In my usual unimaginative fashion, I thought I would steal an idea from Jon Mac's blog and have my own 'saint of the week', only limiting it at the moment to footballers. I had thought about having a 'Classics Scholar of the week' and even a 'Classics Babe of the week', but I knew the former would pretty much be limited to the lecturers at St. Andrews, and as for the latter, well, lets be honest, there aren't many of those (except Alice Koenig). For this week I would like to have 3 Players of the week, each of who, for one reason or another, has made an immense contribution to world football over the past few weeks.
Player 1: Steven Gerrard
In my opinion, Steven Gerrard is the best midfielder in the world at the moment, bar none. I don't think his skill and ability to completely change the course of a match in a split second can be underestimated. We saw it in the 2005 Champions' League final, when he pretty much single handedly lifted an average Liverpool side from complete collapse to defeat A.C. Milan, Shevchenko and all. If Rooney isn't playing in this year's world cup, I certainly think that Gerrard is the man that can make it happen for England
Player 2: Samuel Eto'o
I have been able to watch Eto'o a bit this year in the Champions League and the Spanish League, and I definitely think the hype that has surrounded him is well deserved. He is extremely quick, makes brilliant runs, and is simply extremely hard to defend against. He almost scored a beauty of a goal on Wednesday by cleverly turning past the Arsenal defender, and his shot was only just turned onto the post by Almunia. He is the type of player who I think could light up the Premiership.
Player 3: Thierry Henry
Signed a new 4 year contract with Arsenal today which is great news for the Premiership and for Arsenal. Perhaps missed a few chances in the Champions' League final which he ordinarily would have taken, but he worked his socks of, and in my opinion played better than Ronaldinho. One of the best forwards in the world- there is just noone quite like him.
Looking for a good way to keep alert during exam revision without getting that groggy feeling that comes with coffee? Drink green tea! It contains caffeine, which gives you that extra kick when you need it, but it is also really really good for you. It has been scientifically proven to help fight against such things as:
cancer
rheumatoid arthritis
high cholesterol levels
heart disease
infection
impaired immune function
It is also potentially effective in preventing tooth decay and even helping with weight loss. I was also told on good authority (from a chinese woman) that it is a really good thing to drink after eating a greasy meal, because it cleanses your body of all those nasty toxins. Apparently, the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is considerably lower than in the west because of the amount of green tea they drink, despite the fact that 75% of them are smokers! Basically, you can't go wrong!
I thought I would take the opportunity during the time when I should be revising for my exams to update my blog a little. I guess I would firstly like to thank Jon MacKenzie for mentioning me several times on his blog. I should also say that it is purely coincidental if my blog's format and content bears a striking resemblance to his. For the record, I bet John Calvin had a brilliant command of the Latin language, and I would certainly never say anything bad about him, at least in Jon's presence.
A few things I have been thinking about recently, in no particular order:
A group of us had a discussion in the pub the other night concerning the merits of reading simply for the pleasure of it. I stated my belief that I would never read a book simply because it was enjoyable or a 'page-turner', unless it had some intellectual merit. This consequently led onto a debate on whether the main aim of the Hellenistic poets of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., i.e. Theocritus, Callimachus, Apollonius etc., was a display of their erudition, and how much this factored into the enjoyment of their poetry by those who heard it. A very pedantic discussion, but also very challenging. I still stand by my claim that I would never read a book like the Da Vinci Code. Please leave your comments on any of these points if you feel so led.
I have for a while now been convicted of the fact that the intensity with which the study of the Classics is pursued in today's schools and universities has diminished considerably from what it was. In a(nother) discussion the other day after dinner, Jon and I were talking about how J.R.R. Tolkien was fluent in both Latin and Greek- not just reading it but speaking it as well! I feel very strongly that classicists now adays are not reaching the standard that they should be.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is an absolute idiot and should be strung up
Got to watch Prime Minister's Questions live today for the first time this semester so far. It was absolutely fantastic, very entertaining, and I think David Cameron probably did quite well. The analysts on the Daily Politics said that Tony Blair did not seem to demonstrate his usual confidence and arrogance, and that it was almost as though he didn't even try and act as if it hadn't been a disastrous week or so for Labour. He certainly didn't answer any of Cameron's questions about the leadership handover, sticking mostly to issues of policy, although there is nothing new there. I still think Blair was quite strong, and his rhetoric brilliance was, in my opinion, as strong as ever today. They say 15-20 months until he resigns. We shall have to wait and see.
Last night at the Free Church Bible study, after Alasdair had asked if there were any prayer requests.....
Alix Allen: I need to raise £5,000 by September Jon MacKenzie: What, you have to pay him* to marry you?!
*him being Rich McCallum. For the record, Alix needs to raise the money for her internship in London next year. I'm sure she would appreciate any donations or fund-raising ideas.
.........England's chance of winning the World Cup that is
So much one could say, where do you start? The thing that every England fan has been dreading since thoughts of this summer's World Cup began to enter our minds has actually happened. Part of me thinks that it was bound to happen, knowing England's luck. The consequences for our chances in the competition could be devastating, despite the fact that the side has so many other top-drawer players. Rooney, however, is the spark. He is the key. His ability to perform on the big stage sets him apart from any other player his age, and most in the world. Let's just hope that, somehow, that determination and strength he demonstrates on the pitch week in and week out will be transfered into a mental toughness that will get him on the road to a quick recovery (hopefully somewhat less than 6 weeks).....
