Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The diamond
One fine windy but sunny afternoon Jude decided to head off to quiet Pembroke to start training for the first marathon of the season. After sweating it out for around an hour the sea was too inviting for him to reject its advances. After downing a bottle of ice-cold water, off he went to the deserted part of the beach for a much deserved refreshing dip.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
The hole
The interpid travellers set off on foot midway in the afternoon through crevices, rocks and cliffsides and wild vegetation to discover previously uncharted land for them. Through rocky patches, cisterns, trees they marched until they reached the sea with its soothing effect on all of them. After taking a breather they decided to start their trek back and after walking for around an hour realized that they were lost and that the track they were on was a treacherous one that led to nowhere. With sunset soon finishing its course the now weary travellers decided to turn back and try find the original track. With some luck the right track was soon found but it was then that things soon took an unexpected twist.
Room after room and through several tunnels the intrepid travellers went through and they were getting intrigued by what they were seeing. Suddenly in one room that was bigger than all the others they had seen, they found alot of equipment which seemed like a mixture of decoding and radar equipment full of cobwebs.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sam Deguara - The Maltese rising star in Basketball
With some patience and most of all lots of dedication and hard work and why not, some luck, Sam Deguara might become a wholesale star not only in Italian Basketball but also in the mother of all leagues, the NBA! Here is wishing Sam Deguara and all those people who have a dream, to believe in it and work hard to achieve their dream.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Vuvuzela
1. Brasil is the only South American team to win a World Cup in Europe, America and Asia.
2. European teams haven't won a world cup outside Europe.
3. Only Italy - 1934 and 1938 and Brazil - 1958 and 1962 have won two consecutive World Cups in a row.
4. Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, England and France won the trophy as hosts. Brazil lost at home in 1950.
5. Two finals were decided in penalties: 1994 and 2006.
6. Three finals were decided in extra-time: 1934, 1966 and 1978.
7. Most appearances by a team: Brazil - all 18 editions.
8. Most wins: Brazil - 5.
9. Most winners-up: Germany - 4.
10. Most final appearances: Brazil and Germany - 7 each.
11. Most winners medals: Pele, Brazil - 3.
12. Most goals scored: Ronaldo, Brazil - 15 (1998 - 2006).
13. Most goals in a tournament: Just Fontaine - 13 (1958).
14. Most goals in match: Oleg Salenko - 5 (Russia vs Cameroon, 1994).
15. Most wins as a coach: Vittorio Pozzo - 2 (Italy 1934 and 1938).
16. Highest attended match: 199 854 (Uruguay vs Brazil, 16 July 1950, Maracana Stadium).
Sources: (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/396367-south-africa-world-cup-2010-10-simple-facts-about-the-world-cup; http://internationalsoccer.suite101.com/article.cfm/ten_quick_world_cup_facts).
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
A ray of hope
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100507/local/it-s-all-a-matter-of-will-power-disabled-accounting-clerk-says
http://www.simplygiving.org.mt/induce3005?fndid=4507A362E5EB25591625&l=1
Following is the link to the general website of Inspire:
http://www.simplygiving.org.mt/home?l=1
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Appreciation
Yesterday a traffic policeman was controlling the traffic in the driving rain and wind, ensuring that the traffic proceeded smoothly without any accidents. One might say that it is his job to do so and some might also add that his actions could have caused more traffic but from what I could see this was not case and not too many would be well pleased to get drenched in the course of their work. Another episode that springs to mind only just happened this morning when a car stalled in the middle of regional road and from all the cars that passed by, it was a taxi from a private company that promptly stopped, quickly got out a rope so as to tow and help out the unfortunate driver.
Bottom line is that even small gestures of help or words such as 'thank you' and 'sorry' with a smile are enough to brighten up ones day!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Reflections
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/apr/22/patrick-farrell-pulitzer
Next up is a link that hit Haiti in January which crippled even more this poor country.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/jan/21/haiti-earthquake-aerial-pictures?picture=358349373
Last but not least is a link of photographs showing the grim aftermath of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile at the end of February.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/feb/28/chile-natural-disasters?picture=359886663
When seeing the devastating effects of these natural events one can only stop for a few moments and start reflecting and appreciating all the good that we have. At times we should count our lucky stars and complain less whilst being proactive in trying to solve problems that may hit us and trying to alleviate those of others.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tennis score
Friday, February 12, 2010
Nelson Mandela - A tribute
1. Mandela got the name Nelson from a schoolteacher who gave all her pupils English names - Mandela guesses that his might have been in honour of Lord Nelson.
2. His links with British heroes didn't end there - the head of Healdtown, the college he attended at 19, was descended from the Duke of Wellington.
3. His real first name, Rolihlahla, means "troublemaker".
4. He was the first person in his family to go to school.
5. The Junior Certificate qualification at his school normally took three years to complete - but Mandela did it in two.
6. When he was on the run from the authorities, Mandela adopted the disguise of a chauffeur - complete with cap - as this allowed him to move around under pretext of driving his "employer's" car.
7. His prison number was 46664 - he was the 466th prisoner admitted to the jail on Robben Island in 1964.
8. While on Robben Island he was allowed only one visitor a year, for 30 minutes.
9. He was allowed to send and receive one letter every six months. The prison censors often delayed his letters and rendered them unreadable.
10. In the latter years of his sentence he completed a correspondence course with the University of London. In 1981 he was nominated as the university's Chancellor but was beaten in the election by Princess Anne.
11. Mandela doesn't allow flash photography anywhere near him, as his eyes were damaged during his time in prison.
12. He spent the last few years of his sentence in Victor Verster prison. Here, he was given a chef and learned to swim in a private pool but still insisted on doing his own washing up.
13. On the day of his release the plan had been for him to be driven to the prison gates. But SABC, the South African TV company, said it would have more impact if Mandela walked the final quarter of a mile. He agreed to do this.
14. When a long, furry object was thrust at him at the gates, he recoiled, thinking it might be a weapon. His wife Winnie explained that it was a type of microphone that had been invented while he had been in prison.
15. Mandela is known in South Africa as Madiba, a name used by elders of his clan.
16. In his 1995 autobiography Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela wrote: "Any man that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose."
17. The American news station CNN accidentally 'killed him off' in 2003, when a password fault led to their website accidentally showing his pre-written obituary.
18. His famous colourful tops are known as Batik shirts - and someone else who loved and collected them was Barack Obama's late mother.
19. In 2004, when he retired from public life, Mandela impressed on people how final his decision was by saying: "Don't call me, I'll call you."
20. Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both own homes on Soweto's Vilakazi Street, making it the only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
(Source: The Sun Online)
Some truly inspirational words of this great man are from his 1994 Inaugural Speech:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who I am to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
The demise of Juventus
Back to the current situation, I shall be analysing it by considering a few factors.
The coach: Ferrara started off well by winning the last two games of the previous season and started off the current season unbeaten in the first six matches. In spite of all this there was always an indication of things to come with the team at times struggling to win, reason being a lack of ideas when it came to teamwork. No idea how to play, pass, attack and defend. The constant injury crisis certainly did not help but with the team at hand, much more could have been done. Many have said that Ferrara lacks experience to coach such a team and many are comparing him with Guardiola and Leonardo but these are backed by different and more experienced management styles.
Conclusion: In my mind and heart Ferrara will always be a true great and I respect him for the way he has dealt with such a situation in a very dignified manner. He does have some faults but the whole debacle does not lie solely on his shoulders.
The players: It can be said that this is one of the strongest complement of players that Juventus has had in recent years. Yet they cannot seem to click or get used to a different system than to what the team has been accustomed to in the last few years. Let me explain further... the team has played with a 4-4-2 system for the last few years and trying to play with a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-3-2 system is obviously going to take some time to get accustomed to. Unfortunatly what other teams have managed to do in a few months, ergo Inter and Milan who have both changed their tactics from last season and are doing well, Juventus have not managed to apprehend and implement when needed.
Conclusion: Can be partially blamed for at the end they are being big salaries, in most cases have bags of experience and are the ones on the pitch but with no adequate direction they can only look like lost souls trying their best to play decently.
The management: The biggest culprits in my opinion. They seem to be clueless in dealing with the situation and in the past have made quite a few mistakes, especially when concerned with player acquisitions and choice of backroom staff. I am pretty sure that they themselves would like their plan to start working and to make the right decisions. If they were to be less hard-headed and appoint the right people it can only be positive to see Juventus emerge from this dark period and regain the popularity and positive results that they so deserve.
What I do not agree with are the supporters who burn seats or chant blasphemous tunes. Supporting Juventus or any other team is like a marriage... you support him/her through the good times as well as through the bad times. Also of rather bad taste are comments like those of Gigi Maifredi who said that he would be winning everything with this current team but at the time of calling and when he had a golden chance, he did not prove himself and under his guidance Juventus did not qualify for Europe... the only time this happened under the Agnelli era. Enough said!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Ġita fil-kampanja
Grandeur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDik17Xvovo
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A picture tells a thousand words
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34261690/ns/news-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1