It Hurts to Look

I’m going to have to stop watching the news.

It’s not that I don’t want to be informed of what's going on in the world; it’s just too damn depressing these days. We’ve watched our country take a right beating over the last several weeks, with the massive flooding in Queensland, the bushfires in Western Australia and the cyclones bearing down on both our north-east and north-west coasts. And now, as we slowly start to rebuild after the damage done here, we are forced to watch our brothers and sisters in New Zealand deal with their own terrible natural disaster.

New Zealand is known for being earthquake prone, one of the problems of being a country essentially formed by fault lines, but the 6.3 rated earthquake that struck the south-eastern city of Christchurch on the 22^nd of February hit them harder than probably any quake has done before. It wasn’t as strong as the one they suffered in September of last year, but was closer to the surface and to the city, as well as striking in the middle of a weekday, as opposed to before dawn on a weekend.

As I write this, there are 98 people confirmed dead and 226 still missing. Television stations here in Australia have had rolling coverage, adding special news bulletins or simply transmitting New Zealand national news directly to air here. It’s painful to watch, even more so if you’ve been to that beautiful city and seen it in all its glory. I travelled around New Zealand in December 2007/January 2008 and absolutely loved it. I had been there once before that, but the second trip was the first time I visited Christchurch. We were tired from the flight from Perth and still adjusting to the time difference, but even so, we loved the city and all it had to offer. Some parts actually reminded me of Perth - it was a much more calm, friendly and relaxed place than some of Australia’s bigger cities.

My Dad by the Avon River in Christchurch, and the Canterbury Museum

The people were all so kind and helpful, the place we stayed in was gorgeous, and we all agreed when we left that it would have been nice to have spent more time there. Something tells me sadly it will be some time before we head back there now… 

Statue of James Cook, and what my brother named at the time "the giant waffle cone"

I was looking for a quote earlier to try to sum up the relationship of sorts between Australia and New Zealand, which has formed such a fundamental part of both nations’ histories. There were more serious quotes, and funnier ones too, but it was ones about brotherhood that seemed to fit best, because even though we mock their accents, and make jokes at their expense which may involve references to inappropriate behaviour with sheep, we love those Kiwis like family. They are enough like us that we’ll say “New Zealand is practically part of Australia!” but different enough that we still very proudly maintain two very distinct national identities.

Right now, our Kiwi siblings need our help.

Please, if you are able, give it to them.

To donate to the New Zealand Red Cross… http://www.redcross.org.nz/donate

or to the New Zealand Salvation Army… http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/giving-back/donate-online/disaster-appeals/canterbury-earthquake-appeal/

or if you are in Australia, via our Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

The Big Love-In, Issue 1

I love lists. I like writing them, following them, being on them. So I thought, now that I have this blog, why not make a list of awesome things I’m loving on every week or two, so other people can enjoy the awesomeness too?

And with that said, I give you the first ever Big Love-In…!

Archie McPhee & Co.

I don’t know who put my brother onto this site, or why he showed it to me, but I now cannot stop looking at all the hilarious and awesome stuff they have! I don’t have a private land-line, and yet now want this burger phone. I have no idea what I would do with it, but have decided I need an inflatable cupcake. And next time I need a band-aid, I refuse to use anything other than a bacon bandage. You could waste way too much time browsing this site… so go do it!

When I Get You Alone by Darren Criss  

This song has pretty much been on repeat since the first time I heard it. It (and Darren) are made of so much win it isn't even funny. Listen to it, and be prepared to be stuck listening to it inside your head all the time from now on. Plus, Darren Criss is gorgeous. You’re welcome.

Raul Meireles

I was excited when we signed Raul in the summer, but under Woy Hodgson, he just didn’t get to shine. He’s now scored 5 goals in his last 6 matches, making him an easy pick for Liverpool’s player of the month. He’s got my vote for the PFA award too - why not give him yours?

Hawaii 5-0

Or, Alex O’Loughlin. 

The guy is hot. 

And Australian. 

Need I say more??

Neal’s closet, as seen in White Collar: Countermeasures 

And this. Because I'm still loving it a week on. It’s freaking awesome.

C xoxo

Victory (and Revenge) is Sweet

My first post here was all about my disappointment in my (former) favourite footballer for abandoning my beloved Liverpool FC. So I’m not going to try to hide the fact that this post is about the glee I felt watching Liverpool down moneybags Chelsea and their new £50 million striker.

Every time we play Chelsea I go in to the game with a certain amount of apprehension. They are a club that have had some success in the past few seasons, which Liverpool, admittedly, have not. We have appeared, in recent matches between the two sides, to be relatively evenly matched on most occasions, so it’s a game that really feels like it could go either way.

Of course, I want to win every time, because I loathe Chelsea with a burning passion. Mostly for the attitude they have towards players and success – that money (which they have obscene amounts of, thanks to owner Roman Abramovich) can not only buy the former, which all clubs agree on, but the latter too, which is a point of contention with most football fans, especially those of clubs that have fought hard for their successes without such funds. This time, however, it was about more than just continuing a rivalry.

Liverpool versus Chelsea is already one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures in the league, but this one was different. This one was Liverpool versus Torres. The travelling Kop would be singing against their former sweetheart, fans would be wearing his former number nine with “Traitor” emblazoned on the back instead of “Torres”. We wanted this one badly. And I’m proud and deeply satisfied to say, our boys didn’t let us down.

To give you some idea of the feeling towards Torres in the Liverpool camp since his transfer, people burned shirts bearing his name outside Liverpool’s Melwood training ground, betting agencies took money on who would be the first Liverpool player to foul him when he played against us, and Robbie Fowler, a Red legend, wore a Torres Liverpool shirt as his “Shirt That Hurts” in a charity event. The whole situation could not have played out more dramatically if you’d scripted it. Torres leaves in the last minutes of the last day of the transfer window, disrespects the club in his first interview at the Blues, and then gets given their number nine and a debut at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool? The only thing that could have made it more unreal would have been playing at Anfield.

Let’s face it: it was never going to be pretty for Fernando…

To the not-so-secret delight of Liverpool fans worldwide, a fantastic goal from Raul Meireles gave us the three points at the Bridge, putting a massive dent in Chelsea’s flagging title hopes, but more significantly, spoiling the debut of our former darling, who made no meaningful contribution to the match and was substituted shortly after the hour, and just moments before our goal was scored. Demonstrating how skewed the coverage of the match was towards the Torres saga, rather than focus on the goal celebrations of the Liverpool players and fans, the cameras cut immediately to the forlorn face of a certain Spaniard on the Chelsea bench.

The post-match headlines were scathing, Torres being declared a flop, a waste of money, and a misfit in the Chelsea team, among other things. Various reporters described how positive things now looked for Liverpool, how we were continuing an excellent run, how Chelsea were a team in free-fall, how it was difficult to see them coming back from yet another defeat. But the feeling among Reds supporters was fairly uniform… Missing us yet, Fernando?

Victory, and revenge, were indeed sweet.

A Vent to Kick Things Off

There’s no time like the present to take on a new challenge, right? And seeing as I still have a few weeks of holidays before uni starts, no job, and plenty to say on a whole range of topics, this was what happened..!

I was talked into this by some of my beloved White Collar crew on Twitter, and as it turned out, the day the topic of getting blogs came up, it was a day when I had I was feeling particularly outspoken. That was a couple of weeks ago now, but the following was what came out when I decided to have my first attempt at blogging, so I thought I might as well post it. Enjoy..?

So. Two words to kick this first post off.

Fernando Torres.

And just a few more, so you know what angle this post is coming from: What. The. Heck?!

Today (or, yesterday, technically) was the last day of the January transfer window for European football. The window is open for the full length of January (literally right up until midnight CET on the 31^st), and is an opportunity for all the clubs in leagues across the UK and Europe to take stock of their playing group, and make moves for players who can help fill any gaps that have become evident over the first half of the season.

Sometimes, you see a transfer coming. Take Xabi Alonso for example, another player I loved to bits for his supreme skill, and his passion for my beloved Liverpool FC. (his GQ looks didn’t hurt either =P http://twitpic.com/3rogks) But when our manager at the time tried really hard to sell him when he didn’t want to leave, he (understandably) became disillusioned. So, he played the next season, had what was without a doubt the best 12 months of his career to date, and then left the next summer with the support of the fans, who knew exactly what he’d been through and as much as we wanted him to stay, could see why he felt it was time to move on.

Not so with Torres. Nope, not the case at all.

This one hurt. A lot. Like I probably always knew it would, except I didn’t expect it to happen any time soon, so I hadn’t thought about how it would feel. I laughed at the stories of Chelsea’s £35 million bid, thinking, “ha, he’ll never go to them.” And then gasped when read that he had submitted a transfer request. I’m thinking, “what is going on? What on earth are you doing Fernando? And more significantly, why now? and, why Chelsea??” They have become one of our greatest rivals in recent seasons, I’ve seen it described as a new rivalry for modern times, and I agree with that description. If I could have picked any club I really didn’t want to see him at (aside from the obvious, being Manchester United and Everton), Chelski would be it.

There had been rumours about Torres moving on from the very first transfer window he spent at Liverpool. I never doubted his loyalty. He pledged his future and his allegiance to us, and we believed him. I read the book he wrote, almost as a tribute to the fans of Liverpool, in which he described LFC as his only English club, the only club he could or would ever play for in the country (if you’re interested, the book is now selling for a measly £4 on Amazon…). But clearly, that supposed loyalty was nothing more than him paying lip service to a club he thought would give him the chance to win the trophies he so longed for. Liverpool’s passionate fans took him in to their hearts, and believed he could be a new hero in the vein of legends who had come before him – like Dalglish, Rush, and Fowler, just to name a few. When we failed to deliver success and silverware within three seasons, he up and left for what he believed to be greener pastures, a club that could give him medals to put in his still-empty cabinet. Only time will tell if he made the right decision…