Anorak

Football's a more physically demanding game with skilful players, better pitches and a European Cup full of really good teams these days though isn't it?

Just got back from Highbury, really good day out and we managed to avoid a thrashing. The City fans were in good voice all game, singing about promotion (i'm not overly confident but we'll hopefully be top 6 & in contention), taking the piss when we took the lead and how quiet the home fans were. Nine men behind the ball for the majority of the game but Arsenal weren't at their best and struggled to break us down, Dickov got a standing ovation from both sets of fans and Walker also had what appeared a 'farewell' sub ovation to make way for Danny Coyne. Jordan Stewart looked like the world's worst left-back in the first half. Stopped to see the trophy be awarded to Viera before running for a train.

Kerplunk deserves a mention for Green Day, lots of songs which are still among their best, the first half of the the album (bar the comedy song) is especially good, one little gem after another. There's a review of the International Superhits comp at allmusic.com which puts the band's case forward very well. Much as I like that album I prefer Grand Prix, the songs are better, the sound is more fully-reliased and it stays with you longer. UNCUT magazine featured Bandwagonesque in their 'classic albums re-visited' feature and the band had the same opinion.

I can't believe so many people here chose to watch the thing (the execution footage), just that small description you gave was bad enough. The whole region is so firmly rooted in the dark ages it beggars belief

Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway East River Pipe - Poor Fricky Scud Mountain Boys - Massachusetts Gene Clark - Roadmaster Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Kobe??

go all Kobe?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced REM - Automatic For The People REM - Murmur Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Radiohead - OK Computer Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska Neil Young - On The Beach Neil Young - Tonight's The Night The Kinks - Something Else By The Kinks The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo Big Star - 3rd/Sister Lovers Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20 1992 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde The Ramones - The Ramones The Ramones - Rocket To Russia Tribe Called Quest - The Low-End Theory There's a few i'm forgetting and there's dozens of albums not far off at all but i'd be here all day. I've got no Beatles or Stones albums on CD, more fool me I know (I borrow my Dad's) but i'd only give them a couple or three each, i'm not even sure something like Revolver is really the flawless 5 star record its labelled as.

Nice idea. I'll try not to ramble on for 6 paragraphs.

Spain definately got cheated in that game but I was gutted they sneaked past Ireland in the 2nd round after being outplayed for long periods. Switzerland & Croatia are both very beatable but you never know which England is going to turn up sometimes, our defence worries me the most as we seem to get stretched too easily even against weaker international sides. Playing France first just might bring out the best in England, they often perform really well against the very top sides.

You confuse "open-minded" with "empty-headed". If you could only empty your own head of your simple-minded views and prejudicies you might become a better and more worthwhile person, you might even stop sounding like a prick for long enough for people to take your views or opinions seriously on issues like this. There's still time to 'open your mind' and join the real world if you want to, your own little world must be awful small.

Hmm, gay-bashing from a progressive. Delicious irony. My god, how somebody like you can stick a label of ignorance on anybody is laughable. I almost choked on my cornflakes. I thought the obvious flaw of my post was how it fell awkwardly between being serious and facetious, as far as i'm concerned no 'gay bashing' (as you so eloquently put it) was present there at all, apart from the 'their sort' line I can't see a poor choice of words anywhere. A gay bloke I used to play football with (no, really!) used to tell stories about whipping lads he fancied with a wet towel when he was at school (not the sort of tale i'd tell to amuse a gaybasher if I was gay to be honest) so I admit I stole that line. We used to take the piss out of gay culture a bit when we went out with him but if you've ever socialised with any gay people before you'd know when it comes to trading banter with most of them they always come up with the best lines. If you meant 'progressive' as me being a less narrow-minded or bigoted person than yourself then i'm guilty as charged I suppose. Now, at the risk of being called a twat-basher i'm to tell you to fuck off and don't be so cheeky in future.

The top elite of Israeli or British soldiers would put them to shame.

Normal, rational or decent people would.... don't get your hopes up too much. Some people might even start going on about the Nazi's, Saddam and terrorism as if that would be somehow relevant to the topic question posed by the individual who started this thread but that would just be silly. I thought inflicting physical torture and ritual humiliation was learnt at high school in America? Don't you have to suffer a bit of torture to play on the Lacrosse, Rounders or American rugby teams? What passes for 'hazing' over there would get you arrested in any other western country so why the surprise at them indulging in the same pastimes with people of a different race and culture as the victims? It probably makes them feel more at home. I'm just tossing some ideas around here you understand. Maybe its a homosexual thing, we all know the armed forces anywhere have their fair share of those sort and all that male nakedness does make you wonder a bit. When they aren't abusing their prisoners they probably have to make do whipping each other with wet towels. Did anybody see the family of the shrew-faced woman on the news? Some people shouldn't be allowed to breed, there's too many recruits from farms who like to hear a pig squeal joining up to fight.

Aside from Metallica, Slayer and Monster Magnet (just for a laugh) that is a poor, poor lineup. Last year there was the goodness of Iron Maiden, Audioslave and the Deftones, and this year we get poop. I'm thankful exams hindered me from buying a ticket. I might be going on the Sunday, to be honest this type of rock/metal music only makes up about 10% of my record collection but i'm sure it would be enjoyable. Saturday looks terrible though, I like Monster Magnet's older stuff (Spine Of God, Dopes To Infinity) a lot but I can't imagine sitting through much else.

Newcastle is tomorrow isn't it?

Leicester won the League Cup in 1997, you beat us to win it in 1999.

East River Pipe: Shining Hours In A Can East River Pipe: Poor Fricky Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts Of The Great Highway

Not quite everyone. At least we'll have plenty to talk about next season.

We can have a civil conversation if you want, I felt bad about what I said to you before anyway, even if most of it (juvenile language & personal insults) wasn't typed with an entirely straight face. For what its worth I don't think you're a rascist but I do think we all need to be careful about how we talk about other races sometimes, even if we really aren't intending to offend anyone. We all carry some prejudice around with us but its important we make a concerted effort not to let it affect how we treat anybody, a 'take as you find' kind of philosophy I guess. You seem a decent sort of person so I can imagine you taking the same approach in everyday life. I live in Leicester, England. The reason I felt sorry for that woman in BFC was exactly the same, she was just doing her job and minding her own buisness when Moore barged in on her. Its a good while since I watched it but i'm sure even the two lads there didn't feel totally comfortable being used in that way. I'm not 100% sure but didn't they just sit there in silence while Moore put the poor woman through that cheap and unjustified guilt trip?

I'm not exactly the most prolific or best known poster so I figured I might as well have another name over there. No worries in any case, thanks for replying.

Back in the TV Nation days he always came across as a very affable and likeable person but in recent years he's fast become the opposite (or maybe just showing his true colours? Who knows?). More often than not he appears irrational, even bitter in his outbursts against Bush, foreign policy etc and his views can be over-simplified or at worst completely misinformed. All of which is a shame because it is important to ask these big questions, to use freedom of speech to criticize what is potentially wrong within American society (no matter how 'unpatriotic' it may seem to some). America's obsessive gun culture (completely alien to me, which probably made it all the more fascinating to watch personally) was an issue which deserved some attention and credit to him for making BFC even though I think his filmmaking methods could do with a revamp. The tired old 'confrontation' tactic is overused in documentary filmmaking (especially Moore's version), getting in the face of a 'target' for all of a few seconds to hurl some accusations always seemed a worthlessly redundant act and has now become very formulaic. I particularly felt sorry for that woman he confronted with the two injured Columbine boys, it was cheap, unfair and added nothing worthwhile to his film or his argument.

He's been kept out of the side by Mario Melchiot and sometimes Gallas plays right back.I think Johnson will go on loan to a club like Birmingham/Charlton/Fulham next season.I'd still rather have him in the squad than Danny Mills. Anyday of the week, i've never rated Mills all that much. Did anybody else think that was going to be a really long-winded, bad taste anti-Houllier joke? Sounds like a lucky escape.

You should be beaten up for listening to Primus

What has happened to Glenn Johnson? Is he just warming the bench at Stamford Bridge or has he had an injury during the second half of the season? Does anybody remember that post-match Liverpool clip from a few years ago when David James completely missed catching a water bottle thrown to him by Robbie Fowler, who was standing about two yards away from him? Not as good as the classic Zaire free-kick moment but still funny.