Andy in Oregon

My Upsidedown World

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:21:00 +0000

Blogger is back!

Now that I may have a few more stories I will fill this space more often, I promise.

Ok, so I have arrived in Oregon! It was a long flight, as expected, though I had some great seats on both trips and really couldn't have been more comfortable. I didn't have to sit next to any .. ah.. undesirables, in fact, the only thing that didn't happen was sleep. The movies were trash too. Spiderman 3, In the line of Women, and other wasted time when we could have been watching Bourne or Potter or any number of movies I have actually wanted to see in the past few months.

Flying over LA is always an experience. Flat, wide and virtually a concrete carpark as far as the eyes can see (which from a plane is seriosuly disturbing)
At 9am the 12 lane Freeways were jam packed and the smog was so thick that from ground level you'd forget it was a clear sunny day. I'm used to a patch of smog over the edge of Sydney when there was no wind, but this was 10 times worse. Anyway, the smog goes right up the length of the coast. If these people can't see how that is going to kill us let alone the environment then no amount of awareness programs will help.

Admittedly there are supposed to be a few bushfires adding to the haze, but I couldn't see any fires from my window seat.

So LA was a concern, the airport confusing and large. Though the stampede did seem to move fairly quickly and whenever the queue got too long they would open up another section to get things going.

The US government now has my photo and two fingerprints.. something to consider, since the Aussies don't have mine yet!

Anyway, long story short, I arrived in Portland. Megs met me at the gate and everything was great. The drive home is only 20 odd minutes - but we stopped for ice cream at Cold Stone. Too sugary, but good. I think I like things a lot simpler than the "all american". Megs' house is beautiful.. photos will come.
From the balcony I can't see another house, just Douglas Firs and Big-leaf Maples. Deer, Squirells, and the pets! (goats, chooks, 4 or 5 cats, and one dog)

Mr and Mrs Lawrence, (Russell and Carol to everyone) have been very generous and welcoming. The dinner last night was absolutely fantastic, and as I pushed through the overtiredness I finished 2 solid plates worth of the Salmon and extras. Well fed I crashed around 8.. and now I have just gotten up.. 14 hours later.

Hope you are all well, I am off to put the camera to use.

Until tomorrow.. A

Back to NZ

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 04:30:00 +0000

Hey People,

I have returned from my mysterious disappearance ..

Really I just went home for Christmas and decided summer holidays were indeed for relaxing. Sadly though I ended up working full time with Canon. As nice as the job was, it wasn't the beach.

So, here I find myself again in New Zealand. This time in Wellington. It is the capital, but most of the time it feels more like a quiet underground town full of hippy and goth types. I did get in just in time for the International 7's Comp, which is always a hoot as it seems to allow normal kiwis to act like the rest of the chaps here. We saw blokes dressed up as Marilyn, babies, wrestlers, the flintstones.. pretty much anything you can think of.

The battle at the moment is to try and get a place to live as the Uni's are coming back on and it seems a thousand people are flooding a tiny rental market. Still, i think not being a student is a big plus.

Alrighty then, sorry I have been gone so long. I'll have photos and more stories of what's going on here soon.

Cheerio.

Eddo

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:52:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:31:00 +0000

photo catch up!

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:53:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:00:00 +0000

Adventures part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 23:09:00 +0000

Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:45:00 +0000

A very crazy couple of weeks I have had while I have been taking a break from updating the world. I probably can't even remember most of it but if it has been anything like the weather in the last 48 hours.. wow.

On the weekend I was in Christchurch at Promise Keepers a Mens Conference much like Katoomba Mens Weekend for those in the know. I had a great time with the gents and the singing and teaching was tops.

anyway, I was hot, then it snowed, then it hailed, then it snowed again. rained.. and got hot.

Glad to be alive! photos of snow,
Canadian dave running off with my milk in the snow!
and the hail..

Weekend in Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 06:37:00 +0000

Had a fantastic weekend in Sydney!

From Sturt and Esther's Wedding at St. Matt's to the reception at Manly Yacht Club and then off to the Tri-Nations game against South Africa with Coyote. ... Followed by the galavanting at Minski's till the wee hours and my BBQ on Sunday. Everything was perfect from the weather to the fun with friends and family. Below some familiar faces and top memories.

Tubio and I before the 'I do'

A Dashing Bride

A Smooth Getaway

Diggers, Little Coops and Myself enjoying Manly's glory

Coyote and I after a lucky escape

Hanky's new hotness

Coming Home

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:23:00 +0000

Pretty excited about coming home this weekend..

Last weekend Vic and Kirstie swung by on their way through to Arthur's Pass. This was after the NZRU Course Davey, Mike and I had done. So, here are a few pics from that.

Hope to see some of you Sunday..

Birthdays

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:18:00 +0000

26 today. Feeling like I've climbed the ladder to the top of the slippery-dip. Only one way down...

Ups and Downs

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:40:00 +0000

It has certainly been an up and down weekend.

Saturday began with us taking the lead in the Semi-final only to lose, again, I'm not going to go into details about certain refereeing decisions that everyone in town found pretty horrendous. In the end it was 16-7, our only points coming from a great team effort and captain's try to Sia. That hollow feeling of losing in the finals I haven't felt for over 6 years now. I think I had forgotten just how ordinary it is.
Try: Siaola Fifita
Con: Eddo

Needless to say the team went off in a few directions that night and drowned their sorrows where they could find solace. I ended up under a doona on the couch at home watching the NZ v South Africa game. Davey, Mikey and I all had the final installment of the NZRU Level I & II coaching course to complete 9-5 on Sunday.

The course was a heap of fun down in Timaru, South Canterbury. The last hours were spent watching the U/18's Rep Selection Game (Town vs Country) and doing technical analysis, then giving feedback to the whole group on certain topics. Oh, we were lounging in the corporate box soaking up the beautiful afternoon sun and trying to act intelligent. There was one kid out there who was the spitting image of Coyote .. He's not too hard to spot, he's on the far right with the #1 on his back.. and the sensual mullet hair-do.

Mikey - Myself - Davey on the way out of South Canterbury after a successful day.

I guess Sunday was the "Up" after Saturday.. but the best was to follow. The news is I will be home from Fri 4th to Tue 8th of August! Sturt's wedding is on but there's also talk of getting a croud together for the Swans match at the SCG 7pm. On Sunday my folks will kindly host a Barbie for anyone that is keen to catch up and break a beer with me for my 26th. If you can rock on by drop me a line, email preferrably, so I can get enough snags.. (and veges for the girls). . Hope to see some of you soon!

Bugged Out

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:57:00 +0000

We have the semi-final this saturday. It's a grudge match against Celtic who we lost to during the big snow dump. Sadly I have been struck down by yet another Kiwi bug.. I feel like the I'm getting all the bugs the indiginous folk are used to by now. Either way I will definately play, it's just a matter of how many drugs it takes to get me bouncing off the walls.

In the meantime if someone from the northern hemisphere would like to share some of that heatwave with NZ, that'd be fine with me.

To the lads who participate in the Premier League Fantasy Team Comp.. You know who you are, The 06/07 comp is online now. Get to it.

Hampstead vs Leeston again

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 13:12:00 +0000

We went off to Leeston today for a dead rubber game and many of the guys had decided to rest up in preparation for the semifinal against Celtic next week. Accordingly we only had a starting 15 and no reserves. Still, we did take an early 7-0 lead that we held till half time. I actually thought we could run away with the game in the second half but the forwards ran out of puff towards the end and we let in some silly tries.

Final score (I think ??): 7-18
Tries: Eddo
Cons: Eddo

Tonight the Aussies gave me some credibility back in this town by giving the South Africans a hiding 49-0. I wonder if I have a few cousins out there reading this ?? haha..

Satisi and I about to head for the bus.

JYG's

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:36:00 +0000

I've just come in from an awesome night with the Junior Youth Group. One of the families has a pine plantation on their property and I was left to design a wide game that would fill up an hour and a half. Easy enough, right, and it was. The only problem was that I thought the lower branches would have been trimmed off and at least piled up in rows or something. I was wrong and it was chaos out there. The kids turned out to be champions about it though and they went charging out into the darkness in search of clues and other leaders.. while avoiding me - the boogey man - at all costs. Twice I came out of hiding at full speed only to be blinded by a torch and total myself on a branch or three.

After we had our fun we found a clearing and chilled out for a while. It was awesome just to lie there, look up through the trees to a moonless night and pray. The verse I plucked out and cut into three for all the clues was Isaiah 55:12 " You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." So we talked about that for a bit too.

Scratches all round but well worth it.

Bledisloe

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 04:09:00 +0000

I have put this off for a few days so that I wouldn't write anything I might regret. All I can say is that being an Aussie in Canterbury after we lose to NZ in a Bledisloe Test is painful. Tom and I took the Canadians down to see some quality rugby,.. and it was a good game I guess, just felt a little isolated out there. Davey wore a green jacket which I did try to warn him about.

Interestingly in the Christchurch Press there was an article from a Cantabrian who believes the booing and other rah rah that is handed out by the locals here is out of line.
"..But it was disgraceful the way the most boorish crowd in New Zealand rugby jeered a hardy group of Australian fans attempting to warble Waltzing Matilda."
Definately worth a read. Especially since Dad is always telling me that Aussies are the most arrogant of supporters and commentators going around.

The main lesson has to be that there is nothing good about being second best. (Zinedine Zidane, Rocky Elsom, Wayne Rooney and Radio all being Red Card receivers in the last two weeks.) Only we didn't lose our game when Radio went storming off hurling insults at the referee two weeks back.

'Course we did go to town for a few hours after the game but I was forced to remove my wallaby jersey as the bouncers wouldn't let me into the bars, lets not discriminate here !!

Photos:
i) Pulling the Tom Pym driving/talking technique.
"nah nah.. its alright.."

ii) The green and canary yellow..

iii) The silver fern

Hitting out in Christchurch

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 09:19:00 +0000

Davey and I went down to Christchurch for the day on Wednesday. We both had a few things to do.. I had a meeting with Mike Dodge, head of CYS (Canterbury Youth Services). CYS is the Baptist Church's arm to assist the youth groups and programs on the South Island. Mike has been working with kids for years and years, so we had a good yarn. CYS organises Easter Camp which I went on this year with Ashburton Baptist. 3000+ kids on one campsite. Its a really impressive operation.

Anyway as the afternoon rolled on Davey and I decided the State of Origin was worth staying the night for - Timezones aren't always kind. We pooled our resources found some beds for the night and rocked on over to The Holy Grail. Not much to say for the result of the Origin match hey, nor the excessive amount of Queensland supporters. Incidently the Holy Grail is where Tana Umaga smacked Chris Masoe over the head with a hand bag. Famous incidents by now..

Highlight for today was, of course, Nandos. We waited 2 hours for the manager to open up and I have a weakness, I freely admit, for it is no secret the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Satisfaction guaranteed.

I hope you've all had two days as fun as mine.

Hampstead vs Prebbleton

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:52:00 +0000

We won 14-8 on saturday, our last away game before the finals. Things got a bit stressful during the game and Radio got a red card. Just living up to his nick name.. can't turn him off. Still I was impressed when he demolished a whole smoked chicken on the way TO the game.

Tries: Eddo, Aminio Mattaivou
Cons: B Parsons 2

Sunday: I did half of the Level I & II NZRU coaching course. Pommy Tommy was helping to run it so we had a few laughs. Got lots of reading to do before we do the second half and do the tests on July 23.

Some sad news, Mum's Mum.. Granny Bear has been in a very bad way this week so Mum is off to Johannesburg at 6am. It will be a hard trip to make on her own.

A

Injustice

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 03:35:00 +0000

Who is Luis Medina Cantalejo of Spain?

In time we may forget his name, but the world will remember how he robbed the Aussies at the 2006 World Cup. As I sat, wrapped in blankets cursing the curvature of the earth and NZ's distance from our 'life-giving' sun, my jaw dropped in disbelief as another referee was fooled by yet another Italian dive. What a bunch of flamin' pansies.. can't beat us fair 'n square.. so lets cheat just a little.

Ignoring the fact that that single decision cost Soccer Australia millions in prize money for making the final 8.. If we were Colombia or any other dodgy underworld country Little Luis would be top of a hit list. .. My hit list.

The departing coach, Guus Hiddink, who is off to revive Russian football now, had a word of advice for Australian football authorities: "The momentum has to be used to develop the game in the country. It has become the No. 1 sport in Australia right now in terms of attention."

Personally..
Tri-Nations Rugby starts in just over a week. RWC 2007 is around the corner.. The Ashes Test series has sold all available tickets already.. The injustice may remain, but soccer will slide right on back to its rightful place in Aussie Culture. A game for kids whose mums think it's a safer game. Well, this will go on as long as the English Premier League continues to be the magnet for Aussie soccer hopefuls.

Below: Coach Guus is left to console Lucas Neill while Little Luis looks on.

There's joy in the world.

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:12:00 +0000

Its been a funny day. Nothing special about the day itself.. I got up at 5am.. Went to work. Left at 3:30. Came home.

During the afternoon though I was smiling from ear to ear. It all came from some fairly sombre thoughts. I was thinking about Sam (Qusay) and all the stuff different people must be going through, also what must have been cirlcing round his head. While I was thinking about him, I started thinking about myself... my life.. what I've done, where I've been.. who I love.. the laughs, the pain, the mistakes. I realised my life has been way beyond awesome.

So many good memories. Funny memories of things I thought would ruin my life at the time, but now that I'm on the other side.. It seems silly that I let anything worry me really. You know, I couldn't think of one thing that I would change now, if a change meant I wouldn't be at this exact point in my life.

I have been lucky, blessed, with a stable family and growing up in Aussie. I don't have the painful history that some of you have shared with me, the kind of things I would do anything I could to take away from someone I care for. (Along the road of a macho male friend/boyfriend, the temptaion is always to try and solve or remove the problem, when I can not. I've learned now to console and shoulder rather than solve. Its a feminine skill, hard to master.)

Some of you may not agree out there, but I am convinced that giving these things over to God is the only way to really heal deep scars and find freedom from a haunting past.

Anyway, back at work, I had the tunes flowing through the earphones making time fly and the smile getting bigger, the voice getting louder.. Music is a universal love is it not. If you took the top 10 songs or artists from every person you know; each choice would have a person they could identify that selection to. As each song went by I would think of either who introduced me to that song, or who it reminded me of and why. I am really keen to publish that list tomorrow, but for now I need to focus on getting to bed. Aus v Italy starts in 3 hrs.. Is it worth going to bed??

From now on I've decided no more soccer stories.. You all know I'm watching the games, so if you have a world cup hunger please visit either Kingos or the Boys on the Hill. Both lots of guys are having a ball in Germany.

GOLA!

Another Winter Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 10:30:00 +0000

I must say it has been a constant battle. I'm talking about the decision on whether to stay up and watch the soccer, get up early and watch or just stay in the safety and warmth of my bed. Right now my battle is whether to catch a cold in the next 5 hours before Brazil v Australia starts..

Oh, there is a fourth option.. go to work ??

It feels like one of those "no right or wrong" questions..

Anyway, the weekend:

Hampstead vs Celtic

We had to drive an hour up the road to Lincoln University to find a ground that wasn't covered in snow. In the end the weather was perfect, a chilly breeze for sure, but nothing compared to our home ground. The Kirwee game was the last time we did anything together as a team, that was two weeks ago... and it showed.

We were up at half time 10-7. and that was about it. Final score 24-10
Shane tried making wholesale changes in the team, not sure why, we were doing fine before.

Tries: Steve Paese
Cons: Brian Parsons
Pens: Brian Parsons 1/2

Moving on from there, I was all fired up to watch the Wallabies take on the Poms in Melbourne. Certainly was nice to see the Wallaby backline tearing a few holes. English and Leicester Tigers winger Varndell won't want to play opposite Lote Tuqiri ever again.

Of course Tom and I teamed up to cause a stir through the town..

And we succeeded.

Other than that I have nothing to say but that it has been cold.. real cold.
I watched ice form on the gutters this afternoon while I lay in bed pretending I was in some far away place that was hot.

World Cup Wisdom #1

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 08:51:00 +0000

As a soccer (aka football) player, of some 15 odd years, I thought I should highlight a few joyful parts of the world-game for you all. The first thing any aspiring young kid should learn is how to dive. A professional with a solid dive in his bag of tricks will go a long way. Ok, so, here we go:

i) Practise with your mates, practise practise practise

ii) Get close to the defender and pull your best 10.0 Swan

iii) Roll and grab the nearest muscle

iv) Then immediately switch to the shin.
Note: This is the most crucial part of the procedure. The referee will make his final decision based on the form of this transition. Here Luis Figo goes to the knee, Francesco Totti slides to the front and Gabrielle Cisse completes the complicated manuever with a firm grip. Watch and learn.

v) Express the pain, reach out for medical attention and don't budge till you get it.

And that is it. Success is determined buy how much your opponent cries "faker!" (Moffatt reference) and yet still receives a yellow card.

Here endeth the lesson,
Go get 'em Tigers!

A

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 12:19:00 +0000

Qusay

Sam Cummins

1987-2006

It is with a heavy heart that I make this post. Crookwell and Ag College has lost one of its enduring characters.

I remember Qusay mostly as one of the Aggies who would sit down and talk to this Reddie like we were on the same side. Sporting the shaved head that adorns most 1st year Aggies in Wagga he would often pop around to the house to spin a few yarns or sink a few tinnies with Coit.

This year the hair grew back and life moved on like it does. For the Aggies the game and the land were calling for more but for Sam life's dark side seems to have gotten beyond his load.

My thoughts and prayers are for Sam's family and his mates.

It only seems fitting..
Ego yah

A Massive Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 08:32:00 +0000

My weekend was great. There were so many things that happened, some good.. some very sad. I'll try to get to it all.

So. Friday I went down to Christchurch with Tom the Pom. We had some business at Crusaders Headquarters at Jade Stadium, then we had a good feed, did some shopping and I was off to the airport. I must say I was expecting slightly more security from the Kiwi's. The check-in didn't ask me for my name, they just assumed it was me since i was the last to check in. NB: I wasn't late - there were only eight people on my plane. So the nice gent handed across a boarding pass and took my bag. They directed me towards a makeshift passage to a makeshift (i'm talking port-a-loo standard) departure lounge. Then, as Russ puts it, the Kerosene Budgie rolled up.. chirp chirp.. chirb... chirb.... chirb....
We all walk out, climb up the stairs, bow our heads and shoulders and squeeze down the eisle. At this moment I appreciate being tall and being rewarded with the exit seats once more. Those extra few centimeters are priceless.. and, as things do.. we were off on our way in no time. It's important to mention at this point that Christchurch was hot,.. not stinking hot, but T-shirts and shorts hot.

Landed at Wellington with a few bumps and grinds but nothing compared to the show the windy city normally puts on. I smiled to myself at the name of the airport..
Many of you will know of the book by John Eldredge, Wild at Heart, if you don't follow the link, buy it, read it. Anyway, I enjoyed thinking about how wild this city can be and I was looking forward to getting over to Russ' work to kick off the weekend. Sadly the sun had gone down by the time I had legged it to his harbour-side office but the weekend cheer was already being celebrated when I arrived. A few meet and greets and then we were off to Little India for a spot of curry. Never Again

I did get to meet some of Russ' Wellington mates. Of note Henry and Tanja were a good laugh. We had some interesting chats and theories about how lazy people are getting with communication. See, we all used to write letters, then we started to write emails.. and face to face gave way to phone calls then text messages took over and now we barely write personal emails. We post blogs, and expect everyone to read them.. (I am doing this right now) so that I won't have to bother with personal emails.. or even a group one. I realised this a week ago when "Best Mate" Macca rang me and said I hadn't been telling him what is going on in my life..
I responded with.. "read the blog ?!?"

I apologise.

The night progressed along Wellington's trendy scene from Cuba to Courtenay. Had a good chill out, some nice cocktails and then a little boogie too. 4am Wellington, I reassembled the couch cushions on Russ' hardwood floor. For some reason five full-time workers are too tight to turn on the central heating in the house. Welcome to New Zealand.

Saturday was absolutely beautiful. Russ and I strode up Mt Victoria to see the view back over the city. The sun was out and the view spectacular. The walk up was quite fresh too. Coming down, a much easier task, took us through the woods where the dark riders of the Lord of the Rings were filmed. You know, where the little fellas hide from the big dude, yup.

So, I was hungry. Nothin' new there. Russ made me aware of a new addition to NZ's fast food ranks. Burgerfuel. Ladies take note. These are good, very good burgers. First I ate a Studnut Stilton - 1/3lb ground beef, stilton sauce, avocado, salad and relish. I tell you, my stomach yearned for more. hmmm, I indulged a little. Next a Brie Injection - 1/3lb ground beef, brie, salad, relish and aioli. Whatever Aioli is ?? it was tasty.

To mention that I had another Studnut burger the next day after getting a double breast burger at Nandos.. Just goes to show how great I think this new store is. Franchises are available on the website. Ok, so I just checked it out, Aioli is: Fresh egg yolk, crushed garlic and canola blended into a thick creamy mayonnaise and free from artificial flavours, additives or preservatives.

Saturday night we watched the Irish give the second choice All-Blacks a scare. We went to Murphy's to watch it, so there was plenty of cheer for Brian O'Driscoll and his charge of merry men. I was hoping to see an emerald green win, but it wasn't to be. We decided to burn through to 1:30am for the soccer: England v Paraguay. A waste of time, it proved to be about as exciting as walking home from the dentist. You're numb, you're not sure what happened and you don't want to do it again.

Sunday turned a little chilly with patchy cloud and rain. I sat round and didn't do all that much. All part of the relaxing weekend without rugby that I was searching for. No complaints except to say that it was clear the true nature of Wellington weather was about to rear its ugly head. The wind and rain seeking to break in at every uneven corner of the house.

I woke up Monday morning and basically refused to budge. I didn't need to open the curtains to find out what was going on out there. After putting on anything warm I swam down to where the bus goes to the Airport. Saturated I ventured out there knowing full well that the chances of a flight taking off was slim only to find out Christchurch had cancelled all flights due to snow. What.. ?

A phonecall back to Ashburton revealed the shocking truth. Over a metre of snow had dumped over night without me.. and it was still falling. A winter wonderland appeared over night and destroyed public services. Transport, power, phone lines.. gone. I trudged back into town and circled round the National Museum "Te Papa". They have the Lord of the Rings exhibit there at the moment, something definately worth a visit. Though the Kiwi's once again showed they have a chip on their shoulder over our cuddly possums. This is the very first display as you walk in. Warky would be proud. you'll have to click on the picture to read, but its worth it, and Yes that IS roadkill possum in the cabinet.

Thankfully essentials were mostly restored today and I have made it home. No rugby for quite some time judging by the state of the ground.
And that pretty much sums up my weekend.

Photos:
Christchurch - snow right to the edge! Yes, that is the ocean there.

I cant see the grass.. can you?

Bags not digging the car out

Footy Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Eddo) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 06:33:00 +0000

Life is not all about sport. Well, it's not. But try tell these people.

It seems the kind folk in China and Japan are taking this a lot more seriously than some of us. These scenes might help to stir some Aussie sentiment, firstly the cluster of Aussies hidden up the back by the Dutch, then the lone hero with his green and gold scarf after Tim Cahill's goal.

So, In case world cup fever isn't your thing,.. we thankfully have State of Origin tonight and Aus vs Eng and NZ vs Ireland Rugby Union this weekend. Now that we all know how we will spend this coming weekend (Glued to a flat screen at the local establishment or bachelor pad) lets spare a moment to think about how some remote Pakistanis will bring in the World Cup..

yup..