Posts by giovanni tiso
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Astle's batting explosion 3-4 years ago against England in Chch when we were hopelessly behind their total is probably the greatest forlorn chase I've ever seen.
I just wished he had been dismissed by a good delivery as opposed to that awful, would-have-been-called-a-wide piece of garbage that Hoggard dished up. But until then it had been a joy to watch (without forgetting the hobbling Cairns at the other end).
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One Laurie Saaaaanchez!
To the tune of 'Guantamera'.In Italy the lyrics to that one are "Tutto lo stadio", meaning the whole crowd ought to make some noise. A guy I knew who was a very occasional stadium-goer thought they were praising somebody called "Ugo Rosario" and heartily joined in. He's been called Ugo ever since.
I on the other hand thought that the "C'Mon Paul Ince" song that Inter fans used to sing actually said "Sgamopoli", which could be interpreted as "the town of people who can't be fooled". I knew better than to tell my mates though.
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I let the smallest glimmers of good play get my hopes up for a test win and then get horribly depressed after we lose. Sigh.
That's what I love about test cricket. While somebody from your team is at the crease, even the most awful tailender, in theory he could be there forever, and it's actually hard not to feel that way. Rationally you know it's not going to happen, but the lack of a time limit (which doesn't apply to all situations, but it does to some) gives you that little glimmer. I reckon it's the same feeling you get when you buy a lottery ticket - until the number is picked, everybody's a theoretical winner.
Yes, I'm waiting for that ever-elusive Chris Martin century. I know he shall do it some day.
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Now that's classy.
I haven't been to any Phoenix games this year, could somebody tell me if the songsheet has moved on from "Same Old Aussies/Always Cheating" (good for all opponents!) and "Who Are Ya?" (answer: we're the team that's putting you away two-zip). If so I might be persuaded to resume attending.
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I would really like Slice of Heaven to be our test-match song. Imagine 50,000 voices belting out the "Dah, dah, dah.. boom boom, dah, dah, dah" bit.
That's wat the Kiwi were singing on the "celebration stage" the other night, wasn't it? (I kept thinking that the celebration stage was going to be a phase in the ceremony, as opposed to an actual stage.)
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I don't suppose there's any way we could all learn to sing Paint It Black for sporting events...
Yes, let's sing a song about paranoid depression at sporting events, that ought to help our already fragile psyche :-)
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How did Darren Lockyer win the man of the match?
They Aussies got player of the match and player of the tournament. During the ceremony I was fully expecting them to be given a team of the tournament award in the form of a cup larger than the winner's trophy.
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Then after all that we lost the cricket. This weekend totally sucks
I saw the league replay in the afternoon and thought I'd visit the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age websites for a bit of schadenfreude ("The PAS word of the month(TM)"). Both featured the Aussie cricket win very prominently, with large pictures of Mitchell Johnson and the kind of tones you'd expect from a come from behind win against a more fancied opponent. OTOH, I couldn't find an actual mention of the league final, except by clicking on the Brisbane edition at the Melbourne Age website. It was literally news from the night before - just how quickly do the Aussies move on?
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The hysteria that surrounds anyone daring to make any criticism, no matter how slight, of the sacred cow of gay rights is outlined in Homosexuality and the Right-Wing Socialists.
I know we still have a long way to go, but about halfway through your blogpost I've had a classic "I'm so happy living in New Zealand" moments. Back home such rants are very much in the mainstream, and your ilk has driven my poor mother to such levels of distraction that she's actually made enquiries on how to get de-christened (a bizarelly complicated affair, incidentally). So I say hooray for a country where the right - by and large - is not Christian.
Oh: and the singular of phenomena is "phenomenon".
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I worked in the mental health service in my last year before leaving Italy, in the Veneto region that back in the seventies originated the reforms that led to the close of asylums and the newly patient-centred philosophy which was later exported around the world. Then a few years after moving here I happened to do some interpreting for a group of visiting Italian psychiatrist who spoke in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, and it gave me a brief induction about the differences in the two systems. A strong element that emerged from those talks was the different kind of responsibility that befalls a branch of the mental health service in Italy when a patient is under their care, and I think it possibly addresses one of the points raised by Che in his post: namely, that here there seems to be little or no proactive duty of care, you can be seen to follow protocol and "do what you can", stick to the rules and be minimally liable in the face of a tragedy.
Back home, once a person has sought help for a mental health issue, the local service has to take an active interest, do regular follow-ups, keep in touch, even talk to other DHBs if the patient happens to change address (it doesn't hurt in this regard that Italy is much more of a police state). And the compulsory treatment option is taken VERY seriously, it can only proceed with the signature of the city mayor, which acts in this case as a guarantor of the health and the rights of the citizens. Fewer compulsory treatments and the obligation to care mean a much more proactive attempt to engage the patient in the voluntary forms of treatment, which alongside intesive and regular counseling (as opposed to the cheaper "throw drugs at them" option) is known to produce better outcomes. This is at least was what these visiting doctors reckoned, and it seemed to resonate with the locals. Whether that is the solution in an overextended and under-resourced system, I don't know, but a change of philosophy could be part of the answer.