Come on England!

I tell you, watching the world cup over here in the US isn't the same as watching it back home. It's not just the cultural isolation or the crap beer. It's not even the absence of rusted white vans plastered in England flags or chain-pubs filled with monosyllabic oiks and pools of vomit. No, the thing I miss the most about Blighty, at a time like this, is some good old-fashioned English sports-commentary.



Soupy twist!

-Mr. Ed

Fake quote of the day

"I think there is one thing we can all agree on - everything tastes better with leopards."

Colonel Anthony Sidemember-Shitbiscuit III

- Mr. Ed

Don't let them see the Big Board!

Watching 'University Challenge' from the comfort of my stable last night I was both surprised and, in an odd way horsified to learn of the existence of Strangelove Syndrome- which does indeed take its name from the malevolent doctor and his wayward appendage. Ah, the soft summer breezes and the savage sense of humour that is the psychologist's own...

Still, it brings us back to the Doctor, and as they say in Moscow, Beijing and Washington, in London and in Delhi, in Pyongyang, and increasingly Tehran- "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when..."




-Bluecupboard

Real true-life story

Christine is doing her homework next to me. I'm lying on my bed, reading random shit on the web. Christine thinks I should 'blog' about her. I pointed out that I've mentioned her (or more accurately her alter ego, Steinbrenner) several times on the Pony Club. She said there should be a whole post about her though, not just a few mentions here and there. I agreed, and I decided to write this post - all about her. It's pretty awesome don't you think? Yeah me too.

- Mr. Ed

Et tu Bruno?

In not so cheery animal news, it seems Bruno the bear (pictured here made out of lego) has been making something of a nuisance of himself in Bavaria, so they are going to hunt him down and shoot him.

Update:
Bruno was shot in the early hours of monday morning.

-Mr. Ed

Sunday Porch Blogging 6

Yes another fleeting week has flown by again. It's been a rainy sunday here in Chucktown - the sort of weather that makes me want to spend all day in bed, dozing, as the rain drops rattle on the tin roof outside my window. Instead I got up early-ish and went to the pub to watch England defeat Ecuador in the second round of the world cup. But we're getting off topic now...

I'm really pleased with all my plants at the moment, everything is growing very nicely. On monday the courgettes started flowering - though no sign of baby courgettes yet. Even better than that, the first few tomatoes ripened! The pepper plants are doing well too, they're getting bigger and stronger all the time. The jalapeno is settling in well, it looks like there are a few flower buds forming so there should be more peppers on the way soon. The mint got a bit of a battering from the rain but it should be fine, and all the other herbs are looking good too. So that's about all the news I have for this week - well apart from the fact that England are through to the quarter finals!





I'll leave you with two photos I took of Milton earlier in the week. I think this was the last time I saw him, actually.





Nuh-night then,

-Mr. Ed

Soulful Saturday

The Pony Club is pleased to debut our brand new feature - Soulful Saturday!

We here at the P Club, or at least two of us anyway, have decided to bring more of the fab youtube music content over to our oh-so-green pastures. So for the next few weeks, every saturday I'll be trawling through youtube to bring you some choice chunks of funky soul, soulful funk and even some funkful soul, if I can find any.

This week it's Digable Planets and "where I'm from".



Word.

-Mr. Ed

An inconvienent truth

This short, from the makers of Futurama, appeared on You tube today. It's a promo for Al Gore's movie, An Inconvient Truth, which opens tonight at the Terrace Theater over in James Island. Steinbrenner and I are going to the Terrace tonight. We're not going to see Al's movie though - it's been sold out for weeks anyway - we're going to see Water, you can watch the trailer here.



I'd really like this to be funny - but it isn't really. Oh well.

Victim

I found this on Ze Frank's "the show" page today - it's rather entertaining.



-Mr. Ed

From the 'one too many' department

The BBC reports on a dodgy British Ref at the world cup:

Graham Poll may have refereed his last World Cup match after a series of high-profile errors during Croatia's turbulent game against Australia. The English official booked Croatia's Josip Simunic three times before sending him off and also twice waved away strong Australian penalty claims.

-snip-

A Fifa statement read: "We had a first in the history of the World Cup when a player received three yellow cards - this is a little bit too much."

-Mr. Ed

That's quite a name

Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele - full name Vittorio Emanuele Alberto Carlo Teodoro Umberto Bonifacio Amadeo Damiano Bernardino Gennaro Maria of Savoy - the heir pretender to the Italian throne was arrested recently in relation to racketeering, gambling and prostitution charges. These charges are not related to his previous run-in with law - when he fired a rifle on his yacht and killed someone on a nearby boat.

At least this puts some perspective on the indiscretions our own sorry little lot of Royals.

-Mr. Ed

My kind of Science

Mentos and Diet Coke - this is really rather cool.


-Mr. Ed

Sunday Porch Blogging No. 5

Hello chums!
Yes it's the porch-blog fantastique once again. I'll tell you one thing about a regular blog feature that you probably don't care about - it makes you realise how quickly the weeks pass. It seems like only yesterday that I was posting the first SPB and here we are on number five already! Notice too that my self-deprication has waned since those first heady posts. Indeed it would be safe to say that there is a now a discerable note of confidence in my porch-blog posts - well that will soon pass, don't worry. Of course the demise of this misplaced self-assurance could be sped up immeasurably if anyone cared to leave some suitably demeaning or derisory comments. (The shameless appeals for attention on the other hand will remain a fixture of the SPB for the foreseeable future)

On to business then! I'm pretty sure the tomato didn't suffer any lasting damage from tropical storm Alberto. To make sure the wind won't trouble it again I put in two new 6ft bamboo poles and tied it up very tightly. The tallest two vines are about a foot above the top of the bamboo, and they were the longest poles I could find, so I might have to top the plant if it keeps growing. There are lots of lovely tomatoes though, and they're getting bigger by the day.

The courgettes and squash are masssive now. Although the courgettes lost a few leaves after getting bashed about by the wind they seem fine now, there lots of flower buds and several look like they'll open soon.

The squash are doing well too, in fact they’re beginning to compete with the courgettes after a their slower start. I'm not entirely sure what to do with butternut squash to be honest, but at the rate they've been growing I'll have to find some use for them sooner rather than later. About a week ago the courgettes and squash took over the whole trough and completely shaded out the bell peppers. So to give the peppers a chance I thinned them out, moved them to a pot on their own and put them up high so they'll get lots of light.

All the other plants are doing pretty well. The rosemary has new shoots on it, the basil is getting bigger all the time, even the tree-fern seems to be thriving. Finally, there is a new addition to to the porch family. About two weeks ago my mate Meg came to visit and she gave me a jalapeno pepper plant, which already has two small peppers on it. I'll post a photo of it next week.


Mantid News

I found a second Mantid on my porch the other day - this one has made my mint plant it's home. I named her Myrtle, here are a few photos:





And finally, here's another look at MIlton. He's been pretty reclusive lately so this is the best shot I've been able to get. He seems to be doing very well though, he shed his exo-skeleton two days ago and he's much bigger now.



In summary then, breezes. And that's all the weather!

- Mr. Ed
(Note this entry was edited - quite heavily - on 23/06/06 by Mr. Ed)

How not to referee a game

Or

"How the Italians are cheating scum and the USA showed more guts than the bins behind a busy butcher's shop"

The Pony Club is not about to turn into a footie blog, have no fear, but I can't let the USA-Italy game go without comment. After a slew of unnecessary yellow cards and three players sent off you'd have been forgiven for thinking the ref must have been smoking crack watching a different game. In the end the Italians limped to a draw and nine tired yanks earned the most well-deserved point in the cup so far.

I’ve always felt the Italians are a particularly infuriating team to watch. Over the years they've had some of the most talented players in the world, but this has always been marred by their overly defensive, and frankly dull, style of play (not to mention all the diving, dodgy tackles and other skullduggery they are famous for). They must be the only prominent team in the world whose over-arching strategy revolves around cheating. Perhaps even more frustrating though is that most Italians genuinely seem blind to all this - in fact they insist that they don’t dive or cheat and the refs just have it out for them, because they're so good, naturally.



Brian McBride after getting De Rossi's
"Sicilian handshake" in the face.


Pace. Ultimately, as satisfying as a win for the US would have been, a draw is good enough. The US are still in with a slim chance, the mighty Azzuri were humbled, and not even a hardened Italian fan can deny that the US had worse luck at the hands of the utterly shit capricious referee. What's more the US made the Italians look like bunch of Nancys, and that's got to hurt those oh-so-tender Italian male egos.


-Mr. Ed

PS
Apparently the Ref's wikipedia entry briefly contained the useful information that he's a wanker. They've now blocked updates to his page to prevent further "vandalism".

World Cup Update

I think that says it all.

Alberto Update

Well Alberto has been downgraded to a tropical depression and the centre is lurking somewhere near Columbia SC. I haven't seen any reports of serious damage, which is good. I did find this AP article about the effects of Alberto in the Palmetto state:

Alberto knocks down trees, power lines in SC
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Alberto weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday morning as it moved through South Carolina, dumping heavy rain and spawning a few weak tornadoes.

A flood watch remained in effect through the afternoon for the Pee Dee, where the National Weather Service reported hail and damaging lightning overnight.

The center of Alberto was about 35 miles northwest of Allendale at 5 a.m. pushing northeast at about 21 mph. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph.

Most of the Lowcountry reported 2 to 3 inches of rain Tuesday with up to 5 inches falling near the Georgia state line. Wind gusts exceeding 40 mph knocked down trees and power lines in Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties late Tuesday night.

Edisto Beach reported a wind gust of 51 mph around midnight with a tree blocking state Highway 171, and Hilton Head Island had winds gust to 44 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

At least six small tornadoes were reported in the Lowcountry. A possible twister damages several roofs and shed in Cross near Berkeley County around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. At least three tornadoes were reported in Charleston County, including one in downtown Charleston around 6 p.m. Tuesday that broke windows in police cars and twisted a garage door near the Medical University of South Carolina. A twister was also reported Tuesday afternoon in Beaufort County, according to the National Weather Service.

Another possible tornado was reported in Berkeley County just after midnight that injured one person and damaged homes and cars.

Alberto, with maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph, made landfall early Tuesday afternoon near Adams Beach, Fla., about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.


I think I might have been on the phone with Bluecupboard when that twister was bending the garage door! It was during that little squall that my tomato plant was blown over. So far it seems alright but the stem did bend rather worryingly - we'll have to wait and see if any lasting damage was done. The winds overnight played havoc with my courgettes too, but I think they'll bounce back. On the plus side Milton weathered the storm with aplomb, I found him sheltering under a basil leaf while I was having my morning cuppa.

So the 2006 Hurricane season is off with more of a whimper than a bang, lets just hope it stays that way.

Alberto where you been so long?

The remains of Tropical Storm Alberto are working their way over Georgia at the moment. The outer bands of rain have been drenching us all afternoon and evening, and in the last hour or so it's really picked up. Here's the latest weather bulletin:


SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
1214 AM EDT WED JUN 14 2006

SCC015-019-035-140430-
/O.CON.KCHS.TO.W.0037.000000T0000Z-060614T0430Z/
BERKELEY-DORCHESTER-CHARLESTON-
1214 AM EDT WED JUN 14 2006

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1230 AM EDT FOR
BERKELEY...DORCHESTER AND CHARLESTON COUNTIES...

AT 1214 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.
POTENTIAL TORNADOES WERE NEAR RIDGEVILLE...SUMMERVILLE...AND NORTH
CHARLESTON. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...
CHARLESTON...COLLEGE PARK...DANIEL ISLAND...FOLLY BEACH...GOOSE
CREEK...HANAHAN...HARLEYVILLE...JAMES ISLAND... JEDBURG...JOHNS
ISLAND...KNIGHTSVILLE...LADSON...MOUNT PLEASANT...REEVESVILLE...
RIDGEVILLE...SAINT GEORGE...SANGAREE...WANDO AND WEST ASHLEY.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST
DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER ONLY...PLEASE CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN CHARLESTON TOLL FREE AT 1-888-383-2024 OR EMAIL YOUR
REPORTS TO CHS.SKYWARN@NOAA.GOV.


Some possible damage sustained to the tomato but more on that tomorrow, I'm off to bed.

-Mr. Ed

It's just another mantid monday...

I haven't seen many of my mantids lately, most of them seem to have moved off to find homes in the bushes around my porch. However, one has made his home on my basil plant, so I've named him Milton. He moves about a bit, but after a few minutes hunting I can always find him there somewhere. Mantids can rotate their heads through almost 360 degress and they have very good eye sight; every time I look for Milton when I find him he's turned his head and seems to be staring at me - which is actually a little creepy. Especially after I watched him catch, rip in half and then devour one of his borthers/cousins the other day.

- Mr. Ed

Sunday Porch Blogging - 4

After an exhausting day watching the world cup - safe indoors from the stifling heat - I trotted back home and took a few pics for the 4th Sunday Porch Blog fantastique. The tomatoes continue to thrive. The plant is now about 7ft tall and still growing inches by the day, and as you can see the tomatoes are getting bigger and more numerous every day too. Everyone else is doing well, though I'm a bit worried that the flowers on my oregano are a sign that it's time may be coming to an end. Well next week I'll try and do a more thorough round-up, until then I'll leave you with the piccies.

The Pony Club guide to the 2006 World Cup

The Pony Club was a little disappointed not to appear in this year's World Cup. After a promising 2-0 win against the Royal Automobile Club we were in good shape to qualify. Then disaster stuck - a devastating four nil loss to the Women's Institute. After that The P Club needed a win in our last game to gain a place in Germany, and unfortunately a 0-0 draw against Flightless Bird Fanciers International just wasn't enough. Maybe we'll have better luck next time. Regardless, here's The Pony Club guide to a few of the better players to watch out for:

Arouna Kone (Cote D'Ivoire) - A verstile player that usually starts out wide but ends up moving to the middle and playing a more narrow game.

Arkadiusz Radomski (Poland) - Something of generic Polish player, but capable of generating some unexpected results.

Dan Quaye (Ghana) - After a lacklustre stint as Vice President in the 80's Dan has really found his niche in the the Ghanan back four.

Anderson Deco (Portugal) - A solid performer in midfield, Anderson is perhaps best known for his famous grandfather Arthur - the namesake of an eclectic form of decorative Modernism.


And here are some useful World Cup links:

The official FIFA site.

The BBC world cup page.

The World Cup blog - another useful resource.

A Nature special feature - roll over the picture to find out about the science of football.

And finally let's hear a rousing...

COME ON ENGLAND!

- Mr. Ed

Blackcap Blogging

I'm going up the country, baby don't you wanna go...

I'm going, I'm going where the water tastes like wine
Well I'm going where the water tastes like wine
We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time

Ah, yes, the wise words of renowned beat-combination Canned Heat, and it was with these instructions in mind that Beigey and Mr. Bluecupboard headed up to pastures green because, folks, the weather is horsetastic! And so, a new sensation was born, in the leafy shade of Blackcap- yes indeed, The Saturday Picnic Blog! S.P.B.II! Krap on a krabstik!



-Beigey and Bluecupboard

Mantid Madness

I was watering my plants this morning and I noticed something - and then many somethings - crawling around on them. That's right - my mantids have hatched! Apparently there are between 50 and 200 mantids per eggs case, I'm guessing mine was nearer the upper limit becuase my porch is over-run with the little blighters. I got them at the garden center because I'd heard they make great pest control agents. Their prefered hunting method - sitting very still until prey comes along and then spearing it with their sharp fronts legs - means that they tend to hang around one spot and eat anything that comes by. Last year I had some trouble with insect pests on my tomatoes, so I thought I'd try them out this year. Regardless of that I have other plans... soon they will begin the training, then I'll get them little uniforms and even tiny brass band instruments. Then will be honed into a fierce fighting force - MY MANTID ARMY WILL RULE THE WORLD!

Or not.

Anyway here are some pictures of them. In the first one you can see their egg sack.

Billy Preston...

Just read on the HuffPo that the glorious Billy Preston died yesterday...
Put on Get Back, turn it up and listen as Billy effortlessly becomes the elusive "other" Beatle. There was never any question...
Alternately, this is spectacular...

-Bluecupboard

Käse Post or Kaiser Post

You decide...

Some of the Pony Club had a night on the town. After the dressage, these were the results...

-Beigey, Bluecupboard, Philip