just plain embarrassing because I've won the one in work the last two times out.

August and the start of the season is always unpredictable at best but this year has taken on a certain special destructiveness. Ronaldo dismissed for nodding a Portsmouth player ever so gently. Rooney and Berbatov both crocked and then other players generally letting the side down.

I mean the fact that Wigan led the table on Saturday and Man Citeh topped the charts on Sunday is indication enough that things just aren't right. Further confirmation comes from the fact that United have enjoyed, again not quite the right word, their worst start to a Premiership season ever.

Over £50 million spent on reinforcements in the Summer and this is the result? Well, quite a bit of that cash was recouped with decent money coming in for Smith, Rossi and comically, Kieran Richardson. But honestly this smacks of the disaster that was Roy Keane's retirement, Ferguson gambled on the fragile health of Roy's hip and let Phil Neville, no world beater of course but capable in a central midfield role, go to Everton, within the space of a couple of weeks United had to resort to throwing O'Shea and again bizarrely, Alan Smith into the centre of the park.

Saha and Solskjaer are permanently injured it seems these days and you have to question the logic of getting rid of Smith in that context. One tackle and your options are reduced to Tevez and that is just what happened. And despite the domination of United in the derby and against both Portsmouth and Reading, it was stunningly clear that without a suitably sharp foil, United can't finish off the chances they are creating.

It's too early both for Nani and Tevez but circumstances are now dictating they have to play. Would Smith have made a difference? He certainly would have given a battle to Richards and Dunne and perhaps that would have allowed Tevez sufficient space to play his customary role just off the striker. Perhaps Ferguson would have persisted with the 4-3-3 in any case but that leads us to another pertinent question.

Can Hargreaves, Carrick and Scholes play in the same eleven?

Certainly, Scholes, as long as his little ginger legs will carry him deserves to be there, whilst Ronaldo got player of the year awards last season perhaps the senior accolade was more deserved by Scholesy and he ran the show along with Giggsy against City and even showed his sharpness in front of goal against Pompey already. He'll have to hang up the boots at one point and that's why having two strong central midfield options outside of himself is a good idea. The real question is Carrick. Hargreaves fits into the swashbuckling defensive dynamo role and there were some decent glimpses of that yesterday but aside from a couple of Champions League strikes and the odd long range ball, Carrick spends the majority of games laterally passing the ball, taking about a half second to pop it off and is generally just flooding the midfield unnecessarily.

There were certain times yesterday when nobody even funnelled back to take the ball off of Ferdinand or Vidic, now, that shouldn't be a problem for Ferdinand and he needs to take more responsibility to take the ball out and start situations. He had it too easy with Keano when he was there but it's a role that Carrick should equally share because I'm not sure what else he is good for. He's not dominant enough in the tackle, I can't remember him on the deck in the entirety of his United career to date and he does not work from box to box in the classic style of early Roy Keane.

So in short, while there are problems upfront, these will be remedied if people can get back fit or with the addition of one mobile yet pacy striker, the likes of an Anelka for example or a fit Saha. It is the long term issues around replacing Scholes and the role of Carrick that trouble me most deeply as a United fan.

Back when United won the Champions League in 1999, Gary Neville was our weakest player when the full first team was fit. In 2006, Gary Neville was made captain of the side, certainly he has come on a hell of alot since then but in other ways, it was costly decisions such as Rio Ferdinand and his calamitous defending, the procession of goalkeepers attempting to replace Schmeichel and the lack of a recognised defensive midfielder that supplanted my concern.

Now, it's Carrick.

Oh boy, is it Carrick.

Ultraviolet (2006)

Directed: Ken Wimmer

Starring: Milla Jovovich

Alrighty, well on the verge of retiring for the evening last night, I spied this little number coming onto sky. It had all my usual requisites or required peccadillos rather. For example, vampires and well, Milla Jovovich. I never was a fan of Resident Evil the computer game for example, in fact, I'm not much into first person shooters per se but Resident Evil the film? Yowza!

I'm tragic really when you think about it, the simple fact that I rented Van Helsing for example, primarily on the basis of Kate Beckinsale should give the game away really. Underworld and Underworld Evolution were a return to form for Kate thankfully.

I'd guess this kinda brings us back to my penchant for Buffy the Vampire Slayer or BtVS to use the proper shorthand. I wasn't really into Sarah Michelle Gellar, never have been, I just really liked the style of the show and found the story engaging and it really did develop over seven series, believe it or not. There was one season that was a total write off, I think it was series five with Buffy and Willow in college and the faction and Adam and all that but outside of that, the rest was great. And SMG aside it did feature some superb eye candy in the shape of Eliza Dushku and Alyson Hannigan as Dark Willow in series six.

Anyway, that brings us back to Milla Jovovich and general darkness. That's the way, I like my anti-heroines generally, very dark and conflicted and that's the way Ultraviolet kicks off. It even starts with a very classical boot shot for the fetishists out there before descending into the kind of martial arts, Gun Kata apparently invented by the Director himself, which looks like a bad parody of the Kill Bill genre. The plot, when it attempts to trouble the audience is relatively simple but the motivations of the lead character, the eponymous Ultraviolet played by Jovovich, are probably never really brought to fore.

Thus, it's action led and whilst not badly acted, there's not much to act in all fairness, it leaves you with all the satisfaction of well, I was going to use some crude imagery but insert whatever works for you. In short, boots aside, some nice personal CGI on the character outfits (overall some of the wide angle CGI and chase scenes look like a bad computer game) and the lovely Milla, the movie leaves you wanting.

Maybe they just didn't play up the Vampire angle enough.

Bring on Resident Evil 3 in any case!!!

"I think there is a pack of assholes in Ireland who are trying to give me a bad time", the 37-year-old German-based rider said.

"The only one thing you should know, the positive test was not Libertina, it was Maike, it's about time that people left me alone," Kuerten said angrily yesterday.

"I never doped my horse, ever, and I'll prove it," she added.

Yes.

Back in Ireland.

And it is raining surprisingly.

I had plenty of interesting posts awaiting you, penned in my head as it were, as I passed my week away, unfortunately back in Irlandski, the muse has evaporated.

The good news is that the football season has re-commenced.

The bad news is that United only managed a shitty draw with Reading on the opening day and Rooney is out for 2 months!

Disaster.