Holiday

Off on holiday tomorrow, so I'm off to pack.

Sun, good food and general relaxation await. Nice.

Baws

Last game of football for a while and had a bit of a mare. A bad start when I realised I had left my usual shinpads and boots elsewhere and had to make do with my mouldies. I don't like them on a hard astroturf surface, feel like tottering on high heels until you get used to them again and it is easier to go over on ankle. And with no shinpads for last game before holiday not ideal. Didn't stop me going in hard on guys twice my size so I can't say that had an effect. When you start playing like you are trying not to get hurt is when you'll most likely get hurt so I don't believe in being timid, well with the odd excemption of jumping out the way like a girlie when a well struck shot is heading my way about face height.

What did have an effect was that I felt my dinner churning about for at least half the game, not good. I had it my usual time, no idea why I felt it. A few heavy touches early on hit the confidence before a fine first time oppurtunistic strike flew into the net to at least help salvage some dignity. I did have some other positive contributions, including help set up a couple of goals and the odd decent defensive block but it was very much an off night. Timing and touch were off, generally sluggish.

On the plus side it was 6 v 7 and despite being below par and in the team of 6 we won by about 3 goals in the end. My team mates must have been on their game tonight, thank god mondays game of 5's was considerably better or I'd be off on holiday in a state of anxiety about my poor form. Not being a naturally gifted player confidence is a big thing and when you have it you are ten times the player than when you start doubting yourself. Still I'll be hitting the gym tomorrow and that will make me feel a bit better, though it's hardly enjoyable. Feeling in quite good shape lately so not managing to bring out a bit more tonight was doubly disappointing.

Mark McGhee

I had almost forgotten to comment on our new manager.

Well as you know I wasn't to pleased we sacked our old manager, albeit he was close to the last chance saloon even for me. Whats done is done and we move on. So what do I think of the new man?

Basicaly I'm about as happy with this appointment as I have been with any manager, in fact definately more so. I liked big Terry Butcher but he had to win me and the rest of hte support over. Every other manager we've appointed I have had reservations with. Alex McLiesh, Billy Davies and Eric Black were inexperienced, first jobs as manager and the first two hadn't even coached and well it showed. I still don't rate Eck but both of them have went onto bigger things but they either didn't make enough of what they had(Davies) or they ruined the best Motherwell team I've ever seen(McLiesh). Of the rest Kampman was an unknown quantity and Malpas as former assistant manager followed in the tradition of 90% of former assistants and didn't seme to manage to put his own stamp on the job.

Of the names linked with the job most none had the experience of McGhee, Owen Coyle seems to be doing ok with St. Johnstone but his first job and not really done anything. Gary McAllister an ex Well player again little management experience, Luc Nijholt also not got that much experience though as a former hero at Fir Park had the most emotional pull. Outside names were a return after 9 years out of club management for Tommy McLean and Joe Miller. The latter gave me nightmares at the prospect.

Early bullish talk andsigning targets linked with McGhee is all encouraging, the general support seems lifted and there is a small buzz about the place. Which if some decent signings(on paper at least) fall into place soon will soon turn into almost electric atmosphere given the sense of relief most people feel towards the change.

But I know better than to get carried away. So far we have one concrete new face in and while on paper Simon Mensing as a big physical centre mid isn't a bad idea as we have been notroiously lightweight in that area, he's not going to suddenly make us a force to be reckoned. We still need a good 4 or 5 new faces in to give the squad a boost. Although it does seem like with a new man in charge a lot of seemingly jaded players might have some impressing to do.

So on the whole, optimism is in the air I hope it lasts beyond the first couple of games of the new season.

Tim Henman like a faithful old dog?

I was watching the end of his first round match against Carlos Moya there. He squeaked through finally after Moya double faulted on match point to win 13-11 after squandering about 6 match points during hte course of the game.

I felt strangely nervous watching him, he has been a really good tennis player in his time and even watching this game you can see he is still a quality tennis player despite being past his very best. He had such a poor run of form and injuriy problems in last couple of years that I couldn't help but feel sorry for him and hoped he won and goes on and has a decent finish to his season and maybe retires on a high of some sort.

He been around for so long he is like some faithful old dog, he so inoffensive and I don't think I have ever seen him profess an opinion. Indeed since he was disqualified for a very un Henman like show of petulance as younger lad in a Wimbledon doubles game for twatting a ball girl or a crowd member with a ball in frustration he hasn't even been close to doing anything controversial.

When you consider the unbelievebly twee and twatty fans and hype that has followed him over his career I am quite surprised at myself. I think it stems from other people who have for years slated the guy terrbily for not winning majors and not being a Sampras or Federer type. Which is fair enough but very few people are that good and he has had about as good a career as you can hope to have without reaching the very pinnacle.

I'll never get passionate about tennis but like most sport I can't help but have at least a passing interest. Hoping Henman gets a wee run to the quarters or so and in the next few years young Andy Murray can go on and go that one step further than Henman managed in his time. Anyway, an hour or so of watching tennis is more than enough for me I'm off to get myself ready to play football later. Last kickabout before my hols, hope it's a good one.

It is done! Complete, finished!

Well for submission anyway. I've spent this morning refocused and made the final small changes to the end that I mentioned. I also completed the edit on the epilogue which didn't need any signfiicant changes to it. So next time I take anything to do with this piece of work after I've been on holiday it will be to re-read through the writers and artists guidebook for tips on composing a letter and garnering advice on submitting it to appropriate publishing companies.

I feel pleased at having set my mind to this task and completed it. Although I should probably really only consider the task completed when some letters are in the post. Irrespective of interest in it after that it will have been job done. I will concentrate on other writing projects, a screenplay for definate because I already started it. I have ideas for other novel projects, slightly more ambitious in scale some of them. A short story or two I have ideas swirling around in my head. I'll take my notebook on holiday and possibly sketch them out a bit.

Anyway some basic facts and figures about my first novel:-

91369 words (including chapter titles)
500035 characters (as in letters not people)
22 chapters (not including a prologue and epilogue)
7 principal characters
12 secondary charcters (that I can remember right now some with a single speaking part, some almost main characters they involved quite a lot)
set in the year 2237
set in locations including but not limited to Dundee(Abertay Uni campus included), moon and orbital space stations, a space station orbiting Mars and a couple of spaceships in various locations.

Worrying noises

My computer is making stranges noises. Worryingly it sounds like it might be the hard drive. Fortunately I do back up anything of importance, so it merely pain in the arse time if something is about to go wrong rather than total catastrophe.

This PC has been quite a resilient beast, although if think about it I think it's on it's second hard drive already. Had it for ooh 4 years or more now I think, something like that. It's survived a cat pissing in the CD tray when it was sitting open, not to mention being pissed on a few other times on the outer casing again by the smae fucking cat not by myself. Think I replaced it myself if I recall, it's never been taken to a shop. Ah well not to worry. So long as it's that simple it'll be no biggie.

editing, so close to being finished....

...to the point I could be finished this afternoon, but it might still be a few days. Basically I have went through the whole thing, fixed the annoying quotation issue all of 20 chapters worth(out of 23). Rewritten bits here and there, hopefully tightened up some dialogue, exposition and general pacing etc. Not to mention typos, spelling etc.

So I got to the end and I am still not done. Why? I think the end is to abrupt, I've chopped it a bit short and I need to write a little more. Not as lot though I don't think. I don't need screeds and screeds or lord of the rings style multiple endings. I just need a few paragraphs more to make the ending seem less like I just stopped in the middle of a scene.

I came ot this conclusion the other day as I read through those final pages and I already made a few notes. Just need to sit and put thinking cap on again and see if I can't find something I'm happy with. A little bit more of what has happened in other parts of the world is needed. After that do I leave it on some sort of a bombshell ending or quietly leave characters to continue on in some unknown future?

I have written an epilogue thing for afterthe final chapter, if I add an extra bombshell it might mean rewriting that considerably. I daresay once I start writing whatever feels write will come and I won't need to make to much of a conscious decision.

Continued anoraky editing.

Yep and I edited in a Rest of the World squad, comprised of best players I could think not from the footballing nations of Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, England, France, Germany, Holland and Italy. No shortage of players to choose from in the creative and showy midfield and forward positions. Struggled a bit with the defenders, but still ended up with a squad of about 32 or whatever the max size is, with former AS Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban and Belgian midfielder Enzo Scifo just missing out.

Anyway the first XI in a 3-4-3 formation looks something like this

Lev Yashin

Patrik Andersson Paolo Montero Paul McGrath

Frankie Van der Elst

Ladislao Kubala Carlos Valderama

Michael Laudrup
George Best
Ferenc Puskas

Eusebio

I can't really list all the rest but amongst them are Hagi, Stoichkov, Brady, Letchkov, Weah, Francescoli, Schmeichel, Jarni, Boniek, Futre, Keane and quite a few more.

Coincidence?

I've already started reading A Little History of the World, and the following snippet I found interesting, it's about the Roman Emperor Nero.

"People still shudder when they hear the name of this monster. But what is truly repellent about him is that he didn't start out as a monster - ruthless and wicked through and through. He was simply weak, vain, suspicious and lazy."

It also struck me that the actor who played Nero in the docu-drama Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire has also twice played Tony Blair in his acting career. Ok so you probably can't accuse Bliar of being lazy, I am being a touch harsh in that respect.

All time greats....

This next post might just prove to people that I clearly have to much time on my hands. As a huge fan of Pro Evolution Soccer series I tend to do a degree of editing. The games biggest weakness in relation to say the FIFA series of games is its limited licsencing regarding real teams and players. It's improved now but if I want to play as Motherwell I need to put them in myself, this I do as a matter of course every year.

What I do like though and I don't know if FIFA has this as well is that it has Classic teams, Brazil, Argetina, Holland, Italy, Germany, France and England teams comprised of legends, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer et al. Again the names are a bit mangled and it takes a fair bit of work to work out who is who. But I like to fix it so they have their real names. I edit in a Classic Motherwell team as well so I can play with Tommy Coyne, Dougie Arnott, Willie Pettigrew, Davie Cooper and others. Though given the other classic teams are international teams I finally got round the other day to do a Classic Scotland. Team is as follows:-

Jim Leighton

Sandy Jardine Colin Hendry Alan Hansen Danny McGrain

Jimmy Johnstone Billy Bremner Graeme Souness Jim Baxter

Denis Law Kenny Dalglish

With another full XI of reserves including Willie Miller, Alex McLiesh, Davie Cooper, Archie Gemmell, Joe Jordan, Asa Hartford, Maurice Malpas, Tom Boyd, Gary McAllister, Eric Caldow, Andy Goram, Ally McCoist.

That to me looks like a no half bad team, though I was a bit unsure about the right backs. I couldn't think of a truly outstanding candidate I was familiar with. Indeed a few choices were obviously based on reputation. Is there a better Scotland team than the one above?

For my next edit I fancy doing a rest of the World XI, fae relatively wee nations not given a classic team of their own, likes of Eusebio, Hagi, Michael Laudrup, Stoichkov, Valderama, Puskas, Best and so on. Anyone can think of world class full backs in particular from relatively diddy nations I'd like to know of them.

Football strips/tradition

In a debate about the Motherwell hoop I was alerted to the linked website. For football anoraks it's quite interesting.

In my lifetime Motherwell FC my fitba team have more often than not worn an amber top with a claret band, claret shorts and amber socks. Once upon a time from about 1928 to 1969 it was a amber top with a claret hoop, not a band across the front a full on hoop. That is a fair old run and it's not unreasonable to suggest that makes it a traditional top.

Seemingly in 1970 it was only dropped to save a bit of money as it was expensive to repair the hoops after much use. Sounds a bit tightfisted to me and a poor reason to abandon the now traditional top. However with something like 40 years before and 37 years since without(2 seasons in the 90's aside, so far unclear on some of the 70's kits if they were bands or full hoops) the hoop I find it hard to say that it is the only design we should have any truck with.

Basically accused of having no respect for traditions by not endorsing the hoop as the only way to go, well tradition is just something people do for a long period of time, it isn't necesarily intrinsicaly good or bad. Personally I quite like the hooped design but it's not worth getting all fussed about and after looking at other teams kits throughout the ages there are very very few temas that have maintained a consistent design over the existence of their club. Given the financial and commerical decisions that are prevalent in football now keeping to such uniform style seems highly unlikely. We don't have the luxury of multitudes of sheep like fans willing to buy the same design of kit season in season out. Not that that seems to me like a great reason either but as a small club if changing the design encourages more sales then it's hard to argue with.

I do like our claret and amber colours but I just can't get worked up about the exact design so long as it's not hacket. It's far more annoying so called purists insisting that one basic design is what we're all about and stand for. It's only a kit and we only changed so we didn't have to have to change our kit for games so often as loads of other teams wore blue like did for the better part of the first 30 years of our existence.

Holiday reading

Here is a list of books I have purchased to read on holiday. I'll also give a brief synopsis or reason for purchase.

Reasons to be Cheerful by Mark Steel - A book about one comedians life involved in left wing politics over 25 years or so. Basicaly I am buying this book because I happened to watch his programme the Mark Steel lectures which are generally brilliant. Someone also emails me his Independent columns which are usually pretty good. Indeed I've copied and posted a few here in the past. Also saw him live, funny and insightful I'm quite happy to listen to anything he has to say, even if he does like cricket.

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett - You can't go to far wrong with a bit of Pratchett. His Discworld novels are consistently good even if this one is strickly speaking aimed at a younger reader. but what the hell it'll still be a decent read and well I am on holiday so not to demanding(hopefully). I think the only Discworld novel I don't yet have is this one and the last one featuring the Rincewind character who is my least favourite in the series.

Chomsky on Anarchism by Noam Chomsky - Chomsky is brilliant, so far anything I've read by him has been rather good. Slightly more challenging than junior Pratchett he tears away at official lies and manipulations like an aggresive ferret enraged that you've tried to stuff it down your trousers. He matter of factly punctures offical lies and 'truths' and shows you the world as it really is. That said as the review on the link to amazon said 'We all know what Noam chomsky is against,' I couldn't tell you exactly what he stands for and believes in other than by inference and presumption having read what he is agianst and has attacked. I've bought this book to get a better understanding of his guiding principles and ideas for how he thinks we maybe should be doing things.

Power: A New Social Analysis by Betrand Russell - Ok so not that new it was written in the 1930's but I've taken this on reccomendation from Robert Newmans website. "This should be a much more influential book. In it Russell argues that redistribution of power ("as far as practically applicable") should be the central project of social justice, whereas we tend to act as if redistribution of wealth was the thing. He argues that understanding the drive for power tells us more about the world than the sex or capital-based ideologies of Freud and Marx. Power should be the central concept of social theory as well as of social justice." Sounds good enough for me.

A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich - Also off Robert Newmans reading list, well I'm interested in the history of the world but there is rather a lot of it so by including the word little in it, well that sealed the deal really. Again aimed at a younger audience but hopefully an easy, enjoyable and informative read.

No War: America's Real Business in Iraq by Naomi Klein - Well sounds a bit more contempary and having read No Logo and Fences and Windows by the same author I think she tends to know what she is talking about. I think the title probably tells you enough as to what it's about.

and finally The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli - Well the word Machiavellian has become a byword for unscrupulous cunning particularly in world of politics. the book is considered a classic and quite relavent today. So thought I might as well read it, broaden historical knowledge base at the same time.

That should see me through the holiday, I might need to find a science fiction epic to add to the list, that is something of a gaping hole for me there. Trouble is only ones I have a real interest in just now aren't out at all yet or still in hard back format, which isn't ideal for poolside reading. Nevermind the added weight if you started lumping big tomes into your suitcase.

Conspiracy stuff

I watched a bit of a documentary on events on 9/11, it basically was trying to debunk some of the conspiracy theories. Only caught it towards the end so I don't know how well it covered some of the questions raised by more high profile figures on the internet and so on. One video I had watched that seemed to my mind a bit to smug and probably with a few holes in it Loose change featured.

So I was having a bit of a browse around, I wish my understanding of physics and such things were greater and it's still seems to me that official explanation isn't that great, whatever you think of some of the claims made by people who that documentary made seem a little eccentric.

This video of a guy from MIT does seem to add some academic credibility. Anyone I've exhausted my own patience on the subject for the moment. If anyone can poke holes in the video I'd like to know.

2 year anniversary more or less

Time has a habit of popping out in front of you and going "woo hoo, forgot about me didn't you," just noticed that it is about two years since I first set up this blog. The original intention was that I'd try and get into the habit of thinking about issues in the news or close to my heart and write about them for the purpose of getting some practice of putting my thoughts into words before thinking about applying to do a post grad in journalism. That didn't really come to fruition and for the past 18 months or I've tried to put creative energies into writing a book.

The book project is almost over. It's given me a certain level of satisfaction and irrespective of any publishing success I aim to continue writing for a good while yet. So I definately post less on things happening in the world and is there really a point to this blog? Not hugely no, but I've no plans to end it. For one thing I've grown attached to it and I like hopping blogs and seeing what other randoms feel worth writing about.

I do still like to put my thoughts down in written word and publish them now and again. If anyone reads htem then great and if they don't well so what.

I should finish editing on my book before I go on holiday at end of the month. I looking forward to reading books in the sun in particular and not feeling like I should be working. As opposed to now where I spent far to much time browsing the internet, playing games and feeling guilty about not working. I'll have achieved a goal however meaningful it is and I have another goal to start when I get back. Two really, putting some effort into trying to get book published and finishing screenplay I started during a novel writing haitus at beginning of last year.

I am going to take a notepad with me, just to note down any ideas that might come to me and possibly flesh out some ideas I've already had but not put to much thought into due to being busy elsewhere.

I ordered seven books today. I'll post shortly waht they are and why I chose them.

Perverse, sick and twisted...

...no don't get to excited about controversial postings here, I just wonder if that is somewhat my own nature. Why you ask, well I seem to be in a minortiy of about one, maybe two not revelling in the joy and excitement of the sacking of Motherwell manager Maurice Malpas.

After a pretty dire season I can understand a lot of the frustration, particularly after a late season slump almost saw us relegated. We haven't had problems to seek regarding injuries, early part of the season in particular so it was a bumpy old transition and the end of the season couldn't come quickly enough.

After we went out of the Scottish Cup rather timidly at the hands of St. Johnstone it seemed we had nothing to play for. Shortly after that a 1-0 home win over Dunfermline restored a 16 point gap between ourselves and the Pars who ended up getting relegated. A late season surge from them stopped only by a goalkeeping blunder at the penultimate league game of the season.

Indeed one can't help but feel a bit sorry for the Pars, they had injury problems worse than us and had finally gotten themselves playing with confidence enjoying a run to the Cup final and the brink of escaping relegation only to end the season relegated, papped 3-0 to bitterest rivals Falkirk on the final day of the season and losing the cup final to a slightly jammy goal in the dying minutes of a game they had held their own in.

However we didn't win a game after that 1-0 victory and blew a 2-0 lead at home to other relgation candidates St. Mirren to lose 3-2, condemning the Pars and almost ourselves if it hadn't been for the Pars contriving to blow a lead in Inverness with the aid of earlier mentioned Goalie blunder.

With recent talk of fiarly decent standard new signings things looked like they might take a turn for the positive for the Malpas regime but as of this morning a disagreement apparantly over his assistant Paul Hegarty has led to both of them resigning. Strong rumour has it that replacement is a done deal and Owen Coyle will be in charge after a short period where we pretend to be looking so it doesn't look like it was all tied up before the manager was pushed.

I'll not lose sleep over it but I'm more annoyed at the satisfaction taken by a small minority of anti Malpas characters who have wanted him gone since about two weeks into his reign. I'll be pleased if we go onto to do better next season but it will be tainted by the smug self satisfaction of some sections of the support. I just hope Mr Malpas also goes onto better things to rob them of to much self satisfaction. Certainly better that than have our new manager take us down just so I can say, ha told you Malpas wasn't that bad.