O G San's Articles In Misc
June 30, 2006 by O G San
I did alright last time predicting the last sixteen but the quarters are a trickier proposition, given that there is likely to be less between the teams. Germany v Argentina, Friday 16:00 Such a shame that the two teams who have played the most attractive football have to meet so early. This would have made a great final. Argentina have so many match-winners that it's hard to bet against them. If Germany are to triumph, Ballack will have to play out of his skin. Prediction: Germany ...
June 28, 2006 by O G San
With eight games still to play, this World Cup has already seen a record number of red cards, with 25 players given their marching orders, compared to 22 in France eight years ago. Much has been made of the poor refereeing which has led to this rash of dismissals. Undoubtedly some officials have performed ineptly - not least Three Yellows Poll and Valentin Ivanov who reduced Potrugal-Holland to a nine-a-side. But to focus entirely on refereeing mistakes misses the point that the players t...
June 28, 2006 by O G San
Oh dear. Having set sail under a strong wind in the group stage, the good ship World Cup has been dashed onto the rocks by a combination of player cynicism and referee incompetence. The last sixteen was a rather disappointing round, with too many games decided by the officials. The final game of the lot - Spain versus France - provided the bulk of the good football all by itself. Let's see how my predictions turned out: Germany v Sweden, 16:00 The hosts are hitting form, with both their ...
June 24, 2006 by O G San
We’ve reached the halfway point of the 2006 World Cup and half of the 32 teams in this year’s competition are making their way home. So what have we learnt from the group stage of the world’s greatest sporting spectacle? The first thing to say is that, as ever, some groups have been tougher than others. Those who have successfully navigated groups C, E and F can consider themselves well-tested. Those who have come through groups A, B, D, G and H will face considerably sterner tests in the...
June 17, 2006 by O G San
We're almost half-way through the group stage of the planet's greatest sporting spectacle so I thought I would offer these thoughts on World Cup 2006 to date: * First off, just how good are Argentina? Serbia and Montenegro have (had?) one of Europe's best defences, but Crespo and co battered them yesterday 6-0. Tevez and Messi can't even get in the starting eleven which tells its own story. The second goal yesterday, consisting of no fewer than 24 pases, must go straight in to the top five...
October 18, 2005 by O G San
As some of you know, I've recently moved country for the second time in a matter of months. After several years trying to teach bemused Asian children the difference between "these" and "those", I decided that a career in education was not for me. Following a pleasant summer in Belfast doing nothing in particular, I am now ensonced in the English city of Nottingham studying to be a newspaper journalist. I've no idea whether the ambition of writng for a living will ever be realised. My inc...
July 8, 2005 by O G San
I arrive in Heathrow from Seoul, my home for the last fifteen months, on my way to Belfast, my home for the next two. It's my first time in Europe for over a year. Even in the artificial atmosphere of an international airport, the culture shock hits me. No more signs in Hangeul, no-one speaking Korean. Most people around me as I dash between terminals are the same colour as me. Most of them speak English, or at least Cockney, a close relative of my native tongue. I pass through securi...
July 8, 2005 by O G San
This is my first blog upon returning to the decadent west and my last blog about life in Korea. I thought it would be appropriate to conclude by thanking some people who I met on the peninsula. So a respectful gamsa hamnida and a solemn nod of the head to the following: To Soupy, first and foremost. As the recipient of an entire gushing blog in his honour already, I feel that there's nothing else to be said. "'What's that smell' Spot said." To Pieter, who, in his love of Korean lif...
June 21, 2005 by O G San
On my way home from work yesterday, a smartly-dressed young man came bounding up to me, his floppy fringe bobbing up and down as he ran. " Hello, I'm Brendan ", he said enthusiastically, offering his hand in an untypical Korean gesture. As a foreigner in Seoul, I'm often accosted in this manner by complete strangers. But there was something about this man; his uncommonly good English, his use of a Western-style greeting, which tipped me off that he was after more than a brief chat. Within...
June 21, 2005 by O G San
One of the aspects to life in Seoul which took a little getting used to was the sheer size of this behemoth of a metropolis. Travelling around the Korean capital can be a very time-consuming experience. Weekends often involve inordinate amounts of time spent waiting for buses, standing on the subway, or watching the taxi meter tick over. But, as time has passed, I've grown used to these long journeys and have even started to take pleasure in the little idiosyncracies of Korean travel. The...
June 8, 2005 by O G San
One of the great things about Asia, as opposed to Europe, is the different attitude toward food here in the Orient. Back home on the western side of our immense landmass, eating out is a very occasional pleasure for all but the wealthy. To go to a restaurant one must have a reason: a date, a birthday, a celebration of some kind. Eating out is expensive, so it's expected that you dress up for the occasion (which, for some of us means putting on clothes which do not have holes). Each d...
June 4, 2005 by O G San
I've read a few of Michael Moore's books and have managed to take a position on the Rotund Ranter which few other Joeusers seem to share - that of ambivalence. I don't detest the man but neither do I love him. Sometimes, I find his ideas thought-provoking. I remember once reading his anecdotal observation that it seems that there are more girls than boys being born these days. Perhaps, he speculates, Mother Nature is trying to protect her creation by reducing the proportion of the population ...
June 4, 2005 by O G San
"Mi guk in" The child's index finger points toward the pointy-nosed, pale-skinned oddity strolling past. "Mi guk in" ("American"), he exclaims excitedly to his parents as if he's just seen some exotic beast, like a rhino or a unicorn. The "American" stops in his tracks, bends down and smiles at the little one "a ni yo, a il lean deu in" ("no, I'm Irish.") I've lost count of the number of times I've been mistaken for a US citizen. Sometimes the person making the assumption is old e...
May 29, 2005 by O G San
My time in Korea is coming to an end, so this is the first in a series of articles reflecting on life on the peninsula: The till opens to reveal a huge wad of ten thousand won notes (about a fiver each). Altogether, the checkout operator must have several hundred pounds in her till. I could reach out and grab them, simple as can be. Even after a year here, this to me is amazing. I did a similar job for many years back home in Belfast. If my boss there had caught me with several dozen no...
May 1, 2005 by O G San
I've been lucky enough to travel and to live in different countries. Along the way, I've met people from various nations and cultures. But regardless of background, I find there are three characteristics which I look for in a new acquaintance: self-deprecation, intellectual curiosity and joie de vivre . I'm not a fundamentalist about this, it's great if you have all three (the grand slam), but I won't write you off if you only possess one or two. I myself lack joie de vivre , which...