Christmas is still the best day of the year

For every scrooge there are fifty kind hearted souls walking the streets during the Christmas season. I sincerely hope that optimistic appraisal rings true..

I enjoy Christmas as much as I ever did as a young lad growing up in Scotland. It still brings out the young lad in me, so to me, that keeps it special even though I'll be spending it away from my Scottish family, I'll be enjoy the wine and other booze that complement opening up pressies on Christmas morning. I don't drink wine and other booze on Christmas morning by the way but they soon follow midday.

I enjoy shopping for my immediate family here in Korea. I am trying my best to rekindle the magicial feelings created for me by Santa for baby Holly and her mother who never really celebrated Christmas until we got together. So the good that comes out of that is two more people in the world love Christmas as much as I do..

I think that is a good thing. To make one day in the year truly special for others . There is a lot of hardship in the world as we know it today. I'm right in the middle of a minor conflict between the Koreas - I'll pray for peace this Christmas on the Korean Peninsula for the good of all who live North and South of the DMZ. The news can be very depressing at times and if we can dig deep and find some resolve and make one day of the year a day to be kids (even the adults) and refrain from hostily hate anger and other negative personas then Christmas has a future.

Will Christmas be celebrated in North Korea ? Who knows?

but I bet they hope their lives don't get any more troubled or even worse...so that would be an ideal Christmas in North Korea ..and South Korea

The poor and needy in every country deserve some warmth and I hope you all like me will donate to the salvation army in the last week before Christmas.

I made some new friends over the weekend...one of the best gifts and enjoyable feelings is making new friends

What did it cost? nothing

bar the money we used to drink beer

Merry Christmas

Hell on Earth

I was inspired or I'm not really sure if that is the correct word to use in this case for my latest entry. I think provoked is better. Provoked by the recent spate of suicides in Dundee

And for what reason? A matter still to be resolved. In actual fact I was planning this even before those suicides happened...I guess it was just a bad day at the office.

Hell On Earth - The most unpleasant things on the planet

What I am attempting here is a collaboration with friends mostly from facebook to gather our thoughts on what we believe to be the most unpleasant things they can be items, ideologies, movements..whatever makes you get that cringeworthy nagging and disturbed feeling from deep within. It can be trivial if you like, sometimes the most trivial things are the most unpleasant.

And so to my first choice

suicide - you have to be careful and not brand this as the easy way out, which to most of us it is. There has to be some crucial factor those who never contemplate suicide are missing. The breaking point and the execution itself...how do they come into play? Put another way what makes death the best choice?

The thought of that is so scary if you ask me. I hope the lives of those in Dundee will be investigated so that the lives of others are not lost. Its a truely sad time for the city.

The greed of capitalism.

No I'm not a commy or a red. I live in a capitalist society and a very materialistic one at that. Korea is a society that adores money..and I mean adores money very little else seems to matter. Those with money are idolised and those without - well pretty much you are an inferior citizen and a parasite. This is not about Korea though ...its the whole capitalist society. I am referring to here. So how hypocritical am I being right now? Why don't I cross the border into North Korea?

I yearn for things, to have a better paying job. So why complain about myself? Bizarre!

hat irks me are those who never show any sign of contentment, the need to be in competition with the Jones'. There is nothing wrong with wanting a comfortable live but are those who chase money really spending their time wisely? What about taking that extra week off to spend time with the family? The insane money that CEO's get, the bank bosses got and still get. How much money does someone need to be happy here? Is the CEO of Goldman Sachs happier than I am?

I very much doubt it ...so why be so greedy? I rest my case

K POP

For those unfamiliar with this brand of music from Korea..be thankful. It is simply the worst I have ever come across. Not an ounce of talent, not even their dancing which is the only thing that you experience watching a concert on the telly that could redeem it...The dancing is rank too.

It's just pure awful and to make it worse the performers feel the need to develop some kind of English tourettes syndrome. Some random English comes out of nowhere and it is strewn with grammatical errors. KPOP is appalling crap - end of story.

Paedophiles

The scummiest of scum. I vote that no convicted paedophile be ever set free on parole. They have committed the most atrocious of crimes only exceeded by murder. In actual fact a sex crime against a kid is just about murder in itself when you consider the impact it must have on the victim.

This brings me to my last entry...War. But I want to focus on wars that could have been avoided and not the Great war or World War 2 . Both of those wars required intervention and were won by the good guys as had they not been, the free world would' ve have turned out completely different.

War

There is of course the thinking that suggests in war there are no victors only one side loses less than the other. It is fair to say that is an accurate summation of war. The loss of life is horrendous and for what ? religious beliefs ? territorial gains? Pride? The motives for going to war seem so superficial and unjust.

Take the war on terrorism that has now lasted the best part of a decade. This is a war without an end in sight...relentless slaughter on both sides. The Free world (could that be a euphenism for non muslim world?) vs the muslim world. A tit for tat exchange of gunfire and far worse.

The only outcome that will emerge from this war is that there will be very few safe havens for mankind to escape the ravages of war.

Hope to hear from you and I'd be very curious to know your most disliked things on planet earth as well as any opinion you have on my list.

I blatantly left out natural disasters and the wrath of mother nature because..we are causing more harm to this planet than she ever could. She is only regulating as she sees fit...the unpleasantness of death caused by such forces is not her fault.

the modern footballer - a shame to the game

Just this week the microscope that is constantly held a few millimeters from the modern footballer picked up upon some shocking new revelations. As if the world cup wasn't enough to persuade most they should just give up the game due to a lack of talent, the French being numero uno culprits were woeful on the pitch, patheticly childish off of it , now two great players (supposedly) have gotten themselves in a pickle!

Frank Ribery just admitted to using prostitutes...underage ones! what is shocking about that? The guy is Quasimodo! He said he had no idea Fair enough..the woman ehhm girl in question looks older...she is an attractive model to boot! She even lied about her age to Frank....why? Was she worried he'd seriously knock her back.. you still have a picture in your head of Frank Ribery right?, if not just scroll up a wee bitty! He spent 2000 quid a go on her...doesn't that tell its own story about what's wrong with the mentality of most footballers. I very much doubt united captain Jon Daly gets that in a week, let alone joe bloggs.

So were does all this fit into my title for this blog? - the modern footballer - a shame to the game

Finally the modern footballer has just exhibited the worst set of charactistics to young kids. They treat football like crap, take as much out of it (the stupendous salaries) and very few give bugger all back, Messi aside, he is a fine lad. And then on top of that...this totally avoidable scandal. I really fear for the game and for us football fans. My belief is football even at the highest level seems to be living on borrowed time and the ones who can make the difference, the players just keep on sucking it dry.

At my hometown club Dundee United, we are a family club, a much loved part of the community. There is an emphasis on rearing young guys who have the passion to succeed and hopefully instilling a set of morales to restore the damaged image of football so that they will appreciate what the game gives them and they will acknowledge the need to play their part in sustaining a cheerful community, you know me and you ..the punters who pay their wages.

George Best was an alcoholic but atleast he still could play football and entertain the folk paying his wages and not just be content in entertaining himself...he gave back what he owed.

p.s footballers , yes you have a short career, but live sensibly and sensitively towards the fans please. Demonstrate some decorum away from the stadium, ditch the superstar persona, and knuckle down and forget about what your agent is trying to do for you. Focus on football the rest will take care of itself.

Mr Miliband "in hindsight we should have just deep fried him"

I couldn't believe this when I read it.

Pictured the Lockerbie bomber, Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi ( I cut and pasted that) still alive and its all Scotland's fault....

He looks as if he is planning another terrorist attack right now...can't you see it in his eyes? Why has the terminal cancer not taken him by now? He is clearly a threat.

We all know what he did. He killed hundreds in the air and on the ground. An evil pre meditated attack on Americans primarily but ultimately Scots too.

Mr Miliband. Exactly when is the last time you did the rounds in a cancer ward or hospice for that matter? I personally lost a father to cancer seven years ago...he never killed anyone yet the cancer didn't care about that. I firmly stand by the Scottish law here....I think he is paying for his sins don't you? Perhaps the law needs to be altered to say that those who are diagnosed as terminally ill can leave but must remain in a hospice surrounded by family in the country they committed the crime..but it didnt allow for that so he was deported to family in Libya. I've never seen such fervent support for Scotland or as many Saltires as that since we beat the French...

What matters most here Mr Miliband is that Scotland should have deep fried him like we do to all things bad for you!...that way he would be dead by now. Honestly, he will die and awfully too. Isn't that enough? Shouldnt the Americans be pursing and the UK govt too Mr Tony Blair the architect of a so called deal for oil drilling rights....you know the whole reason he was allowed to go. No wait a minute. ...that useless big eared plonker..(not charles, tony) had nothing to do with it...it was scotland's call and we called mercy.

I fancy a trip to Libya...might get invited out for a few pints..I'll leave my wallet in at home..

tongue in cheek but seriously is it our fault he is still alive?

http://www.scotsman.com/news/Lockerbie-bomber-release-39clearly-wrong39.6429321.jp

happy to be a blogger

Welcome one and all. Well isn't this fab - your very own soapbox crammed in beside a billion other soapboxes just like one of those japanese capsule hotels. One thing on my wish list is to try one of those capsule hotel rooms but hey thats a blog in itself.

So what dare you say or dare you think might i blog on here. I honestly think that a blog is well our given right to be a reporter or analyst or perhaps even a writer. Many of us grumble and groan about almost everything under the sun and we need to just get it off our chests. Certainly a damn sight cheaper than a new york shrink i can imagine... catharthis is what we are all looking for yet few achieve for some reason or other.....

I don't have any specific topic in mind for my first blog. I'm just sitting here at 11.21 pm on a stiffilingly muggy night typing the first things that enter my head . I just care to add that in my mind its not what we blog that is important its the fact that we take the time to do so...reflecting on the day's events preparing for tomorrow's and then looking forward to the weekend for some lovely cold beer.

I'm open to suggestions but shall do my best to be original..after all its my mind we are debating here! So if you know more about it then put up your mental fisticuffs and prepare for battle

cheerio and ill just leave you with those magical moments in may that sent the tangerine army home happy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDY5hF6SJSI