A torrid summer for british sport

This summer promised so much for lovers of British Sport but as usual all of the hype led to some very below par performances and results. The football team in the World Cup were very boring to watch, played in a very negative way and never looked liked winning the tournament. In this article, I will be writing about this sporting event as well as looking at the Wimbledon tennis championships and the recent international cricket one-day series with Sri Lanka.

I was very excited about this summers sporting activities involving our British sporting stars. I really believed that England could have won the World Cup and still think that they should have. Our team has so much more talent in it than the eventual winners Italy, but had an inept coach who must have been laughing all the way to the bank, earning the crazy amounts that he did. Yes Wayne Rooney was stupid but how frustrated must he have been after being left to play up front on his own, this is a position which is not natural to him and is a huge waste of his talents.

Other players in the team such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard looked shadows of their former selves and must have been completely bemused at the tactics employed. I am not really that enthused at the future prospects under Sven's understudy Steve McLaren. I think we need someone who is going to make some big decisions such as playing the youth when required and dropping players like Ferdinand when they are not performing.

At the Wimbledon tennis championships the British challenge died out before it seemed to have got started. I have to admit that I did not really hold out any hope for any of our players but it was the way in which they lost that upset me the most. Where has the British bull dog spirit gone? These players may as well have held up a white a flag in the first set for the effort they seemed to put in after this point.

In the latest one-day cricket international series against Sri Lanka, England lost all five matches. Perhaps they are saving themselves for the ashes tour of Australia, if they win over there I will let them off I suppose. The team has also had quite a few of their big time players out injured but again just like at Wimbledon it was the way in which the team lost that was the most annoying thing.

It really has been a summer which promised so much but one which I will now happily forget. Lets think positive, things can only get better!

Holmes on trial

Imagine a football star, 22 years old, with all the success ahead of him, on the verge of fulfilling his dreams of turning into a recognized star and now being involved in legal problems. What a way to screw up!

Santonio Holmes the first round draft choice of Pittsburg Steelers was ordered to stand trial next August 15. The reason is for stemming charges on assault and domestic violence incident which supposedly happened in June 19 concerning the mother of his five months year old baby.

Michael Brandt, Columbus Municipal Court Judge, set the date even when the victim is refusing to testify against Holmes, despite the situation the woman does not want to proceed with the charges. Holmes paid a $3.500 bond to remain free.

The worst thing for the player is that if the trial’s date remains, Holmes will be forced to leave the Steelers less than 3 weeks into his first NFL training camp.

But this is not the only case that involves Holmes and the law. He also has a hearing next Wednesday in Miami Beach for charges on disorderly conduct as a result of his arrest on Memorial Day weekend. This kind of behavior makes Holmes’ reputation to fall down and to be in real problems with the NFL, it could bring sanctions before he ever plays his first regular-season game.

Most people know how important is for a lot of college players to be picked up in a NFL draft, it can be the highest dream to reach for them on their careers, and the question remains … why some players do not take advantage of this kind of opportunities?

Artists biographies on film top movies about visual artists

Visual artists biographies is a popular theme in the movie world. Moviemakers have always been fascinated by visual artists biographies, especially if it includes struggle with insanity, drug addiction or social conventions. In addition, it gives them an opportunity to depict original or resurrected artworks on the big screen.

Here you can read about some of the most interesting movies about visual artists biographies.

Lust for Life directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1952

Vincent Van Gogh biography had gained several cinematic adaptations. Lust for Life with Kirk Douglas as the struggling artist is one of the most notable. The movie is based on a best selling book by Irving Stone, who also authored The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michelangelo, which also had appeared on the silver screen.

If you are a fan of Van Gogh artwork, you would enjoy watching Last for Life, which features almost 200 of Van Goghs original paintings. However, if you are familiar with Kirk Douglas previous filmographic, seeing him as a tortured Dutch painter might take a little adjustment. Another recommended film about Van Gogh is Robert Altmans Vincent and Theo from 1990.

Surviving Picasso directed by James Ivory in 1996

Like Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso image made him an iconic figure outside the artistic circles. While Van Gogh symbolizes the self destructive, manic depressive artist who achieves success only after his death, Picasso represents the misanthropic and womanizer artist. Picasso infamous relationship with women is the focus of this Merchant and Ivory film. The story is told from the eyes of Picasso mistress Francoise Gilot and features only reproductions of Picasso works. With Anthony Hopkins talent and his physical resemblance to Picasso, Surviving Picasso manages to create an unflattering portrait of an artist as a cruel, self centered genius.

Girl with Pearl Earring directed by Peter Webber in 2003

Comparing to Van Gogh and Picasso, Vermeers biography is less known and less controversial. Therefore Girl with Pearl Earring is much more restrained and delicate. The movie focuses on a short period in Vermeers life in which he was painting the portrait of his young low class maid. Although Girl with Pearl Earring does not avoid filmic conventions by over dramatizing Vermeers painting process, the movie is worth watching if only for its artistic design, which success in evoking Vermeers perception of light and color.

Basquiat directed by Julian Schnabel in 1996

The most common critique against movies that deals with visual arts is the way they depict the creation process. Therefore, there were big expectations from Basquiat, which was directed by the celebrated painter Julian Schnabel. Schnabel did well in depicting Jean Michelle Basquiat rise and fall story in less the predictable manner we have seen millions time before. However, the only reason to watch Basquiat is David Bowie plays the role of Andy Warhol.

Frida directed by Julie Taymor in 2002

Like most of the visual artists who had their life story appear on the silver screen, Frida Kahlo carried an unusual biography, which includes bus accident, problematic marriage, and an affair with Leon Trotsky. Like Van Gogh, Picasso and Jackson Pollock, who was the subject of a biopic from 2000, Frida Kahlo was an icon long before Frida was released, but the 123 minutes film did help to strength her position as a feminist idol and probably the most famous woman painter of the 20 century. Frida tries its best to integrate Frida Kahlo life story with her painting and the result is very colorful and pleasant, but still does not stay far enough from the conventions of depicting artists on film.

How to have a great time gambling without losing your money

Gambling in a casino or online casino is supposed to be for fun, but for many people the casino is the place where some machine eats all their money, and they are broke after the first hour and have to go to the ATM to get more money.

If you are not an experienced gambler it may be best to stick to the slot machines, but the fact is that the casinos make most of their money from those one armed bandits.

The easiest game in the casino is Roulette. The object of roulette is to guess what number the little ball will land on, which is not easy but there are other bets to make. In roulette you can bet on the color of the number the ball will land on, and since there are only 2 colors on the board it is a much safer bet. You can also bet on whether the ball will land on an even or odd number.

If you are not an expert gambler and just want to have a good time you can also play keno. Keno is much like the lottery. You have a card marked with numbers 1 to 100, and depending on the amount you want to spend and the game you play determines on how many of the number you get to pick. A computer picks the numbers and if you have at least 5 correct numbers you will win some of your money back.

I would recommend staying away from the poker rooms, but there is one poker game that is mostly newbie friendly, Red Dog Poker. The game is very simple to play. the dealer gives out 2 cards, and the player has to bet if the next card will fall in between the first 2, an example of this is you are dealt a 5 and a queen, so you have to bet on if the next card will be a 6 to a jack, the smaller the distance between the cards the more money you will win if you are right. If your cards are a 5 and a 9 and you win you will win less then if your cards were a 5 and a 7 and the next card is a 6. You may never become a millionaire from playing Red Dog Poker, but it is lots of fun and you can sit at the table for hours without spending much money, and it can be lots of fun.

One of my favorite things to do in the casinos or online sportsbooks is to play the horses. You do not need to be a genius or have been going to the track for years to pick a winner, all the information on the horse and jockey is displayed in an easy to understand way so you can have all the information you need to pick a winner, and for a few 2 dollar bets you can spend an entire evening in a casino or sportsbook for less then 50 dollars.

Nebraska s heisman hero

Like many Heisman Trophy winners before him, Eric Crouch has found out stardom in the college ranks is not a guaranteed ticket to pro football fame and fortune.

Crouch, out of Nebraska, was voted the most outstanding college player in 2001. The Cornhuskers have produced many offensive “greats” but, by the time Crouch left the school, the quarterback had surpassed them all, leaving a trail of new records in the NU books. Among other highs, he is the NU career total offense leader (7,915 yards), holds the record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback, single game total offense record (360 yards), is the touchdown leader (88), and set an NCAA record for most career rushing TD’s by a quarterback (59).

After trials with the Rams, Packers and Chiefs, Eric accepted the NFL consensus he lacked size at quarterback and was sent packing to NFL Europe for the 2005 season as a safety. He didn’t agree. Stepping down from glory is jagged pill to swallow.

Eric Crouch wants to be a professional quarterback.

The Canadian Football League is giving him that chance. He impressed the Toronto Argonaunts enough during an off season trial, he’ll come to camp with a full shot at backing up starter Damon Allen.

Nebraska’s star isn’t the first quarterback of note to get his career in gear playing in the CFL. Wally Moon comes to mind. The Argonauts themselves have had Joe Theisman and 1984 Heisman Trophy winning Doug Flutie at the helm in the past. Eric Crouch isn’t even the first Nebraska Heisman winner to get his start up north. Johnny Rodgers was a first round draft pick in 1973 but he turned down San Diego in favor of Montreal.

Who knows? If things go well for Eric Crouch up there in Toronto, he might never want to come back.

The magical story behind yellow wristbands

From a few years back fashion has played a very important role in our society. Who when is time to go out doesn’t look at himself or herself in the mirror, or asks if her/his outfit looks good, exactly everyone does it. Fashion can be a pair of jeans that everybody is wearing, or a hair style or a pair of shoes that just seems that everybody has to have. However when we are talking fashion from three years and even until today we cant help but talk about the pro-cause wristbands that says “Live strong.”

These wristbands were made in order to get money to donate to the foundation that is trying to find a cure against cancer, it was invented, or it was sponsor by the famous Lance Armstrong. It was a great idea, and it was accepted worldwide, and it not only was a huge success because it sold a lot of wristbands, but it imposed fashion. Everybody wanted to have a wristband. It was amazing, it was like a cycle because if people dint have one they wanted one, and if they already have one, they wanted another one.

This madness with the wristbands shows that fashion can influence a lot when it comes to being accepted, and it shows that if something is popular then everybody wants to have it, and if they cant they create their own, as one can see today there is not only the typical yellow wristband that says livestrong, but there are plenty of wristbands that say all kinds of messages, for example over spring brake I got a pink wristband that said social butterfly, and my friends got other ones that were red, orange, that said messages about a certain beer, or how the beach is the best place on earth.