My Rating: 4 out of 10

“Journey’s End” is more of what we got with “The Stolen Earth”, no more and no less. The problem is that “The Stolen Earth” was more than a little bit rubbish, and the stench doesn’t get better with time. Russell T Davis doesn’t fix the problems that cropped up in the previous episode and because of this - and in spite of every other aspect of the episode being top-notch - the writing turns what should’ve been a great series finale into a steaming pile of dung.

This episode picks up right where the previous one left off: the Doctor is in the middle of regenerating, and both Sarah Jane and the Torchwood team are at the mercy of the Daleks. These cliffhangers showcase the problems with the episode in a nutshell: Russell T Davis doesn’t seem to know how to solve the problems he creates for his heroes. His ideas for resolving huge problems are to have something miraculous happen in the first two minutes of the episode. And I do mean miraculous. Only one of the resolutions actually leads into a future plot point, and they all come from nowhere and only serve to cheapen the episode.

Time after time, throughout the episode, Davis falls back on his dues ex machinas to solve problems, having solutions appear from out of nowhere, and ultimately leaving me with the feeling that the heroes (or the villains) haven’t earned their victories. And each dues ex machina feels more insanely easy than the next, until the Doctor’s inevitable victory over the forces of evil comes so simply that I have to wonder why someone didn’t just do it in the first five minutes and save us all the pain of having to watch this crapfest.

...

Okay, that was a bit harsh. There was a fair bit to like within the episode. Everyone puts in a good performance: Tennant is at his manic best, Tate gets to showcase her acting range again as Donna goes through the ringer, and the ex-Companions are fun to watch, especially Barrowman’s ever-entertaining philanderer from the future. Nicholas Briggs gets to show off his range again, breaking out of the monotony of straight Daleks with the crazy Caan and the arrogant Supreme. Julian Bleach as Davros is the standout with my favourite villainous performance of the revived series so far, surpassing John Simm’s Master, the previous titleholder.

The Mill again worked overtime to provide some top-notch special effects. Scenes of Davros’ death ray, the 27 planets, the Dalek fleet, they were all rendered beautifully with pain-staking detail that almost distracted from the shortcomings of the episode. The CGI on Doctor Who is always top of the line and “Journey’s End” is not exception - if anything, they’ve outdone themselves.

But ultimately, these elements are there to serve the script, and that’s where the episode just plain sucks. Russell T Davis’ swansong is like a Milli Vanilli number, all flash and no substance and leaving the audience unfulfilled. The endings (note the plural) were all particularly unfulfilling, from that fanwankery of Rose to the sheer, utter disappointment of Donna. The script is a disservice to the fandom, and by the time the episode was over I was so glad that this would be Davis’ last series as the showrunner. Steven Moffat is a writer who knows how to craft a plot, so hopefully there won’t be such a scornful review coming from my fingers again.

To sum up: “Journey’s End” = major disappointment.

My Rating: 4 out of 10

"A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life."

J- Robertson Davies (1913 - 1995), from his book "What's Bred in the Bone" (1981). Davies was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor.

Fruit Salad Gay Podcast

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Kristy Cates!!

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UPON the Complaint of the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Llanelly aforesaid, in the said County of Brecon, unto us whose Names and Seals are hereunto Subscribed and Set, being two of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, in  and for the said County of Brecon, and one of us of the Quorum, that Anne Hellyer Widow  hath come to inhabit in the said Parish of Llanelly not having gained a legal Settlement there, nor produced any Certificate, owning her to be settled elsewhere, and that the said Anne is now actually Chargeable to the said parish of Llanelly.

WE the said Justices, upon due proof made thereof, as well upon the Examination of the said Anne on Oath as otherwise, and likewise upon due Consideration had of the Premises, do adjudge the same to be true, and WE do likewise adjudge that the lawful Settlement is in the Parish of Nunney aforesaid, in the said County of Somerset. WE do therefore require you the said Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Llanelly or some or one of you to convey the said Anne from and out of the said Parish of Llanelly to the said Parish of Nunney and her to deliver to the Church-wardens and Overseers of the poor there, or to some or one of them, together with this our Order, or a true Copy thereof, at the same time showing to them or one of them the Original. And We do also require you the said Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said parish of Nunney to receive and provide for her as an Inhabitant of your parish.

Given under our Hands and Seals this Second Day of November in the Year of the Reign of his Majesty King George the Fourth, and the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty Six.

Rd Davies
Jn: Hotchkis
Edward Kendall

Guest Blogger today.

Don't know much about him though he wears #22 has the last name of Davies, and apparently is friendly with Asa's Head.

Game summary
An easy win for North County in prep. for the big game on wednesday against the reserve team dba/aka BTK FC
Good performances from some players, and equally pathetic performances from, well you know, the usual suspects
Clay got himself injured, Asa had his handbag out a couple of times, Jeff Bose likes guys shorts a lot more than we expected
Kiltau is jelous of this fact and intends to be wearing those high cut 80's style shorts tomorrow.
Steiner is also preparing to shake things up by passing to other players on his team (apparently)
Slinkman will be wearing his minnie mouse outfit

Game Specifics

Can't even remember the score (was it 7-2 or something)
PK Davies...straightforward
Forget who tapped in a volley for the second, my assist too
MEK laid off for the third, I think for Chris
I got the 4th with a clean strike from several yards out at least
Second-half, Chris got one or two more, Jackie grabbed one, Gremma got one but also missed a couple, as did Matt.
Killian blasted over before fouling his way to a goal
Jeff Bose tried to rape the forward, tearing off his shorts, got a yellow and let the PK in.
They grabbed another somewhere in between our goals too.

Ratings

Bose 6, minus 2 =4
JC 6, minus 1 for the tiredness, =1 for the beers
Carlton...7 for looking tall
Nate, kept his mouth shut, 6 for effort
Asa...6, minus 1, plus 1, divide by three x2 =7
Clay 7-2+2 for getting back on the horse, scoring and subbing himself =7
Chris 7+1 for a good goal, minus 1 for selfish, +1 for subbing himself=8
Gremma 7
Jackie 7
Killian 3
Kinney 2
Bernard 5
Davies...it really don't matter what you give me, it will be biased nonetheless, but bear in mind, I need to be feeling full of confidence for wednesday so don't be too harsh

[Editor's note: I will ignore ratings above and do what I want. Jeff obviously was not paying attention to the game]

I believe what I said is “due to his age, his balls are so long they drag on the floor.

I stand corrected, but new evidence strongly supports Liza comments (see photo below)

sources with knowledge of the negotiations have said that aging Englishman, Jeff Davies, of North County FC, will soon be traded to Better than Kilian. Terms of the exchange have not been finalized yet, but to increase BTK's bench strength, Kilian may receive 2 cases of Heineken, a pirated copy of Liza Minnelli's Greatest Hits, and the missing tip of Greyma's index finger. No word of confirmation from Kilian, but Vastola was overheard saying: "I'll miss grooving to Liza for sure, but Davies gives us the long ball, and I love his accent."

One freeskate night, I'd been skating for a while, and was really tired.  I looked at the clock and the ice and told myself, "Okay, 10 more minutes."  About 3 minutes later, I did what I've often done in my life in tennis, skating, you name it: I got lazy with my left foot and didn't pick it up enough. 

Figure skates have picks on the front of them.  Do you know what happens when you don't pick your foot up and the pick finds the ice?

BOOM

I'm flat on my face.  I look up and see the Zamboni guy who is off-rink, hop off the Zamboni, leap the wall, and come skating over.  Needless to say, I'm embarassed and humiliated.  He skates up to me, kneels down, and asks, "Are you OKAY?"  I tell him, yes, and he responds with, "Oh, Good.  Cuz that was really LOUD." 

Embarassing.  On the other hand, I walked away.  I probably cracked a rib that night, but nevertheless, didn't go to the hospital.

As I was walking up the street this past Tuesday night in San Francisco, I apparently did the same thing - dragged my left toe.  This time, however, I managed to open my skull in the back.  An evening and night in the hospital, and 8 stitches in my head later, I discovered the joy of walking in public with a giant, bandaged head.

Have you ever had a staple put in your head before?  Don't.  I wound up with the stitches instead. 

A giant thank you to the doctors and nurses at Davies.  I'm a horrible patient, I know. 

I misread the bus schedule, and thought there was no transportation in the morning from SF to Sausalito.  That meant a walk, which I actually wanted.  Of course, part of my path included walking the Golden Gate Bridge.  I'm convinced I amused the workers, and horrified the tourists.

I did get to walk the bridge, though ...

P.S.  Remind me to tell you the other, most embarassing moment ... Gran Via in Madrid ...

Tutte le news di oggi

Sito FC Inter
Sito AC Milan
Sito FC Juventus
Sito AS Roma
Sito SSC Napoli

Tutte le altre notizie ...
Il Manchester United è campione d'Inghilterra. I red devils hanno vinto per 2-0 sul campo del Wigan nell'ultima giornata della Premier League. La formazione di Alex Ferguson, che oggi si è imposta con i gol di Cristiano Ronaldo e Ryan Giggs, chiude con 87 punti, 2 in piu' rispetto al Chelsea che ha pareggiato 1-1 con il Bolton.

I FINALI

WIGAN-MANCHESTER UTD 0-2
33' pt C. Ronaldo
80' Giggs

CHELSEA-BOLTON 1-1
62' Shevchenko, 90' Davies
Continua...

Avatar Narrative

Hi, I'm Chuck. Chuck Davies... I'm an engineer in my mid twenties, I live my life to the full. I enjoy my life and the people that fill it. I love riding my bike, playing chess and meeting new acquaintances. We have one shot at life so why not make good use of it. I love animals and wildlife, I have my own dog, Spike, he's a character that one. I found him on one of my trips, abandoned almost left to dead. Yeah, I took him in took care of him and now we're best buddies. It's hard to understand how some people have no regard for life.

I also enjoy my adventures out on sea. Just love starting early, before the sun heads out. Making my way through the thick smog, with a numb noes and snap frozen hands. Breakfast in one hand equipment in other, nothing more to worry bout. Quite times those, gives me an opportunity to ponder. To think about all the things important to me, our environment, global warming, those cruel things that happen to animals. It gives me that inner drive for the day, gives me that conviction and determination... a reassurance of the rightfulness of what I do.

I believe in more than just political negotiation, I think we need to take action. I cannot remain a passive spectator as generations of seals are slaughtered, whales murdered all in the name of scientific research. It's outrageous! That's why I do these little trips from year to year. To try make a difference. It does take courage to risk your life for animals, risk arrest. But it's the only hope they (animals) have. Nothing is going to change my determination to protect these helpless animals from those ruthless murderers.

The stakes are higher but so are the rewards. Knowing you saved a hundred whales., knowing your actions can make a difference is the best experience anyone can enjoy. I'm out there to make a difference... it is my home... where I belong...

I attach a letter in which I hand over to Rob and in a very tempered way discuss some of the PSA issues as I see them.
I would like Rob to distribute it.
Jon

A few thoughts on the PSA.

Firstly my apologies.

I have not been as active as a co-chair should have been over the last five months.
This is simply owing to the pressures in my life. I have recently taken over running a national charity and coupled with my teaching commitments this has meant I have been away from London a great deal or working evenings.
Unfortunately the PSA meeting and Westminster events have often happened on evenings where I have had commitments and although I have been able to shift some of them it has not often been possible.

As many of you will know I helped start the PSA again after it had become dormant about six years ago. It has not been an easy task. Meetings and events have often been very poorly supported and yet a few of us persevered. The support from the school was often lamentable but we kept going. I hope that this inheritance will help in the current campaigns. Only one rank and file teacher showed any consistent interest , thanks Steve.

In any case my ‘career’ as a parent at Pimlico is drawing to a close with our first son having left and our youngest finishing next year. Others with more of an investment must take over.

I have been desperately trying to find people to take over for years. It is sad that it has taken such negative circumstances to make this happen.

My current position

My work commitments are not going to change.
Much as I would like to be able to offer consistent amounts of time to the PSA it just isn’t going to happen.
I therefore think it would be sensible for me to offer my resignation as co-chair and hand over to Rob whose investment in the school lies in the future.
I hope the committee will accept this.
I am of course happy to offer any experience I can bring to bear over the coming months.

My thoughts

As co-chair it was necessary to retain some degree of impartiality but I would like to offer some thoughts to you all, in confidence and without any desire to create streams of emails to me, for you to do with what you will.

Headteachers

Successful schools need good leadership. The PSA should work with Jo Shuter. It will be much more difficult for HMI’s to fail a school with a head of her renown in charge.
There is a danger of canonising Phil and demonising Jo. Neither is particularly useful.
Phil was lovely guy and had the best interests of the school at heart but he wasn’t perfect and the school had significant flaws.

Likewise Jo may well be secondary head of the year but her grasp of public relations has been poor and she has made mistakes. I appreciate her honesty but she is in a very difficult position stuck between a shell-shocked school community and Westminster Council. She cannot be blamed for allowing the potential Academy sponsors to visit the school. This does not suddenly make her in favour of Academies.

The OFSTED inspection

The school not only failed its OFSTED but has failed a significant number of pupils over the years. Some of them are the children of my friends or children I taught at Primary School or knew of during my 21 years as a school governor.

However well some kids do, many children have just drifted through Pimlico ending up with results that are below what they could have expected at other similar schools.

It isn’t an act of disloyalty to recognise this. It would be an act of stupidity to ignore it.

When we chose Pimlico I checked its GCSE results they have not made the progress similar schools have made (Holland Park from 30% in 2000 to 53% for 5 A* -C’s, Pimlico from 36% to 43% in the same period) and especially not when value added is taken into account. We can argue a lot about statistics but Pimlico with the advantage of children selected by the music scheme should have done much better.

The conspiracy theory.

If you believe OFSTED is bent and that there is a political conspiracy between Andrew Adonis, Westminster Council and OFSTED then you may as well give up now because the end result is already certain. I don’t think that is the case.

Why didn’t Westminster send in an Academy favouring acting head? Why did they choose Jo Shuter. Not a great start to a conspiracy.

I have had enough direct experience of government to doubt whether anyone at the top could or would spend the time to target Pimlico School however much all the cards seem stacked against the school retaining its current status. Those of us who participated in the previous OFSTED knew how close it was then, the failure was not a surprise to many people close to the school. The fact that the system creates such destruction is tragic.

Creating allies

My advice would be that the PSA tries to be constructive in the changes that are undoubtedly happening in the school. In the current jargon ‘be a critical friend’ but try and make friends. Janet Mokades, The ex-head (Victor Sylvester?) and Steve Farnsworth should all be communicated with and arguments made sensibly.

It is so much easier to make enemies and snipe at them but so counter-productive. The whole attitude towards QK seems absurd. Are we really afraid of talking to them?

Listen to what the man from Hammersmith said about making wider alliances in the Borough.

And personal attacks on possible external allies, or members of the PSA, and I have to include myself in this, will only make it easier for others to divide and rule. They will also sap much needed energy.

What/who is the PSA?

As Melissa Benn and the people from Hammersmith made clear the future of the school will depend on mobilising the parents and making their voice clear.
The PSA is still almost universally white and pretty middle class. The PSA needs to get out to the parents who make up the majority or it will be by-passed.

The response to the Westminster consultation was actually pathetic. We claim, quite rightly that there was an overwhelming ‘no’ vote but the turnout from parents and staff was embarrassing. Most parents appear to show little interest in what is going on.

Committee meetings and petitions cannot be the only strategies. We need to get more people doing things that attract students and parents into the school. This takes time and organisation and I am happy to share my experience of doing this with anyone energetic enough to try.

Who is the enemy?

Not anyone working in the PSA despite some really heavy emails I see from time to time.
The PSA committee has been fairly harmonious but the room for dissent needs to continue or it will shrink into a small group of the politically pure in classic time-honoured form.
The ‘you are for us or against us’ attitude will just put off the very people you need.
For instance the Special Music Scheme parents may have a very distinctive interest to pursue but they need to be kept on board. Perhaps some of them want to explore the idea of an academy, that shouldn’t lead to a witch hunt. Most seem to be keen on retaining community status, but if they became a separate force or seen as an ’enemy within’ the scope for divide and rule will magnify.
I was not around for the battle over the school re-build last time. But however great a victory the school community was split right down the middle and it took years to recover.

What are my recommendations for the PSA?

1. First of all stick together and allow debate and dissent. Think hard what you write in emails.

2. Try and reduce the number of emails. The system we have means everyone gets everything and fills in-boxes.

3. Spend energy making sure the BSF offer isn’t sub-standard. The new school build is vital and we need to be on our toes as Westminster cuts and cuts into the original spec. There looks a suspiciously large amount of open space near the church that in a future world could be sold off.

4. The increase in standards is vital. Fail the HMI inspections and the Academy will follow. Keep an eye on the big issues, leadership, standards of teaching etc and don’t be diverted over the smaller issues such as uniform. Use the energy wisely.

5. Support the staff – making sure that the PSA is seen to be including the staff in its activities, encouraging more to become involved.

6. Broad the appeal of the PSA.

7. Make allies not enemies.

8. Consider all the options however unpalatable and have strategies ready to address them.

Jon Davies July 18th 2007

Chair Pimlico PSA 2000-2007

Perfect example of side-stepping then a dream of a pass from Fenwick..

Villa went ahead 1-0 in the 68th minute when former player Aaron Hughes turned a Maloney corner into his own net due to some heavy pressure from Carew. Simon Davies equalised for Fulham 4 minutes later, and after a Curtis Davies foul on the edge of the area, Fulham's comeback was complete when Bullard struck home with a superb free-kick in the dying stages of the match.

The win was Fulham's first since Roy Hodgson replaced Lawrie Sanchez as manager on December 30. It was not a good day for Villa, who lost their first league match since the 8th of Decemember and had Agbonlahor limp off at half time with a strained hamstring and Curtis Davies replaced in the 90th minute with a knee problem. These injuries seem to be short term, and with our threadbare squad lets hope both players will be back in action in time for the home fixture against struggling Newcastle on the 9th.

"I am disappointed for Gabby because he has strained his hamstring," said Martin O'Neill.

"He will still meet up with the England squad because he has earned that right to go with the big boys but he would not have a prayer of playing on Wednesday. He went out for a moment or two before the start of the second half but he was feeling it a bit. But if anybody has deserved a call-up, he has."

"But Gabby is the first one to agree with me that getting the call-up is great but getting into the England team and being brilliant are two different things. He is particularly disappointed."

"Overall, I've been delighted with the players but today was an opportunity for us and we didn't do well enough," said O'Neill.

"I just thought we should have played better today. We were playing against a Fulham side that play neat and tidy football but who are lacking in a bit of confidence. We had gone eight games unbeaten so our confidence was high. But we didn't play well enough, even when we got in front."

The result leaves Villa in 6th place with 41 points.

"They have been absolutely terrific, I'm delighted - just to be in the manager's thoughts is absolutely fantastic for them," said O'Neill.

"It's a great credit to the players and also reflects well on the club."

Whether any of the Villa players will make Capello's starting XI remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, this will be fantastic experience for these immensely talented young players.

England play friendlies against Switzerland on February the 6th, and against France in late March.

Click here for the full England squad and fixture list at the fa.com

Click here to listen to this podcast.

Click here to download the transcript of this podcast.

]]> http://cissiboy.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/bravi-ragazzi/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:21:15 +0000 cissiboy http://cissiboy.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/bravi-ragazzi/ Notte brava per Rhys Thomas e Rhodri Gomer-Davies del Newport dopo la vittoria in Heineken Cup col Benetton. Rubano un cellulare, picchiano due poliziotti e danneggiano due volanti. Condannati per direttissima con la condizionale

Rhys Thomas, 25 anni, e il centro Rhodri Gomer-Davies, 24. www.newportgwentdragons.com

TREVISO, 10 dicembre 2007 - Un telefono cellulare rubato, poliziotti picchiati, volanti della polizia danneggiate. Sono bastati due giocatori, ubriachi, il pilone Rhys Thomas e il centro Rhodri Gomer-Davies, entrambi dei Newport Gwent Dragons per creare un tale finimondo dopo la sfida di Heineken Cup di sabato vinta sul Benetton per 35-33 che aveva visto entrambi i giocatori andare in meta. Dopo il terzo tempo trascorso in uno dei locali dello stadio di Monigo, per festeggiare la vittoria del terzo turno della Coppa, i due giocatori sono andati nella vicina discoteca "Havana Club". Qui è iniziata la serata turbolenta della terribile coppia.

I FATTI - Gomer-Davies ha rubato il cellulare a un dipendente nel locale che ha subito chiamato la polizia. Le forze dell'ordine, arrivate sul posto dopo una chiamata alle 2.36, hanno subito accertato il furto: fatto squillare, il telefono era nelle tasche di Thomas che evidentemente l'aveva ricevuto dal compagno. Per reazione i giocatori hanno cominciato a picchiare gli agenti con calci e pugni: ricoverati, i poliziotti hanno riportato rispettivamente una contusione cranica e un trauma alla caviglia sinistra. Immobilizzati da altre forze dell'ordine chiamate in soccorso, i giocatori hanno anche danneggiato pesantemente le due volanti con cui sono stati portati in Questura: soprattutto Gomer-Davies ha preso a testate il vetro dello sportello sinistro creando addirittura una crepa. Anche durante gli accertamenti di rito e prima di essere condotti presso il carcere di S. Bona, i due hanno continuato con una lunga serie di insulti.

PROCESSATI - Questa mattina il processo per direttissima: Gomer-Davies è stato condannato a 4 mesi e 15 giorni, Thomas a 2 mesi e 15 giorni: entrambi hanno evitato la condanna per furto perché il proprietario del telefono cellulare ha poi ritirato la denuncia. Entrambi hanno già fatto ritorno in Galles dopo aver risarcito i danni procurati.

Dog handler PC Paul Davies was attacked with a screwdriver after disturbing two men in an Oxford store in January 2006.

PC Davies received the award during a ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane, London.

Link.