Jack Jack

From what I've seen and heard of Neeld so far is that he wants a very structured and disciplined side. The question is who will lift in this environment and become the keystones in the side? I don't have a good answer to that unfortunately. But here's my list anyway. 1 & 2. Jamar and Moloney. Can they be counted as just one? Their work and understanding of each other has been a real standout for the last few seasons. Both quality players, but together they can take it to another level. To get a full season out of them both can only make the side better. 3. Clark. We got him for a reason. We've got no real tall target in our forward line and I think a lot of our forward structures will be built around him. Without him who will fill the void? 4. Frawley. It's funny that not so long ago we had a dearth of key defenders. Not anymore. But notwithstanding it must be recognised that Frawley is a standout in the backline. We may have options, but not of his quality. 5. I think, for me at least, the first four are a standout. But this one gets tricky. I think Davey and Jurrah will do well in the forwardline with Clark, but I'm not sure they're vital. Similarly the likes of Blease and Garland are likely to be good in our backline, but again can they be replaced? Probably. I guess when you think of modern football it must come back to the middle, or to pinch a thread title "It's the Midfield Stupid!". So who from the midfield can't we do without? Good question. I have no doubt if Sylvia can start producing on a consistent basis then it would be him hands down. But it's a big if. Watts seems to be improving his engine to have a run in the midfield, he and Trengove I'm sure will improve greatly this year. Jones is always a 125.6% guy, but just seems to be lacking that impact in games. Will a structured gameplan change that? Well, as an unabashed Jones fan, I'd say YES. But again it's a big if? Will it be a draftee? I don't know. I think this one is really open. But if I had to choose one now I'd say Bate or Bail!

Just finished watching American: The Bill Hicks Story. A very funny, very clever man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifayd7rIwY Still on iView for anyone interested.

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Special mention to Macca (Nuggets) for the great thread and Nascent for putting me on to Protest the Hero. Jack Jack 1.9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-eslNwGXrI

I find it hard to believe that they could hold off on the announcement. The media is such a hungry beast I would think that ther'd be a limit on how long they could keep it under wraps. They'd be better to quickly make the announcement rather than it have it come out in one or all of the papers prematurely.

They won't need any help. Their best is going to be putrid. As far as the injury goes, I don't believe in karma, but a few more incidents like this may change my mind!

Jai Sheehan could be either Mr Sheehan or Charlie Sheehan.

Maybe he could add some well placed whiskers to his chin and we could start calling him the colonel? I'm sure that would change a few minds.

I'm all for the tache. But Dunn's doesn't rate much higher than Baldrick's dead slug mo. If you're going to do it, do it well.

I've had that song, mostly the riff, stuck in my head for days now and I'm still enjoying it. Reminds me a lot of this song. Jack Jack 1.8

That's sad news about Brandon Roy. BRoy gave his all for the team and the fans loved him. I doubt Ssssscully will ever be held in the same high regard.

I'm of the opinion that Trenners is probably a bit too young and inexperienced to take on the job. Which is somewhat disappointing because whoever takes on the captaincy this year probably won't have it for very long. If Green does get the captaincy, how long will he keep it for? Will someone younger be ready to take the torch 2013? If not it will just be another stop gap. If Moloney get the captaincy, how long will he keep if for? I guess he may be good for 2-3 years, but would still feel a little on the temporary side. Our future is in our younger players and he'd just be keeping the seat warm for one of them. Maybe Jones is a legitimate candidate and can hold on to it long term. I guess my frustration stems from the many captaincy changes of the last couple of years. When Neitz couldn't get through his last year we had co-captains, then JMac and Green. I wan't to see a captain that I know will be there for the long haul. Failing that I'd like to see some of the younger guys as VC, Jones, Grimes and Ternners.

When I first heard this song on the radio I couldn't get it out of my head. But, stupidly, I was too busy repeating it over and over in my head to bother listening for the artist and the name of the song. So it drove me nuts for ages trying to track down the song and album. When I heard it again, it distracted me enough to miss the name of the song, but not the artist. It was the late (well not at the time), great Elliott Smith. So I high tailed it down to the local music store to get the album. The only album of ES they had was his recently released Figure 8. It turns out that the song I had stuck in my head wasn't on the album. But I wasn't disappointed as Figure 8 is a brilliant album and remains one of my favourite. I later tracked down the name of the elusive song, Waltz #2. Enjoy. Jack Jack 1.6 And for good measure here's a song from Figure 8. Jack Jack 1.7 Please excuse the long post but I had to get this off my chest. It frustrates the hell out of me that there's so much good music out there and never enough free space on my MP3 player to put it. I guess a decent sized ipod classic might help the cause, but itunes gets my goat and apple is turning out to be just as big of a bully and megalomaniac as microsoft (In my opinion). But as they say in the movies "Necessity is the mother of invention"

Nice one. I've watched a couple of episodes and I don't mind it at all. It reminds me a little of Scrubs, quirky, feelgood comedy. Last Sunday's "Sunday Best" was very interesting. Followed a young Indian boy who had run 48 marathons by the time he was 4. Yes that's right I said 48 (fourty eight) marathons by the age of 4 (four). On ABC IView for anyone who missed it.

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times. Written back when the Japan disaster was in full swing. Lessons From Chernobyl for Japan "The death of a nuclear reactor has a beginning; the world is watching this unfold now on the coast of Japan. But it doesn’t have an end. While some radioactive elements in nuclear fuel decay quickly, cesium’s half-life is 30 years and strontium’s is 29 years. Scientists estimate that it takes 10 to 13 half-lives before life and economic activity can return to an area. That means that the contaminated area — designated by Ukraine’s Parliament as 15,000 square miles, around the size of Switzerland — will be affected for more than 300 years."

Did we play well or are NZ crap? I don't know where NZ would be without Vettori, has carried them many a time. And surely we need to be a bit more patient with Hughes. These kids are our future and they need the experience to develop further. Anyway, yes, it's nice to see good young Victorian in the team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dq_QHl76DM&feature=related

Those guys are awesome. I'll have to get my hands on more of their stuff. I thought the Aussie tank top in the clip was a nice touch for a Canadian band!

The crows must be pretty confident with their Sellar decision. Considering they've lost two key backs to the expansion teams in as many years. If Sellar was going to get a chance there it would be now.

Hauwei and Skyworth are Shenzen based companies. Huawei have just released a new line of smart phones. They look like they're making a concerted effort at improving their brand recognition and market share. They've recently inked their first sports sponsorship deal and have appointed new directors in Australia to oversee local market strategy.

Changhong is based in Mianyang. I'm pretty sure there's a large volume of electronics that come out of Mianyang and Shenzen.

I think I've got too much time on my hands. Apologies if it's been posted elsewhere. Here's a few of our notable picks of the Rookie Draft. 2010 14 Daniel Nicholson 31 Michael Evans 48 Kelvin Lawrence 2008 1 Jordie McKenzie 2007 19 Austin Wonaeamirri 35 Jake Spencer 49 Shane Valenti 2004 26 Matthew Warnock 2003 3 Aaron Davey 2002 56 Nathan Carroll 2001 6 Mark Jamar 2000 31 Darren Jolly 1998 12 Troy Broadbridge 1997 49 Peter Walsh 18 Daniel Ward If you consider the hole it would make in our team if we didn't have the Russian, let alone Flash and Jordie, shows you how important the Rookie draft has been for us. Reason to excited about the draft.

He's shown some real character hasn't he. Didn't he win some sort of clubman award? And from memory didn't he at one stage agree to stay on as a rookie, even though he had been offered a contract at the Crows. The rookie draft certainly has been good to us.

It's Scott Weiland, he's a genius, albeit seriously flawed. I don't think Velvet Revolver would have gotten anywhere without him. In fact from memory I think once he left VR they were unable to get another record contract. Jack Jack 1.5

Wow, EMF, that brings back memories. I remember a few of the UK groups at the time. Pet Shop Boys, East 17, KLF. How good is Youtube for a trip down memory lane! Jack Jack 1.4

Haha, yes. reminds me of the Seinfeld Kramer painting quote "He is a loathsome, offensive brute. Yet I can't look away". Actually now i think about it, one of my must watch shows of the week is Sunday Best on ABC. A collection of the best documentary's. The series started of with the brilliant doco's The Wave and Hoops Dreams. Last week was The Agony And Ecstasy of Phil Spector. I highly recommend it, still available to watch on ABC Iview.

I can't, in good conscience, not put one up for these guys, Stone Temple Pilots. They're right up there for me, probably my favourite band. I just don't think they've got a bad song in them. And after years and years of waiting finally got to see them live earlier this year. Scott Weiland managed to pull himself together for long enough and made it this time. It was my first time at Festival Hall, but was truly amazing. I think I was like most of the crowd there and been hanging out to see them for the last 15 odd years. The place just went berserk. The audience completely drowned out the band during Interstate Love Song, just amazing. Afterwards I was chatting to my old man about it. He tells me he snuck out of boarding school to watch Louis Armstrong there. I thought that was a pretty cool connection. And after further discussion we agree that they were probably still the same seats (the place doesn't look like it's changed for decades). I hear they've got a new album out in the new year, can't wait, Jack Jack 1.3