What Would Beckham Do?

Euphoria has hit Wellington as David Beckham arrived in Wellington at lunchtime today. Beckham-mania has left me thinking that there is probably far more hype and expectancy over Beckham coming to town than there will be the day the Lord himself returns. Beckham has been treated like royalty since arriving several hours ago and there will be places living off his reputation like a restaurant David Beckham ate at one time, the store he bought deodorant from etc.

The media is out of control these days with the Stuff website which won the Qantas media awards for sports coverage encouraging the youth of today to become paparazzi by getting photos of Becks around Wellington and they will be posted on the Stuff website. What has the world come to? We get rugby players all the time here and non sports people (dare I say it) who have achieved more on the field than Beckham has, yet it is the image as player and person which gives the Beckham brand far more worth.

He has rock star good looks and is deadly taking free kicks, but it is his contribution to worldwide football by setting up academies all over the world and his aura which is why I am attending the match this weekend. He was a top worldwide footballer at one stage. Golden Balls has seen plenty of controversy in his time, like the sending off in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina, the penalty which went way over the crossbar in the shootout in the European championship knock out match which has enhanced his image. This guy has copped so much stick and punishment, yet always returns positive somehow. He is an enigma of sorts, found wanting at times on the pitch, yet that is what makes him the person he is.

For your information he is staying at the Copthorne Hotel, Oriental Bay and I will not be bugging, stalking or mugging him. He is only human (which is checkered career can atest to) and is on holiday earning $2 million for playing 55 minutes. Maybe this means I should hound him to make him earn his keep, but I am a mature individual who has seen elite sportsmen off the field and I can truly say that they are only human, not some deity.

Burn the Bra!

I have just been at a Women's Lib seminar, which I attended voluntarily at The Street. It was actually a slightly random chance that I went along to this talk by Denise Ritchie. Her niece goes to The Street and sent an email out, which I brushed over as I assumed I wouldn't be attending. I knew it was something about third world development stuff. Tuesday night rolled around and we don't have a television, which limits me socially anyway, while some people from movie club were helping out at the First Steps thing that I went to last week. It is a good way of giving people the basics of Christianity, but last week was so awkward as only two new people came and six of us from Lifegroup tried to non threatingly get them to answer questions from a booklet, without seeming too pushy.

This mean't that I went to the talk about something called Stop Demand which can be seen at www.stopdemand.org. Denise Ritchie obviously has a passion for this issue of sexual exploitation especially of young people and instead of the usual aiming at helping the exploited, wants men who create the demand stopped. She is a trained barrister so made two hours of compelling argument against men and outlets which are helping them with their out of control habits of exploiting women and children. She came to the conclusion that it is up to men to stop men. The irony of all this is that men are turned off by hearing her talk about this issue and so don't show up, so there were myself and another guy feeling the heat among about ten women. Anyway, she started ripping into Radiosport and the Radio Network advertising. She also mentioned the sad state of sports teams off the field which I obviously know about. She was hassling a society which I obviously know and lost plenty of respect for as people, but still admire as professional sports men on the field. My time at Leisure Lodge in Dunedin as Night Porter was when I saw what goes on after hours with such high profile teams. Top rugby players often let their hair down after games and attractive women worship these star players and hang around the hotel foyer awaiting their stars or meet them up town and return home after both parties have consumed alcohol. Then sometimes groups of players or individuals get carried away and want to get serious with these naive women who then end up leaving and shouting with each other.

Anyway you can slag off guys all you want, but I am still listening to Radiosport. In the radio industry you get jocks with too much testosterone, always talking up their drinking and bedroom antics, but they provide the best wall to wall sports coverage.

The Sampras vs Federer Three Match Series was a Joke!

I believe the recently completed three match series between two of the greatest mens players of the modern era was a media circus. The two stars, one in his prime and the other a 36 year old has been fought out a tight 2-1 series win to the current mens' number one. The plesantaries on both sides are sickening and am obvious media beat up, an attempt to improve the clean cut nice guy image of both of these champions who are both perceived as boring and clean cut throughtout their careers. Federer struggles in the USA market as they seek entertainment in the land of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters.

Some may say that Pete is in good enough shape at 36 and in two sets of tennis may have the fitness and conditioning to sneak through. Others may say that in tennis many older people are successful, just take a look around Wellington interclub to find the large numbers of over 35s who are still plying their trade. These are good points. Others argue they were playing on an unfamiliar fast carpet surface making Sampras's serve difficult for Federer. I say the ball is out on these comebacks.

No one can comeback after five years away from top level tennis and be able to take down one of the best ever World Number One players in the prime of their career. It became sickening how when Federer won the first match, he mentioned that Sampras would still make the top five in the world rankings. I believe this is insulting to the other players and if true would be an indication of the poor level of depth in mens' tennis. I do think that Federer wasn't trying fully in any of the matches, but just turned it up to win the first two matches and was disinterested in third.

The fact that Sampras won the third in the best of three matches played in different Asian cities, suggest that both players wanted to put on a show and give the spectators an hour of entertainment. Federer talked up Sampras's serve, but really should've mopped the floor with Pistol Pete. But this wouldn't have given the spectators their money's worth.


I love both of these players and grew up idolising the serve and volley style of the straight shooting Pistol Pete, but can't help but think that his prizemoney from his illustrious career must've dried up after he retired in 2002. Five years out of the top level of the game should have really shown out there. I only hope that when the LA Galaxy play the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, that there isn't as much of theatrical storyline. Otherwise I would follow World Championship Wrestling instead of the posh sport of princes.

Finally the million dollar question literally is was there sports betting on this series? I wonder if an Indian bookmaker named Gupta had anything to do with this? Maybe Salim Malik, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh or the late Hansie Cronje of cricketing fame are linked to this?

I got this off a dating Guru at Yahoo. I was logging in to check my emails and the headline grabbed me. So what do you think of these, people? Always good to know!

10 Tips for Approaching Women

Most guys get caught up in guessing what to say; here's what they really should do

By David Wygant

Special to Yahoo! Personals

What do you do when you see a woman you are attracted to? Do you run and hide? Do you use some canned line that you read on the Internet? Do you stand there in fear trying to think of the right thing to say? What is the right thing to do?
When approaching a woman, most guys make the mistake of thinking too much about what to say. They believe there's one magic line that will work in all situations. They rehearse this magic line, and when they deliver it, they hope the woman will become instantly attracted to them.
Unfortunately, rarely does this approach work -- because most of what you say is irrelevant. To catch a woman's attention, it is all about the confidence you display when approaching her.
Here are 10 surefire ways to intrigue her every time:
1. Observe something. Make a comment about something you observe in the environment. This is especially effective at the grocery store. For example, if she is ordering a turkey sandwich, ask her if the turkey is good here.
Make your comment immediate to the situation
Make your comment immediate to the situation and it will seem perfectly natural. No matter where you are, there is always something interesting to comment on.
2. Smile. This shows her that you are friendly and confident. A genuine smile not only feels good to you, but will put her at ease while creating openness in the interaction -- a requirement for building rapport.
3. Do not hesitate. If you hesitate in your approach, this tells her that you are not feeling confident -- an immediate turn-off. When you see her, walk over to her within a short period of time (the three-second rule). Show her you are a man who knows what he wants and goes after it.
4. Positive body language. If you approach hunched over with your head down, you are sending negative information about yourself, which makes you dead in the water before you begin. Stand up straight, with shoulders back and chest out, and use a firm yet relaxed walk.
5. Not too fast. If you walk over too fast, you could likely trigger her internal alarm. A calm, casual approach is usually the best way to make her feel at ease with you.
6. Keep eye contact. Never be the first to break eye contact when you approach. If you do, this sends the message that you are not feeling good about approaching. When you use strong eye contact, she will feel more drawn to you. With practice, you can master this.
7. Listen up. Make sure you pay careful attention to what she says. Do not have your response pre-thought out. Women love a man who pays attention to the details of what she says. If you start throwing out random words, she will lose interest fast.
8. Do not fidget. Fidgeting after you approach is distracting and shows you are uncomfortable. If you communicate that you are uncomfortable, she will feel uncomfortable, too, and will close up. Practice being aware of your movements. Pay attention to those movements, or lack of movements, that communicate comfort and confidence.
9. Lighten your tone of voice. The tone of your voice is a very powerful tool. Approaching her in a light and playful tone is one of the best ways to start. You could also begin in a serious tone, accusing her of something like "
I hope you saved some turkey for me
I hope you saved some turkey for me," followed by a quick smile to let her know you are joking. Practice playing with your vocal tone with your friends -- notice the different reactions you get when you say the exact same thing using varied tones and fluctuations.
10. Lean away from her. A man who leans in too far when he talks often makes a woman feel crowded. A better approach is to lean away from her slightly. This lets her know that you respect her space, boundaries, and are comfortable with yourself.
The key to making these tips work for you is putting them into practice! Practice these tips and see the reaction you get. When you put them all together, you will be surprised at their power.

The Bright Lights of Capital City!

The land of opportunity, Wellington much like Farmers is full of surprises. Today was no exception as my lunchtime consisted of walking past the most obvious trans gendered person near work and continued up Cuba Street towards town when I bumped into Les Leung who was a mate of a mates in Dunners. It is amazing who you see and meet in the big smoke as I found myself standing next to the director of Eagle vs Shark and the actor who plays the male lead Eagle and Jermaine in Flight of the Conchords (a laugh out loud show on Prime 10pm Monday nights). They were both heavily clothed, unshaven and with hats and glasses on so people wouldn't recognise them. It is tough being famous. I was a boyswear model for H + J Smith Ltd stores in 1989, one night champion on Cash Battle and Mr Consumer March and May 2007. It is tough being in the public eye.

I realised today that not only are the Blackcaps playing cricket in Dunedin for the first time in years, but they are playing two tests at the Basin Reserve. The Bangladesh series will be closer than it should be, but the first test is in Dunedin at the University Oval (a quaint small ground near the University) while the second test is in Wellington at the Basin Reserve in mid January. It is close to where I live and ideal for some post work activities. I am hoping to go to the New Years Eve ODI in Queenstown although with Bangladesh not rousing so much interest as other sides, I may be lacking friends. Finally England tour and the Basin hosts one of the tests. It is a 15 minute walk to my house, and an oasis in town.

I am struggling for things to do this weekend. Isn't it ironic that I am barely home any evenings during the week (apart from when injury stopped me playing sport!) but this weekend people are leaving town and I have no plans. We have no tv in the flat, so that isn't an option. Some people are going to Justin Timberlake in Auckland, while others are going to other parts. It is the messy time of year where you go from nothing to do to heaps to do. Last weekend there were a surplus of weekend parties and this weekend there is nothing, zilch, zippo.

I am holding out for next week when although we have a bye at tennis, I will continue my return to the touch fields on Wednesday and Thursday and on Friday and Saturday nights, I will be watching the Wellington Phoenix play back to back matches against Adelaide and then a distraught David Beckham's LA Galaxy. These will be my first and second Wellington Phoenix matches and my third professional football games after Fulham Bolton last year. I haven't gone to as many Phoenix games as possible because they have been on, on Sunday nights or clashed with other social events. There is so much to spend every hard earned dollar on here. If it isn't hiring dress up costumes for parties, it is salsa dancing gigs or sports events and food which take up a large part of my dollar.

A Stuff Up With National Anthem Helps Croatia

While the aftermath of that fateful defeat (sound familiar All Black fans?) continues, it was revealed today on the site www.ananova.com that Croatia received a welcomed pre-match boost from an unlikely source.

The British singer who sang the Croatian anthem before last night's match accidentally sang 'My penis is a mountain'.

Tony Henry was trying to sing the national anthem in Croatian, but reportedly got the words wrong.

Fans say the mispronounciation helped the players relax before the game at Wembley where Croatia beat England 3-2.

The national anthem is written in old style Croatian, and there can be slightly different interpretations in English because it is a very lyrical language.

The line in which Henry slipped up should have been "mila kuda si planina" (You know my dear how we love your mountains).

But what he actually sang was "mila kura si planina" which means "Dear Penis, you are a Mountain" or "My Dear, my penis is a mountain".

Croat players like Manchester City's Vedran Corluka and Arsenal target Luka Modric started looking at each other and grinning when they realised what he was singing.

Croat fan websites have been calling for Henry to be given a medal of honour for helping the players relax, they also want him made an official team mascot for the tournament.

Mate Prlic, publisher of the top Croatian footballing Torcida Magazine said: "It would be great if Tony Henry could join the Croatian team and fans at the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland.

"He obviously relaxed the Croatian players before the match at Wembley and if that's a winning combination why not invite him to join the team at Euro 2008 to keep the winning streak going."

The Most Over Rated Team in Sport

I was hassling an English friend of mine today following their non qualification for EURO2008 in Switzerland and Austria. I thought I would play the Devil's Advocate by suggesting that England are the second most over rated side after the All Blacks. Interesting point to make at 10am on a Thursday, but on the money, or is it?

David Beckham was obviously on the bench to keep him fresh for his upcoming LA Galaxy game against the Phoenix on Saturday week. His experience was needed after the shock of going down two nil early on, but you can't help wonder why they were blooding keeper Scott Carson in such a pressure cooker situation. They clawed their way back only to concede a late goal in front of 94000 fans at Wembley Stadium to lose 3-2 to a talented Croatian side.

I remember last year when in England and how they were talking on Match of the Day about such a "World Class" side. Now this top side who has only won the World Cup once, has failed to make the European Championships.

Once I saw the reaction of anyone from England today (going from their usual ghostly white complexion to an even ghostlier shade) it reminded me of that day when the All Blacks lost the Rugby World Cup quarter final to France.

Both of these sides are loved and adored by their fans and the All Blacks especially are heroes the world over. Certain members of the England football side are immortalised worldwide too. It is amazing how these teams both struggle in the big tournaments yet are always considered to be a great chance at the title.

So who is the more over rated side out of the two of them? The All Blacks are the Tri Nations champions and have always made it into the semi finals of the Rugby World Cup until 2007. They are currently ranked number two in the world and are historically the best team in the world, yet they finished the last World Cup in company with Fiji, Australia and Scotland. There are less genuine threats in the world of rugby as less teams play the sport at the top level, so qualification is never a problem for them. The Rugby World Cup has been around for twenty years and New Zealand has only won it once.

Compare this to England who are usually there or there abouts in the cut throat world of football. Not qualifying for Euro 2008 is probably the kick in the pants they needed. Quality sides are often missing out on these tournaments, with the depth in Europe amazing. I remember Turkey finishing 3rd in the 2002 World Cup, yet they didn't make the EURO 2004 tournament, while Greece who won in 2004 didn't make the 2006 World Cup finals tournament.

So which side are the most over rated?

Place your bets!

The Assassination of Jesse James (Trailer)

I went and saw the Assassination of Jesse James last night and it was an interesting movie, which should've taken only two hours, but went for three.

It raised the issue of someone being feared and hated when alive, but idolised in death. The person that killed him you would think would be idolised but was labelled a coward. The irony!

I went to the First Steps course on Tuesday before the movie. It was a strange scenario where we were attempting to make these new Christians feel comfortable, but there were six of us and two newbies. It reminded me of Holiday Program leading when you have more leaders than kids and try and get them to answer the questions.

In other good news I got back onto the touch field and despite only being at 85%, still played most of the game. It was again windy and the opposition started with only one guy, and we made them pay with three points (one girl try and one guy try). Again this match reminded me of how different it is playing with three girls on. Without wanting to ruffle to many feathers, the standard of females varies so much that they can be exploited by the opposition guys very easily. We won, despite having a guy sent off. I have found that shouting out my touches and calls to the referees continues to win penalties and doubles as a frustration for the opposition. I was on the other end of this in 2004 in the B Final of the Dunedin club competition. We were beaten one nil and I got really hacked off with a guy in the opposition who called everything out loud. It works though! I would play again tomorrow, but slightly tweaked the back of my other ankle and will ask the physio about it tomorrow. Why??!!!

My rollercoaster world has come crashing down around me as I hurt my foot over a week ago playing touch. I thought I initially was going soft, but realised on Wednesday when I tried playing touch, that I needed to see a physio. The injury has moved from top of my foot to the lower calf and today the physio started massaging my calf and it really hurt.

I am missing Monday night interclub tennis for the second week in a row, while I may have to miss touch again this week, after missing the Sunday afternoon run around and a Saturday football kick around. It has left me feeling lazy, especially with the fine weather.

I have relied on some scraps of social activities with a 1970s party on Saturday night followed by the Salsa Ball in town the highlight. The salsa ball was like an underground gathering like Fight Club. There were plenty of diehard salsa dancers and our skills were rusty after a month hiatus from the glitz and glamour of the salsa world. The other problem was the feeling of inadequacy especially since there were only five of us there, including three guys. This caused either myself or Karl to be the socially awkard single around the outside. There were plenty of foreigners, desperately seeking singles and oldies. Some of the foreigners really get into it dancing incredibly close to each other. It was very hot there, temperature wise and atmosphere.

Finally, the year is almost over and it goes down in history as one to forget sport. We were wondering how many World Cups we would win at the start of the year. By the end we are left looking forward to gaining respect at the Olympics next year. The only mainstream sport now is cricket from South Africa and we are getting pasted. There is of course more to life than sport! Whatever. It is a growing attitude in the big cities with more choices of activities. We are left searching for answers from this disastrous year of sport and I would rather fix it than take up crotchet.

Tennis starts in five minutes and my team are playing the best Monday night team without me. Like lambs to the slaughter! I figure it is better to wait for my foot to heal as I would've had to default if I couldn't play. With touch at least you can sub.

Rubik's cube with feet 2007 world championship final

This guy is an inspiration to myself and nerds worldwide. I wonder how much time it takes to get this good. He needs some other hobbies. I wonder how this rates him with the ladies.

The latest Top Dog tennis ratings are out and it seems that an error a month ago by the system has cost me 30 points and about 300 placings nationally. I am ranked about 4000 in both singles and doubles. I actually beat a player a month ago, but because he defaulted after the first set, the result got recorded as a default and I got no points. Bummer. I am aiming for the top 2500 in singles and 2000 in doubles. I missed last Monday with my sore foot. After seeing the physio today, I am touch and go for Monday. It is funny how I have won four matches of doubles, but am ranked the same nationally as singles despite only having one win recorded in singles. Go figure Top Dog, you have a flawed system. Most teams don't have their best ranked player at Number 1 in their team. I should just default if I am going to lose and not lose points.

Finally it is party central this weekend with a Flat Cooling at my place and a 1970s Party at the girls flat in Coromandel Street. Less and less people are dressing up for theme parties, but I like to make an impression. Not necessarily a good impression mind you!

This Saturday night there is a 1970s party at the girls flat on Coromandel Street. This clip is the best line dance that everyone must do this Saturday.

It reminds me of 2002 when I had a joint Flatwarming and birthday in September. We got a whole room full of people doing this dance. It was brilliant party with Sammy Callander for some reason wearing nothing but satin boxer shorts and a Fat Albert shirt. Steve Chernishov and Sammy were seen jumping over a small fire in the backyard using the fence for ignition. The fire engines suddenly arrived and most people left. Gutted!

Anyway hopefully this party doesn't end as abruptly.

Satuday Night Fever is actually a pretty good movie. It was the debut performance of Fran Dresher (the Nanny). It was made in 1977. You have to love the "Al Pacino" reference!

Slippery When Wet

What an entertaining last few days in the life of Blogger Extraordinaire Scotty Donaldson. There have been plenty of disasters in the last five days which do not help the confidence of such a sensitive beast as myself.

The main embarrassment occurred at morning tea time on Saturday when I changed the 8 or 10 litre water bottle on our cooler. I am the main person who drinks water in the office and it seems I have gained this position of responsibility as well as the knowledge of how to turn the heater mains on when it automatically switches off.

It takes about 30 minutes to fill the water and I went to place the bottle into the machine. It has no handles and yesterday was incredibly slippery. I went to rotate it upside down and is slipped from my grasp spilling all over the floor in our morning tea room. The big plastic bottle got a massive crack in it and we have to get a new one.

Our workplace is so unprepared for such an event as we didn't have anything nearby to soak up the water with except piles of paper towels and three tea towels. It created an interesting scene with the writers and editor of Consumer working together to soak all of this water up. The editor found a small mop and one of the technical writers wearing socks tried moving the water into a bowl (we don't have a bucket!). It was a humbling experience for us all and when someone nearly kicked the bowl over putting the water back all over the floor it created a scoffed laugh or two.

In other news I went to the Ignite Sports Quiz last night in the Hutt. We were in a team of ten with some sharp guys including Muzza Jones, Thomas, Hadleigh and The Tipster from The Street and some quiz gurus from the Frontline team at sports camp who just pipped us for the title.

We had to put up with constant plugging of the Ignite Sports program which got a little repetitive as this panning was a stark contrast to the limited time we got to actually answer questions. There was also a band playing older songs which seemed strange as most of the band seemed quite young. They were not the epitome of a cool band as most of them seemed quite nerdy, but they filled in time with about six songs. Although their wasn't a huge need for them to fill in time, as the constant Ignite plugs were enough time wasting for one evening.

We got second by 11 points behind first. This margin was surprising, but a humbling experience as we were definitely one of the top teams there. The questions were challenging and it was a good chance to bond with like minded individuals.

http://www.ignitesport.org.nz/

Finally tonight I am heading to a Flatwarming "Dress as a tv character from when you were a child". It is crazy with all of these costume parties around Wellington and people get into them. The general enthusiasm levels for functions is through the floor in general, so I hope my Magnum PI outfit is appreciated!

I was keen to get an ALF suit, but there are non near where I live. Other options were MacGyver, Steve Urkel, Star Trek, but I went for the relative ease of Magnum PI. There are heaps of options, but the character has to be distinctive so you can dress as them. I am your typical goofy next door neighbour like Buddy in Charles in Charge, but how do you dress as them?

Andrew Jamieson was busted on the Tour Of Southland taking a whizz from his bike. He is second from the right and Barry Harcourt capture the moment beautifully. He is number 110 in blue with a blue bike! He is mid table in the race, but this is the elite bike race in New Zealand because of the tough weather conditions.


I got this from www.stuff.co.nz It is a freakish thing! But no doubt bound to happen in a country that big!

An Indian toddler born with four arms and four legs is undergoing a radical 40-hour operation to save her life.



The London Daily Mail reports that Lakshmi Tatma was born joined at the pelvis to a "parasitic twin", which has its own limbs, spinal column and kidney, but no head.

The two year old has gone under the knife today at the hands of 30 surgeons to remove two of her useless arms and legs.

As a result of her condition, Lakshmi has been unable to walk or crawl and would be unlikely to survive to her teens without the marathon operation, doctors said.

Lakshmi was born in the poverty-stricken region of Bihar, India, on the day devoted to the celebration of the four-armed Hindu deity Vishnu, which has led some to believe the baby is a reincarnation of Vishnu.

Her mother, Poonam Tatma, said she believed her daughter was "a miracle, a reincarnation" of Vishnu, the Hindu preserver and protector of creation.

"She is a miracle, a special blessing from God. But she is my daughter and she cannot live like this."

Dr Sharan Patil, who is heading the team that is performing the surgery at the country's Narayana Health City, in Bangalore, said: "Fortunately, Lakshmi has one complete body with a near perfect set of organs.

"Her skeletal system involves two bodies which are fused together at the level of the pelvis.

"The operation itself, although it presents several challenges, is not the most complex in the world. What is highly unusual in Lakshmi's case is precisely how her bodies are fused, almost mirroring each other."

Lakshmi's parents, who earn around $1 a day as casual labourers, were turned away from several hospitals they had previously approached to perform the $A225,000 operation.

three's company-she loves me,she loves me not # 3

This is the 1980s classic Three's Company. It was incredibly funny in the halcyon days. The late great John Ritter was at his prime in this. Goofy humour!

I have added this as we have been showing potential flatmates around. At the moment there will be myself and Duncan my flatmate and three new people. My current flatmates are leaving for various reasons. We have shown around about 10-15 people. It has been popular. The lack of unusual people to show around and the quantity of people make it really difficult to select the three lucky people.

I have been in plenty of flats over the years since 1998. From Simpson House to Wanstead, East London to Daniell Street, Wellington. That equates to eleven flats. The easiest move was in 2005 when I moved thirty metres away to another flat which actually could get SKY when the other one couldn't. The golden days as a worker in studentville North Dunedin.

Anyway I am looking forward to this weekend. Everyone in Wellington is easing getting sick of social activities. No more Tuesday night salsa or movie club. My life has moved from hobbies to sport like Monday night tennis (which I won this week, Yes!!), touch Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and Saturday football.

This has taken its toll on my social life. But on Friday night I have been asked to take part in a church sports quiz in the Hutt Valley and Saturday night I am going to a Dress as a tv character when you were growing up. I am trying to come up with an idea of who to dress up as.

Charlie's Fruit Sodas Fireworks

On the top of fireworks and the good old days, here is the controversial Charlies advertisement banned by the Broadcasting Standards Authority!

What A Difference A Year Makes!

I was in the supermarket before and realised that I haven't experienced Guy Fawkes festivities in two years. This was a feeling of nostalgia as I realised that I was in Brisbane this time last year and because of the high fire risk, they have banned fireworks. This means that I was almost home a year ago at this time. I was broke, unemployed and malnourished after living on reduced to clear bargains.

Fast forward a year and my career future is promising in the media industry. I have set up camp in Wellington and despite all of this, I am still relatively broke, with the cost of living and entertainment testing my part time job payments. My friends from Dunedin occasionally come to visit like Sammy Callander and Matt Landreth, but life continues as many of my friends have moved on from the student and single days to married life in the suburbs of Dunedin.

I am always reminded of the case of my old flatmate Kirstie Abernethy who was asked for ID when buying fireworks with her half way house guys she looked after. The age was 14 for legally purchasing fireworks in those days and she was not a day under 20!

Other memories of fireworks include being scared of the loud noise as a kid and watching from inside.

Thinking my brother was cool when he saved pouhas and fire crackers in the 1980s. He lit them with such a bang.

Making Guys as a kid and putting them onto the bonfire at the local school gala.

Lachlan Gordon's stag party when we had a bonfire and fireworks in a field near Mosgiel. It drew the attention of some tourists who saw the light and drove onto his farm which was near the main road. The guys started lighting the fireworks and Andy Gordon to this day still gets blamed for knocking one over and it was pointing directly at us from a close range. It was a case of making a run for it. The tourists got hit in their four wheel drive and headed away, probably thinking we were a bunch of drunken bogan hoons!

It isn't the same without rockets!

David Elsewhere

This guy is my hero. David Elsewhere is the man who the chicks want and the guys want to be! Who said White Men Can't Dance?

Trinity Football 15 Laterals Miracle Play - FULL VIDEO

They should get Curry and co onto the US Eagles rugby team. It is a great play.

In other news we won both of our touch games this week. Admittedly we are in the bottom grade, but it is great to get wins for my team Street Superstars and Switch.

My hectic social life has quietened down with Tuesday night salsa taking a spell, while movie club has also gone out the window. Monday nights is tennis time and I must say I was stoked to win doubles on Monday as we were playing against some very good players.

Anyway things will pick up as the Christmas rush starts. The shops have their christmas decorations out, while the Donaldson Christmas Draw has taken place. It is a secret draw where the children spend $100 on one other sibling rather than buying for them all. It is secret until the day. Last year was funny as my sister left a heavy unlabelled box under the Christmas tree and everyone thought it must be for Craig our married brother because both myself and James my brother who lives in the Hawkes Bay would not want a bulky gift to cart up to the North Island. The mystery was unravelled at tea time as James received it. The mind games are brilliant!