Tag: England

I’m an adult: this means I’m better than you.

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respect
As an adolescent I find myself continually being treated like a ‘kid.’ I’m 17, I can drive, make my own decisions, and yes I can dress myself. Yet to some adults they still feel that they are entitled to belittle and undermine me, all because of my age.

I’m independently applying for college and planning my life, an important future decision, yet according to some this is just not enough. I’m beginning to wonder when I will be respected as an adult.

In my eyes I reached my adulthood and gained my independence many years ago, but this is not the case in California. In England, at the age of 16 you are seen as an adult being charged higher fares. I guess age means different things in different countries and cultures. It seems that  in America you reach adulthood at the age of 18.

Some people still believe that with age comes great wisdom, but in my eyes I’m pretty wise already. I guess I will only find out these things with age, but for now I shall just enjoy being a teenager and hope for a little more respect.

 

The Wombats.

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The wombats
We all need some good songs to sing and dance along to, on occasion, and The Wombats provide just this.

Formed in Liverpool, England in 2003 the Indie Pop band provides music that is quirky and brilliant. With lyrics that are strong and fun the band really can do no wrong. Each song is easy to relate to as they use everyday things to describe their feelings and emotions.

With lyrics such as, “Carrots help us see much better in the dark. Don’t talk to girls; they’ll break your heart,” there is no way a band like this can go wrong.

Releasing the first album “The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation,” globally in 2007 the album was a great success coming 11th in the UK album charts. The album was full of great songs that individually did very well in the charts.

In 2010 the band were back releasing new singles such as “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves).” Then in 2011 the group followed on with the album “The Wombats Proudly Present…This Modern Glitch.” The new album has a more grown up sounds in comparison to the first album, involving different sounds. In no way does this make it worse, in fact many argue that it was better coming 3rd in the UK album chart.

So if you feel like you have energy to burn and want to listen to some fun, individual music you should definitely listen to The Wombats.

19

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The number 19 is not considered special by most people. It doesn’t get the glory of 10 or hold the importance of 100. But on Saturday, May 14th of 2011, the number 19 got a little credit.

Manchester United won their 19th league title this past Saturday. To most people, that does not seem to be a good enough reason to shave the number in to your chest hair, but for Manchester United star striker Wayne Rooney (pictured above) it was a great reason.

This league title now gives Manchester United the most league titles of any English club. Again this may not seem like a huge deal. But looking back it is a huge deal.

Before the 1992-93 season, United only had 7 league titles. This was not bad but compared to Liverpool’s 18 titles, it was quite small. But in only 19 seasons, United won 12 of their now 19. That is simply incredible.

With this new title United can now surpass their arch nemesis Liverpool as far as the most dominant team in history. All of the last 12 titles have come from Sir Alex Ferguson who took over a struggling team.

United had not won a title since the 1966-67 season. During that time they had been relegated and had lost much of their prestige. But Fergie changed all of that. During his reign, United have won many accolades including the Treble, the only team to have ever accomplished the feat.

Fergie should be credited with much of the rebuilding that has happened. He took over in 1988, taking over a club that was on the verge of relegation. He has now built them in to the largest team in the world.

United now hold 19 league titles, a number that for them seemed impossible to get to. They were weak and now they are strong. Now they can be the ones celebrating by carving numbers in to their chest hair.

Tragedy

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Football is usually a sport of much celebration, but this week has been full of sadness. The first is the death of the Korean soccer player Yoon Ki-Won. I do not know much about his death or his career but it is a tragedy that he passed away and I wish his family the best.

Just two days later Ki-Won’s teammate on Incheon United, Shin Yong-Rok collapsed on the field near the end of a game. He is still in a coma after barely surviving cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Shin Yong-Rok Jeju United

These are not the first cases of deaths and serious heart issues in sports, especially football. Leagues such as the Barclay’s Premier League have started to monitor heart rates to try to remove players from life-threatening situations. But there is still some mystery surrounding the cardiovascular deaths that have occurred.

Much lighter, yet still saddening in the news that FIFA officials have been accepting bribes. That’s not really news because anyone that follows international football knows that FIFA is more corrupt than the mob.

But it is alleged that the Qatari outfit bribed African members of FIFA to vote for Qatar to receive the World Cup in 2022. Football does not need this. From the bribing of referees to FIFA officials, it just is not worth it.

There was even more news released in England over the ongoing corruption scandal. England did not win their bid which turns out to be a good choice by FIFA because England’s FIFA members seem to have deep pockets and shallow morals.

Hopefully the news will get a bit brighter as the week goes on.

Razorlight.

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Razorlight!

Razorlight are an indie rock band from England. Famed for the track “America,” the group formed in 2002. Lead by quirky lead singer Johnny Borell, the 4-piece band has both character and charm. Some even compare the group to The Who.

Setting out by practicing in a decaying factory, the four-piece band has gone on to achieve great things. The group’s first album, “Up all night” debuted in 2004, wreaking much success and coming 3rd in the UK album charts.

After a two-year break, in 2006, the band released their second album, “Razorlight.” The second album was much improved and the songs were catchy, different and alternate, consequently leading it to achieve #1 in the charts.

As the band moved up higher in the charts their music progressed greatly, sounding better and better. Their popularity grew as they gained more recognition and in 2007 the band were nominated for two BRIT Awards. These included Best British band and Best Song for their single, “America“.

In 2008 the band released their next album “Slipway fires.” The album was more soulful and heartfelt compared to the previous albums but it still contained the passion that had led to their success.

Razorlight are a great band, their music is unique and fun, and  with a character like Johnny Borell  as the front man the band can really do no harm.

Give them a listen!

Foals.

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Foals
Foals are an indie rock band from Oxford, England. Debuting in 2008 with their first album “Antidotes“, the band went on to releasing their second album, ”Total life forever” which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

Their first album gained much success coming third in the UK album charts. Full of drumbeats and fast tempos the songs put the listener in a happy mood. Aimed at the indie scene the album emits the sense of summer frivolity and fun. With strong lyrics and pulsing melodies, the album makes a stand against the typical music one would classify as indie. Incorporating a range of instruments, the music stands out with its guitar rifts and use of the occasional synth.

“Red Sock Pugie,” the third track from the first album, “Antidotes“.

In comparison “Total life forever” is a mellower album focusing more on the vocals than on fast rhythms and tempos. Soothing, relaxing and calming the album allows the listener to unwind through the 25 tracks. Although still including the famous drumbeats the songs have a more peaceful nature, perfect for a car journey through the countryside.

The contrast of albums shows how over the years the band has developed. Unlike many bands that focus on the same “fail safe” sound they experiment using different tones, instruments and vocals.

Foals are a great band that, I’d recommend anyone to listen to.

“Blue Blood,” the opening track from the second album, “Total life Forever“.

The Old Times.

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Love
I miss the old times, I miss my friends and most importantly I miss the life I used to lead. Don’t get me wrong. After reluctantly immigrating to the United States I have become a better person. But I still can’t fight the yearning feeling that greets me everyday to return home.

At first I refused to move to the U.S but after realizing the only option was to live with my restrictive grandparents I decided to move to California on a trial basis. I wanted my friends, I wanted my family but I also wanted a life.

“Do you know your making my life hell, why do you want to ruin everything?” These were accusations I threw at my parents on a daily basis after they told me I had to join them in the move. Believing I needed parental figures and boundaries they refused to leave me thinking that I would “spiral out of control,” consequently getting no where with my life. The concept was unbearable to me, why did everything have to change?

Repeatedly my parents would say “we’re doing what we think is best for you” but to me that was no consolation. I was leaving school, I could now decide what college I wanted to go to, and what subjects I wanted to do,  yet there was one thing I couldn’t change. Moving to America.

I can’t even begin to describe my last summer with my friends. Our time spent together was some of the best moments in my life and will always be ingrained in my memory.

Listening to the radio this morning I heard Two Door Cinema “What you know” an anthem me and my best friend shared.  I couldn’t help but wonder where I’d be now if I had stayed and who I’d be.

Excuse My French

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Many an Englishman will tell you that the only problem with the 100 Years’ War is that it did not last long enough. Well today the war was reborn, with England facing their rivals: the French. The battle was quite one-sided, the French looked the more dangerous and came out the victors in a 2-1 win.

England look disconsolate during the defeat to France

Although this is a cause for depression amongst the English there are multiple good things to be taken away from this. The first is that there was a very good performance by Andy Carroll, a promising young player. Peter Crouch continued his scoring, grabbing his 22nd goal for his national side.

But what really should make the English happy is that it looks like the national squad is finally realizing that the key to success comes from youth. Look at Germany in the last World cup, all but two or three of their players will easily be young enough to compete in Brazil in 2014.

This is the key for England and with players like Carrol, who knows, they might be able to make enough progress to get through the round of 16 in Brazil.

However France finally showed that they have the potential to win after their stunningly abysmal World Cup performance. They do have some up and coming youth that could give them the opportunity to build a team that can win and not have to use their hands to make it to the finals.

For a full report of the game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=843399&sec=global&cc=5901

Beverley Knowles

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During the past week, many OVS students received a friend request from Beverley Knowels on Facebook. Some of the students added her as a friend, but some of them have questioned who she is, and they rejected her request.

Beverley Knowels stated that she is an alumni of OVS. However, some students have realized that there is no such a person in OVS history. In the boys dorm, we even had a dorm meeting about this issue. The faculty and student leaders  told students not to add her as a friend.

Some people think that the definition of “friends”  has changed a little bit since Facebook has become popular. People accept people they don’t really know. They accept their friend requests just because they both have mutual friends or they just want to have more friends on Facebook.

It is very dangerous to add someone who we don’t know on Facebook, because other people will know all our information. This is now a very serious problem for everyone who uses Facebook.

Good ol England

therightliberal4 Comments

Today a great thing happened in the world of football. First a little background for any of you non-soccer fans (tisk tisk). England is the most cocky and absolutely unbearable country when it comes to soccer.

It has won the World Cup only once and that was when it was played at home in 1968. And yet every year the English speak of how great their team will be, and yet, almost every year they suck.

I will not deny it, they have the best club league in the world. But their international team is really not that good. In fact, the US national team finished ahead of them in the last World Cup in south Africa. The thing about the English team is that none of their players, not one, plays outside of England. This is terrible for their team and for their country.

So here is the great news: The self-titled “Greatest team ever” tied the country of Montenegro today.

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