New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you got suitably banjaxed and sent off 2012 in style. New Year's Resolutions start now, and while I have made a few of my own (all the good ones) I can't help there is something fundamentally farcical about the whole idea of them.

Should you really need to wait until the beginning of a new year to put pressure on yourself to make changes, that in all honesty you probably won't stick to. Why not just try and be a little bit better all year round? And why commit to a whole year? It just seems so unnecessarily stringent.

It is probably a lot down to the gluttonous fortnight at the end of December where everyone overeats and drinks. Cheeseboards and 'real' butter guilt you into agreeing to being more careful in the new year.

I won't commit to stopping or giving up anything for the whole of 2013 as it just seems like too much of a  punishment for having an excellent (mostly) 2012. What I am going to do is make the most of myself and the opportunities presented to me or ones that I will fight for.

I am going to try and stop drinking for a bit, and get fitter so I can last more than an hour on the football pitch. But other than that I'm pretty content while I keep optimistic, hunt for a new job and try to see the positives in everything.

Life is platter.

Circling Vultures Seen At Comet Stores.

Having only worked there for around six weeks, my reaction to the news that Comet was being forced into administration was one of little emotion. I haven't even seen a pay day since being with the company, and I knew that there was other employees (and recently gained friends) that deserve to meet the news with more disdain than I did. The job is just a temporary bung for me, to earn me some money while I search and decide on a career to chase.

Sure it is a shame that the seemingly futile search for a buyer has reaped now rewards as yet, but my thoughts are not with the company itself - just with the employees that depend entirely on the wage and commission hard earned from the jobs.

What I cannot stand though is the unrelenting hoards of 'customers' that are dissatisfied with the preliminary reductions as set out by current administrators, Deloitte. This is not a 'fire sale'. There has been little comment from owners or administrators about whether any progress has been made in terms of new ownership. All we have been told is to start selling off stock at prices set by the head office.

Admittedly some of the point of sale advertisements and merchandising paints a picture of better savings, but again it is just stores following orders.



"You call this a sale? still more expensive than online"

Everything has at least 10% off the ticket price - Televisions, computers and most white goods are limited to 10%. However, kitchen goods and accessories have 20-30% off the ticket prices. Okay so it could be more, yeah. But it is not down to us as a store to decide this, we are just receiving orders from above. So far as we know the stores are not closing down yet, so we do what we can and get on with our jobs as if nothing is happening.

Comet has been screwed over by the press in truth. As soon as news spread of the entry into administration  news broadcasters where announcing that stores had been closed and massive sales were taking place. Neither true - Comet never said they were.

"I want to take away a TV today, and I'm paying in cash - but I don't want to pay these ridiculous prices, I want 50% off"
"I'm sorry sir but we physically cannot take any more money off the prices, it is out of our hands"
"Its cheaper in (insert competing store)...I want to speak to your manager"


If its cheaper elsewhere then get to fuck and let me help someone else.

One of my managers even got throttled and spat on during the first day of administration, after he relayed the bad news that we couldn't accept gift cards at that time. He was just doing his job the best he could, and was nothing but courteous.

At the end of the day, with commission all but suspended, I have better things to do than build rapport with leeches who only want a bargain. I even dealt with a man who just wanted a bargain, and he did not care what it was... He didn't even have anything specific in mind!

I struggle to understand how people can be so obtuse about the whole situation. Thousands of jobs are at risk and the most they can do is feign sympathy and ask when stock will come down in price. Its becoming hard to care and be accommodating at work, and I've only been an employee for a few weeks - must be even worse for Comet veterans and managers.

You'll hear about it when we are forced to clear the shelves for peanuts, it will be at the same time as the announcement of thousands of premature redundancies.

Fuck.

Injury plagued Arsenal hope to settle the score against Schalke.

After suffering a perhaps not-so shocking defeat at the Emirates, tonight Arsenal are looking to retaliate with a Champions League win against Schalke, at the Veltins Arena.

In the 2-0 defeat at home, two players who have admittedly been admired by Wenger  - Klaas-Jan Huntelar and Ibrahim Afellay - both scored past Vito Mannone.

The Italian goalkeeper has looked inconsistent a times, but  overall has deputised for  Wojciech Szczesny effectively - starting the Premier League campaign with three clean sheets in a row. With the Polish number one still a couple of weeks from fitness, Mannone  is expected to stand between the posts in Schalke. 

Arsenal have a few other injury worries. Aarron Ramsey is out after straining his groin during the loss at Old Trafford. As is Gervinho the 'goal machine', with an ankle problem. Other injuries include Diaby, Gibbs, Rosicky and The Ox.

One ray of light for the Gunners is the lack of unit centre-back Kyriakos Papadopolous, who suffered a blow to the face on Saturday.

Andre Santos has been slated since joining Arsenal, as his defensive prowess is continually questioned. This together with his bizarre choice to ask ex-Arsenal captain, talisman and goal scorer Robin Van-Persie for his shirt at half time during the Saturday derby at Old Trafford. He is expected to return at left-back again, and Arsenal fans will watch him with bated breath and think about Kieran Gibbs.

Arsenal need a win tonight to re-take the top position in the group. A loss would see Schalke head to ten points, which would surely win them the group. It would also give Olympiacos the chance to close the gap  between the second qualification place and first runner up.

Expected Arsenal line-up:
Mannone; Santos, Vermaelan, Mertesacker, Sagna; Arteta, Wilshire, Cazorla; Podolski, Walcott, Giroud.

Prediction:
Podolski to score first, 3-1 Arsenal. Optimistic to the end.

Some Of My Favourite Films

Over the years I have had a lot of stick from friends about my taste in films. The first time this all came about was in the pub three or four years ago. I accidentally let slip that Transformers was one of my favourite films (at the time), as I had recently watched the underwhelming sequel.

Since then I like to think my taste in films has matured slightly. Here is a quick run down some screen shots of my favourites - in no stringent order.



















AND...



As always recommendations are welcome!

Paul McCartney - My Valentine.

Not necessarily that new but wow.
EVERYTHING about this song and video.

Paul McCartney, Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp in grey scale

And people say he has lost it.

RYDER CUP 2012 FINAL DAY REVIEW

Looking back at a wonderful three days of team golf, there is not a lot to complain about for Europe. With a seemingly impossible task on the final day singles, it looked like USA would take the Ryder Cup on their own Chicago turf. Davis Love's men only needed to find 4.5 out of 12 available points on the final day to take the ultimate prize in golf. With a nerve-racking start due to Rory McIlroy's late arrival, it seemed like Europe were set to lose it all.

However after sterling match wins by Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Paul Lawrie,  the job was looking a bit closer to possible.

One man in need of definite recognition is Ian Poulter - he is the definition of the modern Ryder Cup. So passionate and inspiringly emotional, he bagged 100% of his points from the games he played, holing many long putts and rallying the Europeans to no end. Celebrating every magnificent shot with a fist bump and a roar, his passion infectious throughout his team. He was also the only player on Team Europe to not concede any points. Let's hope he can keep up his emphatic form and come through and win a major or two.

Another exciting game was Sergio Garcia's narrow win over ever consistent Jim Furyk. Watching this game I found myself getting ever annoyed with how many greens and fairways Furyk hits, and how docile he was about it all (second only to Dufner, who's facial expressions suggested he didn't know where he was). The loopy-swinged veteran bore down on fan favourite Garcia, and often seemed to have the beating of him. With some uncharacteristic errors from Furyk, Garcia was handed the win on the 17th green.

Soon the score was 13-13 with two games left to finish, both at all square; Kaymer/Stricker and Molinari/Woods. Stricker, who's putting had been rocky all weekend, managed to pull off a few unlikely long putts to take the game to the end. Kaymer had only feature in one of the previous 4 matches over the weekend and looked uncertain. Suddenly he had a put for the championship, and thoughts immediately reverted back to fellow countryman Bernhard Langer's 1991 missed putt for the championship. But no such woe, Kaymer hit the ball true and it hit the centre of the cup at pace, sealing the championship at 14-13 to Europe with one match left to finish (A draw was enough for Europe to retain.

Now here comes the painful part for the remaining match. Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods had to finish their game, knowing that it was inconsequential and that they were missing out on the start of the Team Europe's celebrations. I feel for the pair, who had to wait a good fifteen minutes to play their approach shots to the green, knowing that Tiger could only try and halve the championship by winning his match.

Once they got to the green, they had to similar length putts to halve the hole, though Tiger had one shot in hand and putted to secure the match and the final point. He missed the putt and then to the world's surprise, Woods gave Molinari his not entirely unmissable three foot putt to half that match in the most sporting gesture in recent years. This secured a win - not just a half- for the Europeans at 14.5-13.5.

This sentimental sporting act may have got the one time world number one up in the world's estimations, but he was blasted by the bookies, who lost millions on paying out winning bets. Apparently no one bets on a draw for the championship, and a 14-14 finish would have upped the profits massively for many betting companies.


Woods said: "I went one up at 17, and I asked what was going on down at 18 because my responsibility was to be able to get my point.

“Then they said that Europe has a chance to win on this hole, or retain the Cup.

"Then after that all went down, my putt was useless. It was inconsequential. So I hit it too quick and gave him his putt and it was already over."

A special mention has to go to one of the most loveable characters in golf and the captain of the European team, Jose Maria Olazabal. He rallied his team with motivational speeches, and moved the record breaking television audience with a breathtaking emotional toast to former playing partner, the late Seve Ballasteros.

No more Ryder Cup for another two years, but plenty of exciting golf in between. Two years for Donald, Westwood and Poulter to get some major championship wins under their belts and battle to retain the cup in Scotland in 2014.

RUSH

One of my favourite comedy films at the moment is I Love You Man, starring the hilarious Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. If you haven't seen it already then I really recommend it. It puts a crude and blokey spin on the Rom-Com genre - it's one of those that you can convince your lady to watch on date night, as well as enjoy with your mates. It is one of the few films that I could feasibly watch every day.

The film however is not the main focus of this article today. This being (loosely) a music blog, I want to focus on the band that Peter Klaven (Rudd) and Sydney Fyfe (Segal) are both obsessed with - Rush. The duo's friendship blooms through their love of the band and their jam sessions to songs of which.

I am actually ashamed to say that it was the film made decades after the formation of Rush that made me have a listen to them. Originating from the same era as Sabbath, Purple and Hawkwind, the equally Daddish prog-rock trio are still going strong nowadays, and even appear in the film itself.

The two songs that were in the film and that convinced me to have a listen to some old Rush albums are Tom Sawyer and Limelight. Neither are as progressive and intricate as some of the other more complicated tracks - one particular symphony called The Necromancer (hmm) is a 12 minute journey that truly expresses the smokey intricacy of the band.

Neil Peart is one of the greatest technical drummers in the business, and it definitely shows in Rush's music. He is one of the drummers that actually uses every part of his behemoth kit, none of it for show. Every track is filled with impossible drum fills and double bass drum blasts - one of the aspects of any band that sucks me in consistently. This old video of the track YYZ is an exciting showcase of the talent of the trio:

Though this band aren't my favourite of my Dad's record collection, the technical brilliance of the band and prog rock genre has to be admired. I guess you have to be in a certain mood to listen back to any big rock band of the era, but if you have a classic/prog rock playlist, make sure you get a few of the mentioned key tracks on there. I find it great music to cook to for example.

Watch the film too if you haven't already. Actually watch any film with either of both of the main actors in it. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, Anchorman, 40 Year Old virgin etc.