BRAZIL MADE IT THROUGH!

Brazil and Chile are two nations that have between them five World Cup victories (all going to Brazil) and have each hosted one past tournament, but neither have won it on their home soil while all other previous champions, with the exception of Germany, won their first (or only in the case of England and France) while hosting. And Brazil shares with Italy the distinction of winning two consecutive championships, in both cases they were their first two. And Brazil's second victory was in Chile.

Flash-forward to 2010 in South Africa: besides the drone of the vuvuzelas, several corners and free kicks, and a suspected handball which the ref just ignored and said to play on, the match was uneventful until Kaka, who is back from suspension, got yellow-carded in the 30th minute. Arturo Vidal, Ismael Fuentes, and Rodrigo Millar, who are also not sitting on a yellow, were booked in the second half. Ramires, on the other hand, got his second booking of the tournament in the 71st minute and won't be in their next game. Juan, Luis Fabiano, and Robinho scored one goal each for Brazil, taking the competition out 3-0.

Then, Paraguay and Japan both tried for their first quarterfinals ever. The score was 0-0 even after extra time, requiring a penalty shootout. I think corners and bookings should be used as tiebreakers before doing a penalty shootout. And speaking of bookings, nobody received a yellow card until Daisuke Matsui in the 57th minute. Further cautions went to Yuto Nagatomo, Keisuke Honda, Yasuhito Endo, and Christian Riveros. Most of the booked players received their yellow cards for handballs. Paraguay won the shootout 5-3.

Then came the battle of the Iberian Peninsula when Euro 2004 hosts Portugal took on Euro 2008 champions Spain. The first hour was rather uneventful but the last 30 minutes are where all the action took place: Xabi Alonso received the first booking for any Spanish player during the tournament, Tiago received his second booking of the tournament, one straight red was given out to Ricardo Costa, and a goal was scored for Spain by David Villa.

Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles...

Not just yet. They creamed England 4-1 in a round of 16 match where Mick Jagger out of Rolling Stones was apparently in the audience but they've still got three games left before they can claim a fourth title. The German goals were scored by Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, and two by Thomas Muller and the English goal was scored by Matthew Upson. The card train didn't arrive until the second half when Arne Friedrich was booked in the 47th minute. Glen Johnson received the 200th yellow card of the tournament in the 82nd minute.

Then, the far ends of Latin America came together when Argentina beat Mexico. The first goal for Argentina was scored by Carlos Tevez in the 26th minute. The Mexican players thought Tevez to be offside, but the ref (by the way, he was the same guy that red-carded Harry Kewell in the Australia versus Ghana match) allowed the goal anyway. Rafael Marquez got the only booking of the match. The 34th minute saw Gonzalo Higuain score Argentina's second goal. Tevez scored a less controversial goal in the 52nd minute of the game (yes, the 52nd minute of the 52nd match which also features the nation whose international dialling code is +52, and yes that was the full deck for Argentina's scoring in that match). Javier Hernandez scored for Mexico in the 71st minute but it wasn't enough because Argentina beat Mexico 3-1.

After Mexico's embarrassing defeat, Arjen Robben scored the first goal for the Netherlands in their match against Slovakia, but within less than 15 minutes, copped himself the first booking in the match. Not much else happened until Kamil Kopunek was booked in the 72nd minute. Wesley Sneijder was next to score in the 85th minute and Martin Skrtel was cautioned soon after for arguing with the ref. Robert Vittek scored for Slovakia in injury time just after the Dutch goalie, Maarten Stekelenburg, was yellow-carded, but it just wasn't enough.

50 games down, 14 to go

The final group match saw Spain and Chile go head-to-head. The scoreline was 2-1 to Spain and three players were shown yellow cards. Marco Estrada was sent off in the 38th minute.

Uruguay played the first knockout match of the tournament against South Korea. Luis Suarez scored twice for Uruguay and Lee Chung-Yong scored once for South Korea, meaning Uruguay are through to the quarter-finals - the first time a South American team other than Brazil or Argentina made the quarter-finals since Peru in 1978. Kim Jung-Woo, Cha Du-Ri, and Cho Yong-Hyung were all booked.

And then, a Kiwi that doesn't usually watch much soccer proceeded to watch his fiftieth soccer match within just over two weeks: USA versus Ghana. The Black Stars were the first to score through Kevin Prince Boateng early in the match and Landon Donovan answered the goal almost an hour (of actual playing time) later. Ricardo Clark, Steve Cherundolo, and Carlos Bocanegra (all playing for the USA) received bookings, as did Jonathan Mensah and Andre Ayew (both playing for Ghana). The match went to extra time, with Sanwar Gyan bringing Ghana to a 2-1 victory in the 94th minute.

Finally some better discipline!

Cote d'Ivoire played North Korea in what is a first for the tournament - nobody got booked, even after 5 minutes of stoppage time were played after the second half. Three goals were scored, all for Cote d'Ivoire.

Sadly, this good discipline hasn't managed to rub on to the scoreless Brazil v Portugal match that was taking place at that time: there were seven yellow cards, all of them in the first half. Fortunately none of them were already on a yellow from earlier on in the tournament and none of them were booked again.

Later, Switzerland took on Honduras. The score was 0-0 and five cautions were handed out, including one for Wilson Palacios in the 89th minute. Because this was Wilson's second booking of the tournament, he would ordinarily be suspended from his team's next match but Honduras are out of the tournament.

Michael Jackson died one year ago yesterday

But that's not the issue right now, we've got some soccer to take care of! New Zealand is no longer in the running for the World Cup, but their win against Bahrain last year wasn't for nothing because while the 1982 side lost all their games, the 2010 side drew all their games. I bet their sights are now set on a vuvuzela-free tournament in Brazil in four years' time.

But before we go into the details, here's how the defending champions handled Slovakia: they crashed and burned; the score was 3-2 to Slovakia in a match where seven players were booked. Now onto the game against Paraguay: it was a 0-0 draw with three players receiving yellow cards.

A few hours later, Denmark lost 3-1 to Japan and five players in total were booked in that match. Meanwhile, two-time finalists Netherlands took on Cameroon (the only republic in the group) and beat them 2-1 in a match that also had five yellow cards. One unexpected event from the latter is when Rigobert Song came on for Cameroon in the 73rd minute - he's the only person other than Zinedine Zidane who had been red-carded in two different World Cup tournaments.

Vuvuzelas and ill discipline continue to rule the World Cup

Hassan Yebda received the first booking in the Algeria v USA fixture and because he'd already received a yellow card earlier in the tournament, he cannot be in Algeria's next game (provided that the game is taking place within the World Cup). Now remember that if you get booked in any two of your team's first five matches, you can't play in your team's next match if that match is taking place within the current World Cup.

However, Yebda wasn't the only thing going down in the game: the deafening vuvuzelas were in on the action and several goal attempts by the USA were disallowed because the scorer was offside. In the second half, Jozy Altidore, Anther Yahia, Medhi Lacen, and Damarcus Beasley also got booked. Anther Yahia subsequently got red-carded in injury time. The score was 1-0 to USA.

Meanwhile, England were taking on Slovenia in the 38th soccer match I've seen in two weeks. England scored the only goal of the match at the hands of Jermain Defoe. Four players were yellow-carded.

Later, Ghana and Germany started their match with a foul-less 17 minutes. However, there was no misconduct until Andre Ayew was booked in the 40th minute. Thomas Muller was also cautioned a few minutes later. The only goal came from Mesot Oezil who scored for Germany in the 62nd minute.

While Oezil was bringing Germany to victory against Ghana, Australia and Serbia took to the field. The card train arrived faster this time: after 17 minutes of play, Aleksandar Lukovic became the first to receive a yellow card, and four more players were booked in the second half. Tim Cahill, back from a suspension for a straight red card in the match against Germany, scored minutes after Oezil scored his goal and Brett Holman scored a few minutes later. Marko Pantelic scored for Serbia a few minutes after that but it wasn't enough as Australia won 2-1.

Don't cry for me Argentina

Because they're through to the next round after beating Greece 2-0 and only Kostas Katsouranis and Mario Bolatti were cautioned. The gayest moment in the tournament came when manager Diego Maradona kissed two of the Argentine players as they came off the field.

Meanwhile, Nigeria and South Korea did battle. Nigeria was first on the scoreboard with Kalu Uche scoring in the 12th minute. The Nigerian goalie, Vincent Enyeama, got yellow-carded in the 31st minute. His teammate Chinedu Obasi was booked a few minutes later, and the resulting free kick meant that Lee Chung-Soo was able to score an equalizer. Yussuf Ayila was next to be booked, meaning that three Nigerian players had better watch themselves in the second half, in which South Korea took the lead with a goal by Park Chu-Young. Nigeria bounced back after Yakubu Ayegbeni scored, and Kim Nam-Il was booked in the second half.

Third group games underway

We're halfway through the soccer and it's now four days with four soccer matches per day. But I only bring you the results of those games I've watched and here they are.

Since 1986, a rule has existed that each group's last two matches are to be played at the same time - that eliminates any advantage that one team may have in knowing how the penultimate game in their group panned out and realising that they only need to draw their game to advance. They should do this at a rate of four matches a day for all 64 matches so the tournament can go a little faster.

First off, it was two more hosts of previous tournaments: Mexico and Uruguay. The only goal was scored for Uruguay by Luis Suarez, and everyone was well-disciplined with no bookings until Jorge Fucile was cautioned in the 68th minute. Javier Hernandez and Israel Castro also got booked.

Meanwhile, France went up against South Africa. Bongali Khumalo scored the first goal for South Africa, which counted despite controversy that he might have used an arm (parallel to Maradona in 1986). Soon afterward, Yoann Gourcuff (of France) was first on the card train with a straight red, and in the second half, Abou Diabi (also of France) got booked. South Africa won 2-1 in a match that saw several opponents swapping shirts with each other at the end.

BRAZIL BEAT COTE D'IVOIRE!

The score was 3-1 and three of the Ivorian side got booked. Also, Kaka got sent off.

But it's not all about Brazil because Portugal and North Korea were up next in the 30th match of the tounament. Portugal won 7-0 (including an own goal from a North Korean who would probably get shot by Kim Jong-Il) and four players, two from North Korea and two from Portugal, were booked.

Then, it was two nations who have hosted previous World Cups but have not yet managed to win: Switzerland and Chile. The quickest yellow card so far was dished out just over one minute into the game: Humberto Suazo of Chile. There were a total of nine yellow cards shown in the game, and Valom Behrami got red-carded in the 32nd minute. An attempt at goal in the 49th minute was disallowed because three Chilean players were offside but Chile finally scored a goal in the 76th minute and the final scoreline was 1-0 to Chile.

Then, Spain took on Honduras. We are halfway through the World Cup and every match so far has seen the buzzing noise of thousands of vuvuzelas, and at least one of the players getting booked for anything from removal of shirts after scoring goals to a rather undeserved yellow card for not leaving on a stretcher when said stretcher was supposedly required. This match is no exception, with two Hondurans seeing the dreaded yellow card. The score was 2-0 to Spain.

Today is the 24th anniversary of Maradona's Hand of God goal. In case you're not aware of such a thing, Diego Maradona scored a goal with his hand in the Argentina vs England quarterfinal at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City during the 1986 World Cup.

I don't really think it matters if you're black or white...

But if you can play to a good enough standard, then one day you could be selected for the World Cup. And the 22 players on the field in Denmark (the players were mainly white) v Cameroon (the players were mainly black) proved that, especially when Cameroon player Samuel Eto'o scored the first goal in the tenth minute and an equalizer was scored in the 33rd minute by Nicklas Bendtner, but Dennis Rommedahl brought the scorelines to 2-1 for Denmark in the 61st minute. And race doesn't play a part in whether or not you get booked either because two players from each team were shown the yellow card: Sebastien Bassong and Stephane Mbia for Cameroon, and Thomas Sorenson and Simon Kjaer for Denmark.

Afterwards, we moved the focus onto another race: the race for a golden trophy with two green bands at the bottom. The next two teams competing for the cup were Slovakia and Paraguay, who won the match 2-0. And as has happened for the last 26 games, the fixture was not without its bookings; a total of 4 players were booked. If you want to know how low scores can get in soccer, the first goal in the match was only the 50th so far in the whole tournament! Who will score the 100th?

Not the All Whites or Italy! But they played a good game, scoring 1-1. As usual, some players were booked - in this particular match, 3 All Whites, including one of the silliest yellow cards ever: Ryan Nelsen got injured and left the field without the help of a stretcher that was required in his condition.

Vuvuzelas still active, yellow cards still being dished out in each match

Netherlands took on Japan in both teams' second group match. Gregory van der Wiel got the first and only booking in the first half in the match. Wesley Sneijder scored the first and only goal for Netherlands in the second half.

The Soccerroos were next but this time, it's against Ghana. A straight red was issued against an Australian player (again), this time it was Harry Kewell taking the walk after he had committed a "professional foul" when the ball (whose name means "bringing joy to everyone" but it has its critics) just bounced off his chest and his right arm. Of course he pleaded with the ref saying to look at the screen but once the ref shows you the red card, you have to take the walk. But he wasn't the only person on the field to get a card, as several others got booked (including Anthony Annan, who is playing for Ghana and is an old friend with the yellow card). Despite some good attacking work from both teams (the commentators mentioned that both teams were "going for the jugular") in the last 20 minutes, there was one goal apiece.

ONE HUNDRED POSTS TODAY!

But let's not get all excited yet - we've some soccer results to display! First up, we have the match between Germany and Serbia: the final score was 1-0 to Serbia, and Miroslav Klose got the first booking 11 minutes into the clash. Eight more yellow cards followed (the most seen so far), and Klose was red-carded in the 36th minute.

Then it was Slovenia versus the USA; the score was 2-2 with Slovenia scoring both their goals in the first half and the USA answering both in the second half, and 4 Slovenian and 1 American player received yellow cards.

Afterwards, England took on Algeria in a match in which I could hear the football chants associated with European matches and the vuvuzelas associated with South African matches over each other. There were no goals and Jamie Carragher of England got the first yellow card of the match 13 minutes into the second half. The only other booking went to Mehdi Lacen of Algeria in the 85th minute.

I'm fully caught up on the soccer for the time being

And the teams are as undisciplined as ever. We revisit the hosts of the current tournament, South Africa, as they face Uruguay, who hosted the first ever tournament back in 1930. In the first tournament, only four European nations could make it: France, Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Of these, only France has made it this year and Serbia is in the Former Yugoslavia, but at least there are more European teams.

Nicolas Lodeiro couldn't come due to his being sent off in the last match but the noisy vuvuzelas could. Speaking of poor discipline on the field, Steven Pienaar (not related to former Springboks captain Francois Pienaar) was the recipient of the second fastest booking in the current tournament to date, having received a yellow card during the 6th minute. Discipline-wise, several players were cautioned along with one receiving a straight red card. Score-wise, Uruguay won 3-0, endangering South Africa's chances of making it to the Round of 16.

Next up, Argentina took on South Korea; the latter got the first two yellow cards of the match and scored an own goal for which the player responsible risks being shot if South Korea don't make it past the group stage. Argentina won 4-1, and Gonzalo Higuain scored the first hat trick (that's when the same person scores three goals in the same game) of the tournament. A total of 5 players were booked.

Afterwards, Greece took on Nigeria, whose name sounds suspiciously like a racial slur. While the advance-fee fraud didn't quite make it to Bloemfontein, the cards did, and they turned up 4 yellows and a direct red. Greece won 2-1. Then, Mexico beat former champions France 2-0, and the ref had to show the yellow card a whopping six times!

That's 20 games down - that's right, I've watched 20 games of soccer in less than a week and every match has featured at least one booking.

About a ball

The official ball of this World Cup tournament is called Jabulani. In Zulu, the word jabulani means "bringing joy to everyone." But what brought joy to me this afternoon? Good football where Brazil creamed North Korea 2 goals to 1, as expected. And they played a well-disciplined 90 minutes with nobody getting booked until the 88th minute.

After tucking into tonight's episode of The Cleveland Show, I went onto the next course in the second of several all-nighters I'm planning on taking during the month-long soccer-fest they call the World Cup: Honduras and Chile taking to the pitch. The quickest booking so far took place in this match, with Carlos Carmona getting yellow-carded 4 minutes into the first half. Matias Fernandez followed suit within 15 minutes. Then, Wilson Palacios was booked for "a series of offences" one minute before Chile scored the first goal. No goals or bookings took place in the second half and as such, Chile won 1-0.

The final two countries were next: Spain and Switzerland. The score was 1-0 in Switzerland's favour, but Swiss players copped all 4 of the yellow cards dished out over the course of the game.

So there we have it: all 32 nations have played at least one game, and all 7 countries to have ever won a World Cup were among the 32. And not a single match was without at least one booking or the controversial buzz of the vuvuzelas.

I think Winston Reid deserved that booking...

If you are playing in one of the World Cup teams, then you'd better be taking this in: the disciplinary record of all the teams playing is quite appalling in that no match has been played so far without at least one player being booked. In addition, four players have already been red-carded and in addition to their team having to play the rest of the 90 minutes a man down, the red-carded player also has to sit out the next match. Also, if the same player gets booked in two different matches within the same half of the tournament, the player has to sit out his team's next game but only if the next match is taking place within the same tournament. I don't mind the vuvuzelas, but you need to clean your team out with a Karcher, especially if one of the players on your team has already been booked or sent off.

New Zealand drew 1-1 against Slovakia. There were 3 bookings, including one from when Winston Reid removed his shirt after scoring for the All Whites in injury time. I think when someone's doing that, they're a big show-off and they need to be put in their place, and a yellow or red card will do just that. Or maybe they should also disallow the goal, which was what the ref should have done with Maradona's "Hand of God" goal.

Then, it was Cote d'Ivoire (previously known as Ivory Coast) versus Portugal. Three yellow cards were issued (all in the first half), and the match ended with no goals being scored.

I'm staying neutral on the whole vuvuzela issue

Some like the loud buzzing noise of the long plastic horns and some go so far as to watch the games with the sound turned off. FIFA president Sepp Blatter is deciding not to Karcher them because the vuvuzela has become an ingrained part of South African football culture and it didn't make much sense to "Europeanise an African World Cup". I think the vuvuzela gives a distinctive character to soccer matches in that part of the world, and you don't have to be from South Africa to get a vuvuzela in your team's colours and blow it during your team's games.

Our first game against Slovakia is mighty close but in the meantime, I was able to take down the following from a few more games. First on the list was two rather progressive monarchies: Netherlands, who made it to the final in 1974 and 1978 but lost both to the host nation, and Denmark, whose flag is similar to the design on Serbia's kit. As usual, several players were cautioned over the course of the game. Daniel Agger (who is playing for Denmark) scored the first own goal of the tournament. Netherlands won the match 2-0, but I'm now more worried about Agger's life though because of what happened to Andres Escobar, a Colombian defender who was fatally shot 10 days after scoring an own goal during the 1994 tournament.

In the tenth soccer game I've watched in the space of less than 72 hours, Japan and Cameroon were on the pitch. Neither team, according to the commentators, was in the best form but Keisuke Honda scored the only goal in the match for Japan in the 39th minute, making this their first World Cup win away from home soil, and it was also the first time Cameroon was defeated in a World Cup opening match. As usual, there were yellow cards dished out including one in injury time.

Then, defending champions Italy took on Paraguay. The final score was 1-1 and the dreaded yellow card was shown twice in the second half.

I'm really dreading the whipping the All Whites are likely to receive tomorrow, especially because we had three difficult opponents back in 1982 and we have three almost-as-difficult opponents this time.

The teams playing in the World Cup are so undisciplined!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL PLAYERS: What goes on tour doesn't necessarily stay on tour - especially when I'm here to document the action. So be careful on the field or you could be shamed in my next post!

So far, not a single match has been played in the World Cup without at least one player getting booked, and already, Tim Cahill of Australia has been given a straight red card and three more players have been sent off after two cautions in the same game - Nicolas Lodeiro from Uruguay, Abelkader Ghezzal from Algeria, and Aleksandar Lukovic from Serbia. This World Cup is turning out to be just like four years ago in Germany when there were several discipline problems even when you take Zidane's share of the cards out of the equation.

Although South Africa wasn't playing, the deafening vuvuzelas still were. But enough about those eardrum-bursters.

One of today's matches was between Algeria and Slovenia. The first to get booked was Slovenian player Aleksandar Radosavljevic who pushed an Algerian player in the back during a tackle in the 35th minute. The next entry in the ref's notebook was Algerian substitute Abelkader Ghezzal who tugged on a Slovenian player's shirt in a tackle shortly after he came on in the 59th minute. He deliberately handballed in the 73rd minute and was sent off (unlike that filthy Maradona when the goal counted in 1986). Komac (playing for Slovenia) and Yebda (playing for Algeria) got booked in injury time. Although there were bookings, there were no goals for either team until Slovenian skipper Robert Koren scored in the 79th minute. Final score was 1-0 to Slovenia and it was their first ever win during a World Cup game.

Another Former Yugoslavia - Africa pair was found later in Serbia (whose shirts look like the Danish flag despite the fact that many Serbians are Orthodox and many Danes are Protestant but then again both denominations broke communion with the Catholic Church) and Ghana. The game was not without several bookings, and again, the red card was shown. Ghana scored the only goal in the match after a penalty for a handball in the 84th minute, which also resulted in a yellow card for one of Serbia's eleven.

Next up, the Soccerroos took on Germany, who hosted the last competition in 2006. Lukas Podolski is the quickest scorer so far, having scored a goal in the eighth minute of the first half. Germany also got the first booking when Mesot Oezil dived three minutes later. Next in the book was Soccerroo Craig Moore, who protested a free kick given against him for a handball in the 21st minute, for which I believe the referee should have just yellow-carded in the first place. Tim Cahill, playing for the Soccerroos, got the first straight red card of the tournament during a tackle in the 56th minute. But that wasn't the end of the card trail for that match, for which the final score was 4-0, the most goals I've seen so far. Being a Kiwi, I definitely enjoyed watching Australia being humiliated by three-time champions and two-time hosts Germany and I can't wait for the All Whites to cream Slovakia.

But it's not just the soccer that I have to call to attention. The commentators mentioned that Brazil's first game was against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea when just North Korea would have sufficed. I would not have referred to North Korea as democratic when it clearly isn't. And why is North Korea even playing in the World Cup? I know it's wrong to mix sport with politics, but FIFA should have just Karcherized Kim Jong-Il's regime and enforced an agreement similar to the Gleneagles agreement which was used by the British Commonwealth against South Africa during the apartheid era.

Longest post so far?

I watched a few more World Cup games last night. I am recording every game to MY SKY during the World Cup and then watching them as I get to them. Because the games are being aired in High Definition, three games each night would take up over one quarter of the MY SKY hard disk's space. So in addition to what I already have recording each week, I am having to set myself a rather punishing sleep schedule (some nights will entail no sleep at all) if I want there to be enough space for the next day's programmes and still have time for classes at polytech and all the other stuff that I do during the daytime (oh, and the soccer games are watched first because they take up the most space).

Uruguay and France both failed to score, even after Lodeiro (playing for Uruguay) got red-carded in the 81st minute. There were also quite a few yellow cards dished out throughout the course of the game.

The score for the game between Korea Republic (South Korea) and Greece was 2-0 to Korea Republic at full time. The teams were better disciplined and the ref didn't need to show any cards until Torosidis (playing for Greece) was booked in the 56th minute, possibly for stamping on a Korean player he caused to fall.

Argentina (who was coached by Diego Handball Maradona - and yes, his handball incident back in '86 was referred to by the commentators) and Nigeria were next and the score was 1-0 to Argentina at full time. Yellow cards have also been shown here.

And tonight, I watched a game between two previous hosts: England (hosted in 1966) versus USA (hosted in 1994). The game ended in a tie, each team scored just one goal. Several England players were booked throughout the whole match and the USA made a substitute five seconds before the ref blew the whistle.

And if you're wondering about the buzzing noise in the background during the games, those are long horns called vuvuzelas that the spectators blow at football matches in South Africa. Those things are even louder if you're actually in the stadium, and they get louder and louder as the game progresses, so if you're going to a soccer match over there, you might want to pack some earplugs unless you plan on becoming deaf. Or maybe bring your own vuvuzela if you want to join in the somewhat irritating noise.

Results of matches I've watched so far:

I'm just going to record all the World Cup matches on MY SKY and watch them as they show up. So far, I've only watched the first match between South Africa and Mexico, and the score was 1-1 and two yellow cards were shown to South African players who had engaged in incidents involving an opponent falling.

Temporary format change coming tomorrow

Instead of our usual thing, I will bring you the results of all the World Cup games that took place that day, along with any incidents of foul play that resulted in a yellow or red card.

And so the perceived hatred and ignorance continues...

In our early days, I'd be bringing you my take on the billboards of Dunedin. In hope of success as a blogger, the world news became a stronger target over time. I am returning to our roots today by bringing to attention a swastika pattern I found in the entrance to a wine shop in Lower Stuart Street today. I have no problem with the symbol being displayed in a proper religious context, but the swastika (also known as a Hakenkreuz) also carries an anti-Semitist meaning. It conveys hatred towards the Jewish people, and has already been banned in several countries in Europe. I understand if the building in question was constructed before Hitler's rise to power, but even though over 60 years have passed, followers of Judaism are still not over the Holocaust.

Never ever trust a Filipino politician

I'm not being racist or anything but the new president of the Philippines, Noynoy Aquino, is a definite no-no (sorry about the pun) because he promised to quit smoking if he won the election but then re-neged on the promise, saying he would continue to smoke even on World Smokefree Day. Now that that huckalero has won the election, he should get a Karcher onto that filthy habit because it's not just killing him but anybody that breathes in his second-hand smoke. The world does not need that poison just like Rastas don't need marijuana to live a happy life - personally, I think a stint in the slammer will sort those weed-heads out.

It's a start but it's not enough

Seven ex-employees of Union Carbide have just been jailed for two years for criminal negligence in relation to their role in the Bhopal disaster in 1984. I don't think it's enough when you take into account the fact that some of the effects of the gas leak are still present over 25 years later (especially in water that some residents depend on) and there were thousands of deaths in relation to the incident. Union Carbide should be fined a crippling sum of money for their negligence in relation to the disaster.

5 days until the World Cup...

And yes, even the All Whites are in South Africa as we speak (or type :).) I hope nobody scores a goal with their hand or headbutts an opponent this time round.

Still nothing to write about

Except for maybe how slow this weekend has been.

Nothing to write about

Unless you count this statement :)

OH MY GOD THEY ATE PUKE AGAIN!

Today, I saw the episode of South Park where Cartman went to fat camp. Meanwhile, Kenny swallowed a manatee spleen, and in the next scene, Kenny puked it out and was offered money to eat it. Eating puke is disgusting, especially considering the reasons why one pukes. Your brain's vomiting centre is your friend and it tells your stomach to get rid of partially-digested food if there's too much or if it has germs, and if you eat puke, it just defeats the whole purpose.

WHAT IS THE POINT?

Right now, I'm watching a documentary called My Big Breasts and Me. What goes on is that several British women with big breasts want to make them smaller. I don't see the point in breast reduction when men find breasts sexy. One thing I like in women is the breast size (see, told you I'm not gay.) Personally, I don't care if they're implants, but just don't make them smaller because then you'll become a big turn-off when it comes to men. But, if that's what you want, go ahead but don't come crying to me when every other man in town decides not to go out with you and your smaller breasts.

I have had it with Japan's Prime Ministers resigning every September!

Ever since Junichiro Koizumi resigned as Prime Minister of Japan in September 2006, there has been a new guy holding the post every September: first there was Shinzo Abe, then Yasuo Fukuda, then Taro Aso, and now Yukio Hatoyama has resigned three months early! The Japanese political system at the moment is way too unstable and Emperor Akihito should do something about it.

Winter is icumen in

Lhude sing Goddamm.
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.

Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.

Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
So 'gainst the winter's balm.

Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm.
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.