Stern John has now scored 5 goals in his last 2 games. All the news is about how crap West Ham are. Well that may well be true but it would be nice to see us get a bit of credit for a very good away win.
Observer match report.
Telegraph report

BBC report

Once you start looking at these celebrity mugshots, it's a bit difficult to tear yourself away.

Roger Mcguinn, of the Byrds, has been uploading old folk songs for a couple of years. It's really, really good. (via yhbc at mefi)

Don't go round licking strange knockers

Good onion article on Bush and his plans for the world. Nice to see the Onion actually being funny.

Online Healing by the Barefoot Doctor, and much else besides if you care to look around.

Underground Iran. This article is very uplifting. Despite massive repression, the young people of Iran are quietly rebelling, thanks in no small measure to the internet. You just can't quash the human spirit.

Archer gets it wrong again. I wonder how the Daily Mail would react if say, the Guardian serialised say,Winston Silcotts diaries.I think they might get on their high horse about criminals profitting from their crimes. Still there is no such thing as bad publicity. The odious git will be smirking all the way to the bank.

A couple of years ago I found myself, as you do, talking to a Canadian dude about Cuba. The best thing about Cuba, he said, was the absence of Americans. Not for much longer.

My nipper plays his first organised game of football tomorrow. I don't know about him but I am nervous as a kitten. He showed no interest in the game at all till about 2 weeks ago and now he's obsessed, but not very good, but he tries. What with shirt shorts socks pads boots club membership and other sundries the little sod has just about cleaned me out. It's worth it though, because it clashes with Beavers and their God bothering ways, which means he has had to give it up.
There was a little family dispute regarding the shirt. All his mates are Man U fans , obviously, being 150 miles away. So he wanted a Man U shirt. No chuffin way, not while I still draw breath. Mrs Buddha couldn't understand and said I should relent as all his mates have one, she even offered to part with cash herself. I explained as gently as I could, that Man U is a brand not a team, and is supported by unthinking morons (residents of Greater Manchester excepted), he may as well support Mcdonalds or Starbucks F.C . The clincher was when I reminded her all his mates watch WWF and go to Benidorm on their holidays, so by her rationale we should do the same.
In the end he turned out to be a cool dude and chose an Italian strip, but they didn't quite have his size, so he opted for Argentina. I have explained to him that he has seen Argentina play in Cardiff, which is once more than any of his Man U supporting mates will ever see their team. He is chuffed with the shirt, but is hoping for a Man U shirt for Christmas. I despair.
Talking of Argentina, the worlds funniest apocryphal football story concerns them. When Keith Burkinshaw signed Ardiles and Villa following the 1978 World Cup, their command of English was poor. Out on the training pitch he continually pointed to the ball, shouting "BALL ! BALL!. Then he would point at the goal and shout "GOAL! GOAL!" and on it went. Finally Ardiles piped up, "Boss me and Ricky understand" Burkinshaw replied, "I'm not talking to you two, I'm talking to the other buggers"

Our Senegalese midfielder, Aliou Cisse, has lost 9 family members in a ferry disaster, but still turned out today. An ex player of ours has had at least 3 sisters murdered but always manages to turn out for whichever team he has played for without taking grieving time. We often hear of professional sportspersons being particularly single minded, but I cannot comprehend how people can play in those circumstances. I am not knocking it, I just can't understand it.
I suppose we will be subjected on various message boards to people offering pointless commiserations and people who do not know the family thanking the commiserators in a most presumptious fashion. They will say it puts "this great game of ours in perspective" and refer to the "world wide family that is football". Then they will mercilessly slag anyone who puts a pass astray, and sing witty ditties about innocent men, like David Jones, whose family have been put through the wringer. All good clean fun and banter though.