What annoyed you today?

[picsfor]

They know how to make money these printer manufactures...

Nothing cheap in the A3+ arena nowadays. A colour laser is cheaper 

[irv_b]

ENGLAND'S OVERPAID PLAYERS WHO BELIEVE THE RIDICULOUS HYPE ABOUT THEIR ABILITIES!!~ ENOUGH SAID

[Just Dave]

Dont worry Irv, they've set up a new helpline for disheartened England fans 0800 414141 

[spinner]

Look to the bright side Irv, you're not French!

[spinner]

On a personal note, England's loss was my gain. Brother in law got so despondent over the loss that he stopped drinking the English Beer he'd brought over so now I have a fridgeful. 

[ABERS]

I'm with you on this one Irv. Whilst losing, and to the Jermans at that, I'm only drawing some consolation that we don't have to go through all the agonies, false hopes and expectations any more until the European qualifications start!

[hevans]

I find it amusing that it is only in England that this England-German rivalry exists. To the Germans, their real rival is the Dutch - an England-Germany game is like any other game. I feel sorry for the German team - having to look magnanimous and like good winners will be hard: imagine having to come up with realistic platitudes of their opponent, "they fought a hard game", "Rooney was a real threat", "we were lucky to get anything past the defence", umm..."They weren't as shite as they've shown they can be."

It's a bit like the US-UK "special relationship". It only exists from the UK perspective.

Time for the UK to get a grip, and have a good long look at the reality: you're not a superpower WWII ended 65 years ago; 1966 was a lifetime ago for many of us; riding on the coat tails of the Yanks will not do you any good; and as for football - try to get the team to play for national pride instead of celebrity kickbacks. Winning is not something that is deserved and passed around like the presidency of the EU, it's something you earn by 90% perspiration and 10% talent. There is no "it's our turn to win".

What the UK really needs are heroes, someone to inpsire. Those peddled by the media are X-factor talentless yobs ("Ohhhhh...loookit me...I'm singing on tele!") and morally bankrupt footballers - in it for the fame and fortune, not for the achievement. If you want to know who's to blame: look at the culture that cherishes celebrity, rather than creativity, a work ethic and respect. I blame New Labour.

Now, the world cup is over, can we please resume our regularly scheduled rants, TV entertainment and start to work hard to hobble the banks with regulations that will ensure they don't fart about with our money again and give us back the money they owe us?!

H.

[ABERS]

Now I am confused!

Two posts about the world cup and we get an anti British rant from someone in Holland. You may think it's strange that we should support our national team and be disappointed at the outcome, but that support isn't based on past results, it's based on the fact that sport is ingrained in us and in a pride in our country, and we shall be there next time around. I can understand that non-sporting types can't understand that way of thinking.

[hevans]

Alan,

It wasn't an anti-british rant, it was a take on why things just don't seem to work out for the British at these events. And there is a large chunk of the British society that regards winning as a manifest destiny, requiring nothing more than attendance, luck and a pot of tax money. Luck doesn't exist, perspiration exists.

Supporting the national team is not surprising, even I tend to take sides in these events, but I don't let it run/ruin my life. Being disappointed by a 4-1 thrashing by a younger and better playing team is also not surprising. What's surprising is the lack of anyone seriously considering what might be going wrong with the game at an ingrained level - why do the Germans manage to provide a consistently good team, why don't the English?

The sport might be ingrained in the supporters with a deserved pride in the country, but one wonders if this carries through to the players.

and we shall be there next time around.

and this reminds me of the definition of insanity, " insanity is repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result."

H.

[ABERS]

I'm one of the many insane then.

Perhaps the FA should introduce a scheme whereby the national team doesn't necessarily have to comprise nationals. It seemed to work for the French in '98 and to some extent for the Germans so far this time around.

P.S. and our cricket team!

[Cabbyjohn]

With aplogies to R. L. Stephenson...........   He must have been an England fan


IT IS BETTER TO TRAVEL HOPEFULLY, THAN TO ARRIVE.
 

-- Robert Louis Stephenson's quote is the basis of many lives and an underlying reason why many journeys, even painful ones, never end.

The games and scripts we play out in our lives are effectively journeys. They give us meaning and their execution thus becomes an end in itself.

The pleasure of anticipation
The nice thing about playing games is the anticipation that they bring. If the game has an attractive outcome, then we look forward to the pleasant end of the game. If the game itself is unpleasant, then we look forward to the relief of reducing the pain.

The fear of disappointment
We travel in the game with a hope that, when it completes, our expectation of success will be completed. We also may also fear that the glorious ending that we are anticipating will not be that wonderful. Comparing the possibility of a positive outcome with the more powerful and devastating thought of not achieving our goals leads us away from completion and into an endless journey of fantastic hope.

The fear of emptiness
Another fear that can strike us is the potential nothingness of a completed journey. As we travel, we gain meaning, both in the intended goal and the interpretation of daily events. When we look forward to the journey's end, we may see an end to this daily meaning in our lives.

The end of a journey can be like a death, where we may mourn what is past and can never be again. The fear of this alone is enough to keep many of us on the road for much longer than necessary.

[Hybridphotog]

Dont worry Irv, they've set up a new helpline for disheartened England fans 0800 414141 

I've also heard the number redirects to a German helpdesk.

[greypoint]

The English

The English
(Flanders & Swan)

The rottenest bits of these islands of ours
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot
You'll find he's a stinker as likely as not

     The English the English the English are best
     I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

The Scotsman is mean as we're all well aware
He's boney and blotchy and covered with hair
He eats salty porridge, he works all the day
And hasn't got bishops to show him the way

     The English the English the English are best
     I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

The Irishman now our contempt is beneath
He sleeps in his boots and he lies through his teeth
He blows up policemen or so I have heard
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third

     The English are moral the English are good
     And clever and modest and misunderstood

The Welshman's dishonest, he cheats when he can
He's little and dark more like monkey than man
He works underground with a lamp on his hat
And sings far too loud, far too often and flat

     The English the English the English are best
     I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

And crossing the channel one cannot say much
For the French or the Spanish, the Danish or Dutch
The Germans are German, the Russians are red
And the Greeks and Italians eat garlic in bed

     The English are noble, the English are nice
     And worth any other at double the price

And all the world over each nation's the same
They've simply no notion of playing the game
They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won
And they practice before hand which spoils all the fun

     The English the English the English are best
     I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

It's not that they're wicked or naturally bad
It's just that they're foreign that makes them so mad
The English are all that a nation should be
And the pride of the English are Chipper and me

     The English the English the English are best
     I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest

[Oldboy]

The English

The English
(Flanders & Swan)

[Oldboy]

and this reminds me of the definition of insanity, " insanity is repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result."

H.

Isn't that quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle!