England vs Hungary

Last night me and a companion had the pleasure of seeing England's Brave Boys© play and beat the Hungarians.  Any football fan needs no introduction to the heritage to Hungarian football, which created a team which punished England mightily many years ago. Many see their ultimate failure to win the World Cup as a footballing travesty and I personally feel that they deserve the unwanted title of best team never to have won the World Cup, beating the efforts of the Dutch 74 and Brazilian 82 outfits. They can of course never hope to live up to that amazing heritage, a nation the size of Hungary will mightily struggle to produce a team like that again.

Still they played well, giving England a good game. Certainly for a pre-season friendly the quality was pretty good. a treat for the 70,000 or so people who turned up to see it.

I was disappointed by the squad choices. The 'Golden Generation' for its successes and faults has come to an end. These players, these household names; Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Ferdinand will not be at the next world cup in Brazil. Age and injuries will not allow it. Old hopes will have to be carried by new players. Unfortunately with Capello's contract not reaching to the next World Cup he has no reason to dispense with old and take proper risks to blood the new players. The press would have slaughtered him if he had lost. Fundamentally this raises the question, why have an international manager who wont be going to the next world cup? Logic would suggest that Capello will make do with what he has, getting adequate performances out of the players to ensure his survival and qualification to the Euros. Why put this on the line by player Wilshire and Rodwell then?

The FA's plan should revolve around the WC, players and management should reflect this.

The iPad, A review by somebody who can't afford to buy one

The UK's High Priest of Apple, the Reverend Stephen Fry has already has his.

Wired says that tablets will change the world of computing.

Filthy Glasses says: who are ya?

Both Apple and the Catholic Church have been in the news recently. Both are secretive and highly profitable organisations led by a supreme leader, beloved by his disciples and mocked by the rest of us. Each promises in their own way to show us a better way of living, free from the sordid clutches of the unbelievers. This salvation however comes at a price. It the Catholic Church's example..... I'm gonna avoid because I don't want to be sued for libel. In Apple's case however it's any resemblance of being a fan boy.

Full disclosure, I have an iPhone. I'm not especially proud of the fact but it allows me to feed my obsessions  with football and politics to an extend I never thought possible. 

To give Apple their due they have consistently punched above their weight in directing the development of consumer technology and services that we all consume. Responsible for popularising MP3 players and touch screens. Apple didn't develop these technologies but they gave them a polish and a desirability which introduced them to a wider audience. 

The success of the iPod and iPhone products have been to introduce mainstream consumers to Apple products. People, now familiar to the design and idiosyncrasies of the products feel comfortable in purchasing the laptops and desktops. These items are mainstream and feature in annoying adverts featuring beloved comedians  shamelessly selling out and professional midgets. 

While it might be now acceptable to have these products, its gonna be a long time before the iPad looses its status as the crown jewel of fan boyism. There will be no escape if you purchase one of these devices. You will have purchased an indelible mark, highlighting your commitment to being an early adopter and a rabid consumer of the shoddy Mk.1 products that technology companies always release. Only a true devotee would buy a device which costs twice as much as the laptop I'm currently ranting on. 

In a few years when the hype has rescinded tablet computers may become socially acceptable, this will be a slow process and will involve a few brave souls claiming the format back. Society will progress and maybe we will all one day by party to a world that looks more and more like that shitty film, Minority Report.

Until then we wait. 

An Obscured View of the World

Hello unwashed masses.

I have succumbed and finally decided to do a blog. This means you, the uninterested and oblivious public will have unfettered access to the rabbit warren of banal/libellous thoughts that rattle around inside my head. Hopefully my unedited musings on life, politics, films and West Ham's chances of avoiding relegation will be of some interest to somebody. If not please feel free to troll the shit out of the site.

Alex Di Mascio