lest we forget

It’s easy to forget significant moments in history, especially when their prominence is usurped by some bigger event. Les Arses failure to do anything in three of the four things the arrogant Woolwich Wanderers thought they were in with a shout for, especially the Carling Cup, has pushed into the background their 10-1 defeat to Villa in the reserve fixture back in January. In case anyone had forgotten or had missed it, I felt it was my duty to broaden its exposure a little. If you like hand wringing, here is the full story from THEIR point of view courtesy of http://www.ars3na2.com/ (doesn’t really exist)

On a disappointing night… I don’t know where to start. It’s 10-1, what can you say? It’s a major embarrassment but we’ve got to get up and get on with it. No-one likes to get beaten 10-1. There’s not really much you can say, I think 10-1 says it all.

On what he said to his players after the game… I don’t think there’s any need for raised voices. You expect better standards and you don’t expect an Arsenal team, at any level, to get beat 10-1. We can organise and we can work with them but we’re all a team and we’ve all got to take it on the chin, take the criticism and get on with it.

On whether the early sending off changed the game… I think it did a little bit. We made a few early mistakes. You come to Villa and you’ve got to be on your mettle at the best of times. We’ve made some dreadful mistakes, they’ve capitalised and punished us. What was really disappointing was that it was a lack of character and that’s what I’m really disappointed about. It’s the character when you’re losing. We’ve allowed ten goals to be scored against us in a game which should never happen.

On a bad day… It’s just an extremely bad day but it’s football and we will pick ourselves up. No team at Arsenal should get beaten 10-1. We’ve all got to take the blame, me as well, the staff and the team and we get on with it.

Spurs can win the title

Finally some real success! I was reviewing some footage on youtube yesterday including this one I posted from the end of the Carling Cup final (the one where we won, not the one we played magnificently in then lost because taking a good penalty is embarrassing or uncool or something)
[ contains clearly audible swearing- you have been warned. It wasn’t me, it was the bloke next to me]and I realised that the Champions’ league is all very well, if still annoyingly mis-named, but what about actually winning something? Then I found that Spurs are one win away from winning the league. It’s the Spurs Ladies but credit and straw clutching where it’s due. COYSL!

Gratitude

We gave a relative a car. An old one that's not worth much but we thought he'd be happy. He called later and said "I can't find the sat nav". Later still he found that insurance was too much so he's going to sell it. There's something wrong here I think.

heterodoxy

“Thank God there are no free schools or printing; …for learning has brought disobedience and heresy into the world, and printing has divulged them… God keep us from both” So said William Berkely the Governor of Virginia in the mid 17^th Century.  This is the quote that stands alone ahead of the contents page (the first item of which is ‘crap Detecting’ on p.15) in Postman and Weingartner’s  ‘Teaching as a Subversive Activity’. Never has a quote hooked me as much as this one.  You can read the whole book in pdf here: http://iwcenglish1.typepad.com/Documents/Postman_Teaching_As_Subversive_Activity.pdf but, regrettably the quote is missing from this version.

I think I am a subversive teacher to a point but possibly not in the way entirely advocated in this book. That’s, of course, if I have got the point properly. I love the yellowed pages of the 1973 edition that was gifted to me by a student but those same yellow pages and the tiny font mean I can only manage a few pages at a time. Oh and I also have a job which is, of course, being a subversive teacher. When I read the critical elements I am reminded of the scenes in The Wire where ‘Prezbo’ encounters disengaged students being taught to the national tests.

as if...

…texting itself wasn’t the ultimate time stealer. Reading other people’s failed texts where autocorrect has changed a word can eat up a whole morning. Some of these are wonderful. My favourite is the guy who texted his daughter that he and his wife were going to divorce next month. He meant Disney. I make no apologies for wasting your time at work.

http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/

man this is cute

Roald Dahl said something along the lines of ‘there’s no more wonderful sound than a kiddy laughing.’ At least I think it was him, no time to check. Even though millions have already seen this I think it could be like the impact of Bill and Ted’s music if enough people get to hear it.

and another one

Not sure why this is a) so compelling  b) so funny and c) a little bit creepy

forget practical applications...

… this is what the internet is for