Saturday, Mar. 11, 2017 - 22:58

1. I woke relatively early (before eight) with a certain sense of disappointment with respect to my lack of self-control and poor impulse choices yesterday evening - more takeaway than I wanted really, cheaper beer than I should've bought - and lay a while perusing what I should get up to this weekend. This related more to when I'd do various bits of housework and shopping (need to buy bog roll) than to the exciting adventures I had planned, but nevertheless, the net result was getting out of bed at eight twenty and drinking coffee subsequently.

2. Fifteen years today since a massacre in Kandahar (Afghanistan) by United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. The American soldier murdered sixteen civilians and wounded six others in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province, in the early hours of March 11th 2012. Nine of his victims were children, and eleven of the dead were from the same family. An Afghan parliamentary probe team had speculated that up to twenty American soldiers had been involved in the killings, but the crime has been concluded to be the work of one man. Bales was taken into custody later that morning after turning himself in and confessing, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The motivation may have been associated with personal problems, but it does echo the atrocities occurring elsewhere (q.v. that book I read 'Black Hearts' - describing gang-rape and killings of Iraqis by Americans) and asks questions about the psychological aspects of warfare - how dehumanisation of the 'enemy' and the stresses of the situation play a part in the behaviour of sometimes young people with a lack of control at times. I'm tiptoeing around the fact that, despite many military personnel being perfectly decent and honourable people, some are folk who might struggle to get a job elsewhere due to behaviour and intellect and/or folk who may crack under pressure. Not necessarily people you'd want to have access to guns and grenades.

3. I woke yesterday feeling better than I had on Thursday, my cold and tonsillitus progressing pretty quickly through my system. Not completely well even yet, but it wasn't as much of a nightmare at work on my own as I feared it might be. Phones quieter than usual, I'd had an OK night's sleep so wasn't tired, my colleague being on holiday made the day quieter and more purposeful. Except for the twenty-minute meeting I had to attend to discuss key accounts, which lasted an hour and a half and kept going off on tangents.

4. Lisa Loeb is forty-nine today, so I listened to 'Stay' on YouTube. Nice tune, catchy n'that, spoilt a little by overfamiliarity due to overplay (though admittedly perchance it wasn't as flogged in the UK than it might've been in the USA) and her nerdy needy arty glasses schtick does irritate me in the video. Reminds me of aspects of my life and friends back in the nineties. I also watched 'Stan' by Eminem (Lisa Loeb 'Stay' -> Natalie Imbruglia 'Torn' -> Dido 'White Flag' -> Dido 'Thank You' -> Eminem 'Stan'.. co-incidence it's only one letter different) which I maintain is one of the masterpieces of popular music which deserves to go down as representative of that time/place.

5. I'm reading 'Victim Without a Face' by Stefan Ahnhem. It's OK so far, more Jussi Adler Olsen than some of the more literary/descriptive Nordic crime authors.. good pace and all that. The last time I went on The London Underground? Probably four or five Christmases ago on the way back from my brother's.

6. I learned a new term today. I hope I remember it and can add it to my vocabulary. Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target's belief. Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. The term owes its origin to Gas Light, a 1938 play and 1944 film. It has been used in clinical and research literature.

7. Yesterday I finished my book group choice for the month - 'A Week in December' by Sebastian Faulks. Very good quality it was, writing and characters well-observed, but I was slightly disappointed by the nature of the ending. Though part of me was impressed that the author chose not to have the much-hinted ending occur, when it didn't happen this meant the tension built for three hundred and fifty pages was given nowhere to go.

8. Lot of disussion online about a judge making a controversial statement about how a rape victim being drunk and/or provocatively dressed may have contributed to the fact she was raped. Of course, no-one deserves to be raped, people should dress how they want (but can't control what people think of them as a consequence), and having had a drink shouldn't somehow mean you're free to be taken advantage of (just as it doesn't absolve you of responsibility for your actions after you get drunk). Still, there is a lot of argument based on willful interpretation of drink/dress having contributed to a crime having been committed meaning 'the woman is AT FAULT'. In the same way that any kind of risky behaviour might put someone at risk (compared to someone actively engaging in risk averse activity), it is possible to argue that a victim's behaviour contributed to them being a victim of crime. I just fear that all the fuss and feminism will obscure the message of 'everybody, please be careful and responsible when you're out drinking', which should be unequivocally accepted as good advice with no controversy.

9. Pupu Tupuna is a series of Finnish children's books by the Finnish author Pirkko Koskimies. The series stars a rabbit named Pupu Tupuna ("pupu" is Finnish for bunny), a cat and a mouse. The books are aimed at very young children and thus have lots of pictures and short, easy to read text. The first book in the series, Mihin menet Pupu Tupuna?, was published in 1972, with more than twenty further books following over the next three decades.

10. More silliness in 'Sing Dance Comic Relief Thing' - various boy band stars pretending to be Girls Aloud, and Ola & James Jordan doing 'All About The Bass' (even raising a smile from miserable ol' me). Ola is getting a little more tired in the face but scrubs up well and can still move in a particularly nice manner. The Chase people did a bit of a decent Wizard of Oz - more surprisingly competant singing than any real dancing. Jenny plays the ukulele y'know, and sings in real life.

11. I had chicken goujons for dinner, and packet rice w. sweetcorn. Rice also featured in my pudding (in the form of rice pudding, if you'd not worked it out from the aforementioned). Lunch? Ryvita with cheese, chocolate biscuits.

12. Henrettelsen ble forsinket i nærmere fem timer, siden Ruiz' advokater hadde sendt tre anker til Høyesterett for å prøve å stanse dødsstraffen. De tre ankene ble forkastet. Ruiz' advokater mente at den dødsdømte fangen tidligere ikke hadde fått tilstrekkelig juridisk hjelp. De hevdet også at henrettelsen var i strid med Grunnloven, siden han har vært på en dødscelle siden 1995 og fått henrettelsen utsatt flere ganger. 

13. Ah. Leroy Sane is German and of mixed German and Senegalese ancestry. Not French, as I assumed. Possibly because I mix him up with Loic Remy. Ooh, and Footy Focus confirmed that all the FA Cup quarter finals are decided on the day with extra time (and an additional substitute) and penalties if necessary.

14. In 18th century Sweden, the wish to commit suicide was the most common reason for murdering a child, second only to unmarried women suffocating their newly-born infants after their secret birth. These suicide-executions represent quite a peculiar historical phenomenon, which developed its own customs and culture. At the end of the 17th century, executions were given a solemn character in Stockholm; the condemned and their families bought special costumes, which were to be white or black and decorated with embroidery and ribbons, and paid for a suite to escort the condemned to the place of execution at Skanstull. The authorities greatly disapproved of all this, as the purpose of an execution was to put fear in people, a purpose which was destroyed by these theatrical performances, which, according to the government, gave the audience sympathy for the condemned suicidals, especially if they were female. To remedy this, the government issued a new law to abolish this execution-culture and restore the intended deterrent effect of executions.

15. FLOOOOOOOOOT.

[6N] Wales 22-9 Ireland
A closely fought (despite, perchance what that score suggests) game in Cardiff restored a lot of pride and belief for the Welsh, and in doing so effectively ended Ireland's Six Nations hopes. The opening half hour was fairly tight, the pitch wet despite the roof being closed, Ireland pulling into a 6-5 lead before a key moment just before the break when Sexton stopped a Wales try and was yellowed. Two points up at the break, with a few injuries for the lads in green occurring, Wales just carried on doing what they're good at and were more clinical in the end - North got a second try, Henshaw's technical foul snuffed out a try for Ireland, and a late Faletau block from a kick led to Jamie Roberts crossing for Wales late on.

[6N] Italy 18-40 France
Good positive start by Italy, Parisse scoring a third-minute try after good recycling. Lopez put a penalty over close to the half-way line to pull the scores within two. Italy continued their good first half performances by adding to their lead via the boot of Canna soon after, but were pegged back almost immediately from Lopez's PK. France looked angry and awakened and running/passing interchange carved apart the defence for Fikou to score a try. It was 11-16 at the break. Italy fade in the second half though, and here they allowed France to score a penalty and converted try by fifty minutes to end the contest. Fighty and frustrated. Giorgio Bronzini crossed for the Azzuri in the second, but was held up by two Bleus. Untidy. France were denied another goal with a foot in touch in the build-up, but it was only a matter of time till the bonus-point scoring try was on the board. Italy got their second try of the game in injury time, but they'd lost once more and will have the wooden spoon.

[6N] England 61-21 Scotland
A poor start for the Scots, looking for a rare Twickenham win - a Fraser Brown tip tackle on Daly punished with yellow, Jonathan Joseph powered through soon after to open the scoring in the third minute. England's slow starts obviously targetted by coach Eddie Jones as something to be improved. Farrell pen 10-0, but Scotland responded and had some ball. I felt a bit sorry for the Scots, already missing Laidlaw injured, they lost Hogg to a concussion and looked lacking. A carbon copy second from Joseph made it twenty-nil, but Scotland responded to cross by the posts soon after. Refereeing complaints, hard work by those in navy, but a deadly quick break saw replacement Anthony Watson set up by another Joseph run, and the England man crossing for five plus two. Farrell missed a penalty from his own half as England led massively 30-7 at the break. Joseph early in the second, Scots wilting. More tries for each side didn't threaten to change the direction of the points - more Scots injuries with Jamie George and Ryan Wilson clashing heads and both took off. Despite this being a joint biggest Calcutta Cup win OWTTE, this was a bit unengaging for me. The table before the last weekend sees Italy nil from four and England four from four, but the other four nations are 2-2 separated by bonus points and scored difference. Plenty to play for w.r.t. seedings for the RWC2019 though.

[FACQF] Middlesbrough 0-2 Manchester City
Ah. Boro only lasted thee minutes before conceding - Pablo Zabaleta wasn't closed down and was able to cross for Silva to finish from close range. Sane dallied as opposed to shooting or setting up Aguero, and M'boro looked slowly to be getting into the game. De Roon shot wide, then Bravo fumbled a Gestede header and had to be saved by Zabaleta's goal-line clearance. Rudy had to be subbed shortly after with a back injury - Negredo (former City player) came on. Fabio had a go, but shot wide. No, not the 1980s/90s male model and goose head-butt murderer. Man City were pushing, but they didn't create much more, and it was just nil-one at the break. Silva spooned over early in the second, Boro had to replace another defender shortly after through injury - Dael Fry on. Aguero hit the post, Guzan blocked Sane's shot. Twenty remained when Aguero got the clincher (everyone assumed) after a good break, Sane and Clichy exchanging well and the former's cross was turned home calmly. Fabio had a header cleared from under his bar by Stones with Bravo beaten. Bad challenge by Clayton might've seen more punishment than it received. Limp by Boro.

[FACQF] Arsenal 5-0 Lincoln City
Unsurprisingly this basically was a little one-sided. Lincoln working hard, but it was clear early on that it wasn't going to be a risk of Arsenal underestimating Lincoln or being lazy about trying to win. Walcott saw a shot tipped well onto the post by keeper Paul Farman. The non-league team got through the first quarter level, but with little attacking time. Alex OC was took off for Ozil, perhaps he had the shits. Nathan Arnold for Lincoln pulled a wonderful save from Cech with a fingertip save which could've put the cat among the things. Some moments of almost, but yes.. Lincoln lasted till forty-five, an odd atmosphere with perchance many Gunners supporters wanting Lincoln to win too (to hasten Wenger's resignment), but in injury time Walcott pounced on a good Giroud set-up after a corner, swept home. The second half? Not so much of a contest - Arsenal upped their game and gave the score a bit more of a slant with Giroud eight after HT, a Waterfall OG breaking hearts, and Sanchez and Ramsay two in three minutes. The final quarter hour saw Arsenal ease off, kind on their non-league opponants. The 'big four' final four is still very much on.

[PL] Bournemouth 3-2 West Ham United
For what it's worth, my Dad is a mild West ham supporter, so I suppose I was favouring them today in the Dorset game. Eight gone when Feghouli was adjudged to have fouled Daniels, King with the penalty put it wide. Only seconds after the restart, Michael Antonio created some space and from Feghouli's tackle and pass he wriggled into a position from where he put West Ham ahead. It was a good game, and King showed skill to equalise for B'mouth, good close control before turning home nicely. The Cherries given a second penalty with Pugh tripping over Fonte's outstretched leg - Afobe with a weak spot kick well saved. It's nineteen years since a Premier League side missed two penalties in the first half of a league game. King made some amends, and Afobe assisted (maybe with his hand) early in the second putting B'mouth ahead after a free kick flicked in - referee and assistant ruled a goal after some discussion. The second half saw the hosts try to protect their lead at times, some nerves in places, and they essentially couldn't hold out - five left when a really good pass from deep found Sam Byram for The Hammers, and he slid the ball into the box for Ayew to equalise. An injury time winner when West Ham were pushing themselves for three points - Wilshire probing for Eddie Howe's side, his shot saved by Randolph but King on hand to convert the rebound. Big win.

[PL] Everton 3-0 West Brom Albion
A win for either side would see them reach the points total they managed last season, with several games to spare. Good defence on show, Everton looking the likelier, Lukaku threatening a touch. Shortly before the break, Barkley's shot was parried by Foster but fell kindly for Mirallas to give the hosts an opener. Schneiderlin added a second in injury time, some lovely control and skill before coming inside and finishing super neatly. The second half was mainly in one direction, and in the end a third for the hosts after Barkley's cross was thumped home with a big black Belgian's head. I seem to have written less about this game than any of the other games this afternoon. Well, this will help pad it out, realising and pointing this out. Toffees seventh and chasing down the top six (and well placed for Europa League qualification).

[PL] Hull City 2-1 Swansea City
Tough to express an opinion on. I suppose a Swansea win or a draw, with several players injured/banned for the remainder of the season would suit Boro. It was a goal-less first half, and this and the fact Swansea had to replace too players madde it look like my latter choice was coming true. Rangel twisted his ankle and was replaed by Amat, before Llorente landed badly after leaping with Huddlestone for a header late in the first half and was taken off. Some 'almost' moments for either side, Jakopovic busy, but Hull went ahead vitlly through Niasse with quarter of an hour left - the sub playing a nice one-two with Hernandez before shooting past Fabianski. The on-loan Everton striker has got some important goals for Hull, and added a second shortly after when controlling nicely and twatting the ball past Fabski. Almost a hat-trick late on, but this win is an important one for the Yorkshire club, lifting them into eighteenth above Middlesbro. Alfie Mawson (celeb lookalike Thomas Turgoose IMHO) headed home a Sigurdsson free kick.