We have the technology....

Whilst i did not see the football match between France & the Republic Of Ireland last night, i certainly have seen the aftermath. I did follow the final part of the match via the BBC news website. but, that's another story altogether.
(By the way. For those of you who may be reading this in the USA. In this blog post Football, means Soccer. I hope that's made that clear?)

For me, this whole story is about far more than just a football match. Albeit a very important football match.

For the benefit of those who have no idea what i'm talking about. The match between France & the Republic Of Ireland decided which of those two teams went through to the World Cup Finals in South Africa in 2010. So, there was a lot at stake.

Near the end of the game, the French player Thierry Henry blatantly handled the ball & then passed it to a team mate. who promptly scored the winning goal. Sending the Irish home empty handed (ouch!) & the French to the World Cup Finals.
Although the Irish players complained at the time. The referee & his assistants didn't see the incident & therefore allowed the "goal" to stand. In my opinion, there is no blame attached to them. They made a decision based on what they saw.

There is no real debate that the goal should have been disallowed. Even Thierry Henry admits that he handled the ball & by all accounts, the French media have been a little embarrassed by it all.

But, this whole sorry situation makes me question why it is allowed to happen in the first place? After all, we are talking about a important match that was potentially worth a lot of money to the victor.
The World Cup is the most prestigious football tournament around & is only held every four years. For your country to take part in the finals is a big achievement & apart from the monetary value, it is also a big boost to the mood of the country itself.
So, to miss out is a very big deal. Especially if you miss out in such controversial circumstances.

In common with all big sorting events these days, this game was being filmed & televised.
I should imagine that in the immediate aftermath of that decisive "goal", the footage was being replayed in living rooms around the world. From several different angles & in slow motion too i should imagine. And probably all done before the match even restarted.

Now, if this footage is readily available, why isn't it being used to correct an obvious injustice?
Well, this is mainly due to an apparent unwillingness of the football authorities to embrace this technology & their reluctance to use video evidence.
For me, at least, this is totally unforgivable. If this incident does not make the relevant footballing authorites reconsider their oppostion to the use of video technology, then they should not be surprised if:
a) Football fans vote with their feet & wallets & stop attending matches, or stop paying extra to watch them on TV. Thereby denying the game & the authorities invaluable income. or,
b) Cheating becomes ever more widespread & blatant amongst players. After all, if there is a chance of not getting caught, why not try it on? This situation will then probably lead to a).

I'm sure that this is not what anyone really wants, myself included. It is, after all, supposed to be "the beautiful game".
But, it is increasingly becoming more than just a game. Football is now a multi-million pound/euro/dollar industry. Surely this is even more reason to make sure that things are done properly & above board?

Other sports have embraced technology & use it to great advamtage. So, why not football?
One of the often quoted reasons for not using video replays, is the supposed notion that they would break up the natural flow of the game. This is a valid argument, up to a point.

As i mentioned earlier, the incident last night & many others like it, would not require the game to be stopped. Every match has enough natural breaks to enable a sensible compromise to be reached.
Where there is a will, there is a way. If the footballing authorities really want this to happen, it will. So, no more excuses please.

Now is the time for UEFA & FIFA to stand up & be counted & to help protect the beautiful game.
If they don't, they should not be surprised if more people, like myself, get ever more disillusioned with the direction that the game of football is taking & vote with our feet & wallets.

We have the technology. So, let's use it & stop this kind of injustice ever happening again.

Just Say No.

yet another vilog inspired by a comment on a video of mine.

Do what YOU want to do.

Wet 'n' Wild.

As any of you who know me from other Internet sites may know, i like to do a bit of running.
Of late though, that has been a rather hit & miss affair. But, i'm once again trying to get back into it & i may even try & run a couple of races in the new year. No promises though. I'll have to wait & see how my body holds up! I'm not getting any younger after all.

I have been thinking of using this blog to write about my running progress & maybe even to relay some of my thoughts about running & what it has meant to me. We'll see.

But, in the meantime, i just wanted to mention my run this morning.

As is often the case, when i woke up there was the usual debate raging in my head as to whether i could actually be bothered to go for a run. Believe me, the hardest step is the one out of the front door.

Over the past couple of days we have been having some rather wild weather. Very strong winds & heavy rain. Not the most ideal conditions to run in, as you can probably imagine. Having said that, those conditions can be quite exhilarating to run in. but, more of that later.

As the weather seemed to have, at last, calmed down overnight. I decided to take the plunge. A very prophetic word as it happens.
Getting out the front door was no obstacle & off i went.

Now i'm pretty lucky in that i live very close to the seafront, which is the perfect place to run. No cars, plenty of room & good views etc. Today was no exception.
I'd already decided which way i was going to run. Maybe rather foolishly, this was with the wind behind me on the way out. meaning i'd be running into it on the way back. Although not gale force any more, the wind was still pretty blowy (is that a word?)

As i said before, we've had some recent stormy weather. So, it was great to run along the seafront, watching the waves crash onto the beach (the tide was pretty high at the time), checking to see what damage the storms had done & seeing what interesting items might have been washed up onto the beach.

One of the great attractions of living in a seaside town in the Winter, are the storms & the sea. There is nothing quite like watching the huge grey waves rolling in from the sea & crashing onto the beach. I could & do watch this for hours, as do many others.
This may seem a little strange. But, i know of many locals who actually prefer the Winter to the Summer for exactly this reason.

As i was running along, i happened to look behind me. I often do this, as there is a great view across the bay towards Eastbourne. Another reason is because this is the usual direction that the weather comes from, the south-west. Well, i couldn't see Eastbourne! It was completely obscured by a huge grey/black cloud & it was heading straight for Hastings.

There was no way that i was going to turn back. Not after making all that effort to get out of the door in the first place. I was also rather intrigued as to what that huge cloud might bring.
I kept on running & the wind started to strengthen, as the clouds got closer & closer.
Well, soon enough the sky grew very dark & the rain started to fall. Not too hard at first. But, within a minute, or so, the rain, mixed with hail, was pouring down & i was already getting soaked.

I carried on manfully & reached my turning point, which is basically where Hastings ends & the cliffs start. The rain was lashing down & sea there was crashing into the base of the cliffs. It was such a spectacular sight that i stopped, tried to shelter behind part of the rock face & stood watching the sea bashing the rocks in front of me. It was at this point that i wished i'd had a camera with me.

By this time, i was so wet that i didn't care any more. So, i turned around & headed for home, approx 2 miles away. Straight away the wind & the rain hit me right in the face. The rain was stinging my face so badly that i was having to lower my head to try & stop the worst of it.
I was soaked to the skin & my running shoes were full of water.

But, i was having great fun!

As i mentioned earlier, there is something strangely exhilarating about being out in that kind of weather & of battling against the elements. Which is exactly what i was doing.
I'm sure that all the people safely huddled in the relative calm of their cars thought that i & the other runners & dog walkers who were still battling on, were absloutely mad.
But, little do they know that, probably without exception, we were all getting a kind of perverse enjoyment out of the situation. The runners etc, who i did pass, all had a smile on their face. Maybe it was a knowing smile? A smile saying "we're all in this together & they just don't know what they are missing"

I eventually got home, still in the pouring rain & dripped my way into the house.
I don't think i've ever been that wet before. Certainly not when running.

But, you know what? I wouldn't have missed that run for the world.

Rebels?

A vlog inspired by a comment from my daughter.

Good Night And Good Luck.

I have just finished watching the George Clooney movie "Good Night, And Good Luck". The movie is set in the 1950's, at CBS TV in the USA & particularly set around the making of the "See It Now" programme featuring Ed Murrow.
The movie is well worth watching by the way & is based on a true story.

Bookending the movie is a speech given by Ed Murrow, the American broadcaster. In this speech he bemoans the state of American TV in the late 1950's & expresses his fears for the direction in which it is heading.
To paraphrase a part of the speech that jumped out at me, "TV has the ability to teach, illuminate & inspire. Otherwise, it is just wires & lights in a box".
What struck me the most about that quote was the fact that it is as relevant today, as it was in the late 1950's.

Although i can only speak with any real experience of TV in the UK, i have seen the way that TV has been going downhill in recent years.
TV does indeed have "the ability to teach, illuminate & inspire". But, that is so often overlooked in favour of "entertainment", exactly as it was back in the 1950's.

Yes, we still have current affairs programmes on British TV. But, these are often being pushed back later & later into the late evening & therefore attract a smaller audience. The content of these programmes has also altered. The topics covered are dumbed down & not so serious as in days gone by.
Even the main news bulletins cover stories they never would have covered a few years ago. I often despair at seeing "news" items about celebrities, or reality TV shows on the 6 'o' clock news.
Modern day documentaries, at which British TV used to excel, are not what they were. They seem to be made to appeal to the lowest commmon denominator & treat the audience as if they were all stupid.
Maybe that is another consequence of the emphasis on entertainment?

As Ed Murrow said in his speech, just because a current affairs programme may cost more to make, or attract a smaller audience, doesn't mean it is not worthwhile. If you don't allow TV to open people's eyes to what is really happening in the world around them, the implications may very well turn around & bite you in years to come. Ignorance can be very dangerous after all.

Another aspect of this topic that also struck me, was how we could also use that speech to iilustrate where we now are with the Internet.

The Internet also has that "ability to teach, illumintae & inspire". But, as i mentioned in a blog post the other day ("It's the Internet, but not as we know it"). Some people would like to turn the Internet into a giant entertainment system & in effect, a huge TV station.

Have we learned nothing?

If he were alive today, i wonder what Ed Murrow would make of this current situation?
Maybe we need somebody to make a similar speech today?

Good night & good luck.

Social Media - How Connected Are You?

My adventures in Social Media. This video is a response to another YouTuber.

Remembrance - 11th November 2009.

Today, at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, i stood silenty for 2 minutes on a windswept beach.
As i stood there looking across the English Channel towards France, completely alone except for my thoughts, the sun broke through the clouds & illuminated a fishing boat going about its business, followed by the usual flock of seagulls.
Something about that moment really struck me.
Here was i standing, looking at this almost poetic scene & remembering all of those who have been denied the ability to see what i was seeing.
If it were ever needed, that really brought the whole meaning of remembrance home to me.

The 91st anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, that brought an end to the 1st World War in 1918, has been "celebrated" as usual here in the UK. A 2 minute silence has been held in many parts of the country.
Due to recent events in Afghanistan, this act of remembrance seems to have taken on a whole new significance & has reminded us all, that we are not just remembering those who died during the 1st World War. But, also all of those who have died in conflicts since that war to end all wars.

I am very thankful & proud, that here in the UK, we continue to celebrate the 11th November & remember all of those who have died in those conflicts.

This morning, i heard on the radio a comment from a older German man, who was visiting London. He said that he was very pleased to see this act of remembrance still being carried out every year & remarked that, in his country, no such celebrations took place.
Personally, i find that a little sad. I also find it sad that this act of remembrance is not celebrated in the same way across the world.

At least i can comfort myself with the fact that, here in the UK at least, we continue to remember all of those who have given their lives & continue to do so.
Long may that continue.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them"

Excerpt from "For The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon.