a blog about a lot of things

I like World Cup, quite a lot, and think it's the best of all the tournaments that exist in football and very possibly in all of sport (at least for any tournament focused on one sport since the Olympics is amazing because of the variety). So I'll be trying to figure out how likely each team is to get out of the group stages and how far they'll probably go if they do. All the odds are from  www.bet365.com  which is the site I use most for trend spotting in sport (it's like my sport-Bloomberg). Group A Brazil- Automatically qualified as hosts and at 1/20 to qualify have the second best odds of any team to make it out of the group phase behind Argentina (who have probably the softest group). It's with good reason Brazil have such low odds and they're considered favourites. Winning or even coming second in Group A doesn't mean an easy run as it probably would result in a round of sixteen clash against either defending champions Spain or the ...

The long-squad has been release d! I'll be looking at issues with it. http://www.dfb.de/news/de/d-fifa-wm/loew-nominiert-30-spieler-fuer-erweiterten-wm-kader/58046.html The Centre Back pairing It is no great secret that Germany have defensive frailty (a very un-German trait on the football field, historically). The centre back pairing of Hummels and Mertesacker would mean a lack of pace through the centre and would badly expose "Mr.Clean" Mertesacker who plays best when mopping up when paired with a quick partner or behind a hard working defensive midfielder. In that respect, much is the same as four years ago if Khedira and Schweinstiger start at the base of the midfield, and Hummels is possibly an upgrade on an ageing Arne Friedrich. But, Mertesacker is not as good as he was back then and has endured some tough years at Arsenal where he has not been in the best of form. And expecting Khedira to be at 2010 levels after almost an entire season out (since he...

Best Director Most likely winner : Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. Without his directorial input, this film could be quite dull and just a person floating about waiting to try to not get hit by debris. It takes a concerted effort to create the tension of this film. Backup Pick : Steve McQueen   for 12 Years a Slave. A film that sticks in the memory and is very unsettling, as are all of McQueen's works so far. A necessary film and one that must have been very difficult to direct. An excellent reflectively meditative look at one of the most difficult topics. Most deserving :  Alfonso Cuaron  for  Gravity. This is a film that is going to be mentioned as a changer in cinema. A vision of future cinema and another progression on what is possible using 3-D. To create a film that is both grandiose as well as subtle, is an immense achievement. Best Adapted Screenplay Most likely winner : John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave. The script is very good and...

So, I've been watching lots more movies than usual lately (which, is quite an achievement cause I love movies) due to a combination of finishing postgrad, being unemployed and breaking my foot (which has me very immobile for the next 5 weeks). So I made a list, as I usually do. Other than the top 5 the rankings are quite fluid and all the films are quite good. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen  Nebraska   which is why it's not on the list.) 1. Before Midnight - USA- English/French/Greek. Directed by Richard Linklater. The first one taught us adventure, the second one hope (and perhaps fate). This one teaches us the inevitability of real life. As with the previous films, the dialogue is brilliantly scripted almost to the point of unrealistic perfection. For me the film was a difficult and depressing watch because seeing the changes of my favourite screen couple with family life is like watching your childhood sporting hero when they're past their prime. It is as honest ...