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Act 2: Brazil vs Australia

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Faaaaar out! Now that was a crackin’ good match! Well done boys!!

After my Shakespearean analogy for Japan, Datadude likened the Brazil match to Waiting For Godot… except that this Godot came along. Sigh…

Still, given that I had visions of an Argentina-Serbia style whitewash before the game, 2-0 against those boys ain’t bad at all. Technically-speaking, some of the performances were absolutely inspired. Who would have thought we could have produced a goal-less first half?

Have to mention one key performance though. How about our Mr. Hottie? Still card-free and made some brilliant saves and tackles. And doesn’t he look lovely in dark-blue? 🙂

My favourite moment has to be…

Lucas Neill does his thing against Ronaldo

… When Lucas made an excellent challenge on an ailing Ronaldo, leaving him sprawled on the ground dazed and confused (as if he wasn’t before). Mind you, the Round One did move a little more than in the previous match and created a goal. But when you’ve got a bench loaded with talent like Brazil’s the coach would be bonkers to pick him again.

Swapping shirts with the Brazillians

Unfortunately Mr. Hottie didn’t take Ronaldinho’s example… baaaah!!!!!

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Soccer-who?

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Oh… my… God! (let’s add a few more ‘!’ in there) !!!!!!!

The Socceroos not only won against Japan but they won it empathically! Ok, they did take their time (6 minutes to the final hooter is cutting it a bit fine) but they did finish off in style.

The lead-up to victory shaped up like a Shakespearean tragedy.

Scene 1: The tragedy.

Japan scores through controversial means

OMG, we was robbed! Mark Schwarzer was impeded but the goal still stood. Aus 0 – Japan 1. What followed was a long, long hour of grinding but unproductive play.

Scene 2: The triumph.

The camp celebrates Tim Cahills goal

Timmy Cahill comes to the rescue! He rolled out a tickler and everyone misses. Aus 1 – Japan 1.

Then 2 minutes later, the Weetbix Kid kicks an absolute scorcher into the top left corner and suddenly we’re in the lead! Aus 2 – Japan 1.

Scene 3: The ecstasy!

John Aloisi puts the icing on the cake

Johnny Aloisi finishes off with a fine drive. Aus 3 – Japan 1. It’s all over… until next week.

Psst, Mr. Hottie came out unscathed too. Tops!

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Olé!

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Yes, yes, I neglected my blog for months and then what do I write about? Football. But I can’t help it ‘cos I’m genuinely excited that the World Cup (Copa Mundial, Coupe de Monde, Copa do Mundo, Warudo Kuppu etc.) is finally here. Yipeeee!

Here come the TV all-nighters and bleary-eyed mornings. Here comes the edge-of-your-seat tension, the irrational screaming, the waking up your flatmates at 3 am – and that’s just when the Socceroos play! I won’t just be watching those games, ‘cos although like most people I also believe that Brazil will come up trumps, there’s still a lot more to enjoy. Actual skill is secondary when you have…

The style…

Djibril Cisse

… and glamour.

Davo Beckham

(Well, Becks did define the word ‘metrosexual’)

The Oscar-winning performances.

Rivaldos faker

The (hmmm) men… more on this later.

One thing about the Socceroos is that unlike Australia’s other national teams (noticeably our rugby and cricket teams) we aren’t totally devoid of hot guys. Some friends brought this man to attention, who we decided to call “Mr World Cup 2006 Six-Pack Hottie”.

Lucas Neill

His real name is Lucas Neill, but that’s beside the point.

Now, I would love to see my national team actually win a game (progressing to the next round may be beyond us), and I do like watching them play, but this just makes the lack of sleep a little more worth it, you know?

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Is it possible?

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It has been a rather contemplative week this week.

I received the latest and last open letter from Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé who died last year in tragic circumstances. But he was a man who knew what he was about:

“What is this peace that God gives? It is first of all an inner peace, a peace of the heart. This peace enables us to look at the world with hope, even though it is often torn apart by violence and conflicts.”

Yes, he was courageous in that he wanted world peace, but his method was a humble and peaceful one, encouraging people from different denominations to meet at the grass roots, spend time with each other, pray together, so that it may inspire them to utilise this spirit of togetherness in their own lives.

“Seeking reconciliation and peace involves a struggle within oneself. It does not mean taking the line of least resistance. Nothing lasting is created when things are too easy. The spirit of communion is not gullible. It causes the heart to become more encompassing…”

Does it work? Yes, I think it does. It is not the quickest of methods but anyone who has ever come in contact with Taizé would not soon forget it.

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Gold

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Nothing to do with the Winter Olympics. Last year I had one of those calendars with a different quote for every day. Mine was an eastern philosophy one that threw up all sorts of interesting contemplations. I was looking at my pile of favourites for the year (the ones that I didn’t throw away) and this one was at the top:

Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes it obstructs your vision – His-tang

An apt thought that can be applied to all sorts of familiar situations…

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Frontline

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Your life is put into perspective when a friend packs up their bags and heads to the back of Sudan as a volunteer a couple of years. That’s what my friend Ruth has just done, volunteering with Catholic missions in Uganda, a short hop away to the Sudanese border. Meeting people who have escaped from Sudan, or really any place of war, is an eye-opening experience. Through my work over the years with JCA I’ve listened to a few people tell their stories – how they lost family members, lived in refugee camps and arrived in Australia with no more than a few garbage bags full of clothes, but they are the lucky ones who got to Australia. What would it be like to be at the frontline as Ruth is? I wait with great anticipation for her future posts.

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By Gad!

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A grey day, a rainy day, a very English day, the kind I’d like to spend on the couch nursing a pot of Earl Grey tea and a good English classic. Perhaps by Austen or Brontë but more recently I’ve discovered the works of Georgette Heyer.

Yes, she may appear to have written stuff your grandmother reads (your grandmother might well have a few old copies lurking about the place) and the covers of the old prints might give you the impression that it’s in line with the works of such ‘esteemed’ authors as Danielle Steele and Barbara Cartland, but as I’ve discovered that that is very far from the truth! I think she has far more in common with Austen than with those two or with any soppy/bodice-ripping romance author.

Again, the folks at C19 put me on her trail, when a few of them started writing stories in her style and starting off a mammoth thread praising her extensive body of work. She does write mainly about the Regency world, but she certainly wasn’t JA’s contemporary because she died quite recently in the early 1970’s! Her stories apparently very accurately portrayed the period and the best of them are a study of manners that are as substantial as any of JA’s works, but that’s where all resemblences end! Almost all of her stories are set among the upper classes (that you rarely get a glimpse of in Austen), written in a style that’s easy to get into and full of humour! Witness dear Frederica and her lovable little brothers, or the fun-filled banter between Venetia and Damerel. And I doubt that JA would be able to write something like Devil’s Cub, which would make a brilliant Sunday matinée-like adventure – as long as it doesn’t star Leonardo di Caprio.

As I mentioned before, GH was very prolific, writing over 50 books. I’ve bought a dozen of them already so I’ll be spending many an agreeable afternoon lounging. Bring on those rainy days!

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Rrrockin

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FF blaze onSeeing Franz Ferdinand last week has reignited (corny but can’t think of any other word) my passion for music. Saw their first Enmore show and I don’t think I’ve seen a crowd so energetic in a long time, but seeing what gigs I went to last year, it’s not too surprising (don’t think Missy Higgins could rouse a crowd into a frenzy).

Inevitably, this kind of enthusiasm spills over into other (more silly) side projects like:
1. Buying their live DVD and playing it constantly and singing along to their naughty karaoke videos.
2. Playing groupie by turning up to the Sunrise studios (that’s beside my work) at 7.30am to press my face against the glass while they played.
3. Reading their amusing blog about the Darlinghurst ladies of the night, no less.
4. Recording shoddy cover versions of their songs on acoustic guitar (as have no electric).
5. Spending lunchtimes in music shops trying out electric guitars (I will buy one one of these days – contemplating an Angus Young Gibson SG).

My flatmate groans when she hears that infernal Take Me Out riff, but she shouldn’t worry because fads like this shouldn’t last a long time and she’ll know all the lyrics to all the songs by the end of it which I’m sure will please the Year 11 kids she teaches.