New blog!

Fear not, I won't be straying from this one...although admittedly I have neglected it for months now, which upsets and concerns me to no end and I will do my best to rectify this.

But in better news - I have started a new blog. It will be very different from this one, the premise being a generally humorous and cynical observation of things that get to me. It will be possibly offensive and probably edgy, but it is all in good fun! So if you could, do us a favour and head over to check it out! If you find any sort of personal benefit from following it, please do.

http://ifyoudothis.blogspot.com/

Have a good weekend! Cheers,

Loads.

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Best Parts

So it comes to that time again when 20 of the best rugby countries come together to crouch, touch, pause and engage in one of the highest regarded tournaments, this time held in New Zealand.

Being an Australian, I have high hopes in our Wallabies that they can once again do the country proud and show the world how we like to do things. But as always, there are some things about these tournaments that are highly anticipated and always entertaining. The best parts of the World Cup have to be (and in no particular order)

The New Zealand Haka

If I get tingles down my spine when I watch this, then I can't even imagine what it is like for someone who it actually means something to. While I applaud and have genuine respect for the Haka, and I think it always makes things interesting...I sincerely hope the All Blacks get whats coming to them.

Quade Cooper's sidestep

You don't see that in some of the best nightclubs in Sydney - Enough said...

Learning three times tables (watching South Africa)

No need for rote learning this stuff kids, just watch a Springboks game and as the kicking game flows just watch the scoreline and there you have it!

The Scottish National Anthem

I would just take this opportunity to give the Scots a mention (regardless of a pretty poor showing) and that listening to them give a beautiful verbal abuse to the English is always a pleasure in itself. The Famous Grouse!

The Wallabies

Being a proud Australian rugby supporter, this one was always a given. Go you good things!!

In particular I would like to send best wishes to Kurtley Beale, a fellow old boy of St Joseph's College. Watching you grow and play was a pleasure and Australia will be behind you in your first quest for World Cup glory. You'll never walk alone.

World in Union

What world cup post would be complete without the rugby anthem, and one of the reasons sport always makes itself known to be a common denominator and language across cultural, social and global divides. I have always loved this song and for it to be used so fittingly...

I look forward to seeing the Wallabies shoulder to shoulder, lifting the Web Ellis Cup to the sound of that song. As always, may the best team win (Not England).

Loads.

Around the World

So this post came about because of two things. Firstly, a request to post something as well as a thread about this that made me think it might make for a decent post.

I am going to go through a few of the more interesting places around the world I have had the pleasure of visiting. For logistic purposes, we will go chronologically...why not?

America & Canada - Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Banff & Seattle

While I was quite young (8 or so) I remember and have quite vivid memories of this trip. My most memorable part would have to be going up Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, mainly because this was my first real experience of snow, and coming from Sydney this was quite different to what I was used to.

England, Scotland & Austria

So to be honest, Austria was a bit of a side note and we really only spent a couple of days mulling around Graz and getting lost somewhere. England and Scotland was where I have most of my memories. I think some of the more impressive experiences (from my 9 year old point of view) would have had to have been Edinburgh castle as well as climbing Arthur's Seat with dad. Honestly England and London more specifically just seemed like a more crowded Sydney with shitty weather and a bit more traffic...I guess I was yet to develop an intense passion for the round ball game...

Japan

While learning Japanese starting from around age 12, I had the opportunity to visit various parts of Japan three times between 2005 and 2007. All three trips were fairly similar bar the family winter trip up north which was incredible. Spanning the country from Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara and Nagano I was able to witness the traditional architecture such as Himeji Castle, Kyomizudera Temples, as well as the buzzing modern parts of Tokyo such as Harajuku and Ikihabara. Naturally Hiroshima is a sobering experience, and on explaining to a Japanese man that we were Australian as he abused my father for being an 'American terrorist' one can truly scope the impact and subsequent demonstration of national integrity that came about following the unfortunate end to World War Two.

England & Spain

In 2009, quite possibly the most amazing opportunity arose in the form of a football tour to various parts of the UK as well as Barcelona. I have previously written a post about the trip but quite honestly anything I write would not do it justice. For this purpose, I am considering posting up the diary I used to account the trip in a day to day fashion. If you would be interested in this, please leave a comment and let me know!! From training at Liverpool's academy to watching Espanyol at the old Olympic stadium to playing against a team of semi-professional Welsh players...all with my best mates, it truly was one of the best two weeks of my life. Once again please leave a comment if you would like to have a look at what I got up to!

Anyway, I know this doesn't seem like much, but each place I have had the pleasure of visiting has its own individual set of memories that would be impossible to sum up in a single post. Hopefully this can kick start my involvement in my blog and give me a chance to get back into the swing of things!

Whenever, wherever you are reading this, have a good day and I will see you on the dark side. Cheers,

Loads