There’s a lot going on this weekend for comedy fans… check it out:

- The 2009 PHILLY SKETCHFEST continues through the weekend at Plays & Players Theater

- RARE BIRD SHOW,  FLETCHER and LEO CALLAHAN anchor PHIT’s Shubin shows, with appearances by EVERYTHING MUST GO tonight and ANGRY PEOPLE BUILDING THINGS Saturday

- Celebrate the Bachelor Party Edition of the MINISTRY OF SECRET JOKES as host DOOGIE HORNER celebrates his final nights of singledom 8PM tonight at Fergies Pub.

- Bucks County Community College features EXPONENTIAL JOURNEY – improv directed by Bill McLaughlin this Friday and Saturday at 7PM in the BCCC Library

- Shortform improv by THE N CROWD rolls out 8PM tonight at the Actor’s Center

- Get your game on with a COMEDYSPORTZ double header Saturday 7:30 & 10PM at the Playground @ the Adrienne

- Scratch your standup itch with LOUIS RAMEY of NBC’s Last Comic Standing headling at Helium through Saturday.

The PHILLY IMPROV THEATER’s Shubin Shows continue on tonight with a rocking lineup.

First at 8PM, start the night out right with PHIT houseteam EVERYTHING MUST GO and a performance by LEO CALLAHAN, a group born out of members of the recently departed local fave ILLEGAL REFILL.

Then hunker down for the 9:30PM show, because you’re in for a treat. Acclaimed houseteam FLETCHER takes the stage, followed by a set from supergroup RARE BIRD SHOW.

Yeah, it’s kinda like that.

PHIT @ THE SHUBIN
8PM – EVERYTHING MUST GO & LEO CALLAHAN
9:30PM – FLETCHER & RARE BIRD SHOW
407 BAINBRIDGE ST | $10/SHOW

Local improv group RARE BIRD SHOW recently appeared on the Rep Radio podcast to discuss their work and improv in general.

Listen in as they discuss their approach to playing, themes that arise in their shows, how they handle suggestions, their philosophies on format (Alexis is ready to meet you on a street corner to discuss this topic with her fists) as well as other projects they are involved in.

Listen In (Runtime: 30 min)

And while you’re at it, be sure to check out their shows this Friday and Saturday as they share a bill with FLETCHER as part of the PHILLY IMPROV THEATER’s shows at the Shubin.

Boys

Leon

Demetrius

Tobias

Gideon

Orion

Emmett

Abram

Matteo

Rhett

Rhys

Atticus

Neil

Dexter

Heath

Emery

Conrad

Darwin

Rex

Bruno

Winston

Hezekiah

Cassius

Reuben

Samson

Fletcher

The Dust of the Mock Exams has settled and all that is left is… a lot I guess… as far as I know pretty much no one was really affected by the mock exam period… But, anyway, time to do a QUICK run down of the last three weeks of activity… from present to past.

Mock Exams!

Basically, my results are as follows (this includes various tests we may have gotten back).

Maths! The one that EVERYONE dreaded. Not to mention the one that MOST people in each group hadn’t been taught all the subject material. I got an E with 35 marks, as far as I know, this is fairly good…

Physics! Another one that was let down by the lack of teachering, although this is due to Fletch’s unfortunate illness she has been suffering since last Monday. I got a D with 52%, I know that in my group Ash beat me with 55% and Max got pretty muchz the same. Other groups, Chloé got the same as me, Adam being a silly FOOL got like 82% or something like that, can’t quite remember… I just know it is an A…

Chemistry! An exam which I hoped to wipe the smug smile Mr Hillier has on his face towards me due to me not showing all my working and what not… but oh look, 80% I got an A! In yo’ face Mr Hillier… granted, upon that he took a shining to me and saying how what with my low expectations from the GCSE results, I’m gonna give them statistics people some fun.

BIOLOGY! This one is last because it is the one I think I could possibly be most proud of… I got a C in the mock exam at 60%… as far as I know… this was the best in our group… so that is pretty FINE! We also got Mr Wheeler’s end o’ unit test… I got an A with 79% (in any other science it’d be a B with everyone else’s marks being lower) with 23/29… highest in the class! mmm, mm, mmmmmmmmmmmmm…

I also got my maths challenge result back, I got… 58!! Which is a Bronze! I tried to not be a jerk about it… but when I was told I was also the last to be told, got the highest in the group, so I started to scribble it down in BIG letters on the back of my hand whilst Mr Hydes said, “And congratulations to Chris who got a Bronze.” Meaning everyone turned to look at me, and instead of my normal, “eh… it doesn’t really matter.” lean on hand demeanour I normally have, I was happily scrawling my result on my hand… ah well…

Really that is it for achievement… now it is just trying to roughly remember what I may have done over the last two to three weeks… which didn’t have any revision in, I can tell you that.

At some point it was Tom Baine’s birthday so we went out and had Birthday Waffles! My treat! Then later that day we went to Prezzos (or is it Prezzo’s) where we ate to celebrate my Sister’s Birthday that had been the day before. This, for me, consisted of a Quatro Formaggi which was soon made Cinquo (?) due to the addition of parmesan cheese. Then for desert I took a stab at a slice of Choco fudge cake… however, I began to feel ill and bloated, so I could not finish it…. sadly.

Other events include…….. not much really…  I’m sure there may have been some stuff to talk about, but sadly I can’t remember it all…

Well, that is a slight lie… (by slight I mean huge, I just don’t trust any of you with it…) cause I drew a picture based on something in my mind that has been running around for months… Then I thought, I could try this project… however it failed because I forgot I can’t actually draw, and although it could be accepted, in my mind and when I look at it whilst drawing, I hate it… doesn’t help I can’t draw hands EVER… or feet.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I can’t believe I forgot this….

ANIME! So Max and anyone not really interested in this can just skip ahead until the next chunk of bold writing, I guess…

Okay, so I have recently watched all of Trigun… to be honest… I FUCKING LOVED IT! It wasn’t as good as some of the other things I’ve seen, like FMA and Elemental Gelade. It didn’t have any teary eye moments… there is one, but then it doesn’t really try to do that. The main character, Vash, is awesome! His mysterious past is pretty awesome, however very poorly explained. From what I’ve read, I can assume that the Manga is very different, but I have also read the chance of a film… maybe. Nicholas D Wolfwood, a great Character… but yeah… Legato, one of the main antagonists… is a jerk, but sexy in the Sephiroth way….

Also, Bleach… it got to one of the slightly good, narrative bits… where there is actual character developement… the Grimmjow and Ichigo fight, however… the change from this to what is coming next week, the Amargi filler, is crap. The fight finishes… Ichigo and Orihime talk a bit, then they look up into the sky and instead of the normal. “to be continued…” slight colour change thing… it was, “To the next episode.” and it’s like… what?

There was no new Bleach Chapter last week, sadly, however the previous ones have been quite good with the large amounts of Byakuya and Kenpachi. Oh, not to mention the power development that I love in things where they actually explain why someone is so insane or why something does that, instead of, “WooOooOooo! Magic?”.

I have started to watch Hellsing, which is shorta than Trigun at only 12 episodes instead of 26… but is is okay. My main hatred towards it is the overly British Accents everyone has… like, not everyone in London or even Britain says, “Fooking hell!” all the time or talks like a lil’ cockney sparra! Ah well, Alucard is pretty cool… not much in terms of a deep narrative though… more of, “Bad guys… shoot… dead…” oh well, these things normally throw it in towards the end anyway… However, once I finished watching that… I don’t know what I’ll end up watching… I may joking watch Yu-Gi-Oh again after a talk with my brother at how sad my childhood was and how I knew the words to pretty much EVERY pokemon opening despite only watching the series once, the words to Cardcaptors, Yu-gi-oh (not hard) Digimon… apart from some of the weird parts… a lot of Beyblades (LET’S! BEYBLADE! BEYBLADE! LET IT RIP!) and yeah… my childhood  is a bleak and depressing one… oh well… I now wake up to, “It’s time to D-d-d-d-duel!”

END OF ANIME!!!

I am beginning to think that the title of this may be a bit too… deep…  but I think I successfully managed to cover that up by ruining it within the second line or so…

Oh Hugo has twitter… time to go find him!

Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher produced a superb strike as he helped his side ease to a win over Everton.

Fletcher converted United’s dominance into a goal when he got over a hip-high ball and sent a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Michael Carrick swept in the second after being picked out by Ryan Giggs.

Antonio Valencia completed Everton’s misery when his angled far post shot went in via a deflection as the champions ran out comfortable winners.

It was an improved performance from United following two defeats in three Premier League games and came after leaders Chelsea had temporarily moved eight points clear of them by hammering 4-0 Wolves.

Everton had knocked United out at the FA Cup semi-final stage last season but, without a win at Old Trafford in the league since 1992, anything but a United win seemed unlikely – and so it proved.

The visitors’ tactics played into United hands as a depleted Everton set up to frustrate the home side and invited pressure.

United rarely need any encouragement and they quickly set about trying to engineer a way through the visitors’ defence.

Wayne Rooney sliced a shot wide and a Giggs effort was saved by Tim Howard, although a probing United initially struggled to find a cutting edge to their slick build-up play.

Everton striker Louis Saha – back at Old Trafford for the first time since his summer switch to Goodison Park – provided some rare action for Edwin van der Sar when he struck a shot on the swivel which the United keeper comfortably saved.

However, it was the home side making all the running and the inevitability that they would eventually score became a reality in spectacular style.

More here. Source:BBC

To fletch is to affix fins of feathers to the shaft of an arrow:
A Fletcher provides aerodynamic stability.

Our home is open to hosting all of the community; a boost
toward immunity from inhmane treatment; a model of
democracy, communication, and innovation; a sustainable,
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An outstanding goal from Darren Fletcher set Manchester United on their way to a 3-0 victory over Everton on Saturday that kept them within five points of league leaders Chelsea.

With Carlo Ancelotti?s side having beaten Wolves earlier, United could ill afford any slips although for long periods it looked as though they would struggle to break Everton down.

But Fletcher’s 35th-minute half-volley broke the deadlock before Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick struck when the game opened up after the break and United ultimately ran out comfortable winners.

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson stated in the build-up to this game that he was growing increasingly concerned by the number of chances his side have failed to take this season.

The Scot’s forward options for the visit of Everton were reduced when Dimitar Berbatov was ruled out with a suspected knee problem following his goalscoring appearance for Bulgaria in their mid-week friendly win in Malta.

That meant the United boss paired Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen up front for only the second time this season in the hope that the duo would finally rekindle the understanding they once showed for England.

However, there were precious few signs of the two strikers gelling during a disjointed opening period when the home side struggled to break down the packed Everton defence despite dominating possession.

And while Everton ceded territorial advantage, they comfortably cut out any meaningful supply to Owen and Rooney and the early signs were that this would be a frustrating 90 minutes for Ferguson and his players.

Rooney sliced a half-chance wide in the 14th minute after Fletcher?s excellent pass had released Patrice Evra down the left-hand flank moments before Ryan Giggs sent a low drive tamely wide and Valencia skied over.

Everton offered little as an attacking force with Louis Saha?s snapshot, easily dealt with by Edwin van Der Sar, the sum total of their first-half efforts.

Neither Valencia nor Evra were making much headway down the flanks while Rooney was proving uncharacteristically ineffective through the middle.

United needed a spark of inspiration from somewhere and it came in the 35th minute when Fletcher capped his excellent work in midfield with a superbly controlled finish that gave visiting keeper Tim Howard no chance.

The opening arose after Evra had worked his way forward on United’s left flank before directing a deep cross towards the far post where Valencia laid off a cushioned header into the path of Fletcher, who struck the bouncing ball into the top-left corner from the edge of the area.

Everton opened up after the break but their hopes of a comeback disappeared in the 67th minute when Carrick collected a pass from Giggs and drilled a low shot beyond Howard.
The Merseysiders were then forced to chase the game, and Valencia sealed a home victory when he broke into the box and saw his shot deflect off Leighton Baines and into the goal with 14 minutes remaining.

Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher produces a superb strike as he helps his side ease to a win over Everton…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer prediction. The blog is also related to: premiership soccer.

Veja, no Portugal em Directo (RTP1) de 20 de Novembro de 2009, as intervenções do Grupo de Habitantes e Amigos da Freguesia de São João dos Montes e do vereador da Cultura da Câmara Municipal de Vila Franca de Xira, João de Carvalho, a propósito das Linhas de Torres no concelho de Vila Franca de Xira. Conheça o que se faz, o que não se faz. E também o que se devia fazer.

Hello all. For a friday post, usually, there’d be a match preview of some sort. There are some good international matches over the next few days.

The Irish take on the French in what I see as even a contest as it is in Rugby. Then there are the equally intriguing Bosnia vs Portugal, Algeria vs Egypt, New Zealand vs Bahrain etc etc.

These catch the eye for different reasons. I wish I could talk about them more. Maybe I will but not today, not just yet. Below are a few quotes, Arsenal related, some a little more dated but much can be read between the lines.

I’ll start with a not so recent quote shall I? This came a day after we beat Spurs in the north london derby.

On the perils of signing players, big name ones (metaphorically or literally), Wenger said this,

In ideal conditions no boss would make a mistake. It was always a race against time with opponents who may also want to sign the player. Sometimes you have to go blind and play poker.

I can see it clearly now. Flashback to Summer 2007 I believe.

Interviewer: Arsene, will Babel make the move from Ajax to Arsenal?
Arsene: Weeell, I believe he is a good player. He has great physical and mental strengths. He has a good technique and he would be a good addition to the Premier League.

A few days later, Rafa is doing his press conference shortly after Babel signed for Liverpool.

Interviewer: So Rafa, what will Babel bring to Liverpool?
Rafa: Babel is a kwality player. He is strong, he has technique and he will be a good addition to Liverpool Football Club.

Two years later and Wenger is still laughing. Poker face? Indeed. All conjecture of course but reality is stranger than fiction.

Van Persie has been talking about how he isn’t really a striker like Torres, Drogba are. That’s funny as some people still believe that Henry is a left winger while Ronaldo isn’t really a striker either.

He did say this though in what you can call his mini season review,

In the league I have now contributed seven assists and I am just as proud of these as the seven goals I have scored.

which can be translated as,

I’m only just warming up baby, the best is yet to come.

Premiership be afraid. If Wenger can make a striker of Henry who never believed in scoring tap ins, what will he make of RVP who is scoring less spectacular goals, but more ordinary goals?

Someone who didn’t feature much in the limelight until recently is Keiran Gibbs. I had reservations about his defensive abilities but he is young and he will learn. After all, Roberto Carlos is still learning how to defend.

Gibbs also believes he will get better with development on and off the pitch, both for which he is eternally grateful.

Hale End is where the English talent develops at Arsenal….It is a good place for the young English players to learn their trade.

Hear that Platini? That is the voice of a content Englishman. You were saying about foreigners? Again, rest of the Premiership, take note.

As most Arsenal games end with the opposition scoring once, how about an Arsenal related quote but from someone un-Arsenal. Darren Fletcher sounds as un-Arsenal as you can get?

Following United’s defeat to Chelsea, a disappointed Fletcher didn’t let emotion get the better out of him,

I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger’s comments starting to influence referees, which is a shame, really.

Yeah, very shameful. But enough about our gaffer Fletch, what about your gaffer? Calling a referee unfit when he ran more than half your team that night? No, not shameful at all.

On that note, I hope you enjoy the international week especially the Argentina v Spain friendly.

On this installment of “Babe of the Random Day” I would like to honor Miss Sara Fletcher.  Who is the Fletch’ster you ask?  Well I never really knew until I watched a little Comedy Central show called Secret Girlfriend, which I have to say, even aside from “Jessica’s” ultimate hotness + awesomeness, has to be one of the funniest shows I have seen on TV in awhile.  The humor is very guy’ish, if you know what I mean.  But once again, I digress from the main point of my post.  Sara Fletcher makes it into the “Babe Post’s of Hotness” becuase she is able to portray a girl so awesome, so cool, so funny, and so attractive that she has officialy become the standard for which I match girls I meet against.  However, her beatuy and acting skills aren’t the only reason’s why she has made the cut.  She also posts on Twitter via SaraFlecther.  Yes, my heart has been won over.  But really though, she’s like a 5′ 2″, 100 lb blonde whose cute, funny, and tweets, you’d really have to be gay not to appreciate that.  I would also like to let everyone know that “Babe of the Random Day” is now taking a new twist.  Instead of just honoring Babes, I will now only post when a new girl gains the title.  Sara Fletcher has now officially dethroned Megan Fox.  I know it’s a little intense, but don’t worry the below pictures will justify my decision.  Enjoy.

Marry Me?

Please?

She’s Even Attractive As a Fairy…

…Or A Girl Fixing Her Shoe, It’s Endless

Secret Girlfriend - Wednesday’s @ 10:30 – Watch it!

Denmark's Footballer of The Year

I have always believed that everyone has their advantages and flaws in certain areas that is different from one another. Some can paint, some can sing, some can dance, while others are just plain stupid. Case in point, Darren Fletcher. After the Chelsea game, he was quoted to say that

I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger’s comments starting to influence referees which is a shame really. Now we have to raise our game and ensure these decisions are not affecting the game

I just couldn’t believe my eyes. In fact I rubbed it 15 times and read the statement over and over again just to make sure. This was Fletcher trying claiming to be the unknown player that Wenger quoted after the Old Trafford clash to be the one who committed 20 fouls without a card. It is unbelievable that he doesn’t realise that by making this statement, he has more than admitted to be that particular player. Not only is he not helping himself by making such remarks after a loss but it is also an admission of guilt. I’m sure he can remember the past statements that his boss have made and how it influenced subsequent outcomes.

Perhaps, that was not a foul on Cole (who I opined to be someone who can be kicked at without it every being a foul – this should be made a law) but he has really opened up a can of worms. His actions will most likely not get any sort of punishment from the FA as it usually is with Man United. He is trying to say that referees are not impartial and can be easily influenced in their judgement by past remarks. He has made himself a target for referees and I will not wonder why he gets booked or sent off the next time because he clearly just picked a fight with the officials of the game.

The FA are currently without any comment in reference to this statement and that is also unbelievable.  This is a damning statement on them. If this was any other club (especially Arsenal), they would’ve made a big story of out it. It’s really a pity that this club gets special treatment from the FA. As if they don’t get away with enough already.

Nicklas Bendtner won the Danish Footballer Of The Year award but will be celebrating it with a doctor’s appointment. It is yet to be confirmed but it is believed that further scans will show that he will require an groin surgery that will probably keep him out for another month or two at the minimum. It may not raise alarm bells but we will miss his presence. He is the only attacking option that can provide strength and height and without him, we lose the option of punting the ball forward for a striker to win headers. So far, RVP has failed in this department and as evident against Craddock last Saturday, he can’t win headers for nuts.

Not only that, we will also miss an improved version of last season’s Bendtner. He’s been energetic to say the least in those appearances that he has made but he is also a clinical finisher of the ball. If we are to chase games with time at a premium, we are faced with the option of sending in crosses or freekicks without a real big option in the box. Hopefully this is not a scenario we need to face with or without his injury.

This past Thursday I went to Fletcher’s annual Faculty Waits on You Dinner.  Its a fun event where faculty and staff actually do wait on the students and then there is an auction after, featuring items donated by faculty (many of them involve chances to just hang out with or go to dinner with faculty members).  I liked the event a lot because it reminds me that the Fletcher community is a unique one and we all go out of our way to make sure that this community is alive and well (despite our heavy workloads and frantic schedules this time of the year).

One of the most touching parts about this year’s event was that it was in honor of Ben Sklaver, a Fletcher ‘03 alum who was killed about a month ago by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.  Not only was Ben a loyal soldier, but also a humanitarian, who formed an NGO to provide clean water to communities who need it the most.  I don’t know Ben personally, but I was incredibly touched hearing his father and his friend speak about how he dedicated his life to helping others and always held out hope that we could make a difference in the lives of others.  It is clear that the Fletcher community, the US, and the world lost a wonderful person when Ben passed.

However, his NGO, Clear Water Initiative, lives on.  All the proceeds from the dinner and auction went to support their sustainable water projects, which are mostly based in Northern Uganda. I would urge you to visit the organization’s website and see what they are doing.  Bidding on auction items, I was happy that my money was going to a this cause and hope that Ben’s dream will continue to be realized even after his untimely death.

by Liam McGowan

‘Cheat’ is not a word that comes to mind when one considers Darren Fletcher.

But that, in effect, is exactly how the Manchester United midfielder has been unjustly brandished this week- not for the first time this year- reigniting an age-old debate over the ruling that yellow cards can not be appealed.

Sir Alex Ferguson was outraged by the decision and poured criticism without dilution on the referee at what he called ” one of the worst decisions I have seen in my life”. Although no stranger to overstatements at times, Ferguson’s reaction in this case was echoed by many.

In any case, this was an appalling error of judgment by the official. Even other referees, usually notable in their solidarity and support for their colleagues, stood out in their support of the United player’s innocence. Ex premiership ref Graham Poll expressed a sense of injustice shared by many in the footballing community. In his column for the Daily Mail, he wrote: “Fletcher is one of the most decent players in the game and to see him cautioned for diving on Tuesday evening was a slur on this honest professional footballer.To argue that he deserved some payback for his combative style is nonsensical”.

And, owing to UEFA’s strict and ,somewhat dubious, stance on appeals, dents made to Fletcher’s character are currently irrevocable. Ferguson has also called for UEFA’s stance on this ruling to be revised. Both the manager and the player have every right to feel incensed at what has happened, especially in light of the fact that Ferguson and Fletcher have both fell victim to the rules in a similar vein in the past.

Uefa should have revised this rule many years ago. If it is not revised now, it will be insult added to longstanding injury.

fletcher booked

MANCHESTER – Dua klub elit Inggris akan bertarung pada lanjutan Premier League di Stamford Bridge, Senin (9/11/2009) dinihari. Manchester United menganggap kemenangan menjadi sesuatu yang sangat penting.

Demikian disampaikan gelandang The Red Devils Darren Fletcher. Mental bertanding rekan satu timnya semakin kuat bila pulang dengan angka penuh.
“Jalan memburu gekar masih panjang. Tapi pertandingan mendatang mungkin penting secara psikologis,” kata Fletcher kepada MUTV, Kamis (5/11/2009).

“Kami hanya akan berkonsentrasi pada diri kami sendiri. Kami tahu mampu melangkah ke Londin dan menang. Ini tidak akan mudah, tetapi kami akan pergi ke sana dengan rencana permainan dan pelatih akan mendapatkan banyak pilihan pada squadnya,” paparnya.

“Mereka pimpinan klasemen. Kami berdua telah saling dan ada rasa hormat yang besar antara kedua belah pihak. kami tahu apa yang akan terjadi. Itu akan menjadi tantangan besar bagi kami di Stamford Bridge. Mereka punya catatan besar di sana, tapi itu terserah pada kami dan mencoba dan mendapatkan kemenangan,” pungkasnya.

It was billed as an epic encounter; Rafa under pressure after Liverpool’s worst run for 22 years and in desperate need of a win. United on the back of a midweek victory and looking to maintain top spot by overcoming their bitterest rivals in their own backyard. What transpired was a lacklustre affair devoid of  intensity and quality. Neither team played with the precision or confidence of a side who believe they will be sitting top of the table next May.

Not surprisingly the fitness of Gerrard and Torres dominated the pre-match hype, as everyone knows the merseysiders are a different beast when the deadly duo are in the side. In the end one was enough to turn the match. As the contest looked certain to end a stalemate Torres, as he so often does, popped up with a moment of genius, latching onto Benayoun’s wonderful through ball and beating Ferdinand for pace and strength before pulling off a cracking finish.

United had no option but to chase the match and still managed to create nothing. When Carragher somehow escaped a blatant red card having prevented a guilt-edged chance for Michael Owen it was clear that lady luck had deserted United in Anfield. Insult was duly added to injury when Ngog slotted Liverpool’s second goal in injury time after Vidic had been sent off.

Ferguson needs to learn from this embarrassing display as Liverpool exposed some obvious flaws in the United team. Playing Scholes and Carrick in the centre of midfield simply doesn’t work. Both are holding midfielders and have an inclination to drop deep even when United push forward. On Sunday United constantly knocked long balls up to Berbatov and Rooney. The Bulgarian had the beating of the centre backs for the most part but once in possession he was stranded with only Rooney for support. Time after time the duo were starved of any supporting thrust coming from midfield. Giggs and Valencia did their best to help out on the flanks but without anyone offering themselves in midfield the visitors were repeatedly outnumbered and dispossessed.

The only move really open to Ferguson was to move Nani onto the left and play Giggs behind the front two. This is by no means a title-winning midfield. Nani is far from the finished article and only shows flashes of potential. Giggs is most effective on the left. Scholes, while a master on a good day, doesn’t have the consistency of years past. Carrick….is there really anything good we can say about Carrick? He passes well sometimes, only sometimes. He lacks any kind of passion or desire, he repeatedly fades into the background when backs are against the wall. In many ways he’s the opposite to the previous number 16 at Old Trafford.

So look to the bench, who do see? Park, Anderson, Fletcher, Gibson. There’s no shortage of effort or work ethic but is there any genuine class? Anderson has yet to fulfil the potential he showed in his first season in the Premiership. Park does the defensive work well but is limited when on the ball. Fletcher has really upped his game this season, picking up a few man of the match awards. The Scot has added assisting and scoring to his arsenal proving his more than just a destructive nuisance to opponents. World class? Im afraid not. Fletcher is merely the best of a bad bunch.

It is now painfully clear that Fergie needs an attacking midfielder. A Scholes of old, a Zidane, an Iniesta, a Schneider, this is the type of performer United crave. Even the return of Owen Hargreaves won’t added the necessary attacking flare needed. Unfortunately for Sir Alex there isn’t such a simple solution for the defensive problems. United still boast the same quartet that proved so formidable last season. Why then do the reds look so vulnerable at the back this season? Confidence! Ferdinand and Vidic are woefully lacking in confidence, so much so that Rio is under pressure to keep a place in the national side. Evra and O’ Shea have been impressive for most of the season, but the centre-backs are the heartbeat of any defense and at the moment United’s is too weak to last a long season. Fergie has to hope for some consistently solid outings to boost confidence or his two big centre-backs will be exposed again as they were on Sunday.

Rooney avrà sempre un conto aperto col Liverpool

Wayne Rooney vuole assolutamente giocare domenica, ma Sir Alex Ferguson non è ancora certo che il numero 10 dello United e il suo compagno Darren Fletcher stiano bene.

Rooney non è sceso in campo contro Bolton e CSKA Mosca, la scorsa settimana , per via di un infortunio al polpaccio , mentre Fletcher ha perso le stesse partite per un colpo preso a un piede.

“Per quanto riguarda gli infortunati non ho ancora le idee chiare, ho ancora dubbi su Rooney e Fletcher,” ha detto Sir Alex venerdì.

Il principale obiettivo dello staff medico e di quello tecnico è avere questi due fondamentali giocatori pronti per la sfida di Anfield, e Sir Alex non dubita certo che loro per primi vogliano rientrare.

“Vuole sempre giocare, è fatto così,” ha detto il manager (di Rooney, NdT). “Chiaramente però bisogna essere realistici. Quel che farà sabato in allenamento sarà determinante.”

“Vedremo se Wayne riuscirà ad allenarsi, quindi potremo farci un’idea più precisa.”

Le buone notizie per lo United arrivano da Patrice Evra e Ryan Giggs, che hanno passato i test fisici essendo entrambi rimasti a Manchester mentre il resto della squadra andava a Mosca, mentre invece Park Ji-Sung resterà sicuramente fuori.

servizio del sito ufficiale del Manchester United

http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12482c425a3c4da6

This writing prompt is brought to you courtesy of michael5000’s Life and Times of Michael5000.

I have to say that I always think of The Scarlet Letter as a book that is considered canonical more because it is frequently taught than because it is great by itself. (As you might guess from this note, I’m not particularly fond of it, and certainly not fond enough of it to reread it in order to address it specifically.)

It is considered a landmark work of American romanticism. It has a combination of symbolism obvious enough for high school students to point out and adult(ish) themes without being overly explicit (though it is on the Top 15 list of Banned Books, evidently). It is suitable for moral debates. Hawthorne himself is biographically connected to the Transcendentalists on the one side and Melville as a realist on the other. All of this provides teachers with a lot of grist, whether The Scarlet Letter is a great novel or not.

My favorite critical work discussing The Scarlet Letter is Jane Tompkins’s “Masterpiece Theater: The Politics of Hawthorne’s Literary Reputation” (taken from Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860, though I read it in Falling into Theory). In this piece, Tompkins uses Hawthorne’s place in the canon as a case study for the definition of “classic” literature in order to argue that “a literary reputation could never be anything but a political matter” (138) and that the concept of the classic itself “disguises the historically conditioned, contingent, and partisan nature of the texts” (145).

Because she is discussing Hawthorne as a canonical author more than The Scarlet Letter as a canonical work, a lot of her discussion isn’t exactly on point, but I think it’s relevant nevertheless. She says that whereas modern critics generally like Hawthorne’s “symbolic complexity, psychological depth, moral subtlety, and density of composition” (139), Hawthorne was originally most praised for exactly the opposite qualities, and in fact which works have received the most attention have shifted over the years. (Hawthorne was originally valued most as a sentimental writer of domestic sketches such as “Little Annie’s Ramble.”) She points out that “it was the custom-house essay and not Hester’s story that drew the most unstinting praise from contemporary reviewers of The Scarlet Letter” (143) and eventually concludes that “what endures is the literary and cultural tradition that believes in the idea of the classic, and that perpetuates that belief from day to day and from year to year by reading and rereading, publishing and republishing, teaching and recommending for teaching, and writing books and articles about a small group of works whose ‘durability’ is thereby assured” (145).

The idea of a canon is essentially conservative. Powerful institutions invest in authors in different ways, and once invested, they have a financial reason to want those authors to continue to be canonical. To me, the belief that the canon is by nature some kind of fair test of a work’s ability to stand the test of time dangerously ignores the historical and cultural forces that lead to literary judgment in the first place, frequently privileging works more for the conditions of their production than for any absolute merit (which concept I also find ludicrously problematic — too often it seems that people consider the canon to have somehow proven that we have the truth about what great literature really is, as though we’re somehow smarter and, and, and righter than previous people — as though the people who are the original audience of a work of literature are somehow automatically confused about what good literature is, or as though their institutions that help propagate popularity are somehow less fair than our institutions that do the same thing).

Essentially, the reason that canonical works are more likely to be considered great today is not because they possess some transcendental qualities but because we have been trained to value the qualities they possess. In other words, they are influential now because they have been influential in the past. If you think about the entire spectrum of symbolism, for instance, I would suggest that we have been trained to accept only a relatively restricted band of that spectrum. If the symbolism is overt, we feel it is heavy-handed. If it is too subtle, we find it too esoteric and academic. Historically, though, different values have been considered acceptable, and pretending that somehow we have found the right place on this spectrum strikes me as unproductively elitist.

While it may be futile to try to escape our own historical situatedness, I would argue that it’s also valuable: reading more broadly; not accepting the logic that a book must be great because it is in the canon, or that the canon must be great because great books happen to be in it; and trying to imagine the ways that books were read in their time periods in order to understand what other values they may have had (and may continue to have if we learn to see them), for example, can provide us with more literature to appreciate. If I can love new kinds of literature or discover new qualities in either old or new literature to love, those are among the experiences in reading (and in life!) I find most worthwhile and rewarding.

FLETCHER AND ROONEY IN FIGHT TO FACE LIVERPOOL

Wayne Rooney is “desperate” to play on Sunday, but Sir Alex Ferguson still has doubts over the fitness of United’s number 10 and his team-mate Darren Fletcher.

Rooney has been struggling with a calf injury and missed the games against Bolton Wanderers and CSKA Moscow in the last week, while Fletcher was also absent for both matches with a foot injury.

“On the injury front I can’t give a clear picture, there are still some doubts about Rooney and Fletcher,” Sir Alex said on Friday.

Getting the influential pair ready for Anfield is now the main aim for United’s medical and coaching staff, though Sir Alex doesn’t doubt their eagerness to return.

“He is always desperate to play, that’s the nature of the boy,” said the boss. “Of course, you can’t let that cloud the realistic side of things. It’s going to be important how he does in training on Saturday.

“We’ll see if Wayne does train on Saturday and then we’ll have a better idea.”

The good news for United is that Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs have both been passed fit after remaining in Manchester while the rest of the squad travelled to Russia, but Ji-sung Park has definitely been ruled out.

More from Fletcher / CEME / Exxon Mobil conference Managing Political Risk 2009.

Question from the audience: what ultimately separates political risk advising firms from general management consulting firms with global reach? Six replies, paraphrased here.

1. Clients ask for cogent, insightful analysis of context for global context.
2. Key regulatory and due diligence requirements.
3. Firms provide certification of due diligence.
4. Strategic advice for how to level the playing field.
5. Attention to the difficult, expensive local information; not what the newspapers say, but what is going on behind closed doors. Early warning and strategic advice regarding corruption and invisible local relationships.
6. Business practices and norms in a new environment.
7. Many firms mentioned the specific leverage that FCPA has over American firms, and any publicly traded in USA.

Manging Political Risk 2009

Like any good academic conference the first order of business is to see if we can improve on Wikipedia or Merriam Webster and define terms.

Political Risk

Political risk is a type of risk faced by investors, corporations, and governments. It is a risk that can be understood and managed with proper aforethought and investment…..

Broadly, political risk refers to the complications businesses and governments may face as a result of what are commonly referred to as political decisions—or “any political change that alters the expected outcome and value of a given economic action by changing the probability of achieving business objectives.”[1] . Political risk faced by firms can be defined as “the risk of a strategic, financial, or personnel loss for a firm because of such nonmarket factors as macroeconomic and social policies (fiscal, monetary, trade, investment, industrial, income, labour, and developmental), or events related to political instability (terrorism, riots, coups, civil war, and insurrection).”[2] Portfolio investors may face similar financial losses. Moreover, governments may face complications in their ability to execute diplomatic, military or other initiatives as a result of political risk.

A low level of political risk in a given country does not necessarily correspond to a high degree of political freedom. Indeed, some of the more stable states are also the most authoritarian. Long-term assessments of political risk must account for the danger that a politically oppressive environment is only stable as long as top-down control is maintained and citizens prevented from a free exchange of ideas and goods with the outside world.[3]

Definition 1: Actions of governments that affect the returns to investors.

• In particular expropriation, breach and abrogation of contracts.
• Tax law, trade restrictions.
• But generally not labor, environmental laws.
• Convertibility restrictions yes, but devaluations no.

Definition 2: Failures of governments to act that affect the returns to investors.

• Failure to enforce laws, provide a conducive business environment in line with firm’s expectation at the outset of the contract.

Definition 3: Political events that insurance and other risk management strategies can manage.

Inductive reasoning is a great way to arrive at a definition for what political risk is. There’s slightly more here than the pornography standard (know it when I see it), but it is a reactive, rather than a proactive basis for definition. If the concept has any legs, I’d like to see that we can forecast what risk managers can and ought to do, rather than just an exhaustive catalog of what they have done.

Definition 4: Include grassroots political actors, public opinion in consumer markets with above.

David Hobbs in particular suggests that oil companies need to recognize that both host and home polities must consent to and participate in the oil company’s operations, not merely the specific government counterparty that inks the deal.

More on this in a few minutes.

UPDATE– Ganson:

There are no political risks, only mistaken expectations.

UPDATE–Howell:

Political risk is the probability that an investor will lose money due to factors in a society government or its international environment. risk will vary according to the theory applied to projection and measurement. Risk also varies at different investor levels, i.e., for all foreign investors, for a particular industry, for a particular firm, or for a specific project.

Seems to me that nobody so far has a good answer to Ganson. Losses are often calculated against future cash flows and not only existing assets; and these expectations are contextual, professional documents.