The video that defines the Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami tragedy

There are hundreds of videos out there that show the tragic capability that nature has and has had over Japan in recent days but if I had to choose just one it would be the following.

It has so much going on, from the initial pictures of the boats being tossed about as if they were granules of sugar in a teacup. Sure we have all seen films and images of boats riding 'the perfect storm' but this footage is nothing like that, the boats are mere victims to whatever the water has in store for them.

Then there is the scene of the water approaching more land and down the bottom of the screen we see a car trying to turn around and get away from impending disaster. The footage moves on to a huge building just been demolished in seconds by the pure force of the water and then the most tragic scene in the clip for me of the car slowly reversing and the man on the bike walking away (possibly not knowing) from the vast amounts of water waiting just around the corner!

The wall of water near the clips conclusion just proves how deadly and strong the waves were... 

Enjoy, although 'enjoy' is undoubtedly the wrong word to use in this situation:

Serie A report, Week 29

Fascinating weekend in Italy in Girone 29 of the league which saw the top two teams face the bottom two teams as well as the always interesting Roman derby. Here is what happened...

Friday:

Brescia 1-1 Inter - A game that on paper seemed like no contest, Inter were rewarded for their efforts going into the break 1-0 up thanks to the ever present Samuel Eto'o. The second half however was very different and eventually Caracciolo managed to latch onto a corner that had been headed in his deflection by none other than Inter sub Ivan Cordoba. Cordoba's cameo appearance was to get much worst as he was red carded for a penalty foul which Caracciolo dramatically missed thanks to a great Julio Cesar save!

Saturday:

Cesena 2-2 Juventus - Juventus just do not know how to win anymore. 2-0 up at half time thanks to a brace from Matri the team from Turin found themselves against a spirited Cesena who managed to come back and even had the chance to win had Giaccherini not missed such a sitter. How much longer wil Del Neri last judging by Juve's current form?

Sunday:

Milan 1-1 Bari - Milan's key oppurtunity to increase the gap to seven points ended in a spectacular failure as they were 1-0 down until the 82nd minute when Bari's local hero Antonio Cassano scored. Before that it is fair to say that they had most of the chances and a goal disallowed but they can't be happy. Furthermore, Zlatan Ibrahimovic got himself sent off for hitting an opponent and may even miss out on the Derby..

Cagliari 0-4 Udinese - Udinese's brilliant form continues thanks mainly to their deadly attack getting on the scoresheet, Sanchez with a mazy 60 yard run and Di Natale with a double to take his professional goal tally up to 201. The Friulani haven't lost since the 19th of December and are real contenders for the 3rd Champions League spot now!

Catania 1-0 Sampdoria - A bore draw until fifteen minutes from the end when Llama scored for the Sicilians. In fairness to Sampdoria, they had been down to ten men since the 23rd minute due to Tissone's red card but this wont let them escape the fact that they are just three points above of the relegation zone. Selling Pazzini and Cassano may have been a decision to regret...

Chievo 0-1 Fiorentina - Mihajlovic's team get a useful result in the typically hard ground of the Bentegodi thanks to a solitary goal from one of their star players, Vargas who scored through a free kick. This means that the Viola have scored points in their last seven games propelling them up to 8th in the league table. The Veronese however hover dangerously close to relegation. 

Genoa 1-0 Palermo - Serse Cosmi finds a Palermo hard to pick up since that defeat against Udinese. Genoa's winter signing from Udinese, Antonio Floro Flores, scored the solitary goal fifteen minutes from time to compound their misery. Pinilla may have missed a top chance near the end, but the Rosaneri have lost 5 games in a row, 4 of which they have failed to even score a goal in!

Lecce 0-1 Bologna - Bologna continue their impressive season with an away win down south. Young star Ramirez scored for the rossoblu and that was all that was needed as the visitors proved to be organised and disciplined in defence. It really looks like curtains to me for Lecce staying in Serie A.

Roma 2-0 Lazio - Roma have now won five derbies in a row and can claim Roman superiority despite the league table thanks to their symbol player, Francesco Totti. The captain scored a free kick and a penalty to decide the match and quell Lazio's pride. A talking point of the match will be the use of lasers on Lazio's keeper Muslera, some of which were pointed at him specifically during Totti's scoring free kick. 

Parma 1-3 Napoli - A proud performance that saw them 1-0 up at half time was not enough to stop a Napoli that had seemed to be faltering lately. But, spurred by the re-entrance of Ezequiel Lavezzi to the team, the Partonopei came back through goals by Maggio, Hamsik (offside) and Lavezzi himself.

League Table:

Top 5 - 

1) Milan, 62  2) Inter, 57  3) Napoli, 56  4) Udinese, 53  5) Lazio, 51

Bottom 5 -

16) Parma, 29  17) Cesena, 29  18) Lecce, 28  19) Brescia, 26  20) Bari, 17

Top Scorers:

1) Di Natale, 24  2) Cavani, 20  3) Eto'o, 19  4) Di Vaio, 17  5) Matri, 16

Until next week!

Serie A report, Week 28

Another interesting week in Italy...

Ok here is the lowdown on how 'Girone 28' of the 2010/2011 Serie A season developed...

Friday:

• Lecce 1-2 Roma - I predicted a tough game for Roma considering Lecce's recent slight improvement in form and that is exactly what they got. Although Mirko Vucinic put the capital side ahead in the first half, Giacomazzi, one of Lecce's key players responded in the 75th minute. Vincenzo Montella's average start was set to continue until David Pizarro converted a 90th minute penalty to save any Giallorossi blushes.

Saturday: 

• Juventus 0-1 Milan - A game in which although AC Milan were still the favourites I honestly expected Juventus to put up a fight like they did against Inter. Instead, they showed what a truly inadequate team they are this season and succumbed in the most unusual of ways, with a second half Rino Gattuso goal which was scuffed by Buffon. What were the odds of that!? A key win for the Rossoneri.

Sunday:

• Sampdoria 2-3 Cesena - The blucerchiati's poor run continues although things threatened to be much worse when the away team were 3-0 up by the 48th minute, thanks in part to a brace from Cesena's promising Giaccherini. A spirited comeback could only result in the home side getting two goals through Volta and Maccarone and so their grim spell continues. 
• Bologna 2-2 Cagliari - Marco di Vaio continued his excellent season by scoring his 130th Serie A goal but the Sardinians then remounted to lead 2-1 through Cossu and Ragatzu (in the 83rd minute). The game seemed set and won but in no later than the 94th minute Ramirez scored a goal to quell the islanders hopes of three points. 
• Chievo 0-0 Parma - A very dull game which saw neither side break the deadlock in Verona. Amauri, despite his 2 goal salvo against Roma last week was unable to replicate his performance and the biggest talking point was probably Gabriel Paletta's sending off for Parma in the 74th minute.
• Fiorentina 3-0 Catania - The battle of the ex Laziali and Interisti (Mihajlovic and Simeone) saw the Tuscans relatively easily beat the Sicilians thanks to a double from a returned to form Mutu and then a goal from other star striker Gilardino. This result places the Viola into the top half of the table and leaves Catania hovering around the relegation zone.
• Inter 5-2 Genoa - Inter had to respond after the previous nights result but found themselves 1-0 down due to Palacio's goal. Whatever Leonardo said to his players at half time, it worked as the Nerazzurri stormed away scoring 5 goals in the second 45 minutes thanks to Pazzini, Eto'o (x2), Pandev and Nagatomo. Boselli's goal at the death was a consolation in a thoroughly entertaining and goal packed game.
• Napoli 0-0 Brescia - Another team that had to respond to Milan's result, Napoli ultimately failed against the team penultimate in the league table. Despite the absence of Lavezzi, the Partonopei should have no excuses for this result which has left them 8 points behind the leaders and now even 3 behind Inter.
• Udinese 1-0 Bari - Not quite as entertaining as their 7-0 victory last week, the team from up north nevertheless did what they had to do against a Bari side almost accepting their fate for next year (Serie B). A penalty won by Sanchez was duly converted by Di Natale, bringing the captain up to 22 goals for the season and leading his side into an impressive 5th in the table.
• Lazio 2-0 Palermo - Serse Cosmi was unable to inspire his new team to any sort of result against Lazio after their morale crushing result last week. Instead it was January signing Giuseppe Sculli that took the plaudits for the Biancocelesti with a brace that keeps them in fourth position. 

Top 5:

Milan - 61, Inter - 56, Napoli - 53, Lazio - 51, Udinese - 50

Bottom 5: 

Catania - 29, Cesena - 28, Lecce - 28, Brescia - 25, Bari - 16

Top Scorers:

Di Natale - 22, Cavani - 20, Eto'o - 18, Di Vaio - 17, Ibrahimovic - 14, Matri - 14

Most listened to music: last 7 days..

Week ending 6th March!

Ok so once again according to Last.fm these are my stats from my last week of listening to music (on the computer)...


   5) (Marie's the Name) His latest Flame, Elvis Presley - Although I am not the owner of a large Elvis Presley collection, I think this is one of his most underrated songs in terms of how catchy it is. Just a shame that it isn't longer than two minutes and five seconds.
   4) If you tolerate this your children will be next, Manic Street Preachers - On the other end of the scale I think this song drags on a little but I still always find myself listening to it, not least due to its message which interlinks heavily with themes of politics and the Spanish Civil War too. My favourite from their 'This is my truth tell me yours' album.
   3) Almost Famous, Eminem - Having only recently got hold of 'Recovery' I've found that this has become the most recognisable song for me. As well as the artists standardly clever lyrics I think the female voice (as of yet unknown to me) used in the chorus also helps this song stand out. 
   2) I'm new here, Gil Scott-Heron - Personally I am suprised this song wasn't at the top of my weekly playlist but nevertheless it is in a well deserved second. The American's lyrics are on the one hand humorous (on his confusion at his ego being the size of Texas) and on the other equally haunting:"Turn around Turn around Turn around, And you may come full circle, And be new here again..."
   1) On coming from a broken Home (Parts 1 & 2), Gil Scott-Heron - A lockout for Gil, although part 1 featured more prominently on my plays I felt it impossible to omit part 2 as I see it mainly as one long poem spoken by the artist. The music here is virtually non essential, it is Scott-Heron's incredible message of his upbringing that keeps me listening to 'On coming from a broken Home'.

And that wraps it up for this week, until next Sunday! 

A fascination with History

An article born from a quote I read: "Because the past is the present, and the future too."

As you may have gathered from my profile or from reading past articles, I am currently studying for a degree in History. Granted then that I clearly have an avid interest in the subject and so it may seem that what I am writing here is a little worthless. But my point here is not necessarily to 'sell' history to whoever reads this but to express my feeling that I feel: that history today in age is severely underrated. 


Our personalities, families, backgrounds and life stories are shaped by our own personal histories. Often I think that the main obstacle for cynics is the nature of the word 'history' itself - it is very vague and all encompassing. One needs to realise that history is not solely the story of World War II or the Ancient Romans but every experience that every human being has gone through in his or her life that make the present a reality. 


I am fascinated with history on so many different levels. I honestly believe that through studying the past one gets so much more knowledge and opinion of today's reality be it on a personal level (for example a person who finds out his family once had strong links to the trades of the sea might be able to explain his intense interest in the subject) or on a huge, global level (study the First Crusade and one suddenly becomes more at ease with the mountain of information related to tensions between Islam and Christianity). 


As Universities lose funding in the not so distant future and these 'cuts' loom over education, I fear for the humanities, not least History. While it is impossible to negate the importance of subjects such as Mathematics and the Sciences for their role in modern society I think that a losing of, or a reduction in the teaching of History will have consequences which many may not initially seem to grasp. 


To learn History, even at a basic leve, is to acknowledge that everything around us is not so simple as 'a' or 'b' but often the result of a complex set of actions and events that I can only describe in one word, history.

Summer begins peeping its head round the corner..

It may only be March but signs of summer are starting to emerge - finally.

Ok so for the first time this year, I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:30am to get ready for work, I opened the curtains and saw two things. Firstly, it was daylight, and secondly it was sunny without a cloud in the sky!

This may not seem like a huge deal initially but it means that spring, but more importantly in the long term, summer, is not too far away anymore. After a long and cold winter - the sun is the perfect cure for all those dreary months spent inside drinking hot drinks. 

Do not get me wrong the view from my window is still bitterly deceiving. There's not a leaf on a tree yet and as I unfortunately realised as I trudged towards the bus stop an hour later - it is still bitterly cold out there and the scarf came out much quicker than I would have wished. Never the less the nice weather puts a positive spin on everything and on the bus journey to work it became possible (and realistic) to have a quick daydream about the summer and all of the benefits that come in tow with it:

• less layers - lets face it we are all bored of wearing a vest, a t shirt, a jumper and then a coat on top. As the weather gets better you really begin to appreciate the joys of being able to go to the shop in nothing more than shorts and a t-shirt!
• breakfast in the garden - personally, waking up in the morning and then having a huge breakfast sitting in the garden under the parasol is about as good as it gets as far as breakfasts go.
• drinks under the sun - yes, as the days get longer then something else you begin to grow fond of is long evenings where it doesn't get dark until 10pm spent in a nice beer garden sipping on some cider. Lovely. 
• people in generally better moods - to me it is undeniable that when the sun comes out to play humanity as a whole becomes nicer! This positive factor disappears when everyone is in a hurry to get home because it is so damn cold out on the street. 
• a time to travel and go on holiday - I have always associated the summer with going away for weeks at a time to another country and chilling at the beach, while it being the music festival season makes it even more exciting.

So, it may only be early March but surely it is never too early to start thinking about the summer is it? Considering that I live in England too, where the summer is not even a certain guarantee!

The Maritime Museum and renewed interest in.. the RMS Titanic

Living in a city with such a strong connection to the fateful ship has genuinely opened my eyes again to the tragedy. 

Last week I was required to visit the Maritime Museum of Southampton as a part of my studies. Although the content of the museum was not the priority - the delivery of the museums exhibits and its accessibility to the public were - the ongoing Titanic exhibition there really reignited my interest in the Titanic's voyage.

Maybe it was being 5 years old when the hugely successful Titanic film was released in 1997 with memories of the whole family watching the film or perhaps because I have always associated the year 1912 with a) the birth of my grandfather and b) the sinking of the Titanic - the event has always been engraved in my memory. I always knew that Southampton was the port from which the ship left with the aim of reaching New York but I had never really delved any deeper into this fact.

Coincidentally it was this trip to the museum which was compulsory and not attended to by my own will that opened up my eyes again to what exactly happened nearly 99 years ago. The exhibit (incidentally the best part of the museum) tells the story of the Titanic from its construction, to its passengers, its journey as well as the huge connection the ship had with the city of Southampton where literally hundreds of locals were employed primarily as staff on the RMS Titanic. 

Seeing as this was the first time I was able to see genuine artefacts from the wreckage, mainly small things such as letters sent from on board, retrieved cuff links or locker keys it really added to the human element of the tragedy which the 1997 could only do to a certain extent when starring actors such as Kate Winslet and Leonardi di Caprio in such a romantic film. The stories of lesser characters in the wider picture of the Titanic which really hit home how sad the whole story really was, of the workers near the engines who never saw the light of day and were probably the first to die when disaster struck. 

James Cameron, the director of the blockbuster film put it most succintly when he said "And above all the lesson: that life is uncertain, the futue unknowable... the unthinkable possible." If the huge, 'unsinkable' Titanic was able to sink then just what isn't possible in this world that we live in?

From there on I went on to watch videos and read about the wreckage in its sorry state today and how eventually the story of Titanic may be forgotten as time goes on. But as time went on this opinion of mine changed and several things have assured me that the memory of that great ship will remain long into the future. Firstly it is the many memorials that exists on both sides across the Atlantic. 

Southampton alone in its city centre contains a very nice memorial to the engineers of the ship as well as one to the musicians who allegedly kept playing even as the ship sunk. Furthermore it is the film indeed that will keep the story of the Titanic alive as well as hopefully many celebrations and memorials next year in order to mark the centenary of the event of the 14th April 1912 which claimed 1517 lives at sea.