This week I have been reading Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. It is a reprint of Why England Lose, with some revisions and updating and a title change to make it sound a bit more like the very successful Freakonomics book. It is a good read, covering all sorts of aspects of football […]
Entries Tagged as 'Olympics'
Overdoing it
July 17th, 2012 · Comments Off on Overdoing it · Life
Last night I watched a documentary about Usain Bolt. It was OK, and Bolt seems like a nice bloke, but right at the end the programme makers went a little bit too far. There is a tendency for programme-makers to try and inject a bit of suspense, peril or conflict into any situation and in […]
Having it both ways
July 13th, 2012 · 6 Comments · Politics
The other day I had the dubious pleasure of watching PMQs, since I was off work. A very grubby spectacle that nobody ever seems to come out of well, least of all that mad shouty woman with her arm in a sling. It consists of questions that often aren’t really questions and answers that aren’t […]
Tags: Olympics
Scrap the Paralympics
December 20th, 2011 · 3 Comments · Life
I have been saying since at least 2008 that the Paralympics should be laid to rest, so I was glad to see the other day that it is an opinion that is gaining a bit more support (as well as a fair bit of opposition). It is too late to make any change in time […]
Tags: London 2012·Olympics
Games Without Frontiers
October 21st, 2008 · Comments Off on Games Without Frontiers · Life
Over at Flickr there is a real treat for fans of Creative Commons, Open Source and other similar hippy concepts. The Dutch national archive, in collaboration with Spaarnestad Photo have put about 400 photos online for everybody’s enjoyment. As if that is not enough, the national archive have about half a million low-res scanned photos […]
We Agree
September 20th, 2008 · Comments Off on We Agree · Life
I don’t know who Mike Collis of Worcestershire is, except that heand I agree on something. A while ago I stated an opinion that the Paralympics should be scrapped and the events integrated into the Olympics. Today the Guardian had a letter from Mr. Collis which said:
Shooting Star
September 12th, 2008 · Comments Off on Shooting Star · Life
The round-up of the Paralympics on the BBC tonight showed a bit of the shooting competition, where Matt Skelhon won a gold medal. I hadn’t seen coverage of Paralympic or Olympic shooting before – possibly because it is one of the least TV-friendly sports so doesn’t get shown much
The Chinese Way
September 9th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Life
I have been watching a bit of the Beijing Paralympics over the last couple of days, although the coverage is not as extensive as it was for the Olympics. What little I have seen has been so exciting and enjoyable that I think the whole idea of the Paralympic games should be scrapped.
Three Times Enough
August 27th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Life
Horsham Labour Party’s elite quiz team ((i.e. whoever happens to turn up)) made it a hat-trick this evening when we won the pub quiz in the village hall for the third time this year. While the prize money is handy for party funds, I do feel guilty that we keep winning. I think we should […]
Tags: Horsham·Labour Party·Olympics·Quiz
One for the London Olympics?
February 14th, 2008 · Comments Off on One for the London Olympics? · Life
My immediate reaction to this story was, obviously, amusement – with a bit of bemusement thrown in for good measure – but after taking a moment to think about it I reckon it all makes sense and ought to qualify as a serious sport.
