Racism: Why it cannot be the 23rd player on the pitch

When is the footballing world going to understand that racism is a cowards way of extinguishing a frutrated mood. For years now, black people have worked hard to gain equality in social circles around the world and breaking the social boundaries that existed amongst our ancestors.

And rightly so.

If you actually think about it, why on earth does the colour of a man's skin matter? What on earth possessed the world to even deliver such outrageous statements? For instance, in Barack Obama, the United States of America has elected it's first black president in history.The first in 223 years. Why has it taken so long?

Although the vast majority across the globe have now forgotten these aged, atrocious ways of inequality among races, it seems football is a sport that is still learning to walk in the metaphorical sense of juvenility.

My thoughts were, that with the campaign's "Let's kick Racism out of Football" and "Stand Up. Speak Up. joined with a bright, positive, social atmosphere, that this sort of execrable behaviour had been driven away, but it seems to have drifted back onto the horizon in recent weeks.
   The stories of John Terry and the freshly erupted volcano that is Suarez versus Evra, have only fuelled the idea that these overpaid, arrogant, cant-get-down-off-their-high-horses footballers, need a preverbial slap round the ear.

I have no particular favoured personnel in either of these cases, but know that the media only want to sensationalise these occurences with speedy assumptions over who allegedly said what and how they allegedly said it. I will always stand by my claim that the word 'allegedly' is a terrible word to use when writing or reading news stories. For me, the word 'allegedly' roughly translates as; "We are not sure what happened or what was said, but we need to jump on the bandwagon, or we risk feeling left out."

When reading about the Suarez/Evra scenario, it cropped up that Suarez responded to the claims that he did use a word to insult Evra, but the word in particular isn't deemed to be offensive in his homeland of Uruguay.

And?

Players have to realise that whenever they emigrate, move home or even simply change jobs, that there are new rules and new boundaries in place. It is illegal in some states of America and Australia to wed a gay couple. Would you ever find someone who broke that law plead their innocence by claiming it's ok at home? That just doesnt cut it for me I'm afraid.

Yes maybe John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy and put on Trial. Yes maybe Luis Suarez was slammed by an eight match ban. But did you see Suarez unhappy or suffering? He still cheered from the stands when Liverpool won. He was still getting his £100,000 a week wages.




Remarkably, even when he returned, notably against Manchester United, he refused Evra's handshake in the games opening exchanges. And for what?

We seriously need to start imposing more serious punishments, harsher consequences on those who want to muddy the somewhat clear waters with their handheld verbal dictionary of obscenities.

Don't You Cry No More

As I promised, we have another major character taking his place in the supernatural hall of fame. He is now one of American television's most beloved charcters and has earned his place in our hearts. Step forward, Castiel.

 I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition.

 

Castiel first appeared on our screens in the first episode of Season 4, Lazarus Rising. Castiel is an angel, a servant of heaven. Many angels laid siege to Hell to rescue Dean, but it was Castiel who ultimately pulled Dean out of the pit. According to Castiel, he did so "because God commanded it". His hand print was burned into Dean's left shoulder. 

All angels must take on a 'vessel' to manifest on earth, and Castiel has taken Jimmy Novak, as his vessel. Castiel and a group of other angels arrive on earth with the knowledge that a demon army are attempting to break the 66 Seals. Each Seal is said to be a kind of lock to the door of Lucifer's Cage. If 66 seals are broken, Lucifer walks free, and will set about bringing the Apocalypse with him.

Over time, Castiel develops an empathy for the Winchesters, in particular Dean. Castiel begins to question his beliefs and goes against Heaven, ultimately taking the side of humanity.

After Sam sacrifices himself to defeat Lucifer, Castiel set about to rescue Sam from the Cage, but returned without his soul. In an attempt to stop Archangel Raphael from restarting the Apocalypse, Castiel is tempted into an agreement/partnership with the demon, Crowley - a deal that they will both find a way to releasing the souls of Purgatory. This results in Castiel becoming very distanced from the Winchesters, as he hides his secret partnership.

 After he takes in the souls of Purgatory alone, Castiel kills Raphael and demands that Crowley leave. But not before declaring to the Winchesters and Bobby that he is now 'the new God', and that they should bow before him. Taking in the souls and creatures from Purgatory, Cas becomes aware that he has taken in one of God's first creations - monsters called Leviathans. Castiel sets out to smite all those hypocritical and evil people who do wrong in God's name, not realising he is under the influence of the Leviathans. The power becomes too much, and Cas tries to return the souls to Purgatory in an attempt to redeem himself and apologise to the Winchesters.

The Leviathans had other plans.

They cling on inside the vessel, and take over. As Castiel deteriorates, the Leviathans march the vessel into a reservoir and drown the former angel. His trademark trenchcoat washes up on shore, and Dean takes it with him.

 

 Although Castiel hasn't appeared in Supernatural for the last 10 episodes, there is news that he will return from 'death' in coming weeks. Incase you have let yourself and every Supernatural lover down, catch up with a few facts about Cas.

On one occasion, Castiel describes his true angelic form as a "multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent". On another, he says that is true form the size of the Chrysler Building in New York, which is 1047 feet (319 m) in height.

Looking on Castiel's true form will burn out a human's eyes, as Pamela Barnes found when she tried to summon him in a seance.

Castiel is able to teleport himself, and occasionally others, through space and even time. One occurence of this is when he sends Dean back to 1973 to try and save his mother, Mary Winchester, before she cements her demon deal - the deal which ultimately leads to her death.

Our Angelic friend possess a high knowledge of lore and occult objects, including Enochian symbols and even the structure and defense systems of Hell. However, he does come up short in the department of human emotions, customs and behaviours.

Castiel was cut off from Heaven when he helped Dean escape from a fiery angel named Zacariah, meaning he lost a few powers and thus, became unable to heal an injured Bobby. After banishing himself and other angels via the use of an Enochian symbol, Castiel appears virtually mortal by the end of Season 5.

Castiel has been killed twice. Firstly by Raphael and secondly by Lucifer. Both times Castiel was ressurected. He thinks God brought him back, 'new and improved'.

Castiel is said to have existed before Humanity was even a thought. He is, as of 2011, presumed dead.

Lay Your Weary Head To Rest...

Supernatural.

The show made famous by two over- masculine brothers who have ladies throwing themselves at their feet. But Sam and Dean also need their friends.

It's the people that the Winchesters have known that have helped them through the difficult times. One of those is this weeks guest.

Pamela Barnes.

I invoke, conjure, and command... Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy.

Pamela appears for the first time in Season 4 Episode 1, Lazarus Rising. In this Episode, Dean has been dead for a mumber of months following his decent into hell at the end of Season 3.

When Dean miraculously wakes from his 'death', he stumbles upon an empty gas station and discovers a large handprint, burned into his shoulder. When he asks out loud for what's going on, a high frequency ringing sound greets him, destroying the windows of the gas station. When he finally arrives back at Bobby's, the bearded hunter tells Dean he knows of a psychic who could help.

Pamela Barnes is the psychic who says she can contact, via séance, whatever creature has brought Dean back and what has etched his skin. Of course, that particular character is going to be saved for later!

The 'spirit' insists that Pamela stop searching for his face during the séance, or she faces danger. Pamela insists she "doesn't scare that easy", thus resulting in the 'spirit' using the high frequency ring followed by burning out her eyes, shown below.




Pamela reappears in Season 5 Episode 15, Death Takes A Holiday, donning her plain white, glass eyeballs. She is sought out by Sam and Dean when they need her to recite an incantation which allows them to 'die' and roam the spirit world to search for a Reaper which has been kidnapped. Before Sam and Dean can return, a demon fatally wounds Pamela by stabbing her in the stomach. She dies there and then, but not before telling the brothers that Bobby Singer should go to Hell for ever introducing her to them.

• Pamela is an old friend of Bobby's and is a very powerful psychic.

• She has a tattoo on the base of her back that reads "Jesse Forever". It wasn't forever, and it seems like Jesse's loss could be Dean's gain. Or so Pamela says...

• She has a tendancy to flirt uncontrollably with Sam and Dean, and comments repeatedly on the firmness of Sam's ass.

• After she dies, Pamela arrives in Heaven. She is a part of her 'happy memories' and resides in a bar with another side character Ash.

Tune in on Sunday for a major character!

There'll Be Peace When You Are Done

Supernatural has rolled into the station slightly later due to the weekend's festivities. I hope you all enjoyed your turkey, mulled wine and presents!

But to a more pressing matter.

This week, I have chosen to recall a monster.

Everybody, meet... A Wraith.

"Oh, you mean like an angel on your shoulder?"

"No no. His name’s Castiel. He wears a trench coat."

The Wraith first appeared in Season 5 Episode 11, Sam Interrupted. Sam and Dean are contacted by a former hunter, who now resides in a mental asylum. The two brothers get themselves 'checked in' to investigate a spate of deaths, presumably suicides.

A Wraith is the monster at the heart of the trouble.

Wraiths are human-like creatures whose true form and nature - including that of their sagging and decayed flesh - can only be seen in reflections. They appear to be human in all ways, with the exception of the sheathe spike that protrudes from their wrist, enabling them to feed on their victims.

According the the former hunter, a man named Martin Creaser, the Wraith has picked up its trail in the hospital as it is easier to go undetected when surrounded by the insane, and also because, and I quote "the chemicals that flood our brains are apparently delicious".

Wraiths have the ability to alter a persons perceptions with just a touch, resulting in hallucinations and emotional imbalance. However, in terms of Supernatural ghosts and ghouls, the Wraith is quite easy to kill, provided you can identify it! Using a mirror can come in handy, as it's true image will be reflected.

Piercing a Wraith through the heart with silver will send it on its merry way.

In Season 6 Episode 19, Mommy Dearest, Dean comes across a hybrid: a Wraith twinned with a vampire. Dean dubs the creation as a Jefferson Starship.

The definition of a Wraith is thus:

"A Scottish word, first used in English in 1513. A Wraith is an apparition, vision, or double of another living person. Its appearance is commonly seen as an omen that the person being doubled is about to die."

Tune in next Sunday for another insight into the world of Supernatural!

Carry On My Wayward Son

 

Ghosts are real. So are angels and demons and even the bogeyman.

Maybe not to some of you, but to Sam and Dean Winchester,  it's all they know. As it nears the halfway point of the seventh series, television show Supernatural leaves me breathless and wanting more after every episode. This fact only makes it fitting that I discuss with all of you lovely people, such a colossal story.

Every week, I will post about a character, monster, episode, location or a general witty occurrence from the seasons that have gone by.

We start with one of the stars of the show; Dean Winchester.

"My name is Dean Winchester. I'm an Aquarius. I like sunsets, long walks on the beach and frisky women."




When Season One begins, Dean is 26, while younger brother Sam is 22. An expert with fire-arms, Dean prefers to use his silver-plated Colt 1911 pistol or his home-made, sawn-off shotgun. Raised as a soldier by his father John, Dean possesses a strong nature in use of martial arts and knife fighting, often subduing assailants and attackers with ease, when they are more often than not, a lot stronger.

Dean lives his life hunting, scouring bars for women, loving his car - a 1967 Chevrolet Impala - and doing what fans love him best for: his awesomely funny quotes.

Possessing an in-depth knowledge in escapology, Dean can find a way out of a room with no doors. With a aged, wooden box stuffed with fake I.D's and police badges, drowning in old grains of rock salt, Dean has the ability and arrogance to pull a very convincing act out of the bag, often posing as an F.B.I agent or governmental official to gain information.

 

• Dean is a talented mechanic, meaning the Impala is always in tip-top condition.

• The pendant that Dean wears around his neck was a gift from Sam, originally meant to be a Christmas gift for John. But when John didn't return for Christmas, Sam gave it to Dean. 

• Dean has died repeatedly throughout the first six seasons of Supernatural, and has been to both Heaven and Hell

• The pendant is also angelic; burning hot to help locate God on Earth.

• Dean is in love with mullet-style rock music. His favourite band is Led Zeppelin.

• The most insatiable craving in Dean's life is that of bacon cheeseburgers.

• Dean is noted for being one for witty remarks and quotes, with some of my favourites below:

"Dude, where's the pie"?

"Is it 'cause we're so awesome? I think it's 'cause we're so awesome."

"I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot."

"What do you want me to do, Sam, huh? Sit around all day writing sad poems about how I’m going to die? You know what, I’ve got one. Let’s see, what rhymes with "Shut up, Sam"?

What do you do when you can live forever?

 Andrew Niccol, director of The Truman Show, shows us the world where time really is money.

Justin Timberlake takes the starring role as Will Salas, a factory worker living in an alternative reality, where human beings, for some unexplained reason, cease to age beyond their 25th year.

In Time is the tale of how everyday is a struggle for the poor, whilst the rich hold the world in the hands. Or on their wrists in this case. Everybody dons a digital clock showing the remaining time alive from years, down to their very last second. By working, they can top up the internal body clock, which when reaches zero, causes them to drop dead.



Salas spends his life living day to day with just hours, sometimes minutes remaining on his clock. But his life is turned upside down when he bequethes a century from a suicidal tycoon.

On the run from the police force, aptly named the 'time keepers', Salas decides it's time to bring down the system after being put on the most wanted list for the murder of the initial owner of his new inheriatnce.

Befriending a powerful banker, Phillipe Weis, Salas seizes an opportunity by running off with the bankers rebellious daughter, Sylvia.

The pair embark on a Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood-style crime spree, in which they steal time and deliver it to the poorer inhabitants of 'The Ghetto'.

A production which really gives hope to those who 'negotiate for immortality', Im Time is a film that portrays a great idea (although thought of before), and really delivers.

Under construction

The Day that the Wind showed us who was Boss...

Weather.

Our entire lives seem to depend on it. "We can't go to the beach because it's going to rain..." The weather has it's own form of innate intelligence too.

It flashes rays of sunshine through our windows, leaving streams of light (or in our case, a small, solitary square on the kitchen floor), lulling you into a false sense of security. It is our own fault. We see this sunlight and immediately fall into a falsely created sense of jubilancy, prompting us to trade our jeans and cardigans for shorts and flip-flops.

Big Mistake. This is what happened to Stacie and I when we decided to take a day trip to Ashbourne in Derbyshire. A town fabled for its quaint, Victorian style buildings, most of which are dealers of some quite impressive antiques, and also home to Carsington Water, a lake boasting an eight mile circumference.

However, the weather used all of its astuteness, and blew a force ten gale as we strolled the pathway alongside the sailing and boating docks on the edge of the lake, resulting in a few wayward frisbee throws and watery eyes.

After we had both just been through one of those awful working weeks, an enchanting afternoon was topped off with a meal at a farmhouse, a farmhouse whose cows were very interested in our arrival.

My Curious Damsel wanted to finish of the day with her first outfit post, Blushing at Dusk, which can be viewed via these links.

Oh, and I bought a fancy hat.

Ground breaking or ditchable?

A film with one actor and one location. A film made with 14 planks of wood and seven camera angles.

Buried, a film I have wanted to see since September last year, and I was left feeling slightly let down. Ryan Reynolds plays the part of Paul Conroy, a contract truck driver working in Iraq. After being ambushed by locals, Paul wakes to find himself inside a wooden box, buried in the Iraqi desert.

As he searches his uncomfortable new surroundings, Paul discovers he has a lighter, a torch, a mobile phone and a flask of spirit in his possession. As the story goes on, you begin to get to know the people Paul talks with on the phone, including the Iraqi rebels who are demanding a huge ransom for his release, an American Terrorist worker with Simon Cowell's accent and the manager of Paul's company, who inevitably turns out to be the biggest fool in existance.

The most fascinating aspect of this film is that it never, I repeat NEVER leaves the coffin. A lot happens and there are other actors, however, they are limited to voice acting. This gives the viewer the opportunity to get stuck in the box along with Paul, and gives a great edge to the film.

On top of that, the fear, rage and pure annoyance you feel due to the lack of helpfulness and generally ignorant personalities of those who Paul contacts using the phone is brilliantly crafted.

Upon the conclusion, which I won't give away for those who haven't  seen the film, I was left with a familiar feeling of not really knowing whether I enjoyed the film or not. There will be many critics who slate this film, but it should be noted that films like this are trying to take their place amongst Hollywood's elite.

I would say that Buried is defiently worth the watch, but I am unsure if I would watch it again. All round, good film, but it may be the twists and suprises that make it.

Thumbs up: 6.5/10

Believe the Legend. Beware the Wolf.

"Oh Grandma, what big eyes you have!"

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood; a story that has had many different interpretations in years gone by. The wolf has eaten the grandmother, the woodsman has saved both Red and her grandparent. The list of endings and versions goes on.

But the latest version, a film directed by Catherine Hardwick, the woman behind Twilight, is a slightly darker and more intense version than anyone has seen before. For those of you who like suspense, then this is well worth the watch!

The storyline remains somewhat similar to what we have all grown up to listening to, but with a twist. The village of Daggerhorn is plagued by the visits from a wolf who is feeding on the residents. No one has seen it. No one has heard it. No one can stop it.

Valerie displaying her red cloak, is in love with a woodsman, Peter. But their ambitions to leave Daggerhorn are interrupted by the wolf's intentions of tearing the village apart.

Hope arrives when a reputable werewolf hunter arrives to let the villagers know that the wolf is a human. An inhabitant of the village. But as they suggest and suspect everyone, it leaves the audience unsure about who the wolf could be.


The art direction takes a Twilight-esque turn with distant shots of the snow-covered mountains, abstract viewpoints of Valerie in the red cloack on a white backdrop and a slow, yet vigorous soundtrack.

Suprises are in store, and a few gasps and shrieks are sure to be heard. Red Riding Hood is an exciting and intense fairytale adjusted for the 21st Century.

Top Drawer: 7/10