The Gender Debate at Wimbledon

The lopsided nature of the ladies singles draw has added fuel to the fire that women shouldn't get pay parity with their male counterparts. Two years ago pay parity was introduced, but given that three of the ladies semi finalist haven't dropped a set yet and won their quarter finals in less time than it took Andy Murray to win his five set fourth round match, a few questions have to be asked.

1) If they want parity they should play the best of five sets like the guys have to. Lleyton Hewitt came out and believes that not many women would last five sets in a match. I agree.

2) People pay similar amounts to watch the guys and girls, but get lopsided results because there isn't much depth in the womens game. It can be all over in an hour like the quarter finals. There are generally more thrashings in the ladies draw. The physical differences between the players is huge.

3) What about just making the final best of five sets for the ladies? It could be a compromise.

4) Men are better players and provide more high quality tennis. Dinara Safina would struggle against most guys on the ATP.

5) Women do have other ways of pulling crowds though like with their looks, but definitely not the grunting!

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news/article/-/5693742/wimbledonfans-value-money-despite-routs-serena

No More Sports Camp????

I am gutted that the annual Sports Camp at El Rancho will no longer happen. This leaves The Street team with unfinished business as we got 2nd two years ago and well down last year. The only bonus is that we won both quiz and volleyball, leaving us as the raining champions in these two events. I must admit that it could be for the best given that a camp on a regular weekend in winter was always cold and tiring. There were also some strange adaptations of rules for example indoor soccer used a basketball key instead of a regular half circle and touch was usually played at 7 am on a field twice the size of a usual touch field for the usual length of time while all other sports were condensed versions. This would leave us stuffed for the rest of the camp. Anyway, hopefully we will get to go to River Bend. It looks just as good although if the list of sports on the website is exhaustive then we will have less obscure sports and more mainstream sports to prepare for. Unfortunately the list on the website doesn't include touch or tennis my two main sports. There are enough sports that I am good at to get by on. I wonder if they have a quiz? Anyway, if you are a Streeter and want to go, then let me know. It is further away than El Rancho, but hopefully the weather will be warmer, but not too hot!

http://www.riverbend.org.nz/site/default.asp?sec_id=3048

I will be up for volleyball and soccer, but I am thinking that there may be some other sports not listed on the website.

Three Weeks and I am a FOMO!

A friend of mine who was sick of being labelled as a "friend" by every woman under the sun has decided to ask a girl out within three weeks of meeting them. This way they are still in the potentials basket rather than the friends basket. They have had absolutely no success with this theory, but I wonder if as a rather similar type of guy, it may be worth using this rather than receiving the shotgun blast to the head and a just good friends speech? It is an interesting theory.

What do you think? Strike while the iron is hot after three weeks? Or try and wrestle your way with an inside job into the potentials basket after long periods in the friends basket?

I am a FOMO. Fear of Missing Out is the latest Chris Dodds acronym. I am king! I have such a love of fun that I don't want to miss out on any fun, but occasionally I end up missing out on fun because I am always looking for the best option and I end up not being in either group which is doing something fun! Anyway, thanks Doddswa for the title which I will wear as a badge of honour! The funny thing is that there are some FOMOs out there and we keep bumping into each other around different events. We should set up a FOMO club.

Theatre Buff?????

It has been another busy weekend, involving plenty of trips to the theatre and one to the hospital. The highlight was going to the Wellington Ukulele Concert on Saturday night as a group of eight. It was at the Michael Fowler Centre. The key was that they were easy going, fun and included plenty of classic songs. They involved the audience. My favourite part of the show was the girl who whistled really well and when Brett McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords appeared out of a guerilla suit and joined in with his ukulele. It was funny seeing all of these people sitting around casually playing their small ukuleles. I loved the suit that one of the band was wearing, it was ivory, with a blue shirt and pink tie. The main speaker for the Wellington Ukulele Band had a horrendous lisp, most probably requiring a mop and bucket on hand backstage!



On Friday night I went on a double date to Transformers 2. It wasn't as good as the first one. There were more fights which made it harder to follow and more emphasis on the hotness of the female actors including Tarsh from Home and Away. I do love the Embassy though, so that made it better along with the company of course.

I went to the Michael Fowler Centre tonight for the second time this weekend and listened to Dr Chuck Missler who is an American Christianity guru. He knows heaps about the end times. It reminded me a bit of a lecture, but he knows so much that it is amazing to listen to someone as astute as him.

When I wasn't at the theatre, I went to soccer. The Marist Skins Div 9 team are struggling this season. We used to dominate this grade, but adding an extra year to our team is dangerous and we went down 3-0 to Wellington United in a game which we dominated the first half in, but went into the break 2-0 down. They had a really fast striker who was really the difference. The lowlight of the match was when resident David Beckham, Ben McCorkindale hit his nose on the head of an opponent. We went to hospital in an ambulance after there was heaps of blood. It was fun having a ride in the big yellow ambulance, although it was a slow trip because it wasn't an emergency. What greeted us was a wall of people wearing flu masks. The scary thing was when another one of the family was walking around coughing without a mask on and the kids in the family were playing with the vending machine. We were supposed to wait five hours, but Ben went to the after hours doctor and eventually got some stitches and will probably have some shiners for the next week.

I stayed up late watching the Springboks vs Lions game on Saturday night after going back to the Loveshack after the Ukulele concert for tea and good times, I watched the rugby until 3am. It was funny going back to the Goatshed after some of my close Street mates have moved out. The new breed are still funloving though and it was an epic match. I didn't feel so bad about missing the second half of the All Blacks vs Italy game when I heard about the poor nature of our play. Night time games don't help, but we just don't have the players at the moment.

I jumped on the back of some good odds today. I am not a big gambler, but couldn't resist putting lunch money on South Africa to take the Tri Nations. Up until the weekend, they were favourites along with the All Blacks. Still, they are paying $2.25 to take the series.

The End of An Era - Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

It is such a shame that these two stars have passed away. It makes me feel nostalgic and rather old because I remember seeing them on tv. I must say that Michael Jackson was so popular in the 1980s especially with Thriller and the Jackson 5. He even appeared in movies and video games like Moonwalker. He was such a great dancer with his twinkle toes, moonwalk and gloves, and who will forget his monkey, Bubbles? But heaps of people lost respect for him later on in his career, but now that he is gone, everyone speaks so highly of him. He will be like that friend that everyone found slightly annoying, but once he left, everyone missed the colour and point of difference that this friend provided. Andrew Seatter was the same. A controversial character who loved whoever Southland played and Canterbury, but when he left Dunners, there was no one to take out your frustrations about Canterbury on! Where was Seatter when you needed him? In Tauranga.

Farrah Fawcett wasn't quite as controversial and was known as her role as one of Charlie's original Angels!

It is a shame that both of these people passed away, let alone within such a short space of time of each other. It provides work places with something to talk about after David Bain and Big Wednesday. It will no longer be where were you when you heard about Princess Diana's death? It will be where were you when you heard about Michael Jackson's death?

The Glee Club, Llodra Crashes into Ball Girl and One Armed Boxers

Glee Club got second tonight with a side of four people for two rounds and five for one round and eight for five rounds. It was a satisfying result. My main contributions were based on watching television repeats as a kid. The ponderous puzzle answer was George and Mildred, while in the sports and games section the following were read out;

Swiss German suits Roses (Rosen) Bells (Schellen) Acorns (Eicheln) Shields (Schilten)

They refer to playing card suits like hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades.

Again, there were heaps of other glorious well worked answers to memorable to mention.


In other news, I went to an art exhibition opening for Rochelle Andrews among others. It was something different and it mainly included paintings of flowers. These paintings were pretty flash and most of them were for sale for plenty.

Other thoughts for today,

I just saw a one armed kickboxer. That is pretty gutsy, but I wonder how difficult his opponent was trying. Surely there are other sports people with only one arm can do. I did find a one armed fighter on YouTube, but the guy on tv didn't even have a second glove.



I feel sorry for French tennis player Michael Llodra who crashed into a ball person and injured himself. He was forced to retire hurt. That is gutting.


Finally, congratulations to the USA soccer team. I find myself cheering for the USA in the final no matter if they play Brazil or South Africa. Good old Yanks! I very rarely want them to win anything, but they were $12 outsiders to beat Spain.

Who Has Revolutionised Sport the Most?

Aussie Jason Belmonte has revolutionised ten pin bowling. This is amazing given that very rarely does someone change a sport the way that this 25 year old Aussie has. Bowling with two hands is like rugby passing the ball down the lane and gets ridiculous spin and speed on the ball. I say good on him and live it up while you can. Dick Fosbury revolutionised the high jump with his flop over the bar and I would suggest that this is somewhere up near that. Who else has revolutionised sport like these guys? Muttiah Muralitharan with his double jointed wrists and doozra delivery? The dive pass in rugby? The alley oop in basketball? Higuita the Colombian goalie with the scorpian? Dennis Lillee with an aluminium bat? Peter McGlashan with his protective gear? Arthur Lidiyard with his training?

Crate Day Song

For you viewing pleasure, here is a music video created by three guys as a tribute to the tough, hairy and rugged one we call Corrie, Pies or Princess. He got married recently and I think it is a nice gesture of these lads to make a video for him on You Tube as a tribute. I am sure there were plenty of man hugs and kisses exchanged after this as Corrie would've been dealing with his sensitive side and the emotional roller coaster of three mates showing their affection by making a video. He is a big softie underneath it all. As long as they didn't go as far as the recent Balclutha rugby players who bathed together in the women's bathroom at a Balclutha hotel and with all the splashing around caused water damage to the walls and downstairs in the kitchen! Good on you Pies, enjoy married life!

Could I Wear A Waistcoat and The Best Brownie!

I love Roger Federer and I am assuming that because of his status as an amazing player and role model, he can get away with wearing a waistcoat to warm up in before Wimbledon. I would most probably get laughed at if I showed up to Interclub with a Fed waistcoat, but I guess it is the way you hold yourself. From what I have discovered, if you are confident enough with your actions you get away with things.

I must say that I am gutted that I have lost my ability to stay up beyond midnight or 12:30 to be precise and function fully for work the next day. I stayed up last year until 4am for the French and Wimbledon finals and made it to work, but this year there is no chance of pulling off this impressive stunt. So, I am getting old. If the constant injuries is not enough proof, the lack of stamina to make it through a day at work on five hours sleep surely is!

In recent times I find myself surrounded by females, but this is a brilliant thing at this time of year as they bake. It must be something in their psyche which gives them an interest in baking from a young age. I have eaten brownie from probably about 10 people in the last month and have become an expert. I know who's is my favourite, but because women are very defensive about their baking ability, I don't know if I should reveal who has the best brownie? The beauty of brownie is that all of the stuff I have tried has been tasty, but one or two just raised the bar to the next level! Maybe a bake off is needed. My Life Group has been crying out for one for weeks, but it could have its place. There are two people who make the best brownie that I have tasted. Guess who these people are and I will hopefully introduce you and you can enjoy it!

Who makes the best brownie?

Why Don't Our Sports Teams Sing the National Anthem?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion/2526838/A-song-and-dance-about-something?comment_msg=posted#post_comment
Above is an opinion piece from Marc Hinton on Rugbyheaven. To be honest, I think it doesn't show a lack of patriotism, it shows a lack of outgoingness. New Zealand is a humble nation. You go to any rugby game and apart from a few blokes yelling out "Get in behind" there isn't much crowd fanfare. This isn't because we don't want our team to win, but because we have a different way of expressing ourselves. There were startling revelations on Radiosport from fans claiming not to know all the words to our National Anthem, before criticising the All Blacks for not singing. I thought that was ironic. People should be taught this at school. I know I was, and I guess the younger fans of the All Blacks all know the words. Why don't we like the Americans stand in front of the flag every morning and sing the national anthem and pledge allegiance?

Anyway, the French are a passionate people by nature and very outgoing with their emotions. When the Lions toured there was a similar feeling, given that their fans although outnumbered, were far more organised with chants and louder than our fans. England people are often found chanting and coming up with clever rhyme and songs. I went to a Premiership football game and was amazed. You only need to look at cricket's Barmy Army to emphasise my point. New Zealanders are far more reserved, but it doesn't mean we care any less about winning.

So while I would love our boys and fans to sing loudly and passionately, surely how they play their sport and perform is far more important. I think the recent scratchy performances have got the debate going, but when we were dominating world rugby no one cared about the lack of voice in the anthem.

Check Out This Streaker!

This was more exciting than the game that followed in Wellington as conditions dictated terms between France and the All Blacks. The All Blacks won, but the Tricoloures raised several question marks over the All Blacks and even won the series, although you wonder why Graham Henry didn't get his side to give their all in an attempt to win the series with a six point win. Instead, the Dave Gallaher trophy goes to France, although the All Blacks didn't realise as Piri Weepu kicked the ball into touch on fulltime, while Graham Henry didn't seem to care.

Was this the biggest shocker of the weekend?

I hear there was also controversy because a security guard put a brilliant tackle on a female who made it onto the field. Apparently he used excessive force, but she was breaking the rules, so harden up!

I must say that the cold weather on the shortest day has made everyone sick and feeling blue and tired. It leads to Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD and cures for it include setting up social events and surrounding yourself with as many positive people as possible. I would say a woman outside WINZ in Newtown today needs a hug from a positive person. She obviously was after something that WINZ wouldn't give her as I have never heard such a loud outburst for about a minute with so many four letter words. All the good ones were there. Unfortunately she also started mouthing off to an old lady who was walking along the street at the time. There is never a dull moment waiting for a bus on a dreary Wellington winters day in Newtown. I must say that I thought I had the swine flu this morning, but as the day wore on I realised that once I make it to lunchtime I am fine and the friendly women like Rhoda, Jane and the more stingy Heung Lee and co looked after me at the Thorndon New World sandwich deli.

What a Topsy Turvy Weekend!

This weekend will go down in history as one of the most topsy turvy in recent memory. It has been been a massive sporting weekend with such a variety of sports on, a going away party and such casual times.

It started on Friday night as I spent the night around at The Loveshack. It reminded me of the good old days with the wireless on for entertainment, but it was the people who made the evening fly. Some quality times with Becs who is in my top five female friends was on the cards before she leaves to go overseas. It was also a good chance to catch up with the Landreth, so it killed two birds with one stone.

Saturday was a miserable day. My football team had two no shows, so we braved the elements (wind, rain and muddy pitch) with only 11 players. It was tiring and despite holding the opposition to nil all until midway through the second half when the fatigue set in, we lost 3-0. It was good to get 90 minutes under my belt since my neck injury, but we just couldn't score any goals, so couldn't create pressure.

On Saturday night we said our farewells to Becs. We hit up Hope Bros and it was a great yet relatively small crew. It is good when you know most people at functions and the rugby was on there too, so it was double whammy. I ended up going to this instead of the France vs All Blacks test in the driving rain, but feel justified now. We then went back to the Loveshack for more good times and dessert. Emma's mum makes impressive brownie among other things (who will forget Easter?). There were plenty of normal conversationalists (if that word exists) so there weren't many quiet moments, but there weren't the random alternative extroverts who can dominate these events, so it was all good! Before I knew it I was hitting the sack at about 3 am. I was tempted into watching the Lions vs Springboks game, awesome!

The funny thing with the All Blacks stuttering performance was that no one on the field seemed to realise that unlike the Bledisloe Cup, where the holders have to lose both games in the series to give up the cup, it actually came down to points differential (more like what football does) to decide who won the Dave Gallaher Trophy. Although we won and were previous holders of the cup, we actually didn't win by as much as France won by in Dunedin, so lost the series. It seemed that no one on the field knew about this. Maybe that is why Luke McAlister went for a late dropped goal. I must say that despite winning, there are some guys who in previous seasons would never have got a look into the All Black team. So Mr Donald you are very lucky to be there!

There was also talk about the national anthems. I have been watching sport for years and the sense of patriotism of New Zealanders is among the lowest in the world in my opinion. We should be a proud nation, but we rarely show it. Maybe it is because we are a quieter more conservative type of people. After watching no one sing the New Zealand national anthem (or even know the words), I watched the passionate Lions vs South Africa sides play. The fans and players alike seem to be far more passionate and love their nation. There have been calls to change our national anthem. It was a brilliant game!

I had a late night last night and since I have lost my ability to handle late nights, I have taken half of today to recover. The poor weather today has made me decide to have a day of rest. It is the weekend after all!

Finally, I must take my hat off to the All Whites (dressed in black) football team. They got their first ever point in a senior competition. A nil all draw against Iraq, not only did the passionate fans and players of the Rainbow nation a favour, but provided hope for us conservative kiwi supporters. I have never watched a more satisfying nil all draw and despite missing heaps of opportunities to win this game, but still almost losing it, I must say well done! Glen Moss was great in goals.

Glee Club Fight Another Day

We (Glee Club)finally returned to our old stomping ground of the Realm Hataitai for Thursday night pub quiz. It started off as a poor night at the office but we ended up winning, but only getting $50.

We haven't been to the Realm in about a month, but most of the people from our wide pool of "Quiz Talent" were able to make it. So eleven of us arrived at the Realm to be shown to a four seat table. The service at the Realm has deteriorated from the outset. I had booked over the phone for 8-10 people with the usual girl who calls me "doll", "precious" or "babe", but a break down in communication left us having to be moved upstairs. Despite not having much light up there, waiters forgetting spoons and drinks, we eventually got there. We had a sociable round table which helped things and before we knew it we were one of the top teams. Unfortunately they don't have the Powerpoint which shows the scores anymore.

I always learn something at pub quiz. We have unearthed a new talent on The Street scene. His name is David Lim. He was on fire last night. Of Malaysian extraction Lim wears his heart on his sleeve. Not satisfied with knowing plenty of info already, this pint sized genius has developed a knowledge of television and cinema to complement his sporting and geography prowess. Ladies he is single and at 23, he has plenty to offer. Even Lim makes mistakes. He was convinced that Crunchy Nut breakfast cereal was made of almonds and convinced us of this, but peanuts were the correct answer and Lim knows he let the team down, but will make amends next time.

Lim's indiscretion cost us the victory. We drew with another team in first place. In the tie breaker Ben Mai went from hero to zero. He guessed that at 8 foot 11 inches the tallest man ever was 272 centimetres. He was dead on supposedly. Unfortunately the opposing team got the same answer.

When Ben competed against a woman from the competition in rock, paper, scissors he went for dependable rock. She went for paper. This is a warning. Guys always go for dependable rock first, women always go paper. We got second and $50 rather than the $80 for the win.

This is written with tongue in cheek. Both Lim and Mai Time did well last night and so did the rest of the team. There were a few questions for you trainspotters out there!

1) Which city Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch have the highest rate of car ownership with 77%?

2) Which Are You Being Served Character shares their last name with a famous composer? I got this one with my hours of time invested in 1970s/80s tv shows.

3) Which decade were Y Fronts first sold? 1940s, 1950s or 1960s?

Answers are at the bottom of the post.

FYI

According to Wikipedia,
Glee Club

A glee club is a musical group, historically of men but also of just women or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets.

1) Christchurch. I guess it is more flat and spread out so it is easier for car ownership. Auckland probably has too many people to get 77% of their population.
2) Brahms (Miss Brahms). The actress Wendy Richards recently passed away. No it was Peacock, Rumbold, Humphries, Lucas, Slocumb, Grace or Granger!
3) I went for 1940s thinking my Dad was bought up in the Southland speciality Y Fronts from birth, but my team mates thought 1950s. I didn't really have too much idea but thought it could've been a WW2 thing. We went 1950s and were wrong it was 1940s. Wikipedia says 1938.

Anyway, it is great when you win. I think we need a good mix of people and at least 5 to make it worthwhile.

How To Repel the Babes

http://www.1-day.co.nz/products/AAFDFA9BC
It doesn't take much to repel women, but this cool hat and t-shirt from 1 day will probably do the trick. Where there are novelty gifts involved then I am your man. While I am not the biggest consumer of alcohol, I have seen these hats on people watching sports in the USA and been jealous. Imagine eating your hot dog at the game while having two mixable beverages (coke and raspberry of course) freely available. This hat leaves your hands free to hold the remote control or whatever. So, I bought one, but you get a t-shirt too. I went for chocolate and am going to bring these out on special occasions. For $20 plus p+p it is great value for money. I could even wear my hat at halftime during my soccer. I could put Powerade in one and water in the other. The possibilities are endless! I must say the guy wearing one on 1 day looks like a dork, but if you can't beat him, join him! It would be cool if others got these so we can wear them together and form some kind of group!

Who are these people? Would you get tattoos from this guy?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8104519.stm

I love this story about a Belgian teenage girl who fell asleep thinking that a guy would be giving her three stars tattooed on her face and woke up to find 56 stars on her face. It has caused heaps of emotional damage. There are a few questions which spring to mind. How could you sleep while getting your face worked on? Why was she so surprised when you look at the guy who was painting the tattoos on her? Lets call it a break down in communication, but something worth discussing before rather than after you go into that dodgy joint on Cuba Street to get tattoos!

I am all over this article about the naked bath romp of three Balclutha guys. I especially love that it caused interior wall damage. This is the type of hi-jinks that goes on down south. The lethal cocktail of too much Speights and testerone usually ends up in having a bath together. But in this case it didn't work out too well. Are they old mates of yours Doddsy?


http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/rugby/news/article/-/5661399/rugby-trios-bath-romp-leads-fine

You Have Gotta Be in to Win!

While I am drastically reducing my odds of winning great prizes including tickets to the France vs All Blacks test in Wellington on Saturday, I would love to see some of my friends at Queens Wharf Square tomorrow. If you are still with Telecom and want to win tickets to the game, a trip to France and new Telecom phones then get along there. There is a catch. You have to text CALL UP to 3166. Then at 12:45pm they will call 100 people. It is supposed to be like when All Blacks get called up into the team and will provide fans with that same satisfying feel that the lads once felt. The only catch is that if you win a trip to the game on Saturday and you can't think of anyone else to go with, then you have to go with me!http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2009/jun/wellington/get-your-all-blacks-call-up

Win A Free Trip To Auckland to Watch Bledisloe Cup

I am wanting to get 30 people to join me on a trip to Auckland to watch the Bledisloe Cup match. We would get flown up and put up in a hotel. Of course, there are plenty of other people entering, but of course we will win. So join me by signing up at the link below. I think you have to register before you can join me as a member of The Swede Eaters. Flights will be from Wellington, but if you can get cheap flights you can probably make it.


Hey, we can score our very own plane to watch the All Blacks take on the Wallabies. If you're up for joining my team, there are 30 positions available, so snag a spot before another player does and let's cheer our boys on the day. Oh, and this is your captain speaking, by the way. https://www.scoreaplane.co.nz/default.htm?n=36UL7P7DS&m=joinPlane

Umar Gul A Cheat?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/cricket/news/article.cfm?c_id=29&objectid=10578405&ref=rss

I got this after the Pakistani quick Umar Gul took 5/6 off 3 overs to destroy the Blackcaps. After growing up with Pakistan players often involved in dubious scandals, like match fixing, scratching the ball, drug busts, chucking and political turmoil both within the Pakistan Cricket Board and the political scene, I wouldn't be surprised if Umar Gul was a cheat. It is hard to differentiate between an unbelievable spell of bowling and some poor batting by us. The Pakistanis can pull out quality performances when they want. This time, I smell a bit of a rat to be honest, but don't want to sound like a poor loser. We were beaten by the better team in this match, but don't be surprised if in the future there are some ramifications. If he isn't cheating then Gul has revolusionised cricket with his ability to get reverse swing with a newish ball.

"We were amazed how Gul got to reverse the ball after just 12 overs," said Vettori.

"I have never seen anyone reverse swing the ball like that in Twenty20 cricket. I don't know how he does it. I saw it for the first time."

Food, Fellowship and Fun

It is funny how Christians always meet over food for fun and fellowship. The outside world meets over booze, yet we are the kings of the feast. It is actually surprising that there aren't more morbidly obese Christians really.

Friday nights Hen Pecked saga watching DVDs was made tolerable with pizza and lollies/chocolate. One things for sure, the gals love their chocolate, but at least food makes watching Bride Wars slightly tolerable.

The rest of the weekend revolved around food, with the Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I found myself overindulging. There was a massive shepherds pie, salads and breads, but I made a mistake by eating what I though were thin triangle slices of cheese which were actually butter. I didn't want to put a dampener on the evening, so doused the throat with plenty of bread. I also had too much amazing brownie but people weren't eating it and it was so nice! Should I smell a rat that the Dutch Diana Makker made this amazing brownie? I wonder what the secret ingredients are? Self control please Donaldson. The evening could've been slightly better if I had taken a game or some entertainment as there were a few too many lawyer/government people there, so there was plenty of shop being talked about. The RTs are always good fun, but I switched off when the conversation turned to shop.

Sunday went according to plan with two dinners out. The Lebanese Kebab Shop near the Embassy has delicious kebabs and it was mainly a Street morning crew. The restaurant is so small there that we took it over.

I was filling in for someone on Connections at night church, so after working up an appetite some of us went to Abrakebabra. It was actually a different crew, with some massive eaters. Big Callum who plays for the Saints was there. He is 7 foot 1, but a gentle giant. Johnny Russ became part of the evening dinner crew for a change. It was good to have Rusty onboard. Meerman was there as usual with Fungsten and Rach the singer from Johnny and the Dreamboats and her sister. It was good to meet new people over food and fellowship.

Anyway, if I am morbidly obese the next time you see me, you will know why? Winter and food are a lethal combination!

I Am Officially Hen-Pecked

On Friday night we were going to movie club it rather than the usual Tuesday night. There are some more good movies out that I want to see. I ended up going with JW and TMoney up to Sacha's place in Churton Park and grabbed some pizza on the way. Traditionally we have a selection procedure for choosing DVDs. This night we chose two each and then eliminated one each until we were left with two. These were Benjamin Button and Burn After Reading. We didn't want two Brad Pitt films so we ended up watching Burn After Reading and Bride Wars. I preferred Burn After Reading, but it was a bit quirky for my liking. It had plenty of big names in it but plenty of them were off the wall and a bit zany.

Bride Wars was average and I gave it four stars out of ten. TMoney hates Anne Hathaway. I call it sour grapes, she calls her annoying. The entire movie was based around two friends who both were going to get married on the same day, but both wanted to be the only one married at that time and place. There were so many temper tantrums and poor little rich girls. Although Anne Hathaway was annoying (making Tali correct), Kate Hudson was just as annoying. It was an easy movie to sit there and take the micky out of. On the plus side, there was plenty of food, fun gals and we were torn between watching on a projector in the cold or on a 42 inch with a fire. We went for the fire option. I must say, I won't get back those few hours of Bride Wars, but it shows just how petty chicks can be when weddings are involved and it was even painful for girls I was with, to watch.

Six Reasons We Lost To France

Above- Graham Henry plucked Mils Muliaina from Southland (we let him slip through our fingers) to be his high school principal and so has developed a rapport with one of New Zealand's worst test captains.

I was feeling on edge all day prior to this match. There were so many factors that could potentially cause the All Blacks to stumble. I almost put money on France paying $6.25 to win, but I didn't.

Six Reasons we lost 27-22.

1) France brought a close to full strength side (with the players from the French club final arriving by next week) unlike the Northern Hemisphere teams of recent seasons who brought third string sides.

2) France were too hungry, too physically strong, too fast and most of all too experienced. They were impressive at the breakdown and aggressive in defence. They love playing the All Blacks and beating us means everything to them.

3) We were missing heaps of great players. Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Rod Soioalo, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith and Rudi Wulf. Our depth is no longer what it used to be. Despite the loss hopefully our team will gain experience from this loss.

4) This was our first hit out of the year. We usually are rusty, but get away with it against a Pacific Island nation or lesser opponent. This time, we had a worthy opponent. We were rusty tonight and lacked combinations. There was some really loose play which gifted France points.

5) The ELVs have largely been ditched and the rules are closer to what the Northern Hemisphere have been playing with. We are used to infringements being free kicked rather than penalties. This slows the game down and can often make games disjointed. It took us a bit to get used to.

6) Slippery ground conditions on a dewy Carisbrook made handling and footing difficult. Unfortunately too many players had inappropriate footwear causing some players like Nonu to slip all over the show. Soft ground long sprigs boys!

I thought Stephen Donald and our loose forwards at the breakdown got shown up. Donald is too inconsistent to be a top fly half, our loose forwards lacked the physical presence at the breakdown.

We are going to lose the Tri Nations at this rate. Australia and South Africa are looking good, but as long as we win the World Cup in 2011 then who cares?

The 15 year curse continues!

The Street Social Scene?

As the tweed of the Street social fabric I have become largely redundant in recent weeks. It is hard to pinpoint the reason for this fall off, but I have found myself at home for more nights in than out for the last three weeks. Winter has hit and potentially thrown a spanner in the works, as has the recession, the departure of a few friends and the marriage/hooking up of some friends. This lethal combination has saved me some money, but left me posting blogs and Facebooking rather than going to movies or other social activities.

Since I moved Life Groups to Tuesday night, the previously dwindling movie club has stopped. We are trying to reinvent it on Friday nights. The Life Group is great, but we aren't doing fun stuff during the week like we used to with the old group.

Because I used to have Life Group on Wednesdays, it leaves that night free although touch will start up in about five months.

Thursday night pub quiz has always been sporadically attended, but this year numbers have been dwindling. You really want decent numbers there.

Because of this, we started doing Ballroom Dancing on Thursdays, but that only last for one week before everyone who went became busy on Thursdays and it is far better with a crew. I have plans to reinvent this group with the target of my birthday. I will keep you posted.

Friday night drinks was always good for a laugh, but only happens once in a blue moon. It was really good, but again when numbers dwindle it gets painful. It is a springboard for further endeavours though with dinner often sprouting from it.

Another potential factor is that I play more summer than winter sports, so this naturally takes up more of my time. The touch and tennis combination can take plenty of time out of my week, while football and the ocassional game of indoor when I am not injured isn't quite so time consuming.

The other thing which seems true is the lack of dress up parties. In 2007-2008 these were massive and great fun. Who will forget Muzza's 30th and Laura and his Engagement Party? Greer's TV favourite character from when you were a kid party? Melrose's Mafia Party? Karl, Matt and Will's Spanish and Come as who you wanted to be when you were 6 party? These were gold. We need to get these cranking again!

It isn't all doom and gloom though. I just think things have changed and sometimes these things occur in cycles. Give it a week and hopefully this quiet spell would've blown over. The social fabric has changed and maybe my tweed will have to change and become flannel or polyester.

This weekend is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and that was really awesome last year. Thanks to Muzza Dugga for a great evening as host. This year I know most of the people at the place I am going to, but it should be fun. I wonder if we will fit in some rugby while we are there?

This is Great!

This is great, it shows just how much coverage our players will get over the next week. This is from Italian television. We lost, but can hold our heads up high. Monday vs Spain will be tougher!

Facebook Changes - Bring Back Smeltz!

I realise this isn't Smeltz!

The All Whites (who now wear all black) did us proud in their friendly against World Cup holders Italy, despite going down 4-3. Sure it was a friendly and Italy were missing some players, but we actually scored goals against a team widely regarded as having the best defence in the world. Shane Smeltz and Chris Killen did well up front, but I am gutted that Smeltz won't be turning out for the Phoenix this season. Still, it was only a friendly and the litmus test will be containing Spain on Monday before hoping for some kind of result against South Africa and Iraq. I love watching us play on the big stage. Football is such a popular sport here, yet we rarely play as a nation. Later on this year we hopefully will qualify for the World Cup. Football's awesome!

Facebook users will have to get a username. Most other websites have this, so it is about time that Facebook caught on. Read about it below. It will make searching for friends even easier!



http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/2489710/The-Facebook-name-game

Nice Guys Finish Last?

I have been loving the postings by fellow blogger Greer McDonald. This time she talks about why nice guys finish last. It is very intriguing and raises some interesting points for some of those ultimate nice guys I know. I think it makes so much sense, hence why the James Dean type is so successful with their lack of respect for rules. I guess this is what puts some guys into the friends basket more often than others.

The rest is from the link below on the Stuff website. It is intriguing!

I found the following, written by a guy named Tony Clink who wrote the fantastically-titled book The Layguide: How to seduce women more beautiful than you ever dreamed possible no matter what you look like or how much you make.

Read this slowly and carefully, and tell me your thoughts. (All emphasis mine)

"It's not because women like jerks. Women prefer polite over rude, and attentive over distracted. The problem is the way nice guys present these positive characteristics. In order to appear friendly and romantic, these 'nice guys' think they have to turn off their sexuality. They hide their desires in order not to offend, presenting an androgynous, asexual persona. The first impression they give is one of emasculation, weakness, and lack of desire. At best, they confuse the woman as to whether they even find her attractive. That's what jerks offer women that nice guys don't: they're not afraid to be sexual."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/greer-2-0/2486159/Why-nice-guys-finish-last

Wendy Petrie TV One Fist Pumps David Bain Verdict

This is gold. TV One had a stern word to Wendy Petrie after giving this fist pump while covering the David Bain case. I guess she is entitled to her opinion, but was caught out by some poor camera work which obviously caught her unaware. It is priceless footage. You like to think the people who bring you the news are balanced but I guess this shows us that it may not be the case! Mind you most good professionals can separate their views from their job.

The Most Hated Commentator Sayings

I got this off the Radio Sport website. I reckon full credit must be close to making this list. Sports commentary is full of cliches, but that's what makes it brilliant.


Setanta Sports has compiled a survey of the most irritating cliches, with "at the end of the day" romping home to win


If you have ever had to watch sport with the sound turned down because the cliche-ridden commentary drives you mad, it seems you are not alone.


Setanta Sports has compiled a survey of the most irritating clichés ever, with "at the end of the day" romping home to win with 18 percent of the votes. It was followed by "on paper" and the Sean Fitzpatrick special "game of two halves", in second and third respectively.


Completing the top five were "this game needs a goal" and "there are no easy matches".

http://www.radiosport.co.nz/SportsNews/spspo/Detail.aspx?id=158377

My Experience At Arise Church

Today I attended Arise Church in Wellington. I thought since my team lost to an Arise team on Saturday at football, that I would give it a go. It was also an opportunity to go along with one of my friends. Since the Street repeat the same service at morning and night and since the morning crew is really foreign to me, I thought this would be great for a change.

I rolled up with my friend and saw a few other Streeters who must've been trying it out. The service was held at the St James theatre home of my first opera. It is a great venue and I must say that the seats are a further distance apart downstairs than in the Grand Circle. They had an amazing setup there with heaps of people helping everyone. There was an area up the front for people moshing which was a stark contrast to my Southland Presbyterian upbringing.

The worship music was extensive and they kept showing a really cheesy looking guy on the big screen. It was an impressive band, but it seems amazing how the songs differ between churches. There were plenty of hands raised and clapping, but it was easy to get into.

It reminded me of Yes Man with the motivational speaker and everyone clapping and yelling out everytime the speaker said anything. This got a bit repetitive, but even the speaker almost took the micky out of the constant support. It was all about the positive vibe. The topic was Sex and while there weren't heaps of Bible references, I found the speaker to be really easy to listen to and I stayed focussed throughout. It was entertaining and interesting.


I still think I prefer the Street because it is more like the way I was brought up, but given the quietness in recent times on The Street social scene I quite like the Arise morning service and the fresh perspective on life it brings. It was very motivating and practical. Next week Arise are going to the Hutt and they have an upcoming talk on Dating one night soon. I will probably stay loyal to The Street with their night services and friendly Connections team like Miriam White and Matt Cleland. The Street keeps a more conservative, lower profile than Arise, but there is plenty to like about the spark of the people at Arise that I found welcoming.

Terminator Salvation

I thought it was topical to attend Terminator 4 Salvation on a Sunday with that sort of salvation theme. I went back to the Embassy where I had fun watching Star Trek on Tuesday and there was even one actor in both movies. There was also a cameo of Arnie in this movie. It is Hollywood's latest thing like Spock in Star Trek. Get the actor who used to play the role in a part. I recommend Terminator even though I haven't seen the other Terminators in ages. There was plenty of action.

The Real 40 Year Old Virgins

There is an interesting article in the New Scientist magazine with plenty of statistics about the 25-45 year old Christian virgins who are predominantly tee totallers. This is in the USA. There are also about 1 million virgin guys and women in the USA. So it isn't just about dorks like Steve Carrel in the movie 40 year old virgin. There are plenty of relatively normal people waiting for that right person and time. I think that tv and movies paint you out to be abnormal unless you have bamshebamed, so it is refreshing to find out just how common abstaining is. In saying this, not everyone has the choice and it is rather by lack of finding anyone that could well add to the stats creating some kind of ecological fallacy. Check out the article here!
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/06/who-is-the-40-year-old-virgin.html

The Profession Who Talks Shop The Most

As I sit in my lounge on a friday night listening to one of my flatmates talk nursing to her friend, I am left wondering

"Which profession talks shop in their spare time?"

I have previously flatted with nurses who also talk shop, while I know plenty of doctors who did the same while I was in Dunedin. Growing up with teachers for parents and brother and sister I find they talk shop plenty as do some other teachers I know. So which profession does talk shop the most?

Place your votes please.

1) Lawyers
2) Doctors
3) Nurses
4) Teachers
5) Farmers
6) Musicians
7) Youth workers
8) Builders
9) Secretaries
10) Journalists
11) Horticultural/Agricultural workers
12) Accountants
13) I.T. Workers

Whatever You Do, Stay Away From Thames!

You don't often see warnings dished out for entire towns, but in this case, don't go to Thames! There is an outbreak of the squirts and other nasty things at the moment and it is keeping hospital workers on guard. It reminds me of the Scout Jamboree last year when there was an outbreak, but because everyone was living in close compounds it got out of control. The problem was that no one could leave the Scout Jamboree because they weren't allowed on the buses. Unicol hostel in Duners also had a warning. It has a reputation for a few other diseases floating round, but a similar flu hit them causing them to shut doors a few years back. Winter is nasty like that!





http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/2476678/Diarrhoea-outbreak-hits-Thames

David Bain Not Guilty?

The jury has delivered it's verdict and David Bain is not guilty. What sort of compensation will this guy get? I reckon there is too much doubt and that was the problem. There seemed to be all kinds of stories of police incompetence because nothing of this scale had ever hit Dunedin before. I still think he did it, but with all of the botch ups and counter arguments you could hardly come to a conclusion with any confidence and put a guy back in the slammer after he has fought so hard to get out of it. Where to from here for David Bain? Will anyone want to give him a job? Will he be compensated? Will he appear on the next Dancing with the Stars? It will be interesting to see how he gets on. He has no immediate family left and will find things different in real life. Bring back the jerseys!

Speed Dating Through Female Eyes

With the Christian Singles Ball on in Auckland this weekend, I would like to take this opportunity to show what speed dating is like through a female's point of view. Below is the link for the article from Greer 2.0 on the Stuff website. She went speed dating at the Vintage bar and it is true that it is a "socially contrived situation"


http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/greer-2-0

In other news,

My social life has taken a nose dive really. It is hard to say if it is the weather which is causing the slowdown or the recession? I used to have pub quiz on Thursdays and then even had the option of both pub quiz and ballroom dance lessons, but unfortunately neither of these events took place tonight because people have left town or are busy.

My modelling career continues in the latest Consumer. Check it out at your local bookshop!

Who Wants To Go On A Treasure Hunt?

There is a treasure hunt taking place in Wellington this Saturday. A guy bought an engagement ring in Hong Kong for when he proposed to his girlfriend, but she shot him down and he can't return it and doesn't want to keep it. I would be keen to try and find it as it is worth $5000 but only if I get a hand from an able assistant. It would be quite funny. I think he wants to give it to someone with a "cool chick" so I have my work cut out by the weekend. If you are keen to help find it then let me know. Below is the article. It is quite funny. I will only look for it if I find help to look for it with me, otherwise I will sleep in. They may need Internet on their phone so we can follow clues on Twitter.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2466280/Spurned-lover-sparks-treasure-hunt

Star Trek is no Star Wars but I liked it!

Last night I went to the movies with my Life Group. I felt a little bit special as I was the only guy with five lovely ladies of the Lord. The reoccurring themes from the post mortem was that people still keep confusing Star Wars and Star Trek. There are also people who don't remember the tv series with William Shatner in it, so there is a clip above.

I can only vaguely remember watching the 1960s tv show but it started coming back to me last night with James Kirk, Spock, Doc and Scotty. It was funny seeing the world famous strawberry blonde/ginga Simon Pegg in the movie. I also didn't realise that Spock and Captain Kirk had such a rocky relationship. I also saw some familiar downunder actors who are creaping into heaps of movies these days. Karl Urban and the guy who played Kim I think his name was from Home and Away were on it.

I was brought up not thinking of the theme music from the tv show, but rather the 1980s parody song called Star Trekkin'.



I enjoyed the Star Trek movie and the cool costumes and bad guys. The Vulcans like Spock got a little annoying. I loved seeing Leonard Nimoy and would've loved seeing William Shatner in the movie. I can't believe he is 78 and still on Boston Legal. It helps to know the characters before hand, but you find out about them. I was intrigued by the rocky relationship between Spock and Kirk and how it was the serious Spock who had the girlfriend on board rather than Kirk. Spock had such a bad hair cut and ears that it provides hope for us all. It was a great movie and up there with Star Wars, but it actually isn't Star Wars.

An Ex Pats Match

Justin Marshall is one of 10 New Zealanders playing for the Babarians against the Wallabies. He wants an Ex Pat team to play the All Blacks. With the squad recently named I would be intrigued by this match. Assuming all parties were fit here are some potential teams.

All Blacks
15 M Muliaina
14 J Rokocoko
13 R Kahui
12 M Nonu
11 S Sivivatu
10 S Donald
9 B Leonard
8 R Soioalo
7 R McCaw
6 J Kaino
5 A Williams
4 B Thorn
3 N Tialata
2 A Hore
1 T Woodcock

Reserves
16 K Mealamu
17 J Afoa
18 I Ross
19 A Thomson
20 P Weepu
21 L McAlister
22 I Toeava

The Ex Pats
15 L MacDonald
14 R Gear
13 R Tipoki
12 A Mauger
11 D Howlett
10 N Evans / D Carter
9 B Kelleher
8 X Rush
7 M Holah
6 J Collins
5 C Jack
4 R Filipo
3 C Hayman
2 A Oliver?
1 G Somerville

Reserves
16 T Willis?
17 C Dermody
18 P Tito
19 D Braid
20 J Marshall
21 G Jackson
22 B Blair

I haven't been following the Northern Hemisphere club games in recent times, who else would you add into your Ex Pats team?

Female Tennis Players A Bunch of Whingers?

I read this interesting article by Joseph Romanos about how the ladies are letting the game of tennis down. For centuries tennis has been about the etiquette. I look at older people playing club tennis in Wellington (from my club) and usually see this come through in the way that they often would rather see you happy even if it means losing a point. It doesn't mean being a pushover, but there are little things like if you win a point from the ball hitting the net or replaying a point in question (not so common in Grand Slam tennis) and respecting your opponent no matter how good they are. I find it easier to do these things now I am a bit older, but in my days as a junior I was searching for every possible point and advantage.

With the exception of the rift between Rafa and Robin Soderling which escalated at Wimbledon two years ago, I believe what Romanos says here is true. There are no real charismatic ladies in the game at the moment to respect, with the possible exception of Elena Dementieva who I rate. But she isn't at the top of the game like Steffi Graf or Martina Navratilova once were. The guys have Fed and to a lesser extent Raf to call on and lead the way.

There are too many spoiled little rich girls or older girls who should know better like the Williams sisters. It is important to respect your opponent in tennis in both defeat and victory and play like the people who invented the game (French) would want it played. Play football or a contact sport if you want to bitch and moan all day! There are too many people living on the poverty line to be complaining about if someone grunts too loud or takes too long between points costing you potentially $50,000 of your $200,000 winnings for the tournament!

The women want pay parity yet the standard of play by them has been rather average so far. They should only get the money if they move to best of five sets and judging by the matches so far at Roland Garros, no one would want to pay to see that!

I love Fed and hope he wins so he can finally get the monkey off his back and potentially retire in peace. I also like Monfils and think that Murray is going to be hard to beat. I am still a bit disappointed that it won't be a Nadal vs Fed final after what I saw first hand in Melbourne.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/2463063/Women-behaving-badly-discredit-tennis