Lakenheath Old Boys

We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Paul Scholes Retires... he'll be missed!


It's official... Paul Scholes has retired from Manchester United. He will join the coaching staff at Old Trafford
He retires with these statistics

676 Man Utd appearances, 150 goals
66 England caps, 14 goals
Premier League winner: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
FA Cup: 1996, 1999, 2004
Champions League: 2008 (got a medal in 99 too)
League Cup: 2009, 2010
PFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2007
18th highest scorer in Premier League history (102 goals)
4th most booked player in Premier League history (87 times)

A great player for United and England
What was your favorite Paul Scholes goal.... after all, Paul Scholes scores goals


UWS

Monday, May 30, 2011

Back to Our Future - Introduction


To get us going slowly with our discussion of David Sirota's Back to Our Future, I thought I'd post today on his brief but insightful introduction. We'll have plenty of time to chat about the provocative thesis that Sirota lays out neatly here. Instead, I was particularly struck by his notion of 80s culture as shared language. On p. xiii, he writes: "As typical kids growing up in the suburbs, my siblings and I were pretty different from one another. We had different tastes, jobs, interests, attitudes, and politics....But through it all, we patched together a common dialect of eighties references that served as a diplomatic Morse code-bridging conflict, forging compromise, and uncomfortable silence."

Having just returned from a weekend at the Nocito household in Glenville, NY, shared linguistic codes are fresh in my mind. Footie is an obvious bond, lines from This is Spinal Tap are fairly frequent, but Monty Python references are really the lingua franca during that kind of weekend. Within minutes, we're 16 again, talking in squeaky voices about Spam, lumberjacks and budgies being "flushed down the loo!" Unfamiliar names produce Mrs Scum's immmortal "Never even 'eard of 'im." Any argument is ended with "Did, did, did, did, did and did!" And of course there's plenty of eye-rolling and shaking of heads among the rest of the family.

So, what of this? Do you have any other examples of cultural artifacts that serve as unspoken shared bonds between you and your loved ones? If you haven't received the book yet or haven't had a chance to start it yet - no worries. Chip right in. Feel free to comment on this issue and anything else that interested you about Sirota's introduction and we'll move on to Chapter 1 next Monday (June 6).

Sunday, May 29, 2011

RIP Gil Scott Heron (1949-2011)


Despite all the excitement about the big match yesterday, it's important to note the passing of Gil Scott Heron. Here he is in his element in the 70s doing one of my favorites - "The Bottle." He'll be missed.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

THE EUROPEAN CUP FINAL!!!!


Barcelona vs Manchester United

Wembley Stadium

The European Cup Final

Not much more to be said!!!

Join Blue Devil and UWS from Nocito Central in Upstate NY to follow all the action


COME ON MAN U!!!!



UWS

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

United sign goalkeeper (are you paying attention Arsene Wenger?)

The week of Manchester United news continues today with the club confirming this morning that it has signed Atletico Madrid's 20 year-old keeper David de Gea for the princely sum of £17 million. I have to admit that that, as with Reginald Mordling, I've "never 'eard of 'im!" Anyone else know anything about this kid?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Welsh Rarebit

Here's a bit of candid photography to brighten up your Tuesday morning. It's the Welshman Who Dare Not Say His Name's superinjunctioned bit on the side - Imogen Thomas. Nudge nudge, wink, wink. Phwah!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Premiership Plus Predictions Update - Week 38

We're just about at the end of the season, lads, so it's PPP time again. There are some lessons that can be learned from this season's predictions game:

1. The top teams are fairly predictable. Most of us got the bulk of our points from guessing the top five (indeed, one participant, MUR, got the top six exactly right!).

2. Relegation spots were not nearly as predictable. Just about all of us had Blackpool going down but none of us guessed Birmingham or West Ham.

3. The knock-out competitions - with the exception of the Champions League - are also a crap shoot. None of us picked Birmingham to win the Carling Cup and only UWS guessed right with Citeh in the FA Cup.

Here are the current standings going into the season capper next weekend:

1. United We Stand - 32 points (United in CL)
2. ManUtd Rules - 31 points (Barca in CL)
3. Thomas - 25 points (Barca in CL)
4. Someone Said - 24 points
5. Blue Devil - 18 points (Barca in CL)
6. Matthew - 16 points
7. Gooner71 - 14 points (Barca in CL)
7. West Ham Rising - 14 points (Barca in CL)
9. Simon Burke - 13 points (Barca in CL)
10. AZ Kicker - 12 points (Barca in CL)
11. Blubber Boy - 6 points

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Long and Winding Road....


.... leads to the Championship!!
Good Morning Fellas. This is always a depressing day for me. The last day of the football season.
Thankfully, the Championship has already been decided but there are plenty of things still up for grabs.
#1 Who will join West Ham booking away dates at Elland Road next season?
#2 Who will get the final automatic qualification place for the Champions League?
#3 Who will get to play in the Mickey Mouse Europa League next season?
#4 Who will win the Fair Play League and make Europe?
#5 Who will win the Golden Boot?

THE CHAMPIONS' match is on ESPN 2 while FSC will show the Spurs Birmingham match up

Join me

UWS

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Giggsy Caught Offside?

Many thanks to UWS's sister Debbie for alerting me to this story. Ryan Giggs is, according to a lot of social networking traffic today, the latest United star to be caught playing away from home. Apparently he has taken out a superinjunction against the British media in order to quieten rumors that he's engaging in an affair with model Imogen Thomas. What impact will this have on United's upcoming fixtures?

Your thoughts, Red Devilers?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Europa League Final Live!

It's almost an after-thought in a busy footie season these days, but we have a European final on the docket this afternoon and I'll be watching. It's an all-Portuguese affair between Braga and Porto and it's live from Dublin from 2:45 pm onward. Join me for all the action!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Premiership Plus Predictions Update - Week 37

After a long season, we're down to one more round of the Premiership, the Championship final between Swansea and Reading and the Champions League Final. As we approach these last hurdles, it's coming down to a clash between UWS who picked his beloved United for the CL and MUR and Thomas who shockingly went against their loyalties to pick Barca. Here are the current standings:

1. United We Stand - 33 points (United in CL)
2. ManUtd Rules - 27 points (Barca in CL)
3. Thomas - 25 points (Barca in CL)
4. Someone Said - 18 points
5. Gooner71 - 16 points
5. Matthew - 16 points
7. Simon Burke - 13 points (Barca in CL)
8. Blue Devil - 12 points (Barca in CL)
8. West Ham Rising - 12 points (Barca in CL)
10. AZ Kicker - 10 points (Barca in CL)
11. Blubber Boy - 8 points

Monday, May 16, 2011

30 minutes of Kate!


Kate Bush is reworking two old records, "This Sensual World" and "The Red Shoes." And she gave a BBC Radio 4 interview about recording her new record "Director's Cut." Spoiler Alert: She may release a new record in the next 3-5 years. Strewth!

The link's HERE

LOB Book Club - David Sirota

With Commencement this past weekend, I'm officially into summer mode, so it's time to gear up the summer reading club here at the LOB. Let me suggest that we start with David Sirota's new book - Back To Our Future. In it, Sirota looks at how the popular culture products of the 80s, and especially the films and tv shows that we enjoyed, laid out the political template for the past thirty years. I've just ordered it through our interlibrary loan system, so I'll be posting a first discussion thread in two weeks - May 30th - to get us started. After Sirota, perhaps we can move on to Bivalve's excellent choice - Tina Fey's Bossypants. I hope you'll join me.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Relegation Dogfight!


With the Title decided yesterday, all of the focus will focus in on the bottom of the table.
Who will survive in the next two weeks
West Ham are virtually down. They must win today at Wigan and hope Birmingham lose at home to Fulham. If both of those things don't happen... Leeds vs West Ham next season!

Join me

UWS

Saturday, May 14, 2011

How The League Was Won!!


How the league was won

A full month-by-month review of the twists and turns in the hunt for the title…

Friday, May 13, 2011

Two Major Trophies on the Same Day




Come join us on this historical Saturday as we could see two major trophies won on the same day for the first time in the history of English Football. The day begins with four EPL matches highlighted by Manchester United's visit to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers. A draw will give them the EPL Title and their 19th top flight championship, surpassing Liversox. This is followed by the FA Cup Final where Manchester Citeh, in the first Cup Final, take on Stoke City, playing in their first FA Cup Final. The winner will probably have to share the limelight with Manchester United. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the FA Cup Final is played on the same day that league matches are being played. If this is not enough entertainment, then there is a League One Playoff match and a League Two Match. This is a Saturday that has everything that one can imagine!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Neil Innes - Tiny Desk Concert!

It's been a quality week over at All Songs Considered. Their latest effort is a thirty-minute podcast concert by veteran Python collaborator Neil Innes. For those of you who don't remember Neil, he was responsible for a lot of the Python musical bits and starred as Sir Robin's troubadour in The Holy Grail, before founding "The Rutles" with Eric Idle. It's well worth a listen - you can download it for free from iTunes by searching for the "All Songs Considered Concert" podcast. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

St. Tottering's Day at last


I'm barbecuing chicken because Crouchie's o-g means that the bells are pealing at last in the enlightened half of North London tonight. It's bittersweet this year, but you hang on to anything when you lose your virtue to Stoke in that kind of fashion.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Band Break-ups

All Songs Considered did a brilliant episode this week around the fascinating theme of bands and artists we've broken up with over the years. I'm including the categories that they used on the show below and my choices in the hope that you'll join in.

1. The Band/Artist You Moved On From:

These are the bands and artists that you loved at a certain age or time but make you cringe to think about them that way now. They haven't changed but you have. My pick is Coldplay, a band that Gooner introduced me to with a tape of their first album when I was music deprived in Japan. Loved their second album ("A Rush of Blood to the Head") too. But somewhere between the massive fame and Gwyneth Paltrow baby pictures and the insufferable Chris Martin interviews, they became dead to me. I understand that there is a certain amount of elitism to fandom but so be it.

2. The Band/Artist Who Moved on From You:

These are the bands and artists that you loved for something very specific but they evolved beyond you in a different direction. For me, Icelandic chanteuse Bjork fits the bill here. Loved the early down-beat, trip-hoppy material; however, once she started doing all a capella efforts or collaborations with Congolese nose flute specialists, I was left scratching my head.


3. The Band/Artist You Really Thought You Had Something With — They Said They'd Call But You Never Heard From Them Again:

This is a relationship that never quite gets off the ground. It's over before it's begun. For me, this is the hip hop trio Digable Planets. They put out a really interesting debut and then an amazing sophomore effort ("The Blowout Comb") and then....nothing. What happened? Was it something I said?

4. Your Best Friend's Band/Artist You Secretly Want To Hook Up With

These are the bands or artists who you want to love because everyone else you respect loves them, but it's never what you thought it'd be. There have been a lot of critical darlings (and even entire genres such as Krautrock or Garage) who have fit the bill over the years, but my best current example is TV on the Radio. The concept of TVOR sounds great, but in the end you're left with some fairly tuneless singing over some equally loose jams.

5. The Rebound: Bands You Start To Date After Everyone Else Is Through With Them:

Just about the time that early Rilo Kiley fans broke up with the band because of their increasing slick production, I discovered their 2007 disc Under the Blacklight, which I see as a 21st century version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album. How can anyone be angry with Jenny Lewis for long?

6. The Band/Artist You Broke Up With, Then Got Back Together:

Lots of examples here but the quintessential one is Everything But the Girl, who have been through more image changes than Cher goes through costume changes in Vegas. I doggedly followed them through their faux jazz, indie rock, and big band phases in the 80s and 90s because I loved them so much but also because they were "mine." But when they got to their AOR smooth jazz stage, I jumped overboard. Then somewhere around the turn of the millennium, they converted themselves into a techno/house outfit and I was interested again. Through it all, it's Tracey Thorn's gingham voice that has kept me interested but some ten years after their last album, they're working their way to Category 2.

I'd love to hear your choices - and feel free to add your own categories!

Sunday, May 08, 2011

A Particularly Super Sunday

It all comes down to today and it couldn't be set up in a more tantalizing fashion. Arsenal have a chance to lay down a marker against Stoke. And then there is the titanic struggle between #1 and #2. Chelsea must set out to win at Old Trafford today; a win or even a draw favors United in the run-in. Join me from 9am onward for all of today's action.

Saturday, May 07, 2011

The End of the Long Road

The Championship regular season wraps up early this morning. Just about everything has been sorted out. My beloved Whites have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs but need a six-goal turn-around with Forest who play Palace. Likewise, Sheffield United are mathematically still in it but need a miracle vis a vis Palace. Join me for these matches and then the Premiership relegation battles later on.

Friday, May 06, 2011

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 35

Before we hurtle head first into the penultimate weekend of the domestic season, it's time to take stock of the standings of our little Premiership Plus Predictions Game again. It looks more and more like those who tipped Chelski v. those who tipped United for the title. UWS also stands to clean up if his prediction of a United CL win comes good. Here's what it looks like now:

1. Thomas - 29 points
2. ManUtd Rules - 25 points
3. United We Stand - 24 points
4. Gooner71 - 23 points
5. Someone Said - 22 points
6. Matthew - 18 points
7. AZ Kicker - 15 points
7. Blue Devil - 15 points
7. Simon Burke - 15 points
10. West Ham Rising - 14 points
11. Blubber Boy - 8 points

Best of luck, chaps!

Thursday, May 05, 2011

The Long Road from the White House

The Republican primary season begins today. The five candidates on show tonight - Cain, Johnson, Paul, Pawlenty, and Santorum - have a lot to prove at this point. I'm arriving home a wee bit late after some Cinco de Mayo revelry. The margaritas will definitely help me get through the right-wing rhetoric to come. Join me if you're watching....

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

United v. Schalke Live!

United go into today's match at Old Trafford facing Schalke in a similar situation to what faced Barca yesterday - and we all saw what happened there. Fergie and co. are 90 minutes from Wemberley. Won't you join me for the inevitable? I'll be here until around 4pm.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Champions League Semi Finals Live!

These two sides served up a kick-fest only punctuated by the genius of Leo Messi last week. Let's hope they can put the handbags aside today and play some footie. I'm in an interminable "retreat" today that's scheduled for 9am-3pm, but I'm hoping to duck out a wee bit early to get back to the office for this one. Join me?

Monday, May 02, 2011

There's no crying in baseball . . .



But there is in footy. So, lads, I'm wondering what you each peg our odds of survival at? We have Blackburn and Sunderland at home and Wigan away. Avram says 7 points will save us. Scotty Parker and Mark Noble did not play against Citeh. Anyone know their status for the last three?

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Fifth Anniversary Weekend Continued



We had an exciting Fifth Anniversary Edition yesterday. There is more Premier League action today as the highlight is the 8 AM match when Arsenal hosts Manchester United. If United win then they are one step closer to the title. The opening matches are Liversox vs Newcastle and Wolves vs Birmingham while we end with Man Citeh vs West Ham United . Come join us as there are three televised matches this morning.