MonkeyChee

I've enjoyed it so far. Currently watching Republic of Ireland vs Croatia, Ireland are doing fairly well so far. And just as I post this Croatia make it 2-1 :razz:

"Don't you just hate [...] RuneScape" ...would just about sum up the reaction of most people who frequent this board. The R-word doesn't get used much around here. It annoys me, for one. ~Mr. Ginger "Who on earth could Cheat possibly be talking about" Warrior I haven't seen him in a long while though. What annoys me is that sometimes I seem to be ignored on these forums, with someone else giving the exact same response as me and getting an answer from the other person, as if I didn't post.

English, and a small amount of German.

Yes huge congrats to Montpellier, I don't really follow Ligue 1 but that's a great achievment. Jelavic is a very good player, excellent at scoring goals with his first touch (and in general). Liverpool could have done with a player like him!

No. But then our education system teaches far more about the Battle of Britain and gas chambers than it does about Roosevelt and the conversion of US foreign policy to interventionism, therefore the half-truth that "We beat the Germans" still continues to perpetuate with an almost racist glee in the general public, so what did you honestly expect? It's like the jubilee and the wedding last year; you'll find no shortage of people in the coming months as we approach the Olympics who wouldn't normally purposefully go around trying to pronounce their British-ness suddenly wearing Union Jack waistcoats while singing all the full verses of God Save The Queen (including the bit where they kill Scottish people). Am I British? Yes. Am I proud to be British? Yes, although it's not like I had a choice in the matter, I still have a high respect for my society's shared commitments to egalitarianism, democracy and free expression. Do I feel a need to express my nationalist pride by hating Germans at every available opportunity, or supporting a football team just because they happen to play at a ground some 300 miles from where I live which I've never visited before, or even ever cared about visiting? Oh, and by the way, a club whose captain is due to stand trial for racially abusing another player? Don't be ridiculous. I'm secure enough about my national identity that I can support a German team because, shock, they play better football. </rant> Oh don't get me wrong, I fully expected it to happen. I wanted to get some views on it on here as most people I talk to generally just can't understand where I'm coming from. I fully agree with everything you've said there though, very nicely put. I also agree with this :razz: I suppose winning justifies it, but Chelsea played very poorly. Somehow Bayern wasted countless chances (and Barcelona before them, and Napoli before them...), and Chelsea's approach somehow paid off.

I didn't think it was a great game really, though I did like when Neuer took the penalty aswell :razz: I don't really like Chelsea much, but congratulations to them. I was wondering what people think about this: My Dad/my friends were all supporting Chelsea last night, even though they don't like Chelsea normally (well most of them don't). Their reason was 'because they're English'. As I have said I don't like Chelsea much, and would've preferred Bayern Munich to win (though I wasn't all that bothered really). But the way I see it, Chelsea aren't representing England, they are only representing Chelsea. Now many people I know are happy that 'we beat the Germans', but I don't personally celebrate any English team winning other than Liverpool. So do you/would you support teams from your country (other than any you support, if you support a team from your country) in a continental/similar competition because they represent your country, or do you see the teams on a more individual level?

Well, it's just some cultural thing. Dogs and Cats are usually pets in western society, so eating them would be frowned upon. It's not really different to table manners that differ from country to country etc. This is true, it's seemingly mainly a cultural thing; eating Cat or Dog is no different to eating any other meat really.

Dalglish has been sacked; it's sad in many ways but seemed inevitable with the poor showing in the league. However we currently have no manager, no chief executive, no director of football, no director of communications and who knows what else. Strong appointments need to be made, and soon.

I went to the US Embassy in London today, and was approved for an exchange visa. I was there for around 3 and a half hours, 30 seconds of which was taken up by the 'interview' (Which consisted of 2 questions: 'What are you studying?' and 'What made you choose the university you will be going to?'), but I'm happy to have it done :thumbup:

Haha, was certainly eventful.

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool Horrific 1st half for Liverpool, both in terms of tactics and individual performances. 2nd half started pretty much the same, until Carroll came on. He was fantastic, the only Liverpool player who can be proud of their performance. Some are claiming his header was past the line but honestly, from the angles I've seen, it didn't look to be 100% over the line. The final was lost before then though, Chelsea deservedly won due to our shocking start to the game, and serious questions will be asked of both coaching and playing staff.

Very nice, the game is running much more smoothly.

FA Cup Final: Liverpool vs Chelsea

LIVERPOOL HAVE WON A GAME. I REPEAT: LIVERPOOL HAVE WON A GAME.

Hah wow, Reina sent off vs Newcastle and now Doni sent off vs Blackburn, step up Brad Jones I guess :razz:

Ah good to know, thanks :thumbup:

I have always been quite interested in WW1 poetry, there are many that I like but I will post a couple from Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. 'Futility' - Wilfred Owen [hide]Move him into the sun - Gently its touch awoke him once, At home, whispering of fields unsown. Always it woke him, even in France, Until this morning and this snow. If anything might rouse him now The kind old sun will know. Think how it wakes the seeds, - Woke, once, the clays of a cold star. Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides, Full-nerved, - still warm, - too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall? - O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth's sleep at all?[/hide] 'Dulce et Decorum Est' - Wilfred Owen [hide]Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . . Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.[/hide] 'They' - Siegfried Sassoon [hide]THE Bishop tells us: When the boys come back They will not be the same; for theyll have fought In a just cause: they lead the last attack On Anti-Christ; their comrades blood has bought New right to breed an honourable race, They have challenged Death and dared him face to face. Were none of us the same! the boys reply. For George lost both his legs; and Bills stone blind; Poor Jims shot through the lungs and like to die; And Berts gone syphilitic: youll not find A chap whos served that hasnt found some change. And the Bishop said: The ways of God are strange! [/hide] 'Glory of Women' - Siegfried Sassoon [hide]You love us when we're heroes, home on leave, Or wounded in a mentionable place. You worship decorations; you believe That chivalry redeems the war's disgrace. You make us shells. You listen with delight, By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled. You crown our distant ardours while we fight, And mourn our laurelled memories when we're killed. You can't believe that British troops "retire" When hell's last horror breaks them, and they run, Trampling the terrible corpses - blind with blood. O German mother dreaming by the fire, While you are knitting socks to send your son His face is trodden deeper in the mud.[/hide] I'm not really sure what draws me to these poems, perhaps their ability to convey the powerful, often confused, emotions of the poet as they write. I suppose such poems were how they dealt with the atrocities surrounding them.

Very good advice.

Liverpool are the joke of the premier league these days, fitting that we played today.

Heh, well it'll be very different to where I am at the moment I suppose. It seems like one of the big differences will be the altitude, where I am now is approx. 460 ft/140 m, whereas Flagstaff is 6,910 ft/2,106 m, so may take some getting used to. :razz:

It looks like I'll be going to the Northern Arizona University next (academic) year to study English. It's in a place called Flagstaff, does anyone know anything about either the university or the area?

I don't believe what I've just watched. 2-0 up vs QPR and playing well, finish losing 3-2. Just pathetic really. Coates's goal was fantastic though.

I saw this a couple of years ago in London I think. I didn't think I'd enjoy it but it was very good :razz:

I'm hopefully doing a similar exchange next year (from England To USA), so i'm interested in any answers here too :razz: