The End of Badminton?

Really real, and on set.

I'm very conflicted about what to say here. I'm not an industry insider per se, but I have information from the inside of the industry. I can certainly say that I'm a big fan of the show, but does that give me the right to speculate on an online forum where my words could be interpreted correctly, or worse?

I think it's fair to say that I can say that I can say that Badminton's shooting schedule has been shot by Covid. I think we could all've figured that out when the last episode (of a supposedly six-part pilot series) was published in June 2020. I suppose it's a little ironic, since it was born out of lockdown, but is that reason to want it gone? Clearly the community has been going full Kubler Ross over the lack of announcements. To say speculation has been rife would be accurate. To say that is has been rifle would probably be an autocorrect error.

I just don't know how we can move forward from here. I hope I won't put myself in the frame here by telling you that a friend of mine, who has access to the lot they film Badminton on, recently let me loose on set one night, with one of the old dummy racquets and a rubber shuttlecock. I mean, honestly, it felt awesome to be able to hit the shuttle against the wall, like the protagonist does in the series. It was also pretty bittersweet, when one considers that the buzz wasn't there: the chatter of the radio, the tweeting of the birds, the alphaity of nobheads using the garage over the road... It was like a ghost town, but it wasn't a town. Maybe it was a town, but located in my heart, and the population was one - me. And maybe I don't like my own company...

Anyway, I suppose I wanted to use the meagre platform I have to just say, hey, can't we just appreciate what a great show this, I dunno, is? Was? Will be? It certainly could be... I mean, if it's just a money thing, can't they realise the demand over here?

I did hear on a message board the our glorious creator is trying to move on to other things. Again, I know that's speculation, so take it with a melon-baller of salt, but I really think that artists should start what they finish, you know. Where do they get off, tantalising us poor public people? Haven't you ever thought?

Well, my sponsor reminds me to be grateful for what we have, and I must say that I am. Four great episodes so far.

 

Check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxdRkKm7E7mua-G7mPXTpreVatbYLpxsG

Back to Bad. Minton.

I've been back playing badminton now for about two months. Before that, it had been about seven years since I'd played, back in the days of doing my BA at Ole Edge Hill. It was great to get back to playing, like an existential homecoming. Not only is badminton one of the only competitive sports I've ever played with any regularity - and therefore become reasonably good at - but also it used to get me out the house and socialising in a meaningful way, and all these feelings and memories ran back to me, arms open wide. I'm incredibly lucky to have been introduced to the group I'm going to, which itself is lucky that the EU has funded it, and thankful. As the memories mill around my mind like lazy gas molecules, I got to thinking about the badminton-based writing I used to do on this very blog, so went back and had a read.

Faintly amusing I find those posts. Generally they comprise of me evaluating my performance, or moaning about some perceived social injustice wrought against me, alongside thrilling thoughts on Liverpool FC's latest match. I remember how it was, though, going pushing myself as hard as I could for a couple of hours, having plenty of laughs, then walking out into the cold, dark air, feeling also the chill of loneliness as I walked home, past the wooden fencing around the hospital that made a zoetrope of the wall behind, and in through the front door. I'd go from joking and exercising with everybody, to being by myself. Then I'd usually have a bit to eat, a shower, and a blog, and felt purposeful again.

Occasionally I would attempt to uncover - poetics-like - some nugget of wisdom about my badminton practise (how to play better, what makes a good player, etc), and I'm pleased with myself on that front. But anyway, whatever I think of having written it all, it doesn't matter. It's there. The most interesting thing to note was how I used to react to my performance. I'm a lot less celebratory after a win these days, rarely even opting for a fist-pump (does that suggest that there's less to fist-pump about?). I could be very puerile, as I let myself get carried away in the genuine elation, but this had been perceived to be trying to rub it in people's faces, which I don't, and never have, agreed with.

My reactions to losing are pretty similar. I'm still not bothered if I lose games, and still find dropping points with poor play disappointing, i.e. where I know I should've done better. However, I'm nowhere near as aggressive with myself as I used to be (there'd be an inner dialogue going on that would make a telepathic sailor blush), and in general now I look forward to the next shot, rather than dwelling on the one I've missed. Good advice for life, methinks. Indeed, some of these tools help interpersonally, too. There are a few people at the place I go to now that like to laugh at you when you miss a shot. I find this annoying, because I'm a stupid man-child with a hugely over-sensitive disposition, and an unfortunately robust ego, even after all this time and effort. That being said, when people do laugh, I take it on the chin, and by breathing and contextualising it better, the knot of annoyance is gone in a moment. Part of the contextualising can be thinking about how, objectively, a complete air-shot might look funny - like physical comedy, as it were - to others. Also, there's the fact that all you can control is trying to hit that shot, and your reaction. You missed, so what? Try and hit the next one. You can't control how other people take anything, so don't try. Let it be.

Anyway, I didn't expect this all to go on quite so long, and then turn into a weird Buddhist sermon at the end... So goodbye for now! Hope you feel inspired to dust off an old hobby, or even start a new one, after reading this :)

Bye!

A. Nother Badminton Post

Been back to bdaminton three times in this academic year. To be honest, the first time was great! Pwnd no0bs as if they were cardboard cut-outs. Next time, not so good. Performed like my hands were tied behind my back and just generally felt as if I wasn't in the room. Tonight however...

Lost one game all night, and that was a close one. One of those where they get a loada points, you battle hard to get the lead, they battle back etc etc until they get the last 'battle back' and win. A couple of the other wins were not exactly foregone conclusions as well. A lot of movement around the court and a few cheeky straight-to-the-body shots to add finality to my drives...

However, one thing I've always maintained is that you can tell a good player by the way he/she deals with a newbie. If they play soft shots to let them into the game but are still not beaten, you can tell they are good. If they don't serve well on purpose, for example, to let someone get a return, and can generally separate good and bad play from the novice to the experienced player, you know they are good but modest. I did that tonight. I was giving invitational shots to the newbie, tried to give returns in the better player's direction. It's only fair.

This probably seems like the ravings of a prick. 'Oh yeah, I'm so good and yet I play beneath me to try and give others a chance!' Not at all! I love the Edge Hill badminton society. Sometimes it's about giving something back. It was still immense fun and I loved it!

Viva la competicion!

Peace out guys and gals! x

Where to Begin Once More?

And where did I really end in the first place, if at all?

I guess the biggest news is that I'm now seeing someone. That's the phrase I use even it does sound dated. Hey, retro and archaic runs through my veins. Anyway, she's awesome and I'm overly-lucky. This is where the cynics start to drool and gnash their teeth, blunted by a life of feasting on lambs. Well, all I can say is that I can be cynical too, but not in this instance...

Liverpool. Where to start again there? Flippin' heck... Worst start to the season in something like 57 years, then a 4 game winning streak including 2-0 against Chelsea (yes, the current leaders of the Premier League). Great! What could be better? Steven Gerrard scoring a hat-trick you say? No, he did that against Napoli, silly! So the last couple of games were Wigan Athletic and Stoke. I don't believe you should ever think a game is gonna be easy - then your effort will be all skewed while they could be going into the game dreaming about how a giant-slaying would taste really nice right about now - but after beating Chelsea they should've been a doddle. We drew 1-1 with Wigan and managed a 2-0 defeat at Stoke, with Lucas being sent off in the 'dying' minutes of the second half. Bloody wonderful... Come on lads, West Ham next. You CAN do it, so bloody well do it!

Next, badminton. Ups and downs lately really. The main problem I'm having is beating myself up about a couple of dropped points which genuinely fucks me up for the rest of the session (excuse my language there please - touchy subject). Let us hope I grow a brain sometime soon and not let it get to me. I don't care if I don't win all the time, after all I'm a sportsman and love a challenge, but I HATE it when I know I can be doing a lot better.

Then, finally, onto Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed.' Oh my sweet Lord what a fine film! It's one of those I keep hearing people say, "Oh I recorded it but I haven't got round to watching it," or, "It was on the other night but I missed it." WATCH THE DAMN FILM PEOPLE! Well, if you like crime films... Bloody marvelous!

Peace out, sorry about the long blog. Long blogs need to be shortened...

I Feel So Good

I've just come back from my first badminton session at uni since before the summer holidays and it went really well. We paired up and had a mini-tournament with the other members of the club. I teamed up with the lads' captain and I don't think we lost a game. Serving was pretty consistently good, plenty of accurate shots to the back corners, better movement around the court, a couple of decent smashes and my wrist doesn't hurt!

On the other hand, I also feel pretty down. Liverpool managed to lose to Blackpool today and we're in the bottom three of the Premier League at the time of writing. It is a frustrating result, but I'm not angry at the players, club or manager. I feel bad for them because they are trying to win games that they're passionate about, and to lose must feel awful especially when you know you've got a much greater potential. Next match is against Everton. The Merseyside Derby is one game you certainly don't wanna lose. Come on lads, not just for me. For yourself, for your manager, for your club, for the fans.

Good Question Actually

Had me badminton today. Went in feeling pretty bad but had a great time and some good shots. Int bar afterwards I may have relieved a little pressure concerning subject A (look at 'A Rather Large Aversion').

Liverpool beat Burnley 4-0. Doesn't give me any pleasure that they're relegated now, but it's fantastic for us. Stevie G netted the first two (the bloody hero that he is), Maxi Rodriguez got his first and Babel put insult to injury in injury time (see what I tried to do there?). 4th place here we come (maybe...)!

Been checking out the BBC iPlayer, an episode of 'Have I Got News for You' and a couple of Russel Howard's 'Good News.' Nice to have a good laugh, I think we can all forget about what that feels like sometimes.

The song in moi 'ead is 'Tempted by the Fruit of Another' by Squeeze and I leave you with the news that I just drank a hair that was in my coffee, or should that be ate a hair that got in my mouth while I sipped that sweet nectar? First one's snappier but incorrect... Well I put a picture up anyways, but you can't see the hair coz it's in my mouth now. Won't take a pic of my tongue... You may be eating or something...

Meaning?

I was supposed to go to a sports awards dinner tonight. I'd paid £16 for the ticket, the transport was included, there was a buffet (and let us not forget I'm a hungry hungry student!) and entry into a nightclub afterwards. I didn't go. Decided at the last minute I couldn't be bothered. It's at least not like me to waste money, but hey. There are a few reasons but what's the point in telling you them? The brute fact is that I didn't go.

I got photos of the badminton team back today. We had team photos taken a while back, you know the ones where you stand in regimented rows with the best height symmetry available and hands nestled firmly in the lap. Bloody hilarious. I was beaming like an idiot on the 'serious one.' We also had a panoramic pic where players did a badminton movement (I chose a smash) and got digitally captured in mid swing or whatever. Some of the facial expressions there... Madonn'! I got so giddy that I started singing 'I See You Baby' (A Fat Boy Slim song) out the window at a mate of mine. He was so speechless that my giddiness increased exponentially.

Liverpool won tonight. 3-0 at Anfield against West Ham United. Benayoun, Ngog (yep, even bloody Ngog) and then an own goal by their goal keeper (forced by Kyrgiakos) made the scoreline so sublime, three thumbs up!

And I leave you with the news that it is terribly easy to get served alcohol on Spanish beaches. You can't go anywhere without seeing Sand Miguel

Oh and today's song, what be rattlin' around me 'eadspace, be Frederic Chopin's Piano Sonata Op.35 No.2

A Rather Large Aversion

It has been a while again. Been hard to muster up directed focus what with the glut of social activities presenting themselves most readily throughout the week. Loada pool being played, lotsa drink being imbibed and lotsa shit to chat. The news from the bar is that Amaretto tastes fantastic (a lot like marzipan).

Also in the week, badminton is back in session. Wasn't at me best for the first meeting, but it was encouraging to note that I still have some hand-eye coordination left. The second meeting... The play was fine, but some off-court words I had with someone has left me in doubt as to whether I should continue going there. I'm not going to go into detail, of course, but even if I raised the issue with the person in question or anyone else in the club, I would be the one that was ostracised, because person A (A for Asshole) has been there longer than I have. It was a real stab in the back though, but hey this isn't the time or the place.

On a lighter note, a stint in my halls' common room produced a two-hour workshop on booze related jokes. We started off with the premise of beer puns that had to be cringeworthy and, yeah, we did that for way too long! Here's a taster to finish:

What do you get if you throw a box of cutlery into a tornado?
Weatherspoons

I Feel Pretty Warm

Hmm, a title that is just descriptive of how I'm feeling... Dunno if that works.

Anyways, it's been a while since the last blog. Been pretty busy and the internet not working didn't help so much. Hard to believe a whole week and a third of the holiday has gone already. Time is often like a handful of sand to me, the grains slipping quickly through my fingers. Of course, they obey the regular 9.81 m/s acceleration due to gravity, but it seems like they flee from me more quicklee.

Yeah... Been splashing some birthday cash on a bit of badminton gear (shorts and trainers) and other bits of clothing. Saw the Liverpool v Sunderland game (a fantastic 3-0 stuffing, involving lots of one-touch football, skillful control and sturdy defence. Torres' opener was a real magical and kinda phantom goal, truly one of a kind and absolutely breathtaking!) which provided some top class banter with the barman. A couple of badminton seshes with family and friends, both with plastic shuttlecocks much to my chagrin (what a word lol... 'Chagrin...'), which weren't stunning but there ye go. Last night I was out in Lancaster with many of me old buddies, put a fair few jars away and walked back home along the cycle path (my legs are stiffer than all hell I can tell ya: 2 days playing badminton, dancing around like an idiot in clubs and then a 4+ mile walk in the wee small hours...). So I've been having a great time really! Today was spent getting over the night before. I watched Measure for Measure (the BBC version) which wasn't exactly thrilling. A competent performance really... No ringing endorsement available.

Disappointed that the physicists messing around with the large hadron collider today didn't end the world, that would have solved a lot of problems... Speaking of which, a big shout out to Lily Asquith. You go girlfriend!

To round up: the song that's been stuck in me head today is 'My Girl' by The Temptations. Some lovely Motown class there. I'll leave you with the news that Steiber and Company are releasing a new range of vibrating fireplaces next week and they should be hitting shops here in the UK very soon.

Blood Alcohol Levels on the Rise!

It has emerged only moments ago that Blogtastic's author Martin (19) has started an evening beverage. Bystanders confirmed that the aleged drinker of beer had a pleasant day spending a litle birthday cash on badminton gear, clothes and alcohol.

After a lovely tea involving chicken curry laced with mayonnaise, it is reported that the much loved blogger sank into a couch and started to watch 'TV.' Suddenly his behaviour deteriorated and he cracked open a bottle of Belgian-brewed Duvel, allegedly described by the reprobate as, "Pretty flavoursome, refreshing and well worth paying a little extra especially with the whole higher alcohol content and stuff."

His family is said to be distraught. His mother (21...) said of the day, "This just highlights the terrors of modern life. Some times my son can be so down and miserable, but today he simply had a good time and decided to have a refreshing beverage to finish off a lovely time. I don't know how we're going to cope."

Council officials warn that this good mood could last for some time.

Gnash

Quite a lot to catch up on here...
Had work to do on Wednesday so couldn't celebrate my first St. Patrick's day where I can legally drink. Had loadsa trouble sleeping that night in preparation for my 24 hour take-away test paper.
Thursday was the 'big day.' Got my 5 minute film script finished and submitted. It wasn't too bad, we'll see what mark it gets. Downloaded the test paper around 1100 hours and did a whole bunch of researching and typing. Started struggling at 0630 Friday morning so got some sleep. Up aroung 0900, finished the essay, submitted it and went to a lovely Shakespeare-orientated seminar and lecture. Played pool with Dolly Peg after the lecture and she thrashed me! Got beaten at the table later on by badminton mates coz I went to the bar with them after an extra badminton session earlier. Thinking about giving up pool...
Saturday: parents and an aunt came down for me birthday. We went into Liverpool, had drinks at 'The Philharmonic' (a reet classy, old pub with a toilet that's listed by the National Trust!), bit of shopping (Liverpool FC store, where I got a scarf, and Primark coz I never go clothes shopping and my clothes are all old, small and crappy), lunch in 'Spoons, tea at a Chinese restaurant (had the best Chinese food ever), a few more drinks here and there and then slept over in a hotel.
Sunday: went to The Beatles' story, which were pretty nice, then watched the Liverpool v United game (a sorry 2-1 loss, but not for lack of trying. More for the abundance of poor decisions, especially with respect to giving United a penalty after what looked like Valencia diving after Mascherano's antics) and then went back to uni to pick up some stuff before going home.

That's where I am this Monday. FIFA 10 on PS2 is pretty poor and I'm looking forward to seeing old mates. That's it.
Until next time...

Buona Notte

Hullo there. Just got out the shower. The shower was good. Bit hot though. Bit of a problem coz it means you sweat a little bit after you've got out, meaning that you are instantly losing your freshness the moment the water stops dribbling all over ya.

Saw part of Transformers 2 today with special commentary. I can't remember if I've already blogged about this, but you can download an amusing commentary from somewhere on the internet which you play over the film. The guys make sarcastic comments and stuff in real time so it can be pretty funny. Oh and Megan Fox is hot Francy, no doubt in my mind. Yes there are hotter people, but she has enough 'alluring qualities.' Hmm, think I have written about this...

Badminton was okay. A couple of new girls came tonight that haven't played before, so the challenge pour moi was to limit my play in order to give them a chance. Played against my game partner in singles and we didn't have enough time for a decider (we'd both won one game). He trashed me at pool in the bar though, both games skillfully executed in contrast to my extremely annoying performance where I kept being as close to potting balls as I possibly could without actually sinking the buggers... Dolly Peg's career in this field has been suffering a bit of late too, check out her blog from my 'Blogs I follow' section somewhere on this virtual slab of fun.

Sooo; last night Liverpool comfortably dominated Portsmouth 4-1. A fantastic sight to see us play normally and well. First and last Liverpool goals netted by Torres, second by Babel and the third one was Alberto Aquilani scoring his first for Liverpool, so well done to him. Belhadj scored the final goal of the game for Portsmouth, a nice little consolation goal that didn't spoil the mood for me. Our skipper had a bit of a to-do with Michael Brown. The Pompey player ran into Gerrard's forearm in a clumsy fashion and hurt himself a bit. Gerrard's arm was only in the way due to a sudden gust of wind. Only joking; it was a nasty and ill-calculated incident, but thankfully he wasn't punished because the FA says you can't punish a player retrospectively when the referee has already meted out 'punishment' (a free kick in this instance). Brown didn't exactly look hurt anyway, so though it was a stupid thing to do, there was no damage done really.

I'll round off with a negative. Despite the chance that this may be read by the friend I'm about to complain about, I don't care. He knows that he's been really disrespectful to me so he's brought it on himself. Not gonna name names, but I've got a mate who likes some weird banter. I very rarely give anyone any stick, even in jest, because it's not a clever thing to do. This guy, however, keeps coming out with odd insinuations and nasty comments. After he has any drink at all, like last night, he gets much worse. He just wouldn't shut up despite the fact that I obviously wasn't amused. Don't wanna go into what he said, but there was another friend in the room at the time, and now everything's awkward because his idiotic behaviour has shifted the mood of our group.

Maybe I won't finish on a low. The hols are coming up soon, so is my birthday, so is my fedora hat and, as soon as tomorrow comes, it'll be Saint Patrick's Day! Hoorah!

Klarples (or Happy Mothering Sunday)

Ooh one has let oneself slip a little in the blogging department hasn't one? Reasons: too much making merry and... no that's it... See the thing with a lotta drink is not the act itself but, as most of us know only too well, the recovery time. I was so rough this morning... I was pretty 'unstable' at badminton lol. I played really well again (even if I do say so myself!). Played one of the high ranking guys who is really skilled and managed to score 19 out of 21 points against him. He had to use a racket he wasn't used to, and I'm pretty sure he was giving me easy serves, but I'm still proud of that. In the other games that I lost, I was having such incredible fun that I still feel like a winner (cringe cheese). I have a theory about performing well after a night out: alcohol dehydrates the body. Thus, if you have a bad hangover, the body recognises its disadvantage and aids your energy/concentration somehow. I guess it's kinda like a survival instinct... I know what I mean anyway...

Played extremely poorly at pool in the bar after badminton I must confess! Must have been due to the non-alcoholic beverages I consumed. I had my tea from the diner: chicken burger with chesse, lettuce and mayo, plus a portion of chips. I then felt hungry later on and had another portion of chips. That is fat. I'm in serious danger of becoming a blimp! My excuse, apart from the fact I was training hard, was that the drinking the night before carried on til 0500-0600hrs, so I had a debt of energy due to being awake so long, and that debt needed food to cancel it.

Tomorrow I'm gonna send my extra large fedora back and await a large one in return, go to my creative writing seminar, do some shopping (yep, cupboards are empty again!), get my beard trimmed (above is a picture showing how shaggy it's getting) and watch Liverpool play Portsmouth. I've had so much stick for supporting Liverpool today it was untrue: so many comments about how bad this season has been... Well all I've got now is a flickering of hope. We can do it, come on red men!

Strike One

No my title has nothing to do with drinking Stella Artois, don't worry! I remembered that I forgot to mention something in me last blog. Elvis had a similar problem, he forgot to remember to forget her, and now he just can't get her out of his mind... No, seriously, twas C's birthday on the night of me last blog, twas her 21st. She's the 'Student Advisor/Advocate' in my halls, and she's lovely so many happy returns to her. Now there's plenty more to talk about!

I'll get the football stuff outta tha way foist, coz not a lotta people enjoy it as much as I do lol! We were playing Lille away and effing lost 1-0... We were better than when we played Wigan, pass completion was better and we had a few good chances and one pretty damn positive piece of pressure. To no avail. No goal for us, and theirs was, as most of them have been, from a bloomin' set piece... Free kick into the box, Reina apparently couldn't quite see what was going on and bang, bottom corner :-( Was with one Liverpool supporting friend of mine and one Arsenal supporting friend of mine, guess who was most vocal... He also joined a pretty long line of people who, upon the mention of me playing badminton, tell me that they used to play, haven't in ages and wanna come down to training. So far, one out of 7 or 8 people have actually shown up!

Had a good mate of mine come round last night. We started talking about coursework while having beers before going out and it turned out that I had been working on the wrong piece of coursework that was in for the next day. Yup, a whole essay I hadn't even started in for the next day (which was populated with a seminar too) and I'd already had a few tins. Solution? Go out, get pretty drunk, get up the next day at 1000hrs and try not to vomit over your laptop as you crack the whip. An' I'll tell you, I did much more than the bare minimum and produced a work I'd have been pretty proud of under sober circumstances. Submitted that, got to the lecture on time (which answered some questions I was unsure of) and felt better!

Got my fedora hat too. Problem is: tis too big... Still, they say they're all about customer satisfaction, so I'll be able to exchange it for a smaller one that will still be as sexy. Looking forward to it possibly more than before now! Not a shred of disappointment at the apparent inconvenience coz life is good! I've been wondering if my particularly good moods of late have more to do with my regular exercise or the fact that I'm back on The Sopranos. It would be ironic if the latter cheered me up to be honest, it's not exactly a comedy! That's not to say it doesn't have humour in (mostly very dark admittedly...). If you get the chance to see it, DO!!! Don't have the completely unfounded stereotype in your head that it's all about mob violence. It's actually more of a family drama. It's so well written that it's untrue! It's obviously very considered. Its creator had studied psychology originally, so the protagonist's psychiatrist is true to life. She acts as a 'Greek chorus' type figure (look that one up yourselves), which shows how cerebral the show actually is in between a few brutal hits.
Like my favourite one where Vito Spatafore gets his... Oh no I probably can't say that on here (the Feds probably have this blog wired for sound...).

A shout out to some old lags; hi to Greg, Arran, Mark, Will, Jim, James, Tom and Tim (I'd go on but I can't be arsed), their respective partners and their family. Ciao!

[Pictured: My suspicious package or, as some crazy people might call it, a 'hat in a box']

Buon Giorno

Hey folks. Just slightly avoiding work, so I figured I'd update y'all :-p Had some pretty sweet badminton last night, first games were with an Everton fan who can be a nice bloke and is a good player. We both had a lot of silly mitakes though, so we lost both games lol, but they were good fun. Last four games, I was with my regular partner. Lets say that the competition 'wasn't as stiff,' and we won all four comfortably. To add the usual pinch of downside to any goodness, I degenerated a little into unsportsmanly behaviour. I was sick of everyone making comments about me, behaving boorishly upon my partner and I missing a point and not trusting decisions about whether a shot was in or out, when both my partner and I had better views and were both in agreement. Still, I've had that in past clubs. Some people don't really care about fairness when they want to win! Also, I'm getting slight knee problems again and some calf pain, so lets hope I don't have to go to Romania for horse placenta treatment (just google that, I'm not being vulgar or just making something up!).

After this lovely exercise, I swiftly made my way to the take-away to regain all the fat I'd lost lol. Chips and mayo with a goood deal of salt, yummy. Was sposeda be meeting a mate in the bar who didn't show, but what I can't believe is that I had mineral water while I waited! I even turned down the offer of someone else buying it for me! According to witness at the scene, this wasn't a dream. My body feels a bit like a temple again haha.

Today's song stuck in my head is the theme tune to 'Indiana Jones.' If you don't know it, you should either get someone to shoot you, or just listen to it... Either one... I think I have an explanation for this seemingly random piece, and it wasn't coz I've been watching the films recently (still not seen Kingdom of the Crystal Skull actually, Indy's latest outing). I've been aggressively pursuing the attainment of a hat. Not just any old hat. Not a beanie, not a cap but a fedora. Not a plastic gangster dress-up costume fedora, but a proper one. Whilst looking for such an item, one stumbled across these fedoras made to be like Indiana Jones' and they had this little badge on the side of them saying 'Indiana Jones.' I wouldn't want one because I think that badge makes it look tacky, but also they were more expensive than some of the others, but the fact is that the 'Indiana Jones seed' must have been planted in my fragile mind at that minute, and that's why I'm humming the tune now.

So long amici! Hope you have some pleasant adventures soon, preferably that don't end in you being flattened by a huge boulder.

Well hey there!

Where in the hell do my titles come from? I don't know!
Slightly p***ed off at badminton atm. My troubles sleeping and effort levels are affecting my play badly. Also, low turn-outs from people who actually give a s**t are making me care less. When you wanna play, and you got people sitting out on a bench for ages, or someone playing you who won't get on their toes and move for a shot outside their arm radius, what's the point? That's where I'm at now (with badinton!): what's the point?
Maybe that's the question I should ask more generally... With that disturbing notion, I'd like to confirm that I am combatting being p***ed with getting p***ed. I started on my way, but the rate of consumption has fallen, so I'll get a show (which will unfortunately sober me up) then start on 'white Russians' and rum with assorted fruit juices LOLZ!!!
Saw Twilight today, with a downloadable mock commentary. Don't ask me where to find it coz a friend set it up, but hey... It was ok. A lot of bad stuff mixed with rare funny moments.
Speaking of funny; I nearly got chance to flex my funny (but sick) creative writing muscles in the LNG1003 module today (sorry, slightly distracted by some lasses making orgasm noises outside my window... Oops got a semi... Right now where were we?). The group I was in had to produce the beginning of a news article concerned wiht an 85 year old WWII veteran, with three grandchildren, who'd been killed by teenagers in Liverpool (a point we were supposed to emphasise), to sum up the brief. I got a bit facetious, but I'll post what I wrote in a separate post. I think that makes sense...

'Valentine's Day'

Well I 'pwnd' at badminton today (again see www.urbandictionary.com if you don't know what I'm talking about...). I guess I must've lost at least one game but I don't remember it, I did pretty well. Even won in a 2-on-me campaign, which pleased me no end. Was going to include a picture describing 'pwnd' but I dunno if that'd get me into copyright trouble so just google/urban dictionary it. After badminton I got annoyed, don't need to elaborate I just did.
Who actually likes Valentine's day by the way? All I could find out about 'St. Valentine', other than that there's some discrepancy over which Valentine we are talking about, is that he helped people during the persecution of Claudius II's reign and was thus condemned to stoning and clubbing or something. He was made of tougher stuff, though, and it was the beheading that finished him off. He was beheaded on the 14th Feb 270 CE and, upon seeing the blood gush forth from his stumpy neck, everyone shouted out loud, "Let's celebrate love on this day for ever more!" I found all of this out, except the last facetious part, from http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159. Have fun checking that out for yourself.
I'm single, I'm bitter, goodnight...

Back from badminton

Good evening guys.
Not been back from badminton long before starting this; it starts at 2000hrs, finishes at 2200hrs and then there's the showering and snacking til you feel back to your usual self. In 2 hours you get a pretty good workout going. Well, that's if you keep on your toes and run around like a madman after all the shots you reckon you can return. I joke that I'm so unfit, just getting the racket out its case makes me sweat, but that's not even funny... I was a bit annoyed with myself that I didn't work so hard as to give myself the usual headache, but I've calmed down a bit now! Could've performed better, dropped a few 'silly points' in the easier games and made stupid errors against more challenging opponents (I've learned that missing the shuttlecock is never good!). First game was good though; me and my game partner beat one of the best in the club and the lass playing with him (no dirty pun intended). It went all the way up to 30 points making it a tense battle. For those of you not in the know, that's significant because doubles games like this usually go up to 21 (ladies' games are sometimes up to 15), but upon both sides reaching 'match point' (20), you then have to score 2 clear points or first to 30. Every day's a school day!
There's news on the football front too; I now know where I'm going to be sitting during my first game at Anfield (Liverpool's home ground guys...) against Unirea, who are Romania's best according to the mate I'm going with. I've no idea what to say about that because I've not even heard of Unirea before! More immediately there's the trip for our Liverpool lads to the Emirate's stadium to face Arsenal tomorrow. They're currently 5 points ahead of us in the Barclay's Premier League, they are third and we are fourth. If we win, we'll be bolstering our chances of remaining in the top four, obviously, but I doubt it's gonna be easy! I think we'll concede, but 2-1 to us would be great. I might even be hypocritical - with respect to my last post, 'Carnage' - and get a little steaming. COME ON LIVERPOOL!
Gonna round off by saying that I've been looking into 'freeganism' recently. For those not in the know, freeganism is the act/philosophy of living without taking part in the wasteful commercial society we live in. They live by 'dumpster diving' i.e. 'rescuing' food from bins that is safely edible but has been thrown out because the sell-by-date has been reached. Yes, that does mean that supermarkets throw out edible food. They probably put cautious sell-by estimates on 'just in case', but this means that perfectly good food is wasted. Freegans can range from people with environmental concerns, moral concerns, economic concerns, a mix of the above or whatever. For more info, check out 'www.freegan.info'. Anyone out there tried being a freegan?
That's all from me folks!
P.S. I've included a picture of the beast I use up top. It's scored many a point and missed many a shuttle. The trainer sneaking in at the bottom is nothing to do with anything. I wear different ones to train in...